What is mulch and mulching. Mulching the soil is

It is very bad, dear gardeners, if you tied the trunks of your apple trees, cherries and other fruit trees for the winter, and left the trunk circles bare, not covered. What if there is little snow and frost? How will your pets' roots survive frost? Have you ever walked barefoot in the cold? No? Try it! This will strengthen your immunity, and at the same time you will understand what discomfort the unprotected root system of fruit trees experiences. To protect it from freezing, use a simple but effective agrotechnical technique– mulching. That is, covering the soil surface with mulch. Mulch is any material used by a gardener or gardener to protect the soil.

It should be noted that mulching is especially in demand in cases of frosty and snowless winters to preserve the root system, but not only. It performs many other useful functions, including in the summer.

• Protects plant roots from freezing in winter.
• In summer, it prevents overheating of the soil by retaining moisture.
• Reduces the number of weeds, slowing their growth several times.
• Protects the soil from erosion and washing away by rain.
• Keeps the soil loose.
• Stimulates the activity of earthworms, which improve soil quality.
• Mulching promotes the development of the root system.
• Rotting mulch improves the quality and structure of the soil.
• Gives the garden an attractive look.

Mulch can be organic (preferred) or inorganic. As organic mulch, grass clippings, pine needles, straw, hay, sawdust, shavings, bark, cut cardboard and paper are used. Peat, humus, etc. are very useful for mulching. In the case of compost, it must be completely decomposed and free of weed seeds. The disadvantage of organic mulch is that it attracts small rodents, insects, and slugs. Over time, such mulch needs to be replaced.

For inorganic mulching, sand, gravel, pebbles, stone, plastic, and cut rubber are used. Black polyethylene is widely used in planting strawberries and garden strawberries. Inorganic mulch is durable, does not decompose and does not attract pests. Its disadvantage is that it does not nourish the soil.
When to mulch?
It all depends on the goal that the gardener sets for himself. Best time for mulching - autumn. Mulch will retain heat in the soil in winter, helping plants overwinter, and in spring it will protect the soil from erosion and weathering. In spring, it is sometimes useful to move the mulch to better warm the soil. But planted trees and shrubs must be mulched immediately to prevent moisture loss.

How to mulch the soil?
The simplest method of mulching, when for some reason there is no mulch at hand, is to take a hoe and manually loosen the soil around the tree. Not deep. To a depth of 5-7 centimeters, so as not to damage the roots. The radius is the size of the tree crown. In this way, a layer of mulch is created from small lumps of earth, protecting the underlying layer from drying out in summer, and to some extent from freezing of the roots in winter. But this is not the best way.

The easiest way is to buy mulch at a specialty store and use it according to the instructions. On sale there is mulch made from pine and larch bark and some others. But if the garden is large, then this method is costly from a financial point of view.
Experienced farmers will prefer to use fallen leaves, humus, and compost. In the fall, you can add half-ripe manure. Before mulching, you need to free the soil from weeds. Add fertilizer if necessary. It is advisable to keep the soil moist.
Renew the mulch layer annually or every few years, depending on the material being mulched. Vegetable beds and flower beds are mulched 7-10 centimeters thick. Fruit trees and shrubs along the radius of the crown. From 5 cm at the edges of the tree trunk to 10-15 cm at the tree trunk.

Mulching the soil is carried out not only in the garden, but also in the greenhouse, greenhouse, and also for potted plants, including indoor flowers.

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Every gardener and gardener sooner or later comes across the term “mulch”.

Despite the fact that it sounds like the name of some evil insect pest, in fact it is a very useful, and sometimes irreplaceable thing in gardening.

Mulch is any material of organic or inorganic origin suitable for covering the surface of fertile soil. It is advisable to use them regardless of whether you are planning to grow peppers, potatoes or rose bushes - all plants will need a protective shelter.

Why do you need mulch?

The process of treating soil with mulch is called mulching and is carried out for: longer retention of moisture in the soil;

Protecting plants from weeds (mulch prevents them from germinating freely);

Preventing excessive soil overheating in summer and deep freezing in winter;

Why and how to mulch the soil correctly. Types of mulch

Protecting soil from erosion;

Preventing the formation of a compacted crust on the soil;

In order to maintain soil looseness;

Simplifying plant care; strengthening the root system of plants (covered with mulch form more adventitious roots).

Types of mulch

Based on its origin, mulch is divided into organic and inorganic. Both types can be used in open ground and in the greenhouse. Organic includes:

Compost. In addition to the fact that mulch protects upper layer soil from weathering, it also fertilizes it.

Sawdust, wood chips, bark. This type of mulch prevents the development of weeds and perfectly retains water from rapid evaporation. To obtain the most effective composition, experts advise either mixing dry ingredients with green grass, or soaking them with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Mown grass, hay, fallen leaves and weeds. Are the most accessible view mulch. They repel pests and, rotting over time, enrich the soil, which then produces a good harvest.

The downside to organic mulches is that they decompose fairly quickly and are also very attractive to insects, slugs, cutworms and birds, who use them as food. For this reason, these types of mulch sometimes need to be replaced several times a season.

Garden. Mulching the soil

Inorganic mulch can be pebbles, gravel, covering material (cardboard, polyethylene, roofing felt, garden non-woven fabric). Its most significant advantage is that it is durable (in most cases it practically does not decompose), is not interesting to pests and provides physical protection to plants. The downside is that it does not improve the soil composition.

Where to get mulch

There are many options for stocking up on mulch. Sawdust, wood chips or bark can be purchased in specialized stores or at a sawmill. This also applies to covering materials - cardboard, film, roofing felt and others.

Grass from lawns can easily be turned into hay for mulching, and leaves that fall in the fall should not be taken to a landfill, much less burned - all this will also become good mulch.

Mulch - where to get it in spring

Seed husks and food waste collected at the dacha over the winter will also work. Gravel can be found at road repair companies.

How to use mulch correctly

The use of each type of mulch differs in its small but important nuances. For example, some species are highly acidic and will accordingly increase the acidity of the soil. In this case, they can only be used for mulching those plants that “love” an acidic environment, or mixed with chalk or dolomite flour.

Sawdust cannot be used fresh - like cut grass and weeds, they must first be dried for three days, otherwise they will quickly become moldy. Fallen leaves may contain various spores and pest larvae, so they must be treated with a special solution before use.

For berry beds, it is better to use pine needles, hay or rotted sawdust as mulch - this way the berries will be protected from rotting and contamination. It is very effective to use mulching in cucumber beds. The editors of the site recommend, without waiting for the lashes to form, to lay the ridge with a layer of humus, and on top with hay.
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Mulching the soil is one of the effective agricultural practices of modern agriculture. To mulch the soil, sawdust, bark, grass, wood chips, straw, and covering materials are used. Mulch is used to grow strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, flowers, and a variety of ornamental crops.

Benefits of Mulching

1. Mulch prevents moisture evaporation in the area of ​​the plant's root system.
2. Mulching protects root system plants from extreme temperatures: overheating in summer and freezing in cold weather.
3. Organic mulch helps maintain optimal soil acidity (such as compost) and adds nutrients to the soil.
4. Mulch improves the structure of the soil, in other words, it acts as a soil conditioner.
5. Mulching retains nutrients in the soil and prevents them from weathering and leaching.
6. Organic mulch stimulates reproduction and effective work microorganisms in the soil.
7. Mulching is a kind of protection of plants from pests.
8. Mulch gives a neat appearance to the garden.
9. Mulch blocks weed growth.
10. After mulching, when watering, the soil is not splashed onto the leaves of the plants.

Mulching protects ripe fruits from contact with the soil surface, and therefore from the possibility of rotting processes. Mulching is especially recommended for beds with strawberries, pumpkins and cucumbers.

Cons of mulching

Remember that using mulch on the site can have negative consequences:

1. Too thick layer mulch in combination with heavy clay soils may begin to rot, especially in rainy weather. For such cases, the mulch layer should be within 2 - 3 centimeters.
2. The results of mulching do not appear immediately; the increase in yield is usually noticeable in 2–3 years.
3. It happens that plants covered with mulch on winter period, die from late frosts. This is because mulch insulates the soil's thermal radiation. Therefore, if late frosts are forecast, mulching should be postponed until spring.
4. Organic mulch: a good hiding place for moles and mice, which destroy young plants. Rich in earthworms and insects, mulch will attract birds. Slugs can also live in leaf or paper mulch.

Types of mulch

Mulching material can be organic or inorganic. Organic mulch gradually rots and helps enrich the soil with nutrients, improves its structure and optimizes acidity. The latter must be kept in mind, since changing the acid reaction of the soil is not always beneficial.

Inorganic mulch can be decorative - in the form of stone, slate, gravel, crushed stone, granite and marble chips, colored synthetic materials etc. Such mulch, along with practical ones, also solves aesthetic problems.

In the garden, garden covering material and colored film are used as mulch. Mulching covering material is often used with decorative plantings - it is combined with decorative inorganic or organic mulch (for example, non-woven material is laid underneath and bark is placed on top).

Examples of organic mulch: sawdust, bark, pine needles, wood chips, pine cones

• U garden compost neutral reaction, and a certain amount of useful substances in its composition constitute an excellent mulch.
• Leaf humus has a slightly acidic reaction and cannot be classified as a fertilizer, but it is an excellent soil conditioner. In addition to humus, half-rotted and dry leaves are also used.
• Rotted manure mixed with straw is an excellent mulch, and also a weak fertilizer.
• In bark, sawdust, shavings, chips and others wood materials weak acid reaction.
• Pine needles and other coniferous trees, peat and sleeping coffee have an acidic reaction and are suitable for use only for acidophilic plants (hydrangea, heather, camellia, etc.). You can agree on the amount of spent coffee in coffee shops (in some countries, bags of dried coffee are placed near the exit to the cafe especially for gardeners).
• Straw is a popular mulching material; it can retain heat in the soil and is used for growing strawberries, cucumbers and potatoes. True, when it rots, the level of nitrogen in the soil decreases, and this may require additional feeding nitrates.
• Grass clippings contain a lot of nitrogen, so they should be used sparingly for mulch; in addition, they heat up as they decompose and can also prevent air and water from penetrating into the soil.
• Crushed egg shells are alkaline, they contain a lot of calcium and are able to protect both fruit and ornamental crops from invasion of slugs and snails.

Chopped greens of yarrow, bracken, comfrey, nettle, and legumes are beneficial for their high nitrogen and macronutrient content.

What, how and at what time should you mulch?

Early spring is the optimal time for mulching the soil and planting. Before starting mulching, you should make sure that the soil is abundantly moistened, remove perennial weeds by their roots and apply the necessary fertilizers (if required). Mulching in spring period will protect plants from overheating and drying out roots in summer.

In the middle or at the end of autumn, when the soil is still quite warm and there is moisture left in it from the autumn rains, it is also good to mulch. Before starting work, remove large and perennial weeds, apply decomposing “winter” fertilizers such as bone meal, ash and the like, if necessary. Mulching done in the fall will protect the root system of plants from being exposed and prevent them from freezing in the winter.

Organic mulch should be renewed once a year or at least every few years, depending on the mulch material.

Flower beds and flower beds, decorative plantings and vegetable beds need to be mulched completely, placing mulch 8 to 10 centimeters thick around the plants.

Trees and shrubs should be mulched along the radius of their crown. They cover the entire space, starting from the trunk, the thickness of the layer is about 10 centimeters, the trunk and the grafting site remain untouched. You can water the plants under which the mulch is placed less often, but more abundantly, so that the mulching material gets wet properly, and then the soil under it is moistened.

Mulching can be used not only in the garden, but also in the greenhouse, greenhouse and potted plants. indoor plants.

Vegetable seedlings should be planted in a well-moistened bed (including a bulk compost bed), already equipped with covering material. For each individual plant, make holes in the film, placing them crosswise, then lift the film and plant the sprout in the hole. This option of mulching with film will prevent the roots of seedlings from drying out, suffocate weeds and protect against invasion garden pests. Plants are watered directly through the holes in the film, which helps save significant amounts of water - because you do not have to moisten the entire surface of the beds.

Mulching the soil

If you have a personal plot, every gardener or gardener knows that in order to maintain the growth and health of plants, it is necessary to mulch the soil. Let's figure out what it is mulch and where can I get it?

What is mulch?

Mulching involves the use of organic and inorganic materials to protect the soil in severe frosts and winds. It can be done DIY mulch using old sawdust for this, various leaves or weeds, straw, husks or composts. The prepared mixture should be rich in nutrients that are important for the growth of flowers, potatoes or vegetables.

Ordinary manure is excellent as mulch. In the fall, it needs to be removed to a specially designated place. And already in the spring, rich useful substances, it is perfect for mulching.

How to use mulch? Manure needs to be spread on beds, flower beds or around trees; after a while, with the help of ordinary worms, it will fall deep into the ground, feeding the roots of plants.

In addition to the main function of nutrition, mulch has a number of positive aspects for use:

Types of mulch

Amateur and professional gardeners divide the mulch into two large groups:

Inorganic mulch not only protective functions, but also decorative. Most often, gravel, ceramic chips, crushed stone, sand, shells, plastic or films are used for mulching.

Stone, marble or ceramic chips are a durable material that is used to decorate gardens and in areas with strong winds. The main advantage decorative mulch protection of the top layer of soil from weathering and crust formation is considered.

But with strong heating in the sun, stones can harm not only plant roots. Therefore, it is very important to carry out additional watering of the surface in the summer.

The photo shows soil mulching with gravel

Another method of inorganic mulching is the use of special mulch films. Non-woven fabric can be left under plants throughout the growing season. Main function agrotex or agril - preventing the appearance of weeds.

After conducting research and experiments, experts came to the conclusion that as a mulch film black suits better than colored. It warms the soil well, retains moisture, and prevents weeds from growing.

Before use, you need to make small holes in it for convenient watering and fertilizing. The only downside is the possibility of rotting roots under mulch.

Mulching the soil with film

Organic mulch turns into nutrients, which increase soil fertility. Currently exists a large number of varieties of mulch, but among them the most popular can be identified.

On every personal plot weeds grow, which quickly rot in hot weather. Before mulching, it must be slightly dried, and before laying the beds, it must be watered.

Grass mulch is laid in the spring: during this period, plants need nitrogen, which is released during decay. Suitable herbal mulch for strawberries, tomatoes.

Mulching the soil with grass

Pine mulch is able to absorb excess moisture and, when there is a lack of it, give it to the roots of plants, which prevents the process of rotting and dryness of the soil. In winter, needles protect the soil and roots from frost and weathering.

Mulching needs to be done in early spring, mulch is poured in a small layer of seven centimeters. Pine needles are used to nourish and protect the roots of trees, fruit and berry crops, and as landscape decoration.

Mulching the soil with pine needles

Bark mulch coniferous trees are able to regulate temperature regime soil, when watering, filter the water. The bark is safe for plants, as it does not promote the proliferation of pests. Appearance allows you to use the bark when decorating flower beds and gardens.

Bark mulching is suitable for all types of trees and plants, except tomatoes. This is due to the release of toxins that cause great harm to growth.

The photo shows soil mulching with tree bark

Coconut mulch in specialized stores it costs a decent amount. But durability, attractiveness and high ability to retain moisture have contributed to its widespread use.

Processed from coconut husks, the product has bactericidal properties. Mulch is used when decorating flower beds, flower beds, when planting vegetables, and even indoor plants.

Pictured is coconut husk mulch.

Almost every summer cottage or on a household plot they use manure mulch for potatoes. During the decay process, animal waste releases a large amount of substances useful for plant growth.

Potatoes over mulch reliably protected from exposure sun rays, weathering, gaining growth and strength. But when high temperature and lack of moisture, the tubers may begin to rot.

In the photo there are potatoes under mulch

How to make mulch yourself?

Mulch Can buy in specialized stores of any kind. When purchasing, the sales consultant will give advice on use and suggest what is best to purchase. The price of mulch depends on the manufacturer and product.

For example, film will cost you about 50 rubles per square meter, and a bag of pine bark, coconut flakes or decorative wood chips costs 350 rubles.

But you can make organic and inorganic mulch yourself without spending money on it. family budget. Use whatever you find on the property: grass clippings, sawdust, old hay, leaves, chicken droppings or manure.

The photo shows decorative wood mulch

For strawberry roots or very useful eggshell. Many gardeners even use paper, cardboard and newspaper, which can be found in every home, as mulch. A special film for mulching can be replaced with thick fabric.

Mulch reviews

Tatyana from Kaliningrad: - “I learned about mulching the soil several years ago and decided to try it. In the first year, I noted a number of positive aspects: there were practically no weeds, even in hot weather the soil under the mulch was moist, and in the fall I reaped a large harvest.”

Sergey from Anapa: “Before using mulch, you need to know which one is best suited for a certain plant. For example, when mulching strawberries, it is better to use film, and last year’s manure for potatoes and tomatoes.”

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