Wood shavings for mulching. Plum details. Cultivation, useful properties and variety selection. Sawdust properties when used in mulching

Material prepared by: Nadezhda Zimina, gardener with 24 years of experience, process engineer

Many do not know about the beneficial properties of sawdust, using them on their site only as mulch or insulation material. But with certain processing, sawdust can be used as a fertilizer. Rather, as the basis for an organic nutritional complex. The best way recycle them - pass through the compost. This will help to subsequently use them to enrich the earth with nutritious organic matter, and for the pre-winter hilling of heat-loving plants.

sawdust as fertilizer

It is absolutely impossible to make clean sawdust as a fertilizer! This is the most common mistake a gardener can make. Waste from the woodworking industry of small and medium fractions, introduced into the soil in its raw form, greatly impoverishes it, binding not only manure, but also part of the phosphorus contained in it.

If you follow the theory that recommends using sawdust as a fertilizer, then you need to make them in the fall. Like, they will pereperet during the winter, and by spring they will turn into a nutrient. But for the normal course of the process of decay, high temperatures are necessary, which are not observed in winter. Accordingly, the decay process is inhibited. sawdust in the spring garden plot thawed whole and unharmed, only well wet. This happens not only because the soil freezes, but also because there are a lot of phenolic resins in wood waste, which are preservatives.

Wood, in itself, is not a fertilizer, it contains only 1-2% nitrogen, the rest is ballast substances, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lingin, which form the plant stem and serve as conductors of nutrients dissolved in the liquid. However, when it lies down, various microorganisms settle on the surface, which saturate the wood with useful substances. If the sawdust lie for 2-3 years in one place in the garden, they begin to turn black - this is a sign of the formation of humus. Putting wood into compost helps to speed up this process, where it is processed and enriched with various nutrients.

Compost enriched with sawdust matures faster as they help build and maintain high temperature. In spring, this pile warms up rather than traditional humus. The resulting substrate is usually looser, more breathable, and more nutritious. Its use helps to more effectively fertilize the soil with sawdust.

How to make sawdust compost

It is best to lay the pile at the beginning of summer, when there is already material for composting, and there is still time for this substrate to rot. Sawdust compost is prepared from the following ingredients:

  • Wood sawdust - 200 kg;
  • -2.5 kg;
  • Water - 50 l;
  • -10 l;
  • , leaves, household waste - 100 kg.

Urea is dissolved in water, and this solution is used to spill a "pie" consisting of layers of wood chips, grass, and ash.

Another Sawdust Compost Recipe Include More Organics, and is used for plants that require the introduction of significant doses of nitrogen. You can prepare it like this:

  • Oak sawdust - 200 kg;
  • Cow manure - 50 kg;
  • Grass cut - 100 kg;
  • Food waste, any feces - 30 kg;
  • Humates - 1 drop per 100 liters of water.

Fertilizing the soil with sawdust fresh also sometimes used, but with mandatory enrichment with mineral fertilizers, otherwise wood waste“suck out” all useful substances from the earth. The following mixing ratios are recommended:

  1. Wood sawdust - a bucket (coniferous sawdust is not recommended for direct application);
  2. - 40 g;
  3. simple granular - 30 g;
  4. Slaked lime - 120 g;
  5. Calcium chloride - 10 g.

The resulting mixture is applied during digging, under crops that need loose soil, at the rate of 2-3 buckets per 1 sq.m.

Mulching with sawdust

The use of small chips as mulch has long been practiced by domestic gardeners. Many gardeners use this method of cultivating the surface of the earth in the country to suppress weeds, conserve moisture and improve soil structure.

Very often, the passages between the beds are covered with sawdust, thus preventing weeds from germinating. Also, this substrate is used for, after high hilling, sprinkling the formed furrows with it. This layer keeps the soil between the rows in a moist state, which has a positive effect on the yield. Moisture is well preserved under the sawdust, and the soil does not overheat, which creates optimal conditions for potatoes.

Often grown using wood chips small fractions. Coniferous sawdust is used not only to fertilize the land in a composted form, but also as a biofuel. They are laid at the foundation high beds, and well watered with slurry. Then the garden bed is built up with earth, and the heat source, which is created by wood waste that is mixed with manure, warms it up qualitatively throughout the season.

- Another fan of mulching with sawdust. They help this shrub retain moisture at the roots, which allows you to increase the number of berries during fruiting, and improve them. taste qualities. Thanks to this method, raspberries can grow in one place for up to 10 years, since their root system does not dry out, and, accordingly, does not degrade.

Almost all plants can be mulched with sawdust, subject to additional application. After all, even covering the soil superficially, wood shavings draw useful nutrients from it quite strongly. But at the same time, she creates comfortable conditions, which allow plants to grow and develop better, so there are much more advantages from sawdust mulching than disadvantages.

Video: mulching beds with sawdust using strawberries as an example

Sawdust as a baking powder for the soil

Why do many gardeners, despite their low nutritional value, still use sawdust as fertilizer in their gardens? They are an inexpensive and easy-to-transport substrate that has a large volume with a small mass. But, since it takes time to process them into nutrient-rich organic matter, sawdust is often used fresh to loosen the soil. They are brought in:

  1. In greenhouses, when preparing a soil mixture for cucumbers and, after mixing with (3 buckets of sawdust, 3 kg of rotted cow dung and 10 liters of water).
  2. Overripe sawdust can be applied when digging the soil in the garden. It will become loose and there will be no need in frequent watering, and in the spring such soil will thaw faster.
  3. This woody substrate can be dug into the aisles when planting vegetables with a long growing season. This will enable the plant roots to use the space between the rows, under the thickness of the trampled earth.

Sawdust as a covering material

Residues from wood processing in the garden are used not only as fertilizers and mulch. Also sawdust in demand as a covering material. They are used in different ways. For example, stuffed into bags and wrapped around the roots and shoots of plants. Such shelter is considered the most reliable.

U, grapes and clematis, which are left on the beds, protect the vines bent to the ground, covering them with a layer of sawdust along the entire length. So that field mice do not have time to get under the covering substrate, it is necessary to add it late autumn, just before the frosts, otherwise the rodents will spoil all the plants during the winter. It would be even better to make an air-dry shelter over the wintering shoots. To do this, they knock together a frame from boards in the form of an inverted box, and fill it with sawdust on top, then put a plastic film, and put a layer of earth on top. The construction of such a mound gives an almost 100% guarantee of protecting the plant from any cold weather. Sawdust for insulation must be used very carefully. If they are used as a "wet" shelter, when the mound is not protected from water, they get wet, and then freeze into an ice ball. Such insulation is suitable only for a small number of plants, the rest under it can rot.

But what a rose is for death is for good. It winters well under a “wet” shelter made of pine sawdust, since the phenolic resins contained in their composition perfectly protect this plant from pests and diseases.

Coarse sawdust can be used as a heat insulator by laying it in the base of the planting pits. They will serve as a barrier to deep cold when planting southerners such as grapes and flowering vines.

This is interesting: seedlings of cucumbers in hot sawdust (video)

Sawdust- a very valuable organic matter, the place of which experienced gardener will always find.

Today we will talk about mulching beds with sawdust. And so sawdust can still be composted, covered with them garden paths, use as a substrate for growing seedlings, store vegetables (carrots, beets) and other root crops (dahlias for example) in them.

Let's talk about myths.

Many gardeners shy away from sawdust, as they heard something somewhere that they take nitrogen from the soil!

And that's it! Don't give us such a blood-drinker!

But not everything is so simple! Gardeners do major mistake. What? Read more...

In no case do not use sawdust from chipboard and chipboard!


A bed mulched with sawdust with garlic, tulips, peonies.






Fresh sawdust only for mulch.

On sawdust, during decomposition (rotting), microorganisms, various bacteria and fungi multiply, which use nitrogen.

But it is harmful if the sawdust is DIRECTLY in the soil! And then temporarily, after the sawdust is overheated, the borrowed nitrogen returns to its place.

If the sawdust is on the ground, then theoretically they cannot take anything out of it!

For reference: the air contains nitrogen - 78%, oxygen - 21%, carbon dioxide- 0.0392%, and the rest is accounted for by other gases.

Therefore, feel free to use sawdust for mulch! And if you periodically water them with a bio-cocktail, then there will be nothing to think about at all!

What do we mulch.

Actually everything. Sawdust can be used especially well for raspberries, garden fruit trees, flowers (tulips, roses, etc.), carrots, very good garlic and onions. We mulch the garlic in the fall so that it does not freeze out as well.

Very good for mulching garden strawberries. But more on that...


We mulch garden strawberries.

Strawberries are very good at this procedure.

If you have a lot of weeds in your beds and you are tired of fighting them, use this technology.

We weed out the garden. We take old newspapers and spread them between strawberries in 2-3 overlapping layers. Then we fill everything with sawdust, a layer of 3-5 cm. That's it. You can forget about weeding. After overheating this cake for 1.5-2 years, we repeat the procedure.

It is better to use not small sawdust, but small chips. It is less caked, it passes air better, and as a result, it decomposes faster.


What sawdust is better.

As we have already said, we do not use sawdust from chipboard, etc., since they are ARTIFICIALLY saturated with all sorts of resins and other muck.

The rest of the sawdust will do!

Sawdust of deciduous trees will overheat faster, therefore, if possible, we give preference to them.

But sawdust conifers fit.

Well, that's all in a nutshell.

We will talk about the use of sawdust in the preparation of compost in a separate article.



  1. Harm of wood waste
  2. What sawdust to use
  3. Several fertilizer recipes
  4. Recipe 1: wood and ash
  5. Fertilizer from fresh sawdust
  6. Mulching according to the rules
  7. Strawberries and wild strawberries
  8. How to cover roses
  9. Sawdust for seedlings

Mulching - surface covering of the soil of the garden and vegetable garden with mulch, which can be crushed bark, pine needles, sawdust and others natural materials. This agricultural technique avoids many health problems. cultivated plants on the ground and in the greenhouse. The use of sawdust as a mulch leads to amazing results in the development of a plant, but only if certain rules are followed.

Properties of wood chips and shavings

Sawdust mulch is suitable for use on all types of soil.

What is good about this material:

  • It does not release moisture from the ground, thereby helping to maintain the balance of water in the dry season and in hot areas.
  • Does not allow weeds to grow. This is one of the main reasons for the use of wood waste as a mulching powder.
  • Fresh sawdust is used as bedding for berries - the smell of wood repels some pests from the fruit, and small chips keep strawberries and strawberries clean.
  • Mulching the soil allows the roots of some plants to survive the winter.
  • Wood chips serve as fertilizer. True, for this you need to fulfill some conditions.

It is worth noting that mulching with sawdust cannot be done in the form in which they are. The fact is that wood does not saturate the soil with useful substances, but, on the contrary, draws them out, like a sponge. Sawdust material becomes useful if it is added to the main mixtures for fertilizer or kept for a year or two in a compost heap. At this time, bacteria settle on the surface of the chips, which saturate the wood with useful microelements released during decay and reproduction of microflora.

What are the benefits and possible harm?

Sawdust is often used by gardeners to improve the quality of plant life, but not always a person knows about the true benefits of taking it and is unable to accurately assess its harm. However, in most cases, a positive effect is still obtained from their use.

Advantages of sawdust:

  • With proper preparation, an excellent humus is obtained, similar in properties to traditional manure, which, as you know, costs a lot.
  • Sawdust scattered on paths in the garden prevents the spread of weeds.
  • Retain moisture in the soil, especially in spring. To do this, it is necessary to mulch the ground in the fall.
  • Contribute to the natural aeration of the soil a few years after use.
  • Coniferous shavings and chips practically do not tolerate pathogenic microbes, which eliminates the risk of plant infection.

Harm of wood waste

  • Sawdust in its pure form is not fertilizer. They absorb minerals from the soil, and the soil becomes depleted. From the fertile layer, nitrogen is drawn out, which is necessary for the vital activity of microorganism.
  • Fresh sawdust oxidizes the soil.
  • The use of sawdust of unknown origin can lead to infection of plants with diseases. To eliminate this risk, material should not be taken from dubious sources.

What sawdust to use

Shavings different trees Not suitable for all plants

  • Good for crops waste deciduous trees, except for oak.
  • Conifers saturate the soil with acid, therefore they are accepted only by lovers of such an environment - tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and others.

Several fertilizer recipes

Sawdust in its pure form is used only for filling paths in order to retain moisture and stop the development of weeds. In other cases, the preparation of raw materials is required.

In order for sawdust in the garden to become useful, they need to rot. For the desired condition, they will have to lie down for at least 10 years in a heap, while the bacteria process the wood into a useful substrate. You can speed up the process - you need to make compost from sawdust. In combination with manure and additional additives, the fertilizer ripens faster due to thermoregulation in the desired range and preservation sufficient level humidity.

We offer several recipes for making fertilizer from sawdust, which are used by gardeners throughout the country. It is recommended to bookmark from the beginning of summer as the necessary material arrives.

Recipe 1: wood and ash

Lay down:

  • Wood sawdust - 200 kg;
  • Urea rich in nitrogen (up to 47%) - 2.5 kg per pile;
  • Ash necessary for alkalization of the soil - 10 kg;
  • Water - 50 liters;
  • Grass, food waste and drains - up to 100 kg.

Shavings and grass are laid in layers, ash is added and the “pie” is poured with urea dissolved in water. You can cover the pile with polyethylene film, but small pores should remain on the surface: this way the temperature and humidity level will be optimal, and oxygen will remain available.

Recipe 2: Enriched with organics

For poor soil that requires a significant dose of fertilizer, prepare this compost from sawdust:

  • Wood waste - 200 kg;
  • Cow dung - 50 kg;
  • Fresh cut grass - 100 kg;
  • Organic waste (food, feces) - 30 kg;
  • Humates - 1 drop per 100 liters of water (no more).

When this fertilizer ripens, a significant amount of nitrogen is released.

Fertilizer from fresh sawdust

As already mentioned, fresh sawdust does not benefit the soil as a fertilizer for the garden. If you have not done composting in advance, but it is necessary to saturate the soil, use a sawdust mixture with the following additives per bucket of wood chips:

  1. Ammonium nitrate - 40 g;
  2. Granular superphosphate - 30 g;
  3. Slaked lime - 120 g (glass);
  4. Calcium chloride - 10 g.

The mixture must be infused for 2 weeks. To do this, spread polyethylene on the street and sprinkle the ingredients on it.

Mix, leave to highlight necessary elements and holding chemical reactions. After that, add the resulting mixture to the soil when digging the beds. The earth will receive a sufficient dose of ammonia, the acid-base balance of the soil is leveled, the release useful substances will occur immediately after the first watering. Fertilize the soil should be in the amount of 2-3 buckets per 1 square meter site. This procedure contributes to the natural loosening of the soil.

Mulching according to the rules

Sawdust in the country is useful not only to speed up the composting process, but also to winter shelter plants, their fertilizers and protection against pests.

Prepared sawdust as a mulch is good to use in the first half of summer, when seedlings and plants are just gaining strength, they need protection from weeds, soil moisture loss and disease attacks. By the middle of summer, there will be no obvious trace of the powder - it will be mixed with the earth by rains and worms.

Basically, sawdust saturated with fertilizers is lined in the aisles. This must be done between beds with tomatoes, potato rows and other plants.

Other vegetables grown in the garden - onions, carrots, beets, garlic, turnips - also need a protective powder. It must be done after picking, when the plantings are thinned out and have reached a height of 5–7 cm, for them a layer of sawdust is lined by 3–4 cm.

Raspberries are one of the main lovers of mulching in the garden. It is necessary to maintain the soil moisture necessary for tying berries. Prepared sawdust is plentifully poured under the bushes.

Strawberries and wild strawberries

Is it possible to mulch strawberries with sawdust? The answer is unequivocal - you need it, just like strawberries. This procedure is useful for berries:

  • Sawdust keeps the moisture balance in the soil.
  • Tender fruits remain clean without touching the ground.
  • Slugs and snails do not crawl on the berries.

For mulching, clean sawdust without impurities is needed, but before the procedure it is important to saturate the soil with minerals and fertilize well to prevent the impoverishment of the fertile layer. The material used can be mixed with urea in the above proportions.

Sawdust is moistened and laid out under the bushes, under each branch and between the stems. The layer thickness should be 5–7 cm. This work is presented in the video.

Backfilling is done when the seedlings are already rooted and have gained a height of more than 7 cm. Mulching strawberries with sawdust for the winter will help perennial plant it is better to survive the cold and keep the root system intact.

How to cover roses

Gardeners say: “A rose is a child of manure,” because sawdust is necessary for it as a fertilizer, but they are not suitable as a protective layer. Such mulch does not have sufficient heat-retaining performance.

Shelter of roses with sawdust can be used for wintering only in combination with other, more effective materials. The expert will talk about it in detail in the video.

Sawdust for seedlings

Tomatoes and other seedlings now often appear in the garden not as seeds, but as ready-made seedlings. They can also be bred in small wood waste - such an environment is more favorable for a tender seed than soil.

How to properly organize the process:

  1. Moistened small chips are poured into a flat container.
  2. Seeds are planted, generously filled with fertilizer, since there is nothing nutritious in the sawdust.
  3. Cover with a film, make holes for air and expose to the sun.
  4. When sprouts appear, soil is poured on top so that the plant gets used to it.

Then, as they grow, the seedlings are transferred to a separate pot already with summer cottage soil.

The advantage of germinating seeds in wood material- a loose environment that allows the root system of seedlings to develop intensively, but only if there is an adequate supply of nutrients.

Many gardeners and gardeners have long been practicing such an agricultural technique as mulching. Thanks to him, many problems are solved in the economy various problems. What does mulching mean and how to do it with sawdust? We will try to answer this question in this article.

The technology of using mulching, as one of the most effective agricultural practices, has long been recognized by many amateur and professional gardeners. Mulching refers to covering the upper soil horizon or layer with mulch.

Can be used as mulch various materials organic and inorganic origin.

This technique helps to protect the soil and the plants in it from winter cold and also contributes to the improvement of its structure. For getting high yield and maintaining the health of the plant organism is simply impossible to do without mulching.

In most cases, mulch can be films, fallen autumn leaves and various bulk materials. As for the fallen autumn leaves is a good covering material of organic origin. The film type of covering material is also widely used by gardeners; it can be purchased at many retail outlets. Loose mulch is mostly organic materials of varying composition.

AT national economy the function of loose mulch can be performed by:

  • Peat.
  • Potato peelings.
  • Husks of plants.
  • Compost.
  • Sawdust and more.

Mulching the soil and plants for the winter is one of the main activities that contribute to the preservation of plant life during the winter frosts. Thanks to the use of this agrotechnical method, spring moisture is retained in the soil by absorbing materials. And as you know, without it, it will be difficult for plants to start growing after a long period of rest.

Mulching features:

  1. Many gardeners and gardeners use mulch as an excellent fighter against growing weeds. For these purposes, they late spring do not remove the covering material, resulting in a significant slowdown in growth weeds on these soils.
  2. By practicing mulching in your summer cottage, you can create additional protection plant roots from summer overheating, as well as from winter hypothermia. This is very important to ensure the growth of the plant organism during these periods.
  3. At the same time, mulching helps protect berry and vegetable crops from soil pollution. So, using a covering material on the soil, it is possible to prevent contamination of fragile strawberries with soil particles. Thus, the berries will be clean, and they will not need to be thoroughly washed from particles of dirt with numerous microorganisms.
  4. Mulching technology favorably affects the protection of the upper fertile soil layer from spring leaching. This is especially important for gardeners, whose plots are not on flat ground, but on various kinds slopes. This will preserve the nutrients in the soil.
  5. Many organic materials used as mulch provide a favorable environment for soil organisms such as earthworms. Moving and mixing material organic mulch with the upper soil horizon, are created good conditions for the life of such worms, whose benefits for plant growth are simply invaluable.
  6. Mulching helps to create a protective layer on the surface of the earth, thanks to which a hard crust does not form on it. And as you know, it prevents the penetration of moisture and air into the lower soil layers, thereby inhibiting the germination and growth of plants available in this area.
  7. And the most amazing advantage of mulching is its use as a decoration for your site. For these purposes, a special decorative mulch is produced, which creates the effect of plants being on the site in late autumn or early spring.

All of the above advantages, which are provided by the use of such agrotechnical measure, like mulching, can solve many problems with plant growth and facilitate the work of gardeners and gardeners.

The use of sawdust as a mulch has long been used by many plant growers. And this is no accident! After all, sawdust mulch has many advantages that allow gardeners to choose it as a covering material in the winter.

Consider the main advantages of soil mulching with sawdust:

  • Firstly, the use of sawdust mulch is one of the cheapest materials for this technology. For those who live near forest plantations, where there is a lot of dead wood, it is not difficult to prepare sawdust. And if any of the woodworking enterprises is located next to you, then when you come there, you will be generously presented with this material of any kind.
  • Secondly, sawdust, especially coniferous ones, are not favorable environment for the multiplication of various pathogens. This advantage allows us to consider sawdust as a good sterile material. Fresh sawdust repels many crop pests, especially snails and slugs. The rough surface of sawdust is unbearable for their movement.
  • Thirdly, by using sawdust materials as mulch on your site, you contribute to the saturation of the soil layer with spring moisture. The amount of this moisture especially increases when sawdust of the smallest sizes is used. Providing the soil with these hygroscopic properties is favorable for early plant growth. In addition, the small sizes of sawdust are quickly impregnated not only with moisture, but also with solutions of liquid fertilizers, while they themselves decompose faster. Thus, the use of sawdust will not only preserve the plants during the winter cold, but also contributes to the saturation of the soil with moisture.

Mulching the soil layer with sawdust is one of the best heat-insulating materials. Many of us insulate with the help of sawdust our summer cottages and buildings.

Wood waste not only serves as a good insulation material, but also contribute to the passage of air through itself, which is necessary for the growth and development of the plants under it.

So, having considered the main advantages of sawdust mulch, we can conclude that its use solves many problems in agricultural cultivation various plants. In addition, the technology for using this type of mulch is very simple and affordable.

By its structure, sawdust mulch can be different sizes, composition and time of manufacture. In this regard, it may have some differences in properties. Based on this fact, each type of sawdust mulch should be used for its intended purpose.

Many users of this material as a mulching have noticed that semi-rotted sawdust is the most favorable. Usually they have taupe color and they are also called "horse" sawdust. This name is associated with the place where they lie, usually they are taken out of the places where horses are kept (stables), where they used to play the role of bedding. The secondary use of sawdust in this way makes their presence on the farm mandatory. By structure, they are of medium size, due to which they do not cake and ensure the penetration of moisture and air into the lower layers of the earth.

Sawdust that is very small in size should not be used on the beds, as they can cake into lumps and form a crust on the soil surface.

Using large-sized sawdust as mulch contributes to the formation of a very thick and rather loose sawdust layer on the surface of the earth. Such a layer is quite difficult to compact, as the stems of plants in it may suffer. Therefore, the structure of the sawdust mulch directly depends on the age of the plants to be covered: the finer the structure of the sawdust, the younger the plant organisms to be covered. Larger sawdust should not be thrown away, considering them not the right material. They are well suited for sheltering for the winter growing near the house. ornamental shrubs or fruit trees.

Freshly made sawdust mulch is ideal for covering strawberry and strawberry plants. The outgoing smell of fresh wood is unpleasant and has a deterrent effect on many types of garden and garden pests. For example, using wood waste from coniferous trees on carrot beds as mulch, you can forget about such a pest as a carrot fly, because its coniferous aroma is very unpleasant. Sawdust also protects the berries lying on them from soil dirt.

For strawberries, sawdust is successfully used as a covering material. The technology of mulching them in the beds is very simple. First you need to weed all the beds from the weeds on them. Next, you need to spread layers of newsprint between the strawberry bushes.

Typically, newspapers are spread in two layers to provide extra strength. These layers are covered with prepared sawdust, up to five centimeters thick. Mulching completed. Now the beds will not only be protected from the winter cold, saved from the loss of spring moisture, but will not need additional weeding.

More information can be found in the video.

Few gardeners will dispute the most valuable properties of such a fertilizer as manure, but not every gardener will be able to afford it. In this case, the perfect solution would be to use sawdust in the garden. First, there is great amount options for their use, secondly, they are much cheaper than manure, and, thirdly, they are an excellent enriching material for the soil. However, before applying given material, it is worth familiarizing yourself with its effect on the soil.

Using sawdust as mulch

The most important thing that a gardener should know is to use sawdust in the form in which they cannot be eaten. Fresh sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil, as a result, plants may die.

But if you add rotted or semi-rotted material, the soil will acquire the quality of airtightness and will absorb moisture well, besides, it will practically not be covered with a crust, which means it will not need to be loosened.

The difficulty lies in the fact that in order to acquire the necessary properties, sawdust needs to lie in the open air for more than ten years. You can speed up this process if you add the material in small portions to compost or manure, and also if you use it as mulch after enrichment with nitrogen.

The mulching layer is laid out 3–5 cm wide. To pre-prepare fresh sawdust, you need to spread the film, pour three buckets of sawdust on top of it, then add 200 g of urea and pour water from a ten-liter watering can, evenly distributing the liquid.

After that, lay out another layer in the same sequence and so on. The resulting "pie" must be closed with an airtight film, pressed down with stones and wait two weeks.

It should be noted that when using sawdust of local species in in large numbers, the soil can become acidic, so it should be additionally limed.

A sawdust mulching layer is best used in early summer, during the period of active evaporation of moisture. During this period, until the second half of summer, he will have time to qualitatively mix with the soil.

But the ability of sawdust mulch to prevent the evaporation of excess moisture from the soil in the second half of summer will Negative influence for the maturation of plants and their preparation for winter. At first, it can be difficult for novice gardeners to determine right amount mulch. If the layer turned out to be too large and still did not mix with the soil in the middle of summer, then it must be loosened.

Sawdust is indispensable as a mulching layer on strawberry beds. They protect plantings from freezing, help fight weeds, protect plants from gray rot and repel weevil. Fresh sawdust is best for mulching. coniferous trees treated with urea.

Other ways to use sawdust

Sawdust is great for use in greenhouses and greenhouses. You can bring them into the ridges in spring and autumn, mixing with other soil fragments. achieve high yield it is possible if, with the onset of autumn, the remains of straw, leaves, grass, tops are laid on the ridges and left until spring. With her arrival, add fresh manure there, sprinkle lime and fresh sawdust on top and mix well. Lay some straw on top, a layer of soil with the addition of ash and mineral fertilizers. At the end of the work, pour the ridges with boiling water and cover with a film.

As already mentioned, fresh sawdust is not suitable for the soil. It makes sense to compost them, which takes about a year. To do this, sawdust is mixed with manure, bird droppings, grass clippings, hay, fallen leaves, kitchen waste, etc., mixing the mixture well, which must be periodically moistened and kept covered throughout the year.

Manure, in the absence, can be replaced with diluted mullein, a solution of bird droppings or urea. It will need 200 g for 3 buckets of sawdust. Before laying the compost, it must be thoroughly moistened with slurry or kitchen waste.

Sawdust is an ideal soil for growing seeds

Sowing them in stale sawdust, you can be sure that the plant will tolerate the transplant painlessly, and the root system will develop quickly.

For sowing, you will need a shallow container, which will need to be filled with wet sawdust. After sowing, it is necessary to check several times a day whether the seeds are dry. If the gardener does not have such an opportunity, then it is better to cover the seeds on top with another layer of sawdust to prevent them from drying out.

Then the container should be covered plastic bag leaving it slightly ajar. During the germination period, the temperature in the containers should be maintained at 25 - 30 degrees.

When seedlings appear, the temperature should be reduced to about 20 degrees during the day, and to 14 at night, depending on which plants are grown. Packages can be removed with the appearance of the first shoots. Sawdust will need to be sprinkled with a layer fertile soil half a centimeter and put the container under the lamp daylight. Transplantation must be carried out with the appearance of the first leaf, since sawdust does not contain the nutrients necessary for the plant.

Potatoes in sawdust

Sawdust will help those who wish to grow excellent early harvest potatoes. To do this, you need a couple of boxes, potato tubers germinated in the light and moistened sawdust.

Fill the box with sawdust with a layer of ten centimeters, put the tubers there with sprouts upside down, pour the same layer three centimeters thick on top. The temperature of the substrate should not exceed 20 degrees, it should be moderately moist all the time.

It will be possible to plant potatoes when the height of the sprouts reaches eight centimeters. The earth must be well warmed up, for which it must be covered plastic wrap. Previously, the sprouts will need to be watered with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers and planted with soil in the holes.

Then the entire area will need to be covered with straw and again covered with foil. Potatoes planted this way will sprout a few weeks earlier than usual.