What leaves from trees can mulch the ground. What can be mulched in the fall - options for every taste. Mulching with sawdust or wood chips

Application organic mulch inhibits the growth of weeds, retains moisture in the soil, protects the soil from hypothermia in winter and overheating in summer, promotes better development plants, in a word - mulching greatly facilitates the maintenance of the garden and vegetable garden in proper condition. As the mulch decomposes, nutrients are supplied to the soil, which are necessary both for the soil itself and for the plants growing on it. To get the most benefit from using mulch, you need to know what to use as mulch, and when and how to mulch your plantings.
Mowed grass. If the grass has been treated with herbicides or weeds have inseminated, then it cannot be used as mulch. Freshly cut grass is rich in nitrogen and other substances necessary for plant growth.
Grass mulch enriches sandy soil organic matter. In a temperate and cold climate, grass mulch is applied under heat-loving crops (peppers, tomatoes, eggplants) only after the soil has warmed up, then grass cutting, like no other mulch of organic origin, has a beneficial effect on the quantity and quality of the crop.
Compost. Compost is an excellent soil structure and provides plants with the nutrients they need to grow. Living microbes destroy disease-causing microbes in the soil, so mulching with compost prevents the development of plant diseases. Two to three centimeters on the surface of the soil more reliably protects plants from diseases than any proprietary chemical fungicide.
Tomatoes and roses are the most susceptible to disease, so they should be mulched with compost.
Compost suppresses weeds as well as leaf mulch and straw, but the weeds that grow through the compost grow to gigantic sizes. Compost is completely safe and ideal for weed control of any vegetable crop.
To suppress weed growth with compost, add a layer of grass clippings on top or place newsprint under the compost to prevent light from reaching the weed seeds.
If there is a lot of compost, then it must be used everywhere!
Newsprint. Black and white and colored newspaper mulch is completely safe because it does not contain chemicals that pose a threat to the garden. Newspaper mulch is very effective for weed control - in an area covered with a 15 cm layer of crushed mulch newsprint, grows up to only eight weeds per square meter. The same layer of newsprint suppresses weed growth two years in a row.
Although some of the nitrogen in the mulched soil is used to dissolve the cellulose in the newsprint, there are no signs of nitrogen deficiency for the plants. The yield of tomatoes from a plot mulched with newspaper cutting with a layer of 15-20 cm exceeds the yield from a plot mulched with straw with a layer of 10-15 cm.
Raspberry bushes treated with shredded newsprint bear fruit better than bushes from the area covered with black film. Newspaper mulch is good for seedlings immediately after planting in the ground and for new shoots. To prevent newspaper clippings from being carried by the wind, cover them with leaves, mowed grass, straw or compost with a layer of 2-3 cm.
Kraft paper. The heavy brown wrapping paper used to make bags is a more effective weed control than newspaper mulch. Not a single weed will grow through one sheet of cardboard or one or two sheets of kraft paper, because the soil will be reliably covered from the light. A few days before planting the seedlings in the ground, cover the soil with kraft paper lightly sprinkled with used frying oil, and the soil under it will warm up by three degrees, while the soil under the black film will warm up by less than two degrees.
Bark. Bark mulch is the most durable of all organic mulches, only 30% of pine bark mulch rots in two years. Bark mulch is very attractive in appearance, so it is used in flowerbeds, flower beds, beds to give them a unique look. colors. Bark mulch does not hold water well compared to other types of mulch because the bark is high in paraffins and suberin. Bark mulch protects the soil well from overheating - the temperature of the soil under a layer of pine bark at the peak of the summer heat is much lower than under any other organic mulch. Bark mulch cannot be used to mulch tomatoes - the bark of softwood trees (particularly spruce) emits toxic volatiles, which can harm tomato bushes.
Wood chip. For mulching perennial flower beds, you can successfully use wood chips, which are slightly inferior in durability to bark mulch. Chip mulch is good at suppressing weeds, keeping the soil from overheating, and retaining water. The blade is quite durable. Required not less than a year so that it rots completely. Woodchip mulch is ideal for paths and is great for all areas where the soil is rarely tilled and little to no digging. You can not sprinkle the soil around the plants with wood chips that have a sour, acetic smell: if the plants are mulched with such wood chips, they can die in two hours.
The sour, vinegary smell is due to acetic acid and other substances that are released during the decay of wood chips without access to oxygen.
To be able to use "sour" wood chips, it is scattered thin layer and dry well for at least two to three days: as soon as the dried wood chips stop smelling, they are used as mulch.
Needles coniferous plants. The use of needles of coniferous plants for mulching plantings, even with a layer of 7.5 cm, does not lead to a change in soil acidity. Very responsive to mulching with "litter" of coniferous forest raspberries - its yield is increased by 2 times. branches coniferous trees take cover pansies when the ground freezes and the plants stop growing and blooming; when the air temperature gets above zero in spring, remove the branches and the pansies will soon bloom again.
Straw. By regulating the moisture level in the soil, straw mulch prevents the development of petal rot of tomatoes and protects them from anthracnose, leaf spot and early rot, because it is a barrier between fruits and pathogenic microbes in the soil. Mulching potatoes with a layer of straw 8-10 cm thick allows you to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle - straw helps reduce soil temperature and makes it difficult for adults to move. Potatoes are mulched with straw when leaves appear on the tops. Harvest of potatoes in areas mulched with straw is 40% higher.
Straw-mulched basil leaves are tastier than those mulched with other materials. Straw-mulched blackberry bushes quadruple the yield. Straw allows you to save carrots, potatoes and parsnips left in the ground for the winter - it does not freeze the soil and prevents soil compaction, which facilitates harvesting. Bulbs of winter garlic feel great under a layer of straw mulch - they are mulched in the fall, when the bulbs take root, and the straw is left until harvest. The number of weeds in the area mulched with straw is reduced by 30%.
Leaf litter. The easiest way to mulch plantings in the fall is to use the leaf litter of wild trees and shrubs. With the collected leaves, you can immediately mulch the beds with plantings of perennials and bulbous flowers, this should be done after the ground freezes. Leaf mulch prevents plants from sprouting during thaws - if there is no such protection, then during thaws perennials and bulbous can start to grow and die with the onset of subsequent frosts. Opal leaf is good for mulching winter garlic. Autumn mulching shrubs and trees reduces the risk of frost damage to the root system. In the spring, leaf mulch prevents the germination of weeds, retains moisture in the soil, and serves as a source of nutrition. When the leaf rots, the temperature under the mulch layer is 2-3 degrees higher than the soil temperature, which favorably affects the growth of plants. After two years, the leaf completely rots, so mulching should be repeated periodically. It is best to apply the leaves in a crushed and slightly overripe form - such a mulch attracts earthworms. Before planting any plants in the soil in the spring, foliage that has rotted over the winter should be introduced. In spring, the leaf is used for mulching cabbage crops - cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. The cover of leaves introduced in spring cools the soil and leads to a decrease in the yield of heat-loving crops, so tomatoes and peppers are mulched only after the soil has warmed up. A sheet for spring mulching is prepared in the fall; they collect a leaf in the forest and near the site, lay it in barrels or a shallow but wide pit, the bottom of which is lined with plastic wrap. Sheet for mulching strawberries and vegetable crops pour infusion of manure with the addition of 100-150 g of urea per barrel, which is covered with a film; urea kills fungal diseases, and the leaf is saturated with the nutrients in the manure. for shrubs and fruit trees instead of manure, you can use feces, which are disinfected during the winter; the thickness of the mulch layer for these crops should be 10-12 cm. To prevent the wind from spreading the mulch, it is sprinkled with sand. Sheet mulch has disadvantages: slugs love to hide in it; as the foliage decomposes, it forms a lot of free acids that acidify the soil; to neutralize these acids, lime or ash must be added in an amount of 2-3% by weight of the mulch.
Mulch from leaves, grass, compost, softwood needles, straw protects the soil from overheating. It is used in the spring after the emergence of legumes and greens.
Mulch for tomatoes, peppers and eggplants is applied when the soil warms up to + 18 ° C.
Pine needle mulch increases yield
eggplant by 20%.
Wood chips and bark are recommended to be applied to bare soil,
before the weeds sprout - it is better to keep the weeds from sprout than to prevent their growth.
Wood chips and bark are recommended to sprinkle flower beds with
perennials, as well as paths.
Needles of coniferous plants and compost are laid in a layer of 35 cm.
Newspapers and kraft paper are placed in two layers or in crushed form with a layer of 15 cm.
N. Shelestov

In autumn, the time of leaf fall comes and, in connection with this, every autumn, dear gardeners, we are tormented by the same question: how better use fallen leaves?

Collect it or not? Take it out of the site or store it in a compost heap, plant it in beds, bury it away from the garden or burn it?

Collection fallen leaves takes not only a lot of energy from summer residents, but also time. Among us there are many supporters of both leaf harvesting and its opponents.

Proponents of cleaning fallen leaves it is said that it is an excellent place for the wintering of pathogens of many plant diseases, as well as insect pests. In a compost heap, leaf litter cakes and rots very slowly and it will take several years to wait for the “death” of possible pests.

Opponents of harvesting very convincingly argue that the leaves cover the roots of trees from frost and, when decomposed, improve the composition of the soil and its structure, and also that fallen leaves are not only an excellent fertilizer, but also food for earthworms, which are also in the process. their vital activity improve the structure of the soil.

Although, by by and large, the question of what to do with fallen leaves in your own garden, everyone decides at their own discretion, but I would like to offer you several options quite rational use collected leaves.

Leaf humus

From fallen leaves, you can prepare leaf humus, which will serve effective means capable of improving the structure of the soil on the site.

There is almost as much nitrogen and phosphorus in leaf humus as in cow dung. In addition, such a tool is an excellent mulch, as well as an ideal acidifier, which is so necessary for acidophilic plants.

For its preparation, it is best to take the litter of deciduous trees available on your site. You can, of course, use conifers, however, in this case, the process of decay of waste will be slowed down.

You can get good leafy humus for quite a short time. To do this, in the fall, collect the fallen leaves, tamp them well into tight bags, then fill the contents with plenty of water and tie the bags, piercing them in several places for better ventilation.

Leaf humus harvested in autumn can be used as early as next spring when planting fruit and vegetable crops, and it can also be added to compost.

If you have a forest nearby, then you can successfully use the fallen leaves of such trees as: alder, birch, maple.

Alder litter is considered the most valuable. Birch and maple have slightly less nutrients.

But fallen aspen leaves (despite the fact that they contain a lot of nutrients) decompose very poorly, as they lay down rather tightly and stick together. They often have to be loosened and, moreover, additionally sprinkled with lime or chalk, due to their acidic reaction.

Oak litter is also very dense and hard, containing a lot of tannins, which do not allow it to overheat quickly and well.

Therefore, aspen and oak litter is best used in small quantities and only mixed with the foliage of other tree species.

Mulching

Fallen leaves can be used as a natural mulch.

To do this, in the fall, it is enough for you to spread the wet foliage over the empty areas of the soil, and with the advent of spring, either rake them, or simply dig them along with the soil.

In this case, leaf litter will protect the soil from weathering, washing out useful substances from it, and also suppress the growth of weeds.

We warm perennials

Dry fallen leaves will serve as a good warming and heat-insulating material with which you can cover hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, roses and other heat-loving shrubs for the winter.

Attract hedgehogs

With the help of fallen leaves, you can attract hedgehogs to your site, which are happy to eat pest larvae.

To do this, simply do not remove the leaves along the fences and around the trees located in remote areas of your garden, so that these animals would like to settle in them.

Add to compost

Shredded fallen leaves can be added to the compost heap, especially if you fill it up in the fall. large quantity green waste and plant residues.

In this case, they will play the role of rough "brown" material and balance the share of the latter.

For high beds

If you have in your garden high beds, containers or boxes for growing vegetables and berry crops, then the fallen leaves can be used as bulk material, which can improve the quality and structure of the soil.

For these purposes, immediately after emptying the beds, either simply pour some pre-shredded fallen leaves into the boxes, or mix the collected litter with green residues, compost and other materials used to fill high beds.

Fill them with chopped fallen leaves.

We make decorative compositions

Agree, fallen leaves look great against the background of dirt paths.

Therefore, if you have a desire to make your garden beautiful and unpretentious, just do not remove the litter.

Well, if you are also creative person, then from the collected leaves you can make an excellent decorative composition.

In general, dear gardeners, when deciding what to do with fallen leaves, I advise you to proceed from considerations of your own convenience.

See you soon, dear friends!

Among the abundance of modern fertilizers, gardeners prefer the unchanging classics - natural organics, positive action which has been tested by more than one generation of predecessors. Fallen leaves occupies a special place among such dressings. This natural organic matter does not require capital investments, and in terms of impact it is equal to bird droppings and mullein.

Leaves as fertilizer

Fallen leaves are rightfully considered a storehouse of fiber and a free source of a fairly rare trace element - silicon.

Rotting, deciduous raw materials turn into the most valuable organic fertilizer, for which he is appreciated by gardeners. earthworms They also love to settle in decimated foliage. Gardeners use fallen leaves specifically for breeding worms and other useful living creatures on their plots.

Leaf-based humus is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. According to the quantitative composition of these macroelements, it is equivalent to cow dung. In addition, leaf humus remarkably mulches the soil, and is also a natural acidifier - an indispensable component normal growth and development of acidophilic plants.

If there are a lot of trees on the site, then leaf litter can be successfully used for top dressing. horticultural crops. So, alder is considered the most valuable in terms of the content of nutrients, birch and maple are slightly inferior to it.

Can it be used?

Top dressing based on fallen leaves contains not only the main macronutrients (nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus), but also essential microelements: iron and magnesium, silicon, calcium and sulfur.

All these components are extremely important not only for horticultural crops but also for soil. Leaf litter perfectly loosens the soil, improves air and water permeability. In addition, they like to huddle in it. earthworms- useful and hardworking inhabitants of personal plots.

Positive properties:

• fertilizes the soil.
• serves as a natural covering material that protects plants from freezing in winter.
• fallen leaves, overheating, improve the structure of the soil.
• serves as food for earthworms.

Negative properties:

• Overripe foliage is a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria and pests.
• it is difficult to see and eliminate all infected leaves. If this is not done, leaf humus will become a real breeding ground for diseases.

How to prepare fertilizer?

There are many ways to prepare high-quality organic matter from fallen leaves, but most often gardeners make humus, compost, mulch and ash from it.

Humus

To prepare high-quality leaf humus, raw materials are collected, put into a container (you can use old barrel) and rammed. You don't need to close it. In the absence of a suitable container, the foliage is folded into thick bags, not forgetting to make small holes in several places. Garden stores sell special bags for creating humus. Containers (or bags) with foliage are placed in the most humid corner of the site. The humus will be ready for use in about a year or two. After 2-3 years, it will turn into real humus.

Compost

Its production involves following certain rules. It is worth considering the rate of decay of foliage different types trees. For example, oak leaves decompose more slowly than birch and linden leaves.

To speed up the overheating of the foliage, it should be regularly mixed, increasing air access. Or prepare a nitrogen-containing solution for irrigation, accelerating the decay process.

If the foliage was not removed in winter, it is done in the spring. Organic garbage should not be burned or thrown away. It is sent to the compost heap. This raw material will decompose faster, since it has already been under the snow and mixed in the ground. In addition, microorganisms have already settled there, accelerating overheating.

Compost is prepared in a pile or pit. After its complete overheating, the most valuable organic fertilizer is applied under berries, flowers, fruit trees.

Ash

If there are doubts about the quality of sheet raw materials, then it is more reasonable to dry and burn it. Fire will destroy all diseases, as well as pests at various stages of development. When the leaves burn, hydrocarbon, oxygen and nitrogen evaporate, leaving: 25% calcium, 15% potassium, 4% phosphorus, a small amount of magnesium and iron, zinc and sulfur, manganese and boron, copper and strontium.

A significant calcium content turns ash into a valuable deoxidizer, which is necessary for many horticultural and horticultural crops. Potassium in the ash is in a form that is easy for plants to assimilate. This mineral fertilizer is applied before digging the garden (up to 300 g per sq. M.), And also poured into the holes during planting and when forming compost heaps.

Mulch

Fallen leaves are also used as natural mulch. For this in autumn period wet biomaterial is laid out on the ground. It prevents the growth of weeds, protects the soil from freezing, weathering, evaporation of nutrients.

In addition, mulch blocks Sun rays. This is especially true for aluminas, which are subject to inevitable crusting. In the spring, the foliage is raked and placed in a compost heap or buried in the ground when digging.

For the first few years, mulched beds will need a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Perfect for manure or slurry. But from the introduction mineral fertilizers it is better to refuse, since they will have a detrimental effect on the activity of earthworms.

Note. With the advent of natural humus, there is no need for any other fertilizers.

Fallen leaves serve as a high-quality insulation that will help roses, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, and other berry plants to successfully winter. In the mulch, useful microorganisms, earthworms, which improve the structure of the soil, accelerate the process of decomposition of organic matter, winter well.

For winter shelter large foliage of chestnut or maple is best suited. Smaller biomaterial is strongly caking and blocks the access of oxygen, which is undesirable for plants.

Foliage Features

The most useful foliage is nut. It is added to compost or simply burned. Walnut ash not only feeds garden crops, but also fights the increased acidity of the soil.

birch leaves, view small size, overheat very quickly. Based on them, it is possible to obtain fast and high-quality organic matter. But oak trees need at least a year to decompose.

It is noted that oak litter is famous great content acids and tannins, the excess of which can harm garden crops. Due to this specific composition, oak foliage overheats for a long time.

Aspen leaves after decomposition restore the nitrogen content in the soil. In addition, the soil is enriched with magnesium, calcium and potassium. However, they also overheat for a very long time and tend to stick together, blocking the access of oxygen.

Oak and aspen leaves are added in small quantities to the general compost. Some gardeners give them a separate place for a long overheating.

Alder foliage is considered the most valuable in terms of nutrient content, maple and birch leaves are slightly inferior to it.

Coniferous needles overheat for at least 3 years. However, such organic matter is indispensable for planting acidophilic crops - connoisseurs of acidic soil. Among them are rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas, azaleas, representatives of the heather family.

Note. When using litter, consider the following: oak, chestnut and birch leaves alkalize the soil, while aspen and linden, on the contrary, acidify.

Conclusion

Fallen leaves are an excellent fertilizer for garden crops. They contain a large number of nutrients, perfectly mulch the soil, and, if necessary, restore the disturbed level of acidity.

Mulching WHAT AND HOW? One of the most useful agricultural practices used by gardeners of different climatic zones, is mulching. This procedure is the covering of the soil surface with organic or artificial material, while the ridges are covered completely or only in the aisles. Mulching man learned from nature itself. In meadows, in forests under trees and shrubs, the soil is never bare - a layer of dry grass, fallen leaves and needles protects the earth from drying out and protects plants from cold weather and pests. Under a layer of mulch, the soil retains its structure, soil crust does not form. In addition, the mulch protects the soil around the plant from being washed away by water during irrigation, retains moisture, and does not allow weeds to develop. By mulching the beds, you can significantly reduce the amount of watering and virtually eliminate loosening. How to mulch the soil in your area? What mulching materials to use? There are plenty of options, as usual. Mulching with inorganic covering materials In order to mulch the soil on summer cottages roofing felt, roofing material, lutrasil, black and color film are widely used. They are spread on the beds, cutting holes into which the plants are then planted. It is better to make holes slotted (cutting the film along or across), and not round or square. So the soil will be better protected from evaporation of moisture, and rainwater will penetrate well into the ground. Black synthetic film mulches beds with zucchini and cucumbers to get rid of weeds and reduce the frequency of watering. On the strawberry beds, mulched with a film, the berries will always remain clean. Tomatoes grow best in red film mulch, while cabbage prefers white film. A transparent film for mulching is not suitable, it does not prevent the growth of weed plants, but, on the contrary, causes their rapid growth. The film, which is used as a mulch, must meet the following qualities: do not let light through; be thin and elastic, fit snugly to the soil surface; be strong so that weeds cannot break through it. Film mulch increases the earth's temperature by 1.5-2°C, which is very important in the unstable climate of the middle lane with short summers; on the other hand, the film reduces the evaporation of moisture, thereby lowering the temperature on the soil surface on hot days. That is, the film saves planting from cold, and from heat, and from drought. Mulching with light-tight black film is widely used to kill weeds without chemicals. Under the black film, perennial hard-to-remove rhizomatous weeds die off - wheatgrass, sow thistle, loach. A soil crust does not form under the black film mulch, which does not allow oxygen to flow to the seedlings in the right amount, and as a result they suffocate, and gardeners get rare unfriendly seedlings. Film mulching prevents soil compaction by precipitation. Even after 5 years of growing strawberries under a film, the earth will remain loose. In addition, film mulch helps to increase soil fertility: due to the decomposition of weeds in top layer nitrogen accumulates on the soil, soil microorganisms reliably protected by a film cover become more active, begin to feed intensively, and the humus content in the soil increases. Film-mulched soil retains heat better in winter; beds covered with film do not freeze as much as open ones. This advantage of film mulch is especially important when growing dwarf apple trees, whose frost resistance is not as great as that of ordinary ones, and strawberries, whose roots are at a shallow depth. Mulching films suppress the development of strawberry gray rot, and also help to reduce the number of nematodes. However, film mulch has a significant disadvantage - it, unlike organic, does not decompose, does not nourish the soil. For this reason, many gardeners prefer to first mulch the beds with humus, and then lay the film, nonwoven fabric etc. Using organic mulch Whatever the benefits of film and other synthetic materials, modern summer residents prefer natural mulch natural materials. The cover of organic matter on the beds not only prevents the growth of weeds, protects the soil from overheating and freezing and retains moisture in the ground, as the mulch decomposes, a fertile layer is created in the ground that nourishes soil microorganisms and plants. To achieve the maximum possible effect from mulching natural materials, you need to know when and what kind of mulch to apply. Mulching with freshly cut grass Grass is rich in nitrogen and other useful substances necessary for the proper development of plants. As mulch, you can use the remains of grass after mowing the lawn, weeded and slightly dried weeds, ragged stepchildren of tomatoes. By the way, tomato leaf mulch - perfect option for beds with cabbage, it repels the cabbage white. Don't rush to use freshly cut grass as mulch, let it dry out in the sun for a day or two. Raw grass will rot too quickly. In the northern regions, grass mulch is applied when the soil has already warmed up enough, and the plants have sprouted and grown stronger. AT southern regions mulching with grass is best done even before planting, then it can enrich the soil with nutrients. Mulching the soil with compost Compost is almost perfect, versatile material for mulching. It is suitable for all vegetable crops and is completely safe. Compost mulch reduces the likelihood of plant disease and provides them excellent top dressing. So do not take out organic garbage, kitchen waste, weeds, tops, etc. from the dacha, put it all in a compost heap along with sawdust, wood chips and paper. Within a year, you will have excellent organic material for mulching your garden. Straw mulching Straw is the best way to mulch mail under nightshade plants like tomatoes and potatoes. It serves as a barrier between tomato fruits and pathogenic microbes contained in the soil, protecting bushes from early rot, anthracnose and leaf spot. And on potato beds mulched with straw, it is much less often observed main pest potatoes - Colorado beetle. In addition, straw mulch is good for crops such as basil, garlic, strawberries, and blackberries. Mulching with newsprint Black and white and colored newspapers (shredded or whole) can safely cover the beds - newsprint makes an excellent mulch and good remedy for weed control. Newspapers in four layers are laid on the ridge, which is supposed to be mulched, and sprinkled on top with hay, grass, straw or earth. Many gardeners are afraid to use newspapers because of the printing ink that gets into the soil with them, however, according to American scientists, not a single Chemical substance from modern paint for newspapers does not pose a threat to the garden or vegetable garden. Mulch made from wrapping kraft paper and cardboard proved to be no less effective in weed control. These materials can also replace film mulch when the soil needs to be warmed up. If a few days before planting seedlings in the ground, close the bed with kraft paper, the soil in it warms up by 3 ° C. Mulching with paper is especially effective in planting raspberries and legumes - it helps to increase their yield. Mulching with fallen leaves Fallen leaves are an ideal mulch for cabbage and bean beds. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants can also be mulched with leaf litter, but only after the soil has warmed up well. Very good leaf mulch flower beds, it protects flowers from freezing and, in addition, does not allow bulbous plants germinate during early spring thaws. Mulching with tree bark Tree bark is one of the most durable materials for mulching. It repels water, so it rots for a long time. Most often, such a long-term mulch is used around fruit trees and shrubs. The bark of coniferous trees should not be used for mulching tomatoes - the volatile substances released by it can harm the bushes. But bark mulch has proven itself in berry fields and flower beds. Because of its durability, it is often used as decorative material in landscape design. Mulching with sawdust or wood chips Sawdust or wood chips are best used where the soil is rarely tilled and hardly dug up (furrows, garden paths), because the chips take more than a year to completely rot. Sawdust can be used to cover the ground in raspberries, or before winter, scatter them on beds with winter crops (for example, garlic and tulips). Never use packed sawdust as mulching material. If the sawdust lay piled up in a heap for a long time, most likely oxygen stopped flowing into the deep layer, and they “soured”. Such sawdust must first be scattered in a thin layer and dried. Mulching with needles Needles have proven themselves well as mulch for eggplant and strawberries. Many gardeners do not use pine needles due to the fact that the needles supposedly oxidize the soil. However, experience shows that the pH of the soil, two years in a row covered with a 7-cm layer coniferous needles, remains at the same level as before mulching. In addition to the above materials, mulch can be humus, reeds, peat chips, peat, sunflower cake or pumpkin seeds. Often, a combined mulch of two or three materials is used, for example, cake with freshly cut grass or cardboard with straw. Excellent result gives a mulch of sawdust mixed with fresh grass.

Soil mulching: materials for mulching

One of the most useful agricultural practices used by gardeners in different climatic zones is mulching. This procedure is a cover of the soil surface with organic or artificial material, while the ridges are covered completely or only in the aisles.
Mulching man learned from nature itself. In meadows, in forests under trees and shrubs, the soil is never bare - a layer of dry grass, fallen leaves and needles protects the earth from drying out and protects plants from cold weather and pests.
Under a layer of mulch, the soil retains its structure, soil crust does not form. In addition, the mulch protects the soil around the plant from being washed away by water during irrigation, retains moisture, and does not allow weeds to develop.

By mulching the beds, you can significantly reduce the amount of watering and virtually eliminate loosening.
How to mulch the soil in your area? What mulching materials to use? There are plenty of options, as usual.

Mulching with inorganic covering materials

In order to mulch the soil in summer cottages, roofing felt, roofing material, lutrasil, black and color film are widely used.
They are spread on the beds, cutting holes into which the plants are then planted. It is better to make holes slotted (cutting the film along or across), and not round or square. So the soil will be better protected from moisture evaporation, and rainwater will penetrate well into the soil.
Black synthetic film mulches beds with zucchini and cucumbers to get rid of weeds and reduce the frequency of watering. On strawberry beds mulched with a film, the berries will always remain clean.
Tomatoes grow best in red film mulch, while cabbage prefers white film. A transparent film for mulching is not suitable, it does not prevent the growth of weed plants, but, on the contrary, causes their rapid growth.
The film that is used as mulch must meet the following qualities:
do not let light through;
be thin and elastic, fit snugly to the soil surface;
be strong so that weeds cannot break through it.
Film mulch increases the earth's temperature by 1.5-2°C, which is very important in the unstable climate of the middle lane with short summers; on the other hand, the film reduces the evaporation of moisture, thereby lowering the temperature on the soil surface on hot days. That is, the film saves planting from cold, and from heat, and from drought.
Mulching with light-tight black film is widely used to kill weeds without chemicals. Under the black film, perennial hard-to-remove rhizomatous weeds die off - wheatgrass, sow thistle, loach.
Under the black film mulch, a soil crust does not form, which does not allow oxygen to flow to the seedlings in the right amount, and as a result, they suffocate, and gardeners receive rare unfriendly seedlings. Film mulching prevents soil compaction by precipitation. Even after 5 years of growing strawberries under a film, the earth will remain loose.
In addition, film mulch helps to increase soil fertility: due to the decomposition of weeds, nitrogen accumulates in the upper layer of the earth, soil microorganisms reliably protected by film cover become active, begin to feed intensively, and the humus content in the soil increases.
Film-mulched soil retains heat better in winter; beds covered with film do not freeze as much as open ones. This advantage of film mulch is especially important when growing dwarf apple trees, whose frost resistance is not as great as that of ordinary ones, and strawberries, whose roots are at a shallow depth.
Mulching films suppress the development of strawberry gray rot, and also help to reduce the number of nematodes.
However, film mulch has a significant disadvantage - it, unlike organic, does not decompose, does not nourish the soil. For this reason, many gardeners prefer to first mulch the beds with humus, and then lay the film, non-woven fabric, etc.

Using Organic Mulch

No matter how many advantages film and other synthetic materials have, modern summer residents prefer mulch made from natural materials.
The cover of organic matter on the beds not only prevents the growth of weeds, protects the soil from overheating and freezing and retains moisture in the ground, as the mulch decomposes, a fertile layer is created in the ground that nourishes soil microorganisms and plants.
To get the most out of mulching with natural materials, you need to know when and what kind of mulch to use.

Mulching with fresh cut grass

The grass is rich in nitrogen and other useful substances necessary for the full development of plants.

As mulch, you can use the remains of grass after mowing the lawn, weeded and slightly dried weeds, ragged stepchildren of tomatoes. By the way, tomato leaf mulch is ideal for cabbage beds, it repels cabbage whites.
Don't rush to use freshly cut grass as mulch, let it dry out in the sun for a day or two. Raw grass will rot too quickly.
In the northern regions, grass mulch is applied when the soil has already warmed up enough, and the plants have sprouted and grown stronger. In the southern regions, grass mulching is best done even before planting, then it can enrich the soil with nutrients.

Mulching the soil with compost

Compost is an almost ideal, versatile material for mulching. It is suitable for all vegetable crops and is completely safe. Compost mulch reduces the likelihood of plant disease and provides excellent nutrition.
So do not take out organic garbage, kitchen waste, weeds, leaves, etc. from the dacha, put it all in a compost heap along with sawdust, wood shavings and paper. Within a year, you will have excellent organic material for mulching your garden.

Straw mulching

Straw is the best for mulching mail under nightshade - tomatoes and potatoes.

It serves as a barrier between tomato fruits and pathogenic microbes contained in the soil, protecting bushes from early rot, anthracnose and leaf spot. And on potato beds mulched with straw, the main pest of potatoes, the Colorado potato beetle, is much less frequently observed.
In addition, straw mulch is good for crops such as basil, garlic, strawberries, and blackberries.

Mulching with newsprint

Black and white and colored newspapers (shredded or whole) can safely cover the beds - newsprint makes an excellent mulch and a good weed control agent.

Newspapers in four layers are laid on the ridge, which is supposed to be mulched, and sprinkled on top with hay, grass, straw or earth.
Many summer residents are afraid to use newspapers because of the printing ink that enters the soil with them, however, according to American scientists, not a single chemical substance from modern newspaper ink poses a threat to the garden or vegetable garden.

Mulch made from wrapping kraft paper and cardboard proved to be no less effective in weed control. These materials can also replace film mulch when the soil needs to be warmed up. If a few days before planting seedlings in the ground, close the bed with kraft paper, the soil in it warms up by 3 ° C.
Mulching with paper is especially effective in planting raspberries and legumes - it helps to increase their yield.

Mulching with fallen leaves

Fallen leaves are the perfect mulch for cabbage and bean beds. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants can also be mulched with leaf litter, but only after the soil has warmed up well.
Leaf mulch in flower beds is very good, it protects the flowers from freezing and, in addition, does not allow the bulbous plants to germinate during the early spring thaws.

Mulching with tree bark

Tree bark is one of the most durable mulching materials.

It repels water, so it rots for a long time. Most often, such a long-term mulch is used around fruit trees and shrubs.
The bark of coniferous trees should not be used for mulching tomatoes - the volatile substances released by it can harm the bushes.
But bark mulch has proven itself in berry fields and flower beds. Due to its durability, it is often used as a decorative material in landscape design.

Mulching with sawdust or wood chips

Sawdust or is best used where the soil is rarely cultivated and hardly dug up (furrows, paths in the garden), because the wood chips take more than a year to completely rot.
Sawdust can be used to cover the ground in raspberries, or before winter, scatter them on beds with winter crops (for example, garlic and tulips).
Never use packed sawdust as mulching material. If the sawdust lay piled up in a heap for a long time, most likely oxygen stopped flowing into the deep layer, and they “soured”. Such sawdust must first be scattered in a thin layer and dried.

Mulching needles

The needles have proven themselves well as mulch for eggplant and strawberries.

Many gardeners do not use pine needles due to the fact that the needles supposedly oxidize the soil.
However, experience shows that the pH of the soil, covered two years in a row with a 7 cm layer of coniferous needles, remains at the same level as before mulching.
In addition to the above materials, humus, reeds, peat chips, peat, cake of sunflower or pumpkin seeds can serve as mulch. Often, a combined mulch of two or three materials is used, for example, cake with freshly cut grass or cardboard with straw. A mulch made from sawdust mixed with fresh grass gives an excellent result.
How and when to mulch, read the following article "Country Tips".
We wish you success and great harvests!