Is it possible to mulch raspberries with coniferous litter? The main methods of mulching raspberries - when and why to do it, what materials to use Raspberry mulching

Pumps

Weed control in raspberries is especially important for young raspberries in the first two years, until the plants are strong. The best way to cope with this task is to mulch the soil between the rows. This is an effective way that allows you to get rid of not only weeds, but also pests, a number of diseases.

If the shrubs have not yet grown, spring care and mulching will be easy. The soil between the rows is loosened with a pitchfork, rake or hoe, weeding out. In the spring, you also need to remove the young shoots that appeared last year, but did not have time to increase the height. You also need to remove excess shoots that have gone beyond the rows.

After loosening and fertilizing, the soil in the raspberries must be mulched. To do this, use peat, sawdust or straw manure. The height of the layer should be about 5-8 cm. For shelter, you can use a special material for mulching (black spunbond), having previously made holes for the stems of raspberry seedlings.

Raspberries of the second and subsequent years of keeping are mulched with peat, straw, sawdust, use foliage, hay. The height of the mulch should be approximately 15-20 cm. Other types of mulching material (wood chips, tree bark, weeds, cut grass) are not used for raspberries.

Is it necessary to mulch raspberries

Mulch allows the soil to maintain a constant temperature, so the process of heating and cooling is slower than usual. Such conditions contribute to a better development of the raspberry root system, prolonging the period of its activity and growth.

In raspberries mulched with peat or black spunbond, berries ripen faster. A thick layer does not allow the offspring to break through, so the care of plantings in the spring is greatly simplified. Mulching eliminates the negative effects of the thickening effect, reducing the high humidity at the base of the bush, and increases illumination. When there is enough light, the shoots do not stretch.

Gradually, the mulch begins to decompose, the soil is saturated with organic materials. Such "top dressing" enhances the process of root formation, and fruiting becomes abundant.

Mulch and raspberry pests

A thick layer of mulch in the spring is the most effective barrier to overwintering adult pests in the soil. They simply cannot overcome the obstacle and die.

If there were no outbreaks of pests on raspberry plantings last year, in spring the plantings are sprinkled with peat, straw, sawdust or hay. The layer of new mulch should be 5-10 cm.

If weeds at the end of the year began to break through, a large number of pests appeared, you need to act according to the following algorithm: when the pests leave for the winter, they loosen the mulch, dig it with the soil, and in the spring fertilize the plantings with nitroammophos (30-50 g of substance is enough for a "square"). The soil is re-loosened, destroying the wintering places of pests. After that, a layer of straw, peat, sawdust and hay is laid 15-20 cm high.

Mulching with cut grass is one of the many successful moves in agrotechnical measures. Why this kind of mulching? Probably, for those who doubt, two arguments will suffice: cheapness (or, more precisely, free of charge) and benefit (naturalness). Let's consider each of the arguments in more detail.

1. Cheap

Why is mulching with grass clippings the most beneficial? If only because you get the necessary material from your site. Mowed grass can and should be left in this area, but you need to do it wisely (we will tell you how to do it correctly later).

Covering the soil with grass allows you to retain both moisture and useful trace elements. In addition, you create the so-called achieving natural temperature regulation (in the heat the soil is not so hot, and in the cold it does not freeze through), and prevent natural erosion. But the main plus is the help of worms and microorganisms, which, eating the remains of organic matter, give out humus in return and improve the structure of the earth. And this, in turn, has a very beneficial effect on the development of plants and fertility. Therefore, we can safely say: mulching with mowed grass allows not only to return the impoverished soil to its previous state, but to make it more fertile.

Mulch prevents the fertile layers from being washed out during prolonged rains, distributes moisture more evenly, prevents weeds from growing rapidly, and reduces the need for fertilization, since it is self-fertilizing in itself. With all this, there is an increase in the process of assimilation of nutrients by plants, since it does not compact under the layer, which means that the roots are better supplied with oxygen.

An example is mulching potatoes. For the sake of the experiment, part of the bed was planted with potatoes in the usual manner, followed by “usual” care, the second part was “covered” with mowed grass. In the first case, potatoes often had to be weeded, hilled and watered, in the second - only watered. With an equal volume of single application of fertilizers, mulching allowed not only to get rid of weeding, but also to achieve higher yields.

Such raspberry mulching is very appropriate. Since its roots are practically on the surface (on average, at a depth of 20 cm), summer drying and winter freezing without mulching are simply inevitable. And the consequence is diseases, crop losses and even the death of a shrub. Mulching with grass clippings allows you to protect the roots all year round, regardless of the season. With constant, annual mulching, the fertile layer gradually grows, humus reserves increase, fewer shoots are formed, which means that it becomes easier to deal with overgrowth.

If we convinced you, and you decide to choose grass as a mulching material, pay attention to a few rules:

The cut grass must be "young", i.e. without seeds;

Before mulching, the grass must be dried: freshly cut greens will lie on the ground in a dense layer and will not let air through, as a result of which a fungus can start, which is difficult to fight;

Lay out the mulch on flower beds and beds only in a thin layer, adding it periodically.

If there is too much grass, leave the excess for compost. By mixing leftovers with and limestone this year, next year you will get an excellent organic fertilizer.

Gardeners will agree that raspberries must be mulched. After all, most of its roots are at a depth of only 20 - 30 cm. This layer of earth dries up easily in summer and quickly freezes in winter. Mulch will help maintain the optimum temperature in the soil, protect it from drying out and reduce the evaporation of moisture. The soil heats up more slowly, cools down longer, therefore, the amplitude of fluctuations in its temperature is smaller. All this improves the development of the raspberry root system, prolonging the period of its growth and development.
Plus, mulch helps not only protect plants from weeds, but also significantly reduce the number of chemical treatments. Thanks to this, you can get an environmentally friendly crop. With mechanical weeding, the risk of damage to the root system increases, especially in the bite zone.

The first mulching is carried out immediately after planting, then repeated annually. Raspberries are especially responsive to mulching in the first two or three years. Mulching materials are usually used after tillage in raspberry rows, spreading in a strip of 70 - 80 cm.

If you mulch the soil annually, then a powerful fertile layer is gradually formed. In addition, thanks to this technique, raspberries form fewer shoots, and, accordingly, the fight against overgrowth becomes easier. Once the thickening is less, the air humidity at the base of the bush does not increase and the plant is better illuminated. And the more light, the less it stretches.

The optimal layer of mulch is 5 - 10 cm. A smaller one does not isolate the soil as it should, and a larger one can provoke the appearance of fungal diseases and rot during winter thaws or damping out in spring. Which, of course, will weaken the plants and affect the yield. Before mulching (especially in autumn), the soil must be thoroughly shed: plants should not go to winter with a dried root system.

For mulching, it is best to use organic material. It can be peat, humus, straw manure, sawdust, straw, crushed bark. Each cover has its pros and cons. So which option is better? I addressed this question to Olga Emelyanova, a researcher at the department of berry crops of the RUE "Institute of Fruit Growing". For a number of years, she was just studying the effectiveness of mulching remontant raspberries of the Indian Summer variety with various materials.

In the experiment, the first row was mulched with flax 10 cm high and 80 cm wide, the second row was mulched with rotted softwood sawdust in the same layer. The third was covered with SUF-60 spunbond, which was cut into strips 35 cm wide, laid on both sides of the row and secured to the ground with metal brackets. The fourth row - as a control - was not covered with anything.

Further plant care was the same. The only difference is the feed. Under the bushes, mulched with sawdust, it is necessary to apply 1.5 - 2 times more nitrogen fertilizers. The thing is that the microorganisms that decompose wood themselves actively absorb soil nitrogen, creating competition for the roots. Therefore, the application rate of ammonium nitrate increases to 40 g/sq. m.

Olga Vladimirovna announced the results of the experiment:

Of the monocotyledonous (cereal) weeds on the raspberry forest, the most common were meadow bluegrass, common bluegrass, chicken millet and rye brome, and of the dicotyledonous (broad-leaved) weeds, small-flowered galinzoga, sprawling quinoa, horse sorrel, field sapling, shepherd's purse, white gauze, field violet and odorless chamomile. Most of the cereal weeds were in the control group - 30 pcs/rm. In the variant with the use of sawdust, they were 2 times less. And where flax and spunbond were used, there were none at all. Dicotyledonous weeds were present in all variants, but in the row covered with flax, they were 56.6% less than in the control. In the case of spunbond, they were only in the near-joint strip of the row.

Mulch creates a mechanical barrier and blocks out the light needed for weeds to emerge. The use of mulching materials as a whole reduced the infestation of raspberries by 31.6 - 73.7%, increased the yield, which is primarily due to an increase in both the number of fruit-bearing shoots and berries on them. The best result was on the row mulched with flax: the berries are 26% larger compared to the control, and the yield is 30% higher.

Mulching with sawdust protects crops in beds from drying out in summer and freezing in winter. Mulch retains moisture, maintains temperature, and inhibits weed growth. Consider in the article how to make mulch, what advantages and disadvantages this method has.

Features of mulching with sawdust

There are many organic materials for mulching. In view of the development of agriculture, sawdust is more often used for mulching. Despite its cheapness, the material brings great benefits. Sawdust is used both in winter and in summer. They do not allow the roots of crops to freeze. It is enough to lay them out on the beds and tamp. To prevent sawdust from fluttering in the wind, cow dung is added to the mulch.

The soil for the winter is mulched in mid-October or early November. A layer of up to 3 cm is laid on the beds. But mulching with sawdust is not suitable for all plants and soil types. Be careful with oak and coniferous sawdust! For different cultures, the thickness of the mulch layer is selected:

for tulips, garlic and onions, it is 6 cm;
for strawberries and carrots - up to 4-5 cm.

From the beds of strawberries and strawberries, the mulch is not removed all year round.

Hay and straw are similar in their characteristics to sawdust. ". We give in the table the features of mulching with various organic materials.

Material	Application features
Sawdust	Suitable for bulbous (flowers and vegetables), strawberries, carrots, beets and berry bushes.
Straw	Like sawdust, it rots for a long time, so it is used for early crops. The layer reaches 10-15 cm.
Compost	Suitable for all vegetable crops.
Grass (hay)	Quickly rots and saturates the soil with nutrients. Grass or hay is laid in a layer of 4-6 cm.
Fallen leaves	Suitable for cabbage and beans. They also cover the flower beds for the winter.

There are several approaches to soil mulching. Mulching according to Kuznetsov has its own characteristics:

The aisles are covered with a thick layer of sawdust to prevent the growth of weeds.
Biocompost is introduced into the ridges themselves. If the earth is clayey, then add sand.
As crops grow, sawdust is sprinkled between the rows, the ridges themselves are loosened and biocompost is regularly introduced.
Berries are covered with a layer of sawdust, mulch is regularly sprinkled.
Sawdust can be applied on top of the manure, which will retain moisture.

To loosen the soil, improve its structure and accelerate the decomposition of organic fertilizers into ridges, it is worth running earthworms. Alexander Kuznetsov refutes the opinion that sawdust, like mulch, enrolls the soil, because they are brought on top of the soil. The soil is acidified not by sawdust, but by fungi that destroy them.

Sawdust is tightly laid in row-spacings on vegetable beds.

Advantages and disadvantages of mulching

Sawdust is a reliable means for warming crops. Mulch protects the roots from freezing in winter and rotting in autumn. In summer, sawdust is used to prevent overheating of the soil and moisture retention. The benefits of sawdust as mulch are as follows:

Cheapness.
As they decompose, they turn into organic fertilizers, loosen the soil.
Retain moisture in the soil.
They retain heat and prevent the soil from freezing, but at the same time allow air to pass through and allow the roots of crops to breathe.
Protect crops from disease. Sawdust, especially coniferous ones, do not allow the development of pathogens. Slugs and other pests dislike them.
Protect ripening berries from decay and pests.
Cured from fungal diseases.
Protect roots from sudden changes in temperature.
Coniferous sawdust protects carrots from carrot flies.
Beneficial insects hide in the mulch and microorganisms live that improve the structure of the soil and loosen it.

Sawdust is a natural mulch that supports the growth and development of beneficial microorganisms to improve soil structure.

Mulching with sawdust has its drawbacks. Large sawdust rot for several years. This takes a lot of nitrogen, causing plants that grow in such beds to be deficient in this nutrient. Their growth and development is deteriorating.

Fresh sawdust increases the acidity of the soil, which affects the development of crops. Coniferous sawdust inhibits the development of pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms. The latter process organic substances that are necessary for plant nutrition.

When to use sawdust on the ridges

Sawdust is suitable for poor soil. They enrich the earth, activate the growth and ripening of fruits. Under a layer of mulch, the root system is protected, it receives all the minerals and moisture. Mulching is carried out after the descent of sprouts. As a result of this, the earth does not dry out, a crust does not appear on the surface, and the soil remains loose.

Winter mulching is necessary to protect the roots of crops. Mulch protects plants from temperature extremes until spring. Used for bushes, trees, winter crops and berries. In dry areas, mulching with sawdust is especially important for tomatoes. To protect the roots from overheating, it remains only to cover the soil with mulch. ".

In summer, vegetable beds with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and beets are covered with sawdust. This prevents crops from drying out.

Mulching strawberries has many advantages:

Productivity increases.
The berries are protected from pests and decay.
Due to the lack of contact with the ground, the berries are clean and dry.
Stops the growth of weeds.

Tip #1 Mulch beds with potatoes. After hilling, furrows are sprinkled. A layer of mulch retains moisture and stops weeds from growing. Productivity increases, especially the effect is noticeable during dry summers.

Mulching trees and shrubs

Sawdust is used to cover the roots of trees and shrubs for the winter. Such shelter is considered the most reliable. Large sawdust as a heat-insulating material is buried in pits when planting grapes and flowering shrubs. They reliably protect from frost.

Sawdust is poured around the tree trunk in a large layer.

Sawdust mulching is suitable for the following horticultural crops:

fruit trees;
shrubs (raspberries and black currants);
grapes;
clematis.

Raspberries respond especially well to mulching. Sawdust helps to increase fruiting and improve the taste characteristics of berries. With annual mulching with raspberry sawdust, bushes are grown without replanting for up to 10 years. For the winter, vines of grapes and weaving flowers that are on the ground are covered with sawdust along the entire length. They do this in late autumn, otherwise mice will get into the mulch and damage the culture.

Tip #2 Before mulching, it is advisable to apply nitrogen fertilizers.

Sometimes an air cover is made for such crops. Boxes are built from boards and plants are covered with them, they are covered with sawdust from above, covered with foil and a layer of earth is poured. There is a wet shelter with sawdust for the winter when the mulch is not covered with anything. But this method is suitable for some crops, for example, roses rot under such cover.

Sawdust is one type of mulch that can be used in greenhouses. Cultures do not rot and deteriorate. They are used to enrich manure and plant waste. They accelerate the decomposition of organic fertilizers, the compost is loose and breathable.

Mulch is added to greenhouses in spring or autumn. Sawdust is best applied in combination with other components. This mixture is laid in the fall in the ridge. You can make compost:

200 kg sawdust;
50 kg of manure;
100 kg of grass;
30 kg of food waste.

For greenhouses, sawdust can be placed in ridges in combination with straw or hay.

In the spring, the soil is mulched when the increased growth of crops begins. In greenhouses, during heavy irrigation, a crust often forms on the surface of the soil, and the earth around the roots is washed out. In this case, it is necessary to mulch the soil. In addition, mulching reduces the rate of watering and prevents overheating of the root system of crops in the greenhouse.

Tip #3 For a greenhouse measuring 3x6 m, six bags of coniferous sawdust will be required. Mulch is spread in a layer of 5-7 cm between the rows and around the stems of crops.

How to mulch beds in winter

In winter, the beds are mulched with a mixture of sawdust, manure and plants. The thickness of the layer depends on the type of soil. On clay, it reaches 5 cm, and on sandy - 10 cm. When mulching, the following recommendations are followed:

Under the berry bushes, the mulch is never removed. The earth is loosened along with sawdust. In the absence of chemical fertilizers, the mulch is mixed with manure and applied in the fall. This prevents the accumulation of nitrates in the fruit.
If you put a large layer of mulch on heavy soils, then rotting will begin.
Be sure to mulch the soil in summer or late spring after planting seedlings. The mulch is carefully crushed and laid around the gathering place. The results of mulching are noticeable after 3-4 years, since the sawdust decomposes slowly.

Answers to frequently asked questions about mulching

Question number 1. What sawdust is best for mulching?

Sawdust comes in different sizes and from different types of trees. Depending on their properties, they are used in various areas of horticulture. We present them in the table.

Type of sawdust	Application area
Gray-brown semi-rotted sawdust of medium size	They are the best for mulching vegetable beds.
large sawdust	Used to cover the roots of trees, strawberries and shrubs.
small sawdust	Suitable for sheltering young shoots with thin stems.
Fresh sawdust	Suitable for mulching strawberries and strawberries.
Sawdust from coniferous trees	Used for carrots.

Question number 2. What crops are sawdust used for?

Sawdust is suitable for mulching vegetable crops that grow in garden beds. They are used for greenhouses, and for garden plots. Mulch trees and shrubs, including roses. Strawberry and strawberry sawdust is well perceived. ".

Mulching garden strawberries with sawdust on the ridge

Question number 3. Under what crops is it better to use coniferous sawdust?

Coniferous sawdust contains phenolic resins that protect against diseases and pests. They are suitable for sheltering crops for the winter, such as garlic.

Question number 4. Is it necessary to mulch the soil in greenhouses?

Yes. The soil fertility improves, the soil does not overheat, the irrigation rate decreases, and moisture evaporates more slowly. Cultures are even watered with cold water, while it passes through the sawdust, it warms up. The preservation of fruits, taste qualities are improved and the ripening period is accelerated.

Question number 5. What is the timing of mulching?

Late spring or early summer is suitable for mulching, when the earth warms up and crop sprouts appear. Before mulching, the soil is fertilized, loosened and watered abundantly. A layer of mulch is at least 5 cm. In summer, as the layer decreases, mulch is added.

Mulching gardening mistakes

We offer a spread of errors that gardeners make when mulching with sawdust:

It is important to choose the right size and type of sawdust. The younger the seedlings and the thinner the sprouts, the finer the chips. But sawdust similar to wood flour is not used at all. It turns into a dense crust on the soil surface, which does not allow water to pass through.
Large sawdust rot for several years. They are not suitable for vegetable beds. Use shavings for trees and shrubs.
Before making mulch on the beds, nitrogen fertilizers must be used, otherwise the growth and development of crops will slow down.
Use rotted sawdust. Fresh ones increase the acidity of the soil, which negatively affects the development of crops.
Do not rush to mulch. If you make sawdust on unheated soil, this will affect the growth and development of crops.

What is mulch and where can I get it? What is mulch in the garden Andrey Rayter
Mulching with sawdust increases productivity Olga Diamant
Sawdust for the garden: the benefits and harms of them as fertilizers Olga Evsikova
What green manure for strawberries will provide the best harvest? Elena Markova
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Planting strawberries on agrofiber - a new technology for achieving a high yield Elena Markova
Planting strawberries under black covering material: technology, photos, reviews Elena Litvinenko
Does black wrap help control weeds? Lazko Natalia
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What is soil mulching and what materials can be used as mulch? ODvor
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Mulching raspberry strawberries

Mulch will help gardeners reduce labor costs. Mulching raspberries, strawberries and other berries allows you to reduce the number of irrigation and tillage, delays the evaporation of moisture from the ground, protects it from the formation of a crust and the growth of weeds.

The bulk of the roots of raspberries and strawberries is located at a depth of 20-30 cm. So that this layer of soil does not dry out in summer and does not freeze in winter, plantings of strawberries and raspberries are mulched immediately after planting and in the first two years of life - in spring and autumn. When mulching, the soil cools down more slowly and does not overheat.

Mulch helps control weeds. Unlike weeding with a chopper, when the root system of cultivated plants is damaged, mulching does not damage the roots, and the yield of raspberries and strawberries increases.

As the mulch decomposes, it releases a lot of nutrients needed by berry growers and saturates the ground layer of air with carbon dioxide, which plants need for photosynthesis.

How to mulch the soil under raspberries and strawberries

The first mulching is carried out immediately after planting. At raspberries, the root zone 70-80 cm wide is covered with mulch. In the first 2-3 years of life, raspberry bushes are mulched with sawdust, sunflower, buckwheat husks. The optimal layer of mulch for raspberries is at least 10 cm.

At strawberries, the entire aisle is covered with mulch. Straw, sawdust, peat, humus, crushed bark are suitable for mulching.

If you mulch berry bushes with sawdust, then you will have to apply more nitrogen fertilizers, because in the process of decay, sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil and can cause nitrogen starvation in strawberries and raspberries. Usually, the dose of ammonium nitrate when using sawdust is increased to 30-40 g per linear meter of row spacing.

Very good results are obtained by mulching the row spacing of strawberries after flowering with straw - the berries will be clean and there will be no gray rot.

With the annual mulching of plantings, gardeners save water and energy for caring for berries, create better conditions for the growth and development of bushes.

Plantings are also mulched in autumn. First dig the soil and water, and then mulch. With the annual repetition of mulching raspberry and strawberry bushes, raspberries form less shoots, and strawberries have much less mustache rooted, that is, they are easier to care for and fertilizers will be spent less.

Better than other crops, strawberries respond to soil mulching with humus or dark compost. At the same time, its roots do not freeze out in winter, and do not dry out in summer.

Mulch protects strawberry roots from heat in summer, and the heart does not die (which happens when hilling with ordinary earth). When plants are mulched, the berries and foliage will not suffer from diseases because they will not have contact with the ground. Fern leaves protect strawberries from nematodes, they are good for mulching aisles.

Often there are recommendations to mulch strawberries with needles - this is not right! Pine needles can be used to mulch plants that love acidic soils, such as hydrangea. The needles will acidify the soil and strawberries often turn yellow from such mulching.

How to mulch gooseberries

For gooseberries, mulching the soil helps retain moisture and reduce the number of weeds under the bushes. It is necessary to loosen the soil under the bushes shallowly - no more than 5-10 cm. Gooseberries love mulch from humus or peat mixed with sifted ash (2 cups of ash per bucket of peat). Freshly cut grass does not suit him, because even in dry weather, gooseberries (some varieties) can be affected by powdery mildew.

Mulching currants

For currants, raspberries, young fruit trees, it is better to use freshly cut dried grass as mulch and not dig up the ground either in spring or autumn. And in the fall, rake up all the mulch, burn it. Shallowly loosen the soil under these plants and cover the near-trunk circles with freshly cut grass with a layer of 5-8 cm. In winter, this layer will protect the roots from sharp fluctuations in temperature if there is no snow. Podzimny watering is carried out directly on the grass. In the spring, this mulch retains moisture well.

In mid-April, before the currant buds open, all remaining mulch must be collected and burned. Loosen the soil under the berries and young trees shallowly, fertilize if they were not applied in the fall, and again cover the entire soil under these plants with mowed growing grass.

All summer you can put new grass. But before laying a new layer, you need to pour the old layer with a solution of urea (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water), because rotting grass takes nitrogen from the soil, which plants need for growth. In the second half of summer, urea should not be added, because the plants are preparing for winter. Rotting grass at this time, taking nitrogen from the ground, stops the growth of shoots.

Tree mulching

In dry years, it is useful, especially on sandy soils, in the fall to mulch the soil under the trees with humus, peat soil with a layer of 5-8 cm.

With dry summers and autumns, and with the danger of the onset of "black" frosts in young gardens, especially in gardens with dwarf fruit trees, mulching near-stem circles will help protect plants from stress.

The soil around young trees with a still shallow root system is mulched with the remains of grass after weeding, dried in the sun. Mowed lawn grass is also used.

After weeding the soil around the shrubs, weeded weeds without seeds are left in place, like mulch. At the same time, they are lightly buried with a hoe shallowly into the soil (by 5 cm).

After planting, cherries and other fruit trees are watered and mulched with peat, compost or mowed (dried) grass.

Soil mulching (mulch) with sawdust grass hay bark peat

The main function of mulching is the ability to create comfortable conditions for plants. Using organic materials, you can significantly increase soil fertility, reduce the amount of watering and loosening, and get rid of weeds.

Mulching with sawdust is one of the most common ways of such a shelter. Especially often they are used for strawberries. Under a warm blanket of large shavings, strawberries and strawberries winter well and do not get sick with various types of rot. Pathogenic flora is the very negative factor that significantly affects the yield. But when using sawdust, which act as a sorbent, a significant part of the berries sing quietly on the bushes, and do not rot, since they do not come into contact with moist soil.

Strawberry mulching technology is simple and effective:

Before making sawdust, the bed is weeded, loosened and watered. After the formation of a light crust on the top layer of the earth, proceed to the main work. To do this, they take cardboard (it is better not to use a newspaper, since the ink for printing contains lead), and cover the space between the rows with them. Sawdust is poured on top of the cardboard. Everything, the work is finished. By the way, this method protects not only from the appearance of weeds, but also from the excessive growth of the strawberries themselves.

Mulching with hay and straw

These natural materials, which are easy to find in any village, began to be used by summer residents for planting potatoes using a new technology, for which you need to stock up on cardboard (you can ask for boxes at the nearest store), planting material and dry grass.

The process itself can be divided into several stages:

Covering the ground with cardboard. It can be laid directly on overwintered grass as soon as the snow melts. The point of this action is to prevent light from reaching the weeds, which will die along with the roots within a few weeks.
Germination and disinfection of potatoes. You can disinfect using a solution of any ready-made biostimulant, and germinate in the sun, planting a tuber. These preparatory procedures have a healing effect, so that subsequently the potatoes under the mulch do not get sick with late blight.
The next stage is the planting of planting material. To do this, holes are made in cardboard sheets, whose radius should be twice as large as the radius of the tubers. After that, the seed potatoes are placed directly on the ground, sprouts up, so that they rush to the sunlight.
The final stage of planting is the straw mulching of the entire row. To do this, the dry remains of cereal crops are poured directly on top of the cardboard, with a layer of at least 15-20 cm. Some use hay for shelter, but it has a significant drawback - it is a carrier and accumulator of weed seeds.

This method, revolutionary for the minds of many gardeners, has many advantages. First, it is minimal in terms of labor costs. Imagine, you do not have to plow, weed and hill up plantings. Potatoes under mulch grow well without too much intervention. The exception is drought, when you have to water your plantings a couple of times. And still, the amount of physical labor used is incommensurable with the traditional method of planting.

All about soil mulching

Most gardeners and amateur gardeners Trying to contain Trunk circles and aisles under black fallow, raking the soil almost to dust. They believe that in this way they improve the life of plants. This is a deep delusion. Such an agricultural technique Promotes soil erosion Loss of moisture in hot weather. And how much labor is involved. In nature, soil is created by mulching. Cultural soil is created rotting, not mechanical processing. Who does not respect mulch does not know the value of humus. Mulching delays evaporation Moisture from the soil, improves the temperature regime and soil structure, protects against weathering, inhibits the development of weeds. The layer of organic matter on the soil surface is not recommended to touch the whole season. I. V. Michurin also noted: “I have long noticed that if the soil under the plant, after thorough loosening, is covered in spring and summer, and especially in dry years, with leaves, straw, moss and other denser materials, then as a result, covered plants are almost twice as fast and develop better than uncovered ones ...

The soil does not get as hot as Solar rays and protected from sudden cooling. For mulching, you can use: cardboard, compost, raw manure, fallen leaves (from other crops), fallen needles, sawdust (preferably hardwoods, excluding oak), ferns, humus, roofing material, freshly cut grass (especially from nettles, alfalfa and comfrey ), hay, straw, shavings, peat. Used for mulching black and light plastic film. But still, it is better to use the film for the early spring shelter of the beds, and then remove it. Applying cardboard and roofing material, it should be noted that slugs and snails will accumulate under them.

Here they should be collected regularly. Fresh sawdust, shavings can be applied as a mulching material for raspberries and other berries without the addition of nitrogen fertilizers. The bark of trees must first be crushed, then composted or buried to raise the soil of the site, drainage, and the construction of insulated beds. sawdust(better than deciduous trees, except for oak) are often applied to the soil as loosening organic material, which increases the air permeability and moisture capacity of the soil. sawdust is good and for composting Mulching crops and plantings. Sawdust is introduced into the soil when digging the earth (0.5 buckets per 1 m2). Clay soils require more, sandy soils require less. Fresh sawdust it is better to keep them in a heap (2-3 months) so that they at least partially rot. It is not recommended to use fresh sawdust without mineral fertilizers, since in the initial period of decay they need nitrogen, which they will naturally take from the soil. And this will reduce her fertility. To make up for the loss of nitrogen, 30 g of urea or 70 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium chloride are added to a bucket of sawdust.

To neutralize acidity another 120-150 g of ground chalk or slaked lime is added to the bucket.
Sawdust is usually added to the compost in a layer of 10-15 cm, and when mulching, the thickness of the layer around the plants should not exceed
embroider 3 cm. Many summer residents Cover strawberries needles for the winter period, and in the summer period they will use it as mulch. Indeed, needles are an excellent mulching material. And for strawberries, it is also a protection against slugs and snails. It is good to use straw for mulching strawberries . She suppresses the weeds And serves as a bedding for berries. The exact translation of the word "strawberry" from English is "straw berry" . Needles- this is a coarse, unprocessed humus. It is better if it is from a pine forest. The needles from the forest are distinguished by their high loosening capacity with an acidic reaction. It passes moisture well, but there are few nutrients for plants in the needles themselves.

Spruce needles in general It is not recommended to use in the form of litter and fertilizers. It quickly decomposes, poorly loosens the soil. In addition, it contains practically no nutrients. When using needles as mulch, it should be borne in mind that most crops develop well in conditions of slightly acidic or neutral soil reaction. Needles strongly acidify the soil, so it can only be used for mulching plants that prefer acidic soil. Needle mulch is not good for flower crops. Most of them are severely oppressed under such mulch, and seedlings often simply die. The reason is the presence in the needles (needles and bark of coniferous trees) of specific organic compounds. These are esters, acids, etc., which dissolve with irrigation and rain and retard the growth of herbaceous plants. If from autumn under the bushes lay a thick cushion of leaves, straw, weeds, etc., and pour slurry over the entire “pie” in the spring, you will get a wonderful mulch and fertilizer. Firstly, all winter-spring moisture will be preserved, secondly, plant roots will be perfectly protected in winter, and thirdly, biological processes will start working in spring, worms will start to process organic matter, loosen the soil. It is quite possible to do Without watering and top dressing, the fruiting of trees will be ensured. The main thing is not to compact the mulch layer unnecessarily, but only add fresh ingredients to it. And do not let chickens into the garden: they will rake everything out, scatter your feather bed, and you will have to start all over again.