The benefits of sawdust for the garden. Proven ways to use sawdust in the country. High warm beds

The vast majority of gardeners are convinced of the value of such fertilizer as manure, although at current prices, very few buy it, alas, beyond their means. And here few people know about the benefits of sawdust, although it is a very valuable organic, which, if used correctly, can provide very good results.

At the same time, this organic material regularly appears in considerable quantities in everyone who enthusiastically continues to engage in their garden. construction work. Yes, and buying a sawdust machine is not a problem for many, since they are much cheaper compared to manure. Sometimes some businesses even take them to a landfill. Meanwhile options for the use of sawdust on garden plot quite a bit of- they are laid in compost, used as mulching material and when forming ridges, sprinkled with paths, etc. And they are even used as a substrate for the germination of potatoes and seeds, seedlings are grown on them. However, you should not take these words completely literally and immediately start, for example, growing tomatoes on sawdust or covering raspberries with a thick layer of sawdust - nothing good will come of this, because everything is not so simple.

How does sawdust affect the soil?

However, all this is true only in the case of using rotted or at least semi-rotted sawdust, which, unlike fresh sawdust, have dark brown or light brown shades, respectively. And the overheating of sawdust is a slow process: fresh sawdust rots on outdoors very slowly (10 years or more). The reason is that sawdust needs living organic matter and water to overheat. There is no living organic matter in a heap with sawdust, and as for water, it also does not exist inside the heap, since upper layer sawdust forms a crust through which moisture does not seep into the heap. There are two ways to speed up the overheating: either add sawdust in small doses to the compost heap or greenhouse ridges along with fresh manure, or use it as a mulch after enrichment with nitrogen.

In addition, sawdust from our tree species, unfortunately, slightly acidifies the soil. Therefore, when used in large quantities the soil needs to be additionally limed.

sawdust as mulching material

For mulching, you can use rotted, semi-rotted or even fresh sawdust with a layer of 3-5 cm - such a mulch will be especially good under bushes, in raspberries and on vegetable ridges. Over-rotted and semi-rotted sawdust can be used directly, and fresh ones will have to be pre-prepared, if this is not done, they will take nitrogen from the soil, and hence from the plants, as a result, the plantings will wither. The preparation process is relatively simple - you need to put a large film on a free area, then pour 3 buckets of sawdust, 200 g of urea onto it in sequence and evenly pour a 10-liter watering can of water, then again in the same order: sawdust, urea, water, etc. d. At the end, close the entire structure hermetically with a film, pressing it down with stones. After two weeks, sawdust can be safely used.

True, it is more reasonable to use such mulching material only in the first half of summer, when moisture from the soil actively evaporates. In this case, in the second half of the summer, only memories will remain from the mulch, because. thanks to the active activity of worms and loosening, it will be well mixed with the soil. If, however, such a thick layer of sawdust is poured in the second half of summer, when there is a lot of rain, then such a mulch will prevent the evaporation of excess moisture from the soil, which will adversely affect the ripening of annual shoots in fruit and berry plants and their preparation for winter.

If the mulch layer turned out to be too large, and it did not mix with the soil, then in the second half of summer, with heavy rains, it is necessary to carefully loosen the mulched soil. If rains are rare, then this operation can be postponed to autumn, but loosening (or digging or processing with a flat cutter, if we are talking about vegetable ridges) will still have to be done, otherwise the frozen layer of sawdust in spring will delay the thawing of the soil layer. This is especially important for areas where landings are carried out at an early date.

Sawdust in greenhouses and greenhouses

In closed ground, sawdust is absolutely indispensable. They are useful to flavor both manure and plant residues. In combination with sawdust, manure and all kinds of tops warm up faster in spring. In addition, the rate of their overheating increases, and the resulting compost will be much better both in terms of looseness and breathability, and in terms of its nutritional value and diversity of composition. It should only be borne in mind that when using fresh manure, fresh sawdust is used, which will take away excess nitrogen from it, and if rotted manure is applied, or if you do without it at all, then only rotted sawdust is used - they do not need additional nitrogen.

It is possible to introduce sawdust into the ridges of greenhouses and greenhouses both in spring and autumn, and it is best to mix them with other fragments of the formed soil. It is most reasonable to lay a layer of plant residues in the form of straw, fallen leaves, mowed grass and various tops on the ridges in the fall. And in the spring, add a layer of fresh manure, sprinkle the last with lime and a small amount of fresh sawdust, then mix the manure with other organic residues with a pitchfork. After that, you will need to cover the manure with a small layer of straw or leaves, lay a layer of soil, adding ash to it and mineral fertilizers. For better heating, it is also advisable to spill the ridges with boiling water and cover with a film.

sawdust in compost

Since it is the rotted sawdust that is of the greatest interest, it is more reasonable to compost some of the sawdust. It is best to mix them with manure and bird droppings (100 kg of manure and 10 kg of bird droppings per 1 m² of sawdust), and then let them lie down for a year, moisturizing and covering if necessary, so that useful substances are not washed out. It is also useful to add grass clippings, hay, fallen leaves, kitchen waste, etc. to this compost. In the absence of manure, you will have to add urea to the sawdust (200 g of urea for 3 buckets of sawdust), you can replace the urea with diluted mullein or a solution of bird droppings.

To speed up the process of rotting sawdust, before laying the compost, it is necessary to moisten them well with water, and even better - with slurry or kitchen waste. In addition, it is useful to add soil to sawdust: two or three buckets per cubic meter of sawdust. In such compost will multiply rapidly earthworms and microorganisms that accelerate the process of wood decay.

If sawdust was stored near abandoned massifs overgrown with weeds, they also need to be composted beforehand. Moreover, the compost heap should warm up to at least + 60 ° C - only in this case the weed seeds, which can remain viable for up to 10 years, will die. To achieve such a heating of the heap, you can water sawdust hot water followed by a quick cover with plastic wrap.

Sawdust on strawberry ridges

Sawdust will also be useful when mulching strawberry beds - they will not allow the berries to touch the ground, and this will reduce the loss of fruits from gray rot. And with the autumn application (a very thick layer is required), sawdust will also protect strawberry plantings from winter freezing, and next year they will not allow many weeds to germinate. True, when mulching strawberries, you need fresh sawdust, pre-treated with urea, and preferably from conifers. Indeed, in this case, they will still to some extent scare away the weevil.

Sawdust when forming ridges in low places

Sawdust will also help raise the ridges in low places. In this case, wide (30-40 cm) furrows are dug up around the proposed ridge to a depth of 20-25 cm. The earth taken out of the furrows is laid on the bed. Sawdust is poured into the resulting trenches around the beds. This is beneficial for a number of reasons. Firstly, after any rain you can go to the garden in slippers. Secondly, by filling the furrows, you will thereby prevent the bed from drying out (especially its edges). Thirdly, sawdust will not allow weeds to germinate. Fourthly, in the future, rotted sawdust will become an excellent fertilizer - when they are transferred to the garden bed, the earth will become not only lush, but also warmer and more fertile.

Sawdust on high ridges

On high beds, formed on a thick layer of organic matter with the addition of a small amount of soil, vegetables, flowers and others grow beautifully garden plants. It is also possible to form such a multilayer bed using sawdust. First, remove the top fertile layer of the earth and set it aside. In the resulting trench 1 m wide and 3-5 m long (length depends on desire), lay a layer of grass (hay, straw, etc.), pour a layer of sawdust flavored with urea. Then lay another layer of organic remains, such as leaves, and cover the entire structure with the previously deposited earth on top. And so that the earth does not crumble along the edges of the ridge, build a kind of barrier around it from cut grass, straw or layers of turf (it must be laid with its roots out). Keep in mind that plants in such a bed require more water, so it's a good idea to cover the sides of the bed with foil to reduce evaporation.

Sawdust as a substrate for seed germination

There are two technologies for sowing seeds for seedlings: directly into the soil or into old sawdust. Sawdust is an ideal soil for a short period of time, because. they are a very loose substrate that ensures intensive development of the root system, on the one hand, and guarantees absolutely painless plant transplantation, on the other. True, we are talking about a short period, because. sawdust nutrients they do not contain in a form accessible to plants, and therefore plants can develop on them only as long as they have enough nutrition from seeds - that is, approximately until the first true leaf appears.

The technology of sowing in sawdust is as follows. Take a flat, shallow container filled with wet sawdust. Seeds are sown in it at some distance from each other and again sprinkled with sawdust - the last operation for many seeds can not be done, because. seed germination increases in light. True, in the absence of the top layer of sawdust, the danger of the seeds drying out increases, and if you are not able to check their condition several times a day, then it is better not to refuse the top layer.

The containers are placed in slightly opened plastic bags in a warm place (for example, on the battery, if it is not too hot there). During the germination period for many seeds, in particular, nightshade crops, it is desirable to maintain a temperature of about 25-30°C. With the advent of seedlings, the temperature is reduced: during the day to 18 ... 26 ° C, and at night to 14 ... 16 ° C, but the temperature data given, of course, for different plants differ.

After germination, the packages are removed, the sawdust is sprinkled with a layer fertile soil about 0.5 cm, and the containers are moved under fluorescent lamps. When the first true leaf appears, the plants are seated in separate containers.

Sawdust for early potato harvest

If you dream of getting an early potato harvest, then sawdust will come to the rescue here too. Get the right amount of light-sprouted potato tubers early varieties, several boxes and stale, moistened sawdust. Two weeks before planting the tubers in the garden, fill the boxes 8-10 cm with sawdust, place the tubers upside down in the boxes and cover with a layer of the same substrate 2-3 cm thick.

Make sure that the substrate, on the one hand, does not dry out, and on the other hand, does not become waterlogged. Provide him with a temperature not higher than 20 ° C. When the height of the sprouts is 6-8 cm, pour them abundantly with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers and plant them together with the soil in pre-prepared holes, covering both the tubers and the sprouts with earth. Before this, the soil must be preheated, covered in advance with plastic wrap, and after planting, cover the entire potato area with straw or hay, and then with the same plastic wrap so that the tubers do not freeze. As a result, you will speed up the harvest of potatoes by several weeks.

Svetlana Shlyakhtina, Yekaterinburg

All gardeners know that plants need fertilizer. Many people buy organic matter for a lot of money, others prepare various herbal infusions, but not everyone has heard about sawdust as a fertilizer for the garden. What is the use of sawdust and harm? How to properly use wood chips to improve soil performance in the garden? Let's discuss these questions in detail.

What sawdust is suitable for the garden and how it affects the soil?

In general, why do you need wood shavings in the garden? Readers of "Popular about Health" have probably heard or seen how soil is mulched with this material, sprinkled between rows, and even used in greenhouses. But why is this necessary? The fact is that small fractions of wood are an excellent baking powder. If the soil on the site is heavy, it makes sense to change its composition so that it becomes lighter and better breathable. On loose soil, crops grow better, a dense crust does not form near the stems, and weeds, if they appear, are easily removed.

At first glance, everything seems clear, all of the above is true only in relation to already rotted, and not fresh sawdust. Unfortunately, wood takes a very long time to decompose on its own. This process can take about 8-10 years (depending on the properties and quality of the tree). To speed up this process, you need the right environment - heat, moisture and nitrogen. That is why wood shavings are often covered with polyethylene, adding mullein infusion or urea to it beforehand. From time to time, the pile is carefully shoveled to speed up the process of overheating. If you mix garden soil with fresh wood shavings, the wood will begin to take nitrogen from the earth, which is involved in the decomposition process. Now let's talk in detail about the benefits of sawdust for the garden.

Benefits of sawdust fertilizer

So, we have already indirectly touched on several questions about useful properties wood shavings for the garden. Here are the benefits of sawdust:

Small fractions of wood give the soil lightness, serve as a baking powder.
The rotted shavings are a good organic fertilizer.
Sawdust is good for mulching.
A layer of shavings protects against weeds, from some pests (slugs and snails do not like to move on such a coating).
The shavings are used for germinating seeds for seedlings.
This material can be used in the arrangement of elevated beds.
Sawdust is indispensable in greenhouses.
Sawdust is necessary for growing strawberries and strawberries, they prevent the berries from rotting and protect against weeds and weevils.
For crops that prefer acidic soil, this material is essential to maintain optimal acidity levels.

Harm of fertilizer for the garden

Wood shavings, if used fresh, are harmful to the garden as fertilizer. As we found out, its decomposition requires nitrogen, which is contained in the soil. As the wood overheats, the earth gradually becomes depleted and oxidized, the plants wither. Another reason why sawdust can be harmful is if they are obtained from wood products coated with paints and varnishes. For the garden, only untreated wood can be used.

How to properly prepare shavings for fertilizer and mulching?

If you have fresh wood shavings at your disposal, they can easily be turned into quality humus. To do this, you do not need to wait several years until it overheats. This process can be accelerated and fertilizer can be used after 4-6 months. How to do this, "Popular about health" will tell right now.

Take a large piece of thick polyethylene, lay it out in a sunny place. Sprinkle a layer of shavings on it, then the remnants of weed mixed with foliage. 200 g of urea are added to the pile and 10 liters of water are poured. Then another layer of the same components is poured, again urea and water are added. You can also pour mullein infusion instead of water into the pile, then the decomposition process will go faster. Then all this is covered with polyethylene, which must be well fixed in order to create a greenhouse effect inside. Under the influence of the sun, the pile will heat up, microorganisms will multiply, which will lead to the rapid transformation of sawdust into humus. Just remember to shovel the pile and keep an eye on the moisture level inside. For some purposes, it is possible to use semi-ripe sawdust (after 2-3 weeks), for example, for mulching raspberry bushes or vegetable crops.

How to use sawdust in the garden?

Overripe wood has a brown tint, unlike fresh, light. She not only mulches the soil, but also contributes to its composition as humus. To do this, they dig up the earth, adding wood fertilizer, if necessary, lime is also added to reduce acidity. It is wise to use mulch in late spring and summer, when moisture from the ground evaporates very quickly. In the rainy season, towards the end of summer, it is better to mix the remains of wood mulch with the soil with the help of frequent loosening. Otherwise, moisture will linger in the ground, which will adversely affect the plants and their preparation for wintering.

Sawdust is a relatively inexpensive but valuable fertilizer if properly prepared. They bring a lot of benefits for the development of crops, but with inept handling (fresh use), they can harm the soil - impoverish it. Then the plants will experience a lack of nitrogenous compounds that are needed for the growth of green mass.

Most modern summer residents and gardeners are well aware of the values ​​\u200b\u200bthat such fertilizer as manure is fraught with. But its cost is getting higher every year, and there are no alternatives similar in quality and efficiency. Although the lack of alternatives is not true, because sawdust works great as organic fertilizers. And if you learn how to use them correctly, the result can exceed all expectations.

This material is found in abundance among people who are often involved in construction work, but the purchase of sawdust today is not challenging task. Moreover, the cost of these lumber wastes is several times lower than the price of manure. With a strong desire, you can observe where the nearest wood processing enterprises take out waste, and pick up ownerless sawdust.

If you are thinking about how to use sawdust in the garden, then there are many variations for this: as a basis for mulch, a substrate in which tubers germinate or seedlings are grown. There are a huge number of options, so sawdust is a must-have at hand for every conscious summer resident.

The influence of sawdust on the structure and chemical composition of the soil

The use of sawdust in the garden and the garden begins with their introduction into the ground. This manipulation makes the soil structure looser, which guarantees more active absorption of moisture and good air permeability, and as a result, the absence of a dense crust on the surface, making frequent loosening completely unnecessary. On such soil, plants show excellent growth rates.

But the benefits of sawdust in the garden are tangible only when using rotted material. Their difference from fresh dark color and specific smell. But the main difficulty is that sawdust overheats too slowly without additional additives from water or living organic matter. On average, the process takes more than 10 years. You can speed it up in two ways:

Put in a compost heap or spread on beds in greenhouses, mixing with already rotted manure.

Sawdust mixed with manure can also be used for mulching beds.

It is important to know!

Please note that sawdust from wood species, popular in mid-latitudes, has Negative influence on the soil, acidifying it. Therefore, in parallel with the introduction of sawdust, the soil will have to be limed.

Mulching beds

As the basis of the mulching material, rotted or fresh sawdust can be used. The main thing is to pour them out in a layer of at least 5 centimeters thick. A similar mulching layer shows itself especially well under raspberry bushes or in the beds where vegetable crops. But if rotted sawdust can be immediately laid out on the soil, then fresh sawdust is required preliminary preparation. Neglecting this rule leads to the fact that fresh sawdust will draw nitrogen from the soil, which is intended for plants, due to which the planting may die.

To prepare the sawdust, lay out a plastic sheet with dimensions corresponding to the amount of lumber available on a free area. Pour 3 buckets of sawdust and 0.2 kilograms of urea onto the film, and fill everything with 10 liters of clean water. Repeat this manipulation several times, laying out the components in layers until the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe film is occupied by sawdust. At the end, all layers are covered with plastic wrap, it is important to maintain tightness. After two weeks of storage in this way, the sawdust is ready for use.

Note that it would be more rational to use the mulching material prepared in this way only at the beginning of summer, when moisture actively evaporates from the ground. Having fulfilled its function of retaining moisture, already in the middle of summer, thanks to worms and regular mechanical loosening, sawdust mulch will mix with the soil and saturate it with useful substances.

If you made too much mulch, and it did not mix with the soil on its own, actively loosen the site either in late summer or in autumn. Neglecting this recommendation will cause the layer of sawdust to freeze in the spring and cause delayed thawing of the soil, respectively, making any early planting impossible.

The use of sawdust when growing indoors

We have already figured out how to use sawdust in the garden. But they are also indispensable for greenhouses with greenhouses. One of the most popular fertilizers for indoor cultivation is manure. So, in combination with sawdust and vegetable waste, it gives maximum efficiency on the beds. All due to the fact that sawdust contributes to the rapid heating of manure. In such a mixture, the sawdust pereperet much faster, which has a positive effect on the quality of the soil - it is looser and with good air permeability.

It is important to know!

If you plan to use fresh manure for greenhouse or greenhouse fertilizer, mix it with fresh sawdust - they will absorb excess nitrogen. If the manure is rotted, use rotted sawdust, so the soil will not be oversaturated with nitrogen.

You can apply a mixture of manure and sawdust to greenhouse beds in autumn and spring. If only sawdust is used, then the process of heating and overheating can be accelerated by pouring boiling water over the beds and covering them with a layer of dense plastic wrap.

For compost

Overripe sawdust is the most valuable, so composting some of it is a smart decision. It is recommended to prepare a mixture of one cubic meter fresh sawdust, 100 kilograms of fresh manure and 10 kilograms of bird droppings. The preparation time for this compost is one year, provided it is properly moistened and covered against washout. useful substances. If there is no required amount of manure, try urea - 3 buckets of sawdust are diluted per 200 grams. You can speed up the process of sawdust decay by pre-wetting them with water or slurry.

Composting of sawdust is also necessary in cases where they have been stored in places overgrown with wild weeds. A prerequisite is to warm up the compost heap to a temperature of at least +60 degrees Celsius. Only under such conditions will all the seeds of the aforementioned weeds mixed with sawdust lose their germination capacity. If the compost heap does not warm up on its own, it can be helped with this by spilling sawdust with hot water and covering it with thick plastic wrap.

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, needles, sawdust and others natural materials. This agricultural technique avoids many health problems of cultivated plants on the ground and in the greenhouse. The use of sawdust as a mulch leads to amazing results in the development of the 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 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 pure form- 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 of different trees are not suitable for all plants:

• Hardwood waste is good for crops, except for.
• 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 maintaining a sufficient level of 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 the necessary elements and carry out chemical reactions. After that, add the resulting mixture to the soil when digging the beds. The earth will receive a sufficient dose of ammonia, levels out acid-base balance soil, the release of nutrients 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 woody material is a loose environment that allows the root system of seedlings to develop intensively, but only if there is an adequate supply of nutrients.

» Preparations

Inexpensive and affordable natural material- sawdust. You can buy them at the nearest sawmill, get them on your own site during construction, sawing firewood. Farmers have found many ways to benefit from this waste. However, do not forget that they can be harmful. Further in the article, let's take a closer look at such aspects as the benefits and harms of using sawdust in the garden. And also how you can fertilize or treat the beds with them.

Sawdust and shavings are sometimes burned to obtain a mineral fertilizer - wood ash. But this is how valuable organic matter disappears, the voluminous loose substance disappears. It's better to do it the other way around:

1. Mulching.
2. Compost.
3. Bookmark in the soil and greenhouses.
4. Neutralizer of harmful substances.
5. Acidifier.
6. Dehumidifier.
7. temperature insulator.
8. Pest repeller.
9. Additive to seedling soil.
10. Substrate for mycelium, germination of seeds and tubers, forcing flowers and herbs.
11. environment for winter storage rhizomes and tubers.
12. Covering garden paths.
13. Litter in animal husbandry and poultry farming, in a dog kennel.
14. Filler in the country toilet.
15. Material for stuffing a garden scarecrow, garden furniture and pillows.
16. Construction raw materials (insulator, insulation, filler for sawdust concrete).
17. Fuel in heating boilers.
18. Source of smoke in the smokehouse.

sawdust close up

Varieties of small wood waste

Small waste from sawing wood is divided into chips, large and small fractions. There are also differences in the type of wood: from coniferous or hardwood. Sometimes differences are important, for example: leaf waste rots faster; conifers are not suitable for smoking products, etc. But any organic matter is valuable. Before use, it is desirable to process sawdust.

Benefit and harm

1. For humans and the environment, the presence of impurities such as creolin, chemical oils, paint particles, glue, gasoline is dangerous. That is why it is necessary to take processed wood products, and not chipboard or sleepers.
2. Resinous substances inhibit the germination of seeds, the development of plants. This disadvantage is neutralized by scalding the substrate with boiling water, as well as by composting.
3. Underripe organic matter (when applied to the soil and on its surface) begins to decompose by microorganisms that intensively consume soil nitrogen. Because of this, plants experience nitrogen starvation - turn pale, develop worse. Therefore, it is recommended to put only rotten sawdust into the ground, and when mulching fresh, flavor them with nitrogen fertilizers.
4. Sawdust compost acidifies the soil. Simultaneous alkalization is necessary (in autumn - with lime, in spring - with dolomite flour, ash).
5. Seedling sawdust soils dry out too quickly. It is necessary to observe the recommended proportions of the components, monitor the regularity of watering.

Mulching

Sawdust mulch is a cheap and convenient option. They cover it in the country:

• surface of ridges with vegetables and strawberries
• soil in raspberries, flower beds
• tree trunks in the fruit and berry garden

Sawdust in bags ready for soil mulching

The thickness of the layer can be from 4 to 20 cm.

Mulch is placed in spring or early summer, and for fruit and berry and ornamental crops it can also be done in autumn. At the beginning of the season, rotten sawdust compost of the last or the year before is used; at the end of the season, spring composting organic matter is suitable.

It is permissible to mulch with fresh sawdust. They are pre-cooked: impregnated with a strong solution of nitrogen fertilizers. To do this, 3 buckets of mulching material are poured with 10 liters of water, where a quarter kilogram of carbamide or nitrate is dissolved. It is best if this mixture stands for a couple of weeks before mulching (covered with polyethylene), after which you can pour it on the beds. Mineral fertilizers can be replaced with fresh manure or manure (2 liters), but such a mulch is not suitable for strawberries and some vegetables (for hygienic reasons).

Advantages of sawdust mulch

1. the material is not clogged with weed seeds
2. gradually overheating, the mulch enriches the soil with organic matter
3. moisture is saved
4. no soil crust and erosion
5. roots are warmed, temperature differences are smoothed out
6. comfortable for beneficial soil inhabitants (microorganisms, earthworms)
7. the exit of some pests is difficult
8. no dirty splashes from rain and watering - cleaner food and less disease
9. inhibits the growth of weeds
10. ridges, garden, flower beds look well-groomed and beautiful

Mulching sawdust beds with potatoes

How to fertilize with compost

The best way to dispose of sawdust is proper composting. Just poured out in a large heap, they will rot for several years (especially from coniferous trees). Rotting is accelerated by layer-by-layer mixing with substances such as

• manure, litter
• feces
• foliage
• herbal humus
• dolomite flour, ash.

The mass is regularly shoveled and spilled with water, as well as solutions of mineral fertilizers, herbal infusions, biopreparations (Baikal, Flumb Super, Radiance). The process of compost maturation usually lasts from six months to two or three years. The minimum waiting period is 2 months.

Mixed compost is considered the best organo-mineral fertilizer for all crops.

Bookmarking in the soil and greenhouses

Fertilizer "works" in the ground for 3-5 years: it nourishes plants, loosens heavy loams.

small wood waste also used when laying biofuel in hotbeds and greenhouses. They are mixed: fresh sawdust to fresh manure, rotten to rotted (in a ratio of 1: 1).

Neutralizer of harmful substances

A fresh mass of small wood waste serves as an "ambulance" in case of emergency. It is added to the ground if an excess of nitrogen and other fertilizers is noticed. So plants will avoid fattening, accumulation of nitrates and harmful salts.

Acidifier in the beds in the garden

Sawdust is useful when planting and mulching those plants that love the increased acidity of the soil (hydrangeas, rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers, blueberries).

Pine sawdust as a desiccant

Fresh sawdust can absorb an amount of liquid that is 5 times its volume. They are good for filling drainage ditches, paths between high ridges in wetlands.

temperature insulator

In regions where winter temperatures are low, dry sawdust closes the root zone and branches of shrubs (grapes, hydrangea, rose, clematis), planting winter garlic and perennial flowers (lilies, irises, chrysanthemums) from freezing from freezing. To avoid warming up, the shelter is made at the onset of sub-zero temperatures, and the opening is done early in the spring. To protect against dampness, a waterproof material (polyethylene, roofing material, etc.) is placed on top.

Some fruit and berry crops bloom very early, and the ovaries freeze slightly. If the root zone is covered with a powerful sawdust layer, then the trees and shrubs will wake up later. Flowering will move to a more comfortable time.

Pest repeller in the garden

Small wood waste is impregnated with tar or gasoline, laid out to repel rodents, onion and carrot flies.

Adding prickly sawdust makes it difficult for snails and slugs to move. The resinous aroma partially protects plants from the attack of beetles (Colorado, raspberry, flower beetle, weevil).

Additive to seedling soil

A soil substrate containing 10 to 50% rotten sawdust compost is recommended for

• vegetable and flower seedlings
• rooting cuttings and strawberry whiskers
• growing seedlings with a closed root system.

Other components of such soil are garden soil, peat, some sand. Loose soil requires frequent watering or special moisture-retaining additives (hydrogel, vermiculite, coconut substrate).

Underripe organic matter can cause starvation of young plants. If the foliage has turned pale, then it is necessary to give nitrogen-phosphorus top dressing.

Use of the substrate as a fertilizer

In fresh small sawdust, seeds of cucumbers (as well as zucchini, pumpkins, melons and watermelons) are germinated, seedlings are kept. The substrate is poured with boiling water, then the water is immediately drained. The procedure is repeated twice to wash off the resinous substances. The warm wet mass is laid out in a layer of 6 cm, dry seeds are placed in it to a depth of 1.5 cm (with a distance of 3 cm from each other). Crops are covered with a film and placed in a warm place. Shoots "shoot" after 3-4 days. Seedlings are ready for planting in two weeks.

In sawdust, you can make the forcing of green onions, tulip flowers. The substrate must first be shed with boiling water, flavored with a complex fertilizer with a predominance of nitrogen. Potato and dahlia tubers are germinated in the same way before planting.

The average fraction of chopped wood deciduous trees used in artificial cultivation of mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms.

Medium for winter storage of rhizomes and tubers

In autumn, flower growers dig up dahlia tubers, callas and begonias, canna rhizomes. They are stored in a cellar or refrigerator, sprinkled with dry, fresh sawdust. Resinous components inhibit decay.

Farmers are diligent and creative people. They are able to convert waste into income, especially when it comes to organics. As you can see, the use of pine or any other sawdust can be beneficial in the right hands.