Why do they sprinkle the beds with sawdust: is it possible to mulch the soil with fresh ones and add them between the rows? Using sawdust in the garden

Gardeners have been arguing about the benefits and harms of sawdust in their summer cottages for a long time. Some are categorically against their use, while others regularly sprinkle them in a thick layer in the garden and claim that this improves the structure of the soil and fertilizes it.

Who is right? We'll figure out!

But first, let's talk about the properties sawdust.

Properties that are useful and not so useful

1. Sawdust makes the soil looser

They help it breathe and prevent the formation of a crust on the surface of the earth, so you don’t need to loosen the plantings so often.

2. Sawdust absorbs and retains moisture

For plants, this feature is, of course, only a plus.

3. Weeds do not break through the layer of sawdust

A controversial fact... But partly this is true. In any case, not everyone will make it through.

4. Sawdust fertilizes the soil

But this is only true if they have rotted well and if they were introduced into the soil correctly.

5. Sawdust acidifies the soil.

And this is a minus. Some gardeners have had negative experiences and say that even fertilizers don’t help - almost nothing grows in the garden. Let's talk about this too.

6. Sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil.

They “steal” it from plants, and this is also a minus. However, any negative can be turned into a positive if you know how to do it.

Problems and solutions

So, Problem No. 1 is soil acidification. If you mulch blueberries, conifers or rhododendrons with sawdust, then there is no problem at all - they love “sour” things. For most other plants, acidification is detrimental.

Solution: If you remember from chemistry course, alkalis and acids neutralize each other by reacting. Remember how long ago you “quenched” soda with vinegar when preparing dough? The same can be done on garden plot. Just instead of soda you need to use:

• ash (peat or wood);
• regular lime or special deoxidizing lime (sold in stores);
• dolomite flour;
• fertilizers ( potassium chloride, potassium or ammonium sulfate, calcium or sodium nitrate, superphosphate);
• crushed chalk.

All in all, It is necessary to add alkali with sawdust. The main thing is to follow the dose and rules. Yes, with lime and dolomite flour Fertilizers enriched with boron and manganese must be added to the soil.

To find out the acidity of your soil, use special litmus tests. They are also sold in garden centers and are very easy to use (no chemistry knowledge required).

Problem No. 2 - “pulling” nitrogen. And with a lack of nitrogen, as we know, plants develop poorly.

Solution: urea (calcium nitrate). In this case, you must use water so that the fertilizer dissolves and the sawdust is saturated with it.

Now let's move on directly to ways to use sawdust in the country.

Areas of application of sawdust in a summer cottage

1. Sawdust - mulching material

The tasks of any mulching material:

• retain water in the soil;
• reduce the number of weeds;
• prevent erosion and soil erosion;
• prevent soil overheating in summer and freezing in winter;
• keep the soil loose;
• prevent the formation of crust on the soil surface;
• protect plants from pathogens present in the soil and falling on the leaves during watering;
• stimulate the formation of adventitious roots.

In order for sawdust to become a good mulch, you need to prepare it.

Here's one way:

• Lay out plastic film on the ground and pour a bucket of sawdust onto it. Distribute them.
• Sprinkle 200 g of urea.
• Pour in 10 liters of water.
• Cover the top with plastic, press down with stones and leave for 2 weeks.

After the sawdust has “ripened”, sprinkle it on the ground in a layer of 3-5 cm, mixing with the ash. Or you can mix it with alkali at the first stage. I’ll note right away that it’s not necessary to cook rotted sawdust this way, but fresh sawdust needs to be “marinated” in any case.

Gardeners who grow strawberries especially love this mulch - the berries are always clean and do not rot when they come into contact with the soil. At the end of the season, the sawdust is dug up along with the ground.

2. Sawdust + manure = good fertilizer

Manure is not a cheap pleasure. To generously fertilize the entire area, mix manure with sawdust and let it rot well. The worms will do their job, and the sawdust will quickly become safe for your garden.

The ratio is as follows: For 1 cubic meter of sawdust, 100 kg of manure (preferably cow) and 10 kg of bird droppings are required. This mixture should last for a whole year. Periodically, the compost heap needs to be watered, “flavored” with hay, grass, leaves and kitchen waste. It is better to cover the pile on top so that rain does not wash away useful elements. Instead of manure, you can use urea alone, mullein or a solution of bird droppings.

Before starting the compost pile, be sure to thoroughly moisten the sawdust with water. Slurry or liquid waste from the kitchen is also suitable. In addition, it would be useful in the compost heap ordinary land, at the rate of 2-3 buckets per cubic meter of sawdust - this is necessary so that the worms get to work faster.

3. Sawdust for paths

Firstly, it looks nice and neat. You can walk along such paths even in late autumn without the risk of getting your shoes dirty with mud.

Secondly, There is less grass growing on such paths. The sawdust is compressed and prevents the growth of weeds.

AND, Thirdly, sawdust sprinkled between the rows protects the edges of the beds from drying out. Do not forget that fresh sawdust must be prepared in any case.

4. Sawdust for beds

If your site is located in a low area, you can use sawdust to raise the level of the beds. To do this, dig a trench 25 cm deep, cover it with straw or hay and fill it with sawdust (with urea and alkali, of course). The dug up soil is the most fertile upper layer- put it on top, thereby raising the level of the beds. Immediately place sawdust between the beds. When they rot, they can be used to fertilize the plantings.

5. Sawdust for seed germination

Sawdust easily replaces soil, but only for the period while the seed contains nutrients. If the plant is not transplanted into the ground in time, it will die.

To germinate seeds in sawdust, you need to do this:

• Pour sawdust into the container thin layer and place the seeds on them.
• Sprinkle the seeds with another layer of sawdust, lightly. You don't have to sprinkle it, but you will need to check the moisture content often. So it's better to sprinkle it.
• Cover the container with polyethylene and place it in a warm place (+25...+30 degrees). When shoots appear, the container must be removed to a cooler place, the polyethylene removed, and the sawdust sprinkled with soil on top.
• As soon as the seedlings have their first real leaf, we plant them in the ground, in separate containers.

This way you can germinate almost any seed.

6. Sawdust and early harvest potatoes

Do you want to eat new potatoes before all your neighbors? Use sawdust!

What do we do:

• Sprout tubers of early varieties in the light.
• Moisten the sawdust with water and pour it into the box in a 10 cm layer.
• Place the potatoes on top, sprouts up, and sprinkle them with another layer of sawdust (2-3 cm).
• Keep the sawdust moist. When the length of the sprouts reaches 6-8 cm, we plant the potatoes in the holes and completely cover them with soil. You need to lay straw or hay on top, you can cover it with film for the first time (if it’s still cold).

This method of preparation planting material allows you to harvest a few weeks earlier than usual.

7. Sawdust and plant insulation

Most reliable way- fill bags with sawdust and place them around the plants. In this case, the sawdust does not get wet during bad weather, does not freeze, and does not become a habitat for mice. True, there is a more reliable way. Thus, the vine is often insulated in the following way: a frame is knocked together from boards (like a box without a bottom), placed on the plant, covered with sawdust on top and covered with polyethylene. They also put a layer of earth on top. With such protection, the plant is not afraid of any frost.

You need to carefully insulate plants with sawdust. If you just pour sawdust, it will get wet and then turn into an ice ball. In addition, as already mentioned, mice and other rodents can “have fun” in them. Therefore, it is better to use the dry method of insulation with sawdust, be sure to cover them on top with polyethylene and something inaccessible to mouse teeth.

8. Sawdust on the farm

What else can you do with sawdust in your dacha?

Here are some possible areas of their application:

Ceiling insulation

Of course, now there are more modern and safe materials- for example, ecowool, - but you can use sawdust the old fashioned way. And if you mix them with clay and apply them to the floor of the attic, you will not only insulate the ceiling, but also take care of fire safety.

Room heating

There are even heating boilers, which work specifically on compressed sawdust.

Plaster for walls

Previously, this was the only way to plaster: they mixed clay with sawdust - and that’s plaster. Cement can be used instead of clay. The method is suitable, for example, for plastering a garden house or gazebo.

Sawdust in children's creativity

Children actually love them as much as sand! Did you know that you can even make colored appliques from sawdust? To do this, they need to be painted in a gouache solution and dried in the sun. Then draw some kind of outline on the cardboard, spread it with office glue and sprinkle multi-colored sawdust on it, creating appliqués.

Storing vegetables in the cellar

As you know, sawdust absorbs water well. Therefore, feel free to use them if the cellar is too damp: sawdust will absorb excess moisture, and fruits and vegetables will not rot.

Firing clay products

If you are interested in sculpting, you should know: a beautiful glaze on products appears when they are fired again using sawdust, when burned, the product quickly heats up and cools down.

Sawdust as a filling material

Do you make toys, decorative pillows for the garden or dolls? You can fill them with sawdust. By the way, now is the time to make a garden scarecrow for the new summer season.

Sachets

Juniper sawdust can be used to make cabinet scent. Place them in a cloth bag and hang them in your closet.

Animal bedding

In this case, sawdust plays 2 roles: floor insulation and hygiene products (absorb slurry and waste). However, not all are worth using. Of course, sawdust is best fruit trees- they contain less resins. Pine ones are possible, but it is advisable to dry them well first. But nut sawdust can even cause inflammation of horses' hooves.

Sawdust when smoking

They smolder slowly and produce a lot of smoke, which is what you need when smoking.

Sawdust in icy conditions

Sprinkle them on icy paths. Safe and environmentally friendly!

Whether or not sawdust can be used in the garden to fertilize the soil is a favorite topic of discussion among gardeners and gardeners. Opinions on this matter are completely opposite: some summer residents praise sawdust and use it to the fullest, others are categorically against such “recklessness.” Who's right here?

With proper preparation, using sawdust as fertilizer is certainly possible. And not only. Sawdust, it turns out, is generally a wonderful help in the household. There are a lot of options for using them, we counted a damn dozen...

Sawdust has a lot of necessary and useful to the gardener properties. For example, they are a good soil loosener, which improves its structure and prevents cracking and crusting. In addition, sawdust is able to absorb and retain liquid, which makes it possible to use it where it is necessary to reduce humidity. Sawdust can insulate, disinfect, decorate, and protect.

Finally, let's not forget that sawdust is wood waste. That is, real organic matter, which is processed by soil microorganisms into nutrients necessary for everything growing on earth. And like any other organic matter, sawdust should not be sent to landfills, but to garden beds.

How to avoid problems when using sawdust in the country

But if sawdust is so beautiful, why are there people against using it? There are actually two reasons for distrust of sawdust: adding fresh sawdust increases the acidity of the soil and sawdust absorbs nitrogen from the soil when decomposing.

Both of these problems can be solved. The very first solution is to use sawdust for crops that grow well on acidic soils(at pH 5.5-6.0). And there are quite a lot of them: Japanese quince, barberry, blueberries, honeysuckle, viburnum, potatoes, dogwood, cranberries, carrots, cucumbers, rhubarb, radishes, turnips, rosemary, tomatoes, pumpkin, conifers, spinach, sorrel.

If you don’t want to take risks with fresh sawdust, their oxidizing ability needs to be neutralized. To do this, sawdust is mixed with “alkaline” materials: ash, lime, eggshell, dolomite flour, crushed chalk or fertilizers (superphosphate, potassium chloride, sodium or calcium nitrate, potassium or ammonium sulfate).

The second problem is even easier to solve. Since sawdust needs nitrogen so much, why not just add it to it? Let's add it! A bucket of sawdust usually contains 200 grams of nitrogen fertilizer (for example, urea) dissolved in water. Water is required in this case so that the sawdust is well saturated.

Those who do not accept mineral fertilizers mix sawdust with freshly cut grass, manure, bird or rabbit droppings, spill them or other grass. And the problem of “pulling” nitrogen is no longer there.

How can all this be put into practice? Let's take big piece film and spread it on the site. Pour sawdust mixed with ash onto the film. For each bucket of sawdust we take ten liters of water and two hundred grams of urea. Dissolve the urea in water, pour in the sawdust, cover the top with a second piece of film, press down on the film so that it does not blow away. We leave our mixture in this form for two to three weeks. Is there no room for such a design? No problem. The prepared sawdust can be placed in black garbage bags and closed tightly.

After the due date, we will receive so-called rotted sawdust. You can now forget about all the disadvantages of fresh sawdust.

13 ways to use sawdust in the country

Method 1. Mulching

Using sawdust as mulch is the very first thing that comes to mind. It is enough to prepare them as described above, and the sawdust is completely ready to work as a mulching material. The soil under the crops is covered with a layer of sawdust of 3-5 centimeters. Strawberries, strawberries, garlic and raspberries respond especially well to mulching with sawdust.

It is best to mulch with sawdust in spring and early summer, then by the end of the season you will not find sawdust in the garden bed - it will have time to rot. A thick layer of sawdust mulch in the second half of summer is undesirable; it will prevent the evaporation of excess moisture from the soil, which, in turn, will not allow plants to properly prepare for winter.

Method 2. Composting

Another obvious option for using sawdust in the garden is to add it to Sawdust is a great carbon component for making compost, and when mixed with plant debris, kitchen waste, grass or manure, it will quickly turn into a natural organic fertilizer.

You can compost sawdust “without impurities.” To do this, you will have to dig a hole a meter deep, fill it with fresh sawdust, and sprinkle lime, ash, etc. on top. In two years, the sawdust will rot and you can safely fertilize the beds with it.

Method 3. Germination of seeds and tubers

Many gardeners use sawdust as a substrate for germinating seeds and tubers. Sawdust is poured into a thin layer at the bottom of the container and the seeds are laid out on it. Sprinkle another layer of sawdust on top, also thin. Cover the structure with film and send it to a dark, warm place. When shoots appear, the film is removed, the container is exposed to light, and the sawdust is lightly sprinkled with soil. With the appearance of the first true leaf, the seedlings dive into separate ones.

To germinate potatoes, sawdust is moistened with water and poured into a box with a ten-centimeter layer. Seed tubers are laid on sawdust and sprinkled with another smaller layer of sawdust - 2-3 centimeters. From time to time, spray the contents of the boxes with water. When the tubers produce sprouts 6-8 centimeters long, they can be planted in the ground.

In addition, some small seeds (for example,) are mixed with sawdust when sowing for better distribution along the furrow.

Method 4. Construction of beds

Sawdust can be used for - here any organic matter is needed and important. With the help of sawdust, ridges located in the lowlands are also raised. This is done like this: at the site of the future bed, they dig a trench 25 centimeters deep and fill it with sawdust mixed with lime, ash, etc. The soil dug from the trench is placed on top. This way the bed becomes higher, and the sawdust inside will not only supply nutrients to the plants, but also retain excess moisture.

Method 5. Covering furrows and paths

Sawdust can serve as an excellent covering for walkways between beds and any other paths. The aisles filled with sawdust look beautiful; you can walk on them after rain without fear of getting your shoes dirty. In addition, sawdust is well compressed, preventing weeds from growing. They protect the soil from drying out and nourish it with organic matter. You can also sprinkle sawdust on the paths in icy conditions!

Method 6. Storing vegetables

Carrots, cabbage and apples are well stored in sawdust. And if you decide to make your own for storing crops on the balcony, sawdust can be useful as insulation.

Method 7. Preparing soil for seedlings

Sawdust is one of the components of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplants. Let's not forget that ONLY rotted sawdust is used to prepare seedling soil.

Method 8. Growing mushrooms

Mushroom growing is very interesting. Oyster mushrooms work well on fresh sawdust from hardwood (oak, birch, willow, aspen, poplar, maple). However, the technology for growing mushrooms is far from simple, and to become ideal substrate For mycelium, sawdust must undergo multi-stage preparation.

Method 9. Insulation of fruit trees

If you fill plastic bags with sawdust and place them around young fruit trees, the latter will be reliably insulated for the winter. Sawdust in bags will not get wet, will not freeze, and will not attract rodents. Sawdust is very popular as insulation for grapevine: a specially made box without a bottom is placed on top of the plant, filled with sawdust and covered with film on top.

Please note that in both cases the sawdust is covered with polyethylene. It is important. Just like that, without any shelter, sawdust poured onto the plant will get wet over the winter and then turn into an ice block.

Method 10. Animal bedding

The most best sawdust for this purpose - sawdust from fruit trees. Using shavings and sawdust as bedding for animals is beneficial from all angles. Wood waste is cheap (and often free), it insulates the floor, and it is hygienic due to its absorbent properties. In addition, such litter, having served for its intended purpose, will become an effective fertilizer.

Method 11. Smoking

Those who smoke meat, fish or lard in the country will always find a use for sawdust, wood chips and shavings. True, not all sawdust is suitable for a smokehouse, but only certain types of wood. Juniper and alder wood chips are most suitable for smoking. Sometimes ash, hazel, pear, maple, oak and apple are used. Each tree gives ready-made dish its own aroma, so some gourmets prepare special smoking mixtures from several breeds. It is recommended to make woodchips and shavings for smoking from branches cut in the spring, for example, during routine pruning.

Method 12. Construction and finishing

Many people probably know that sawdust can be mixed into concrete. Sawdust concrete or a mixture of clay and sawdust is used to plaster garden houses and gazebos. Concrete with sawdust can be used to make bricks or building blocks. Sawdust is also used as insulating material for walls and floors.

The vast majority of gardeners are convinced of the value of such fertilizer as manure, although at current prices very few buy it, unfortunately, they cannot afford it. And here few people know about the benefits of sawdust, although this is a very valuable organic matter, which, when correct use can provide very good results.

At the same time, this organic material regularly appears in considerable quantities to everyone who enthusiastically continues to carry out construction work in their garden. And purchasing a machine of sawdust is not a problem for many, since they are much cheaper compared to manure. Sometimes some enterprises even take them to a landfill. Meanwhile There are quite a few options for using sawdust in the garden.- they are placed in compost, used as a mulching material and when forming ridges, sprinkled on paths, etc. And they are even used as a substrate for germinating potatoes and seeds, and seedlings are grown on them. However, you should not take these words quite 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, since everything is not so simple.

How do sawdust affect the soil?

However, all this is true only if rotted or at least semi-rotted sawdust is used, which, unlike fresh sawdust, have dark brown or, accordingly, light brown shades. And sawdust rotting 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 ripen. There is no living organic matter in a heap with sawdust, and as for water, there is no water inside the heap either, since the top layer of sawdust forms a crust through which moisture does not seep into the heap. You can speed up dehumidification in two ways: either add sawdust in small doses to a compost heap or greenhouse beds along with fresh manure, or use it as mulch after enriching it with nitrogen.

In addition, sawdust from our tree species, unfortunately, slightly acidify the soil. Therefore, when using them in large quantities, the soil must be additionally limed.

Sawdust as a mulching material

For mulching, you can use rotted, half-rotted or even fresh sawdust in a layer of 3-5 cm - such mulch will be especially good under bushes, in raspberry fields and on vegetable beds. Rotted and half-rotted sawdust can be used directly, but fresh ones will have to be prepared first; if this is not done, they will take nitrogen from the soil, and therefore from the plants, and as a result, the plantings will wither. The preparation process is relatively simple - you need to put it in a free area large film, then sequentially pour 3 buckets of sawdust, 200 g of urea onto it and evenly pour a 10-liter watering can of water, then again in the same order: sawdust, urea, water, etc. When finished, seal the entire structure with film, pressing it down with stones. After two weeks, the sawdust can be safely used.

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

If the layer of mulch turns out to be too large and it does not mix with the soil, then in the second half of summer, during heavy rains, it is necessary to thoroughly loosen the mulched soil. If rains are rare, then this operation can be postponed to the fall, but you will still have to loosen it (or dig it up or treat it with a flat cutter, if we are talking about vegetable beds), otherwise in the spring the frozen layer of sawdust will delay the thawing of the soil layer. This is especially important for areas where planting is carried out in the early stages.

Sawdust in greenhouses and greenhouses

In closed ground, sawdust is absolutely irreplaceable. They are useful for flavoring both manure and plant residues. In combination with sawdust, manure and all kinds of tops warm up faster in the 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. Just keep in mind that when using fresh manure, fresh sawdust is used, which will take away excess nitrogen from it, and if rotted manure is added, or if you do without it at all, then only rotted sawdust is used - they do not need additional nitrogen.

You can add sawdust to the ridges of greenhouses and greenhouses both in spring and autumn, and it is best to mix them with other fragments of the soil being formed. It makes the most sense in the fall to lay a layer of plant debris on the ridges in the form of straw, fallen leaves, mown grass and various tops. And in the spring, add a layer of fresh manure, sprinkle the latter with lime and a small amount of fresh sawdust, then use a pitchfork to mix the manure with other organic residues. After this, you will need to cover the manure with a small layer of straw or leaves, lay a layer of soil, adding ash and mineral fertilizers to it. For better heating, it is also advisable to pour boiling water over the ridges and cover them with film.

Sawdust in compost

Since it is the rotted sawdust that is of the greatest interest, it is wiser to compost some of the sawdust. It is best to mix them with manure and bird droppings(per 1 m2 of sawdust 100 kg of manure and 10 kg of bird droppings), and then let them sit for a year, if necessary, moistening and covering so that the beneficial substances are not washed out. It is also useful to add mowed grass, 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 sawdust rotting, before adding compost, you need to moisten it well with water, or even better, with slurry or kitchen waste. In addition, it is useful to add soil to the sawdust: two or three buckets per cubic meter of sawdust. In such compost they will multiply quickly earthworms and microorganisms that accelerate the process of wood decay.

If sawdust was stored near abandoned areas overgrown weeds, they also need to be pre-composted. Moreover, the compost heap must 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. You can achieve such heating of the heap by watering sawdust hot water followed by quickly covering it with plastic wrap.

Sawdust on strawberry beds

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

Sawdust when forming ridges in low places

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

Sawdust on high ridges

On raised beds, formed on a thick layer of organic matter with the addition of a small amount of soil, vegetables, flowers and others grow well garden plants. You can also create such a multi-layer bed using sawdust. First, remove the top fertile layer of soil and set it aside. In the resulting trench 1 m wide and 3-5 m long (the length depends on your desire), lay a layer of grass (hay, straw, etc.), add a layer of sawdust flavored with urea. Then lay another layer of organic debris, such as leaves, and cover the entire structure with the previously deposited soil on top. And to prevent the earth from crumbling along the edges of the ridge, build a kind of barrier around it from mown grass, straw or layers of turf (it must be placed with the roots facing out). Keep in mind that plants on such a ridge require more water, so it’s a good idea to cover the sides of the bed with film 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 are ideal soil for a short period of time, because they represent a very loose substrate, ensuring intensive development of the root system, on the one hand, and guarantee absolutely painless plant transplantation, on the other. True, we are talking about a short period, because... sawdust does not contain nutrients in a form accessible to plants, and therefore plants can develop on them only as long as they have enough nutrition from the seeds - that is, approximately until the first true leaf appears.

The technology for sowing into sawdust is as follows. Take a flat, shallow container filled with wet sawdust. Seeds are sown into it at some distance from each other and again sprinkled with sawdust - the last operation for many seeds need not be done, because In the light, seed germination increases. True, in the absence of a top layer of sawdust, the danger of the seeds drying out increases, and if you do not have the opportunity 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 a radiator, 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 approximately 25...30°C. With the emergence 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, is for different plants vary.

After the emergence of shoots, the bags are removed, the sawdust is sprinkled with a layer of fertile soil of about 0.5 cm, and the containers are moved under the lamps daylight. When the first true leaf appears, the plants are planted in separate containers.

Sawdust for early potato harvest

If you dream of getting an early potato harvest, then sawdust will come to the rescue. Get yourself the right amount potato tubers of early varieties sprouted in the light, several boxes and old, moistened sawdust. Two weeks before planting the tubers in the garden, fill the boxes 8-10 cm with sawdust, place the tubers sprouts up in the boxes and cover them 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, does not become waterlogged. Provide it with a temperature no higher than 20°C. When the height of the sprouts is 6-8 cm, water them generously with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers and plant them together with the soil in prepared holes, covering both the tubers and sprouts with soil. Before this, the soil must be pre-warmed, covered in advance with plastic film, and after planting, the entire potato plot must be covered with straw or hay, and then with the same plastic film, so that the tubers do not freeze. As a result, you will speed up your potato harvest by several weeks.

Svetlana Shlyakhtina, Ekaterinburg

Many are confident in the infallibility of this opinion that manure is the best remedy for beds. Well, it may be so, but not everyone can afford it. But few people pay attention to the most common sawdust, which correct use can also give excellent results.

Sawdust is not a rare material in almost all summer cottages, since during repair and construction work it appears regularly after wood processing. And a machine of sawdust is much cheaper in cost than the same machine with manure. Usually, sawdust is taken to a landfill as unnecessary, but in the meantime, it can be added to compost, used as mulch and sprinkled with it. garden paths. Sawdust can also be used as a substrate during germination and seeds. They even grow seedlings on them. However, after these words, it is not recommended to rush into growing seedlings of some cucumbers or tomatoes on bare sawdust or pour them into a bed of currants or strawberries to the point of insanity; you will not benefit from this. Everything has its own subtleties.

The effect of sawdust on the soil

If you sprinkle the soil with sawdust, you will introduce more loosening organic matter into it, which will allow it to “breathe” better and absorb moisture, which will only be a joy for plants. In addition, sawdust will prevent the formation of a crust harmful to the soil and plants, which means that it will not have to be loosened as often as is usually the case on open soil.

But there is one point here - such benefits arise when using rotted or half-rotted sawdust, which has long been brown, rather than yellow. to varying degrees tonality color. In order to bring these same sawdust to this state, outdoors it will take no less than 10 years. For an accelerated process, living organic matter and water are needed, which is not present in sawdust lying freely on the ground. Just lying sawdust, just like the earth, forms a crust on top, through which water simply does not seep. If you persistently want to speed up the process of sawdust rotting, you will have to add it in small doses to the compost, or apply it to beds in greenhouses in combination with manure, or enrich it with nitrogen, and then use it as mulch.

Another problem is that sawdust obtained from trees of our species tends to acidify the soil. That is why lime must be added to the soil if sawdust is used in large quantities.

Use as mulch

As a mulching material, you can use both rotted or semi-rotted sawdust, and fresh sawdust, which is poured in a layer of 3-5 cm. It is especially useful to do this under raspberry and currant bushes, other bushes and in vegetable beds. Only rotted or semi-rotted sawdust can be added without preliminary preparation, but with fresh ones you will have to tinker a little. If this is not done, they will begin to take nitrogen from the soil, to which the plants will react very badly.

Preparing sawdust is not at all difficult. You need to stretch the film onto which three buckets of sawdust should be poured in sequential order. After filling the bucket, 200g of urea is added, and then all this is flavored with ten liters of water. The same is done with the other two buckets in turn. Then the entire mixture is covered with another film on top and pressed tightly with stones to achieve a good seal. After two weeks, the sawdust will be ready for use.

It is better to carry out these actions in the first half of summer. The fact is that during this period moisture actively evaporates, leaving the soil. By the end of summer, thanks to the work of earthworms and loosening, the sawdust will be well mixed with the soil and will be beneficial. If they are poured in the second half of summer, then with a large amount of precipitation they will interfere excess moisture evaporate from the soil, which will complicate life for the same berry growers, since they will not be able to fully develop annual shoots, which means it will be much more difficult to prepare them for winter.

If you filled the beds with too thick a layer of mulch, and it did not mix well with the soil, then if there is a lot of rainfall, you need to loosen the soil as thoroughly as possible. If there is little rain, then the operation can be postponed until the fall, but it still needs to be done, with a shovel or a flat cutter, but thoroughly mix the sawdust with the soil, otherwise in the spring the layer of sawdust will slow down the process of thawing the soil, which is undesirable. This is especially true for those areas where early sowing is carried out.

We use sawdust in greenhouses and greenhouses

For greenhouses and greenhouses, sawdust is simply an irreplaceable wealth. They can be applied either together with manure or with vegetation residues. When mixed with sawdust, both plant residues and manure will heat up much faster in the spring. The rate of overheating will also increase, and as a result we will get excellent compost, which is very nutritious and diverse in terms of nutrients, besides, it is quite loose and permeable to air. However, there are certain subtleties here too - if you add fresh manure, then it will also require fresh sawdust, which will draw excess nitrogen out of it, and if the manure is rotted, or you do without it at all, then you need rotted sawdust, since they do not need excess nitrogen. needed.

Sawdust can be added with equal success both in spring and in autumn. The effect will be even greater if you add other fragments of soil that you will be forming. In the fall, it will be especially useful to place straw, leaves, grass or vegetable tops on the beds. In the spring, put manure on this layer, sprinkle it with lime and add fresh sawdust in a small volume and mix this mixture with organic residues. Then this manure needs to be covered with straw or leaves, a layer of soil should be poured on top and ash should be added to it. mineral supplements. To achieve better heating, pour boiling water over the beds and then cover with film.

A mixture of sawdust and compost

Let's return to the moment when we need rotted sawdust. To do this, they need to be added to compost. To compost, 1 cubic meter sawdust, 100 kilograms of manure and 10 kilograms of bird droppings must be added. This mixture should lie for a year, periodically watered with water and covered so that useful elements are not washed out of it. Don’t forget to periodically add hay, grass clippings, leaves and kitchen waste to this compost. If there is no manure, it is better to mix sawdust with urea (the same proportion - 200 grams for 3 buckets). Instead of urea, you can use diluted mullein or a solution of bird droppings.

To speed up the rotting process of sawdust, before adding compost, do not forget to moisten it generously with water. It’s better if it’s slurry or, again, kitchen waste. It wouldn’t hurt to add soil to the sawdust at the rate of two or even three buckets per cubic meter of sawdust. Earthworms and various microorganisms will only speed up the decomposition of sawdust.

If, before use, sawdust was stored near any abandoned areas, where everything is usually overgrown with grass, they still need to be composted. The compost heap must be subjected to strong heating - up to +60 degrees so that the weed seeds located there are killed. This heating can be achieved by pouring boiling water over the compost and quickly covering it with foil.

Sawdust for strawberries

Sawdust will be useful as mulch for strawberries. The fruits simply will not touch the ground, which will significantly reduce their degree of damage from gray rot. Adding a thick layer of sawdust in the fall will prevent strawberries from freezing in winter, and will prevent many weeds from germinating in the next season. Just remember that sawdust is needed specifically from coniferous trees, and before mulching they need to be treated with urea. In this case, they will become a hindrance to the weevil.

We form beds in the lowlands

Using sawdust, you can raise the level of the beds if they are located in low places. To do this, you need to dig a trench around the future bed, which will be 40 cm wide and up to 25 cm deep. We use the earth taken from the trench to raise the level of the beds, but fill the trench itself with sawdust. This action will bring several benefits in the future. To begin with, you can easily approach the beds even after rains, if there is sawdust between them. In addition, by filling the trench, you will not allow the bed, and in particular its edges, to dry out. Sawdust will prevent weeds from germinating, which will simplify your care of plants and soil in this place. Well, when the sawdust rots, it can be added to the garden bed to insulate the soil, making it softer and more productive.

Sawdust for raised beds

Raised beds are usually made so by having a thick layer of organic matter and a small amount of soil in which plants grow happily. Sawdust can also be involved in the process of forming such a bed. To do this, you need to remove the top layer of soil, which is fertile, then put a layer of hay or straw into a trench a meter wide, onto which you need to pour a layer of sawdust (of course, again mixed with urea). It is advisable to put a layer of fallen leaves on top, and then return the removed layer of earth to its place. If you do not want to allow the soil to fall off the edges of the bed, it is better to lay layers of turf along its edges with the roots facing out or a layer of straw and grass. Remember that in such a bed the plants need moisture much more, so it is better to protect the edges of the bed with film to reduce its evaporation from the soil.

We germinate seeds in a sawdust substrate (video - growing cucumber seedlings on hot sawdust)

For such germination, you will need to take a shallow container, which will be filled with wet sawdust. Seeds are planted in this, which are then again sprinkled with a layer of sawdust. For most seeds, powdering is not necessary as they germinate much better in light. Another thing is that in the absence of a top layer, the seeds can dry out quickly, so you need to check their moisture several times a day. If you do not have this opportunity, it is better to pour earth on top.

The container is placed in plastic bag, which is not closed, and then placed in a warm place. The battery, if it is not very hot, as in winter, may become good place. It is worth remembering that nightshade crops, and many other seeds, like temperatures up to +25-30 degrees. When seedlings appear, the temperature can be reduced to +18-26 degrees, and at night even to +14-16 degrees. These are general figures because for different cultures and the temperature is different.

As soon as the shoots appear, the container is removed from the bag, and a layer of sawdust is sprinkled on top fertile land half a centimeter thick. The container is placed under a fluorescent lamp, and as soon as the first true leaf appears, the plant is planted in a separate container.

We get an early harvest of potatoes along with sawdust

Do you want to get an early potato harvest on your plot? Sawdust will help with this. To begin with, you will need potatoes of early varieties and already sprouted in the light. Next you will need boxes and old sawdust moistened with water. The boxes need to be filled with sawdust in a layer of up to ten centimeters, and then potatoes should be placed on this layer with the sprouts facing up. On top you will need to sprinkle them with a substrate of the same sawdust two to three centimeters thick. These actions need to be performed two weeks before planting potatoes in the beds.

The humidity of sawdust must be maintained at the same level. They should not contain too much moisture, but they should not become dry either. The temperature should not be higher than +20 degrees. As soon as the sprouts reach a length of 6-8 centimeters, it is time to plant them in the beds in the prepared holes, covering the tubers along with the sprouts with soil. Before planting, it is advisable to warm the soil by covering it with film, and after planting, lay straw or hay on the beds, and then cover the top with film again. This way you will prevent the tubers from freezing. Potatoes after such actions will give results several weeks ahead of schedule.

As you can see, sawdust turns out to be very useful assistants in many matters. It is only important to use them for their intended purpose, following all the instructions and not forgetting that when dry, sawdust is only suitable for filling the space between the beds to make it convenient to walk.

The soil in the garden constantly needs fertilizer, as plants draw nutrients from it. To increase the yield from the site, organic and inorganic additives are used. Sawdust was used as fertilizer for the garden by our distant ancestors. This fertilizer has a lot positive properties However, there are also limitations in application. Let's consider the issue in detail.

Properties of sawdust

Many people know about the use of sawdust for. Spread in a layer of 25 cm, they reliably cover the roots from the winter cold and protect them from freezing. However, sawdust also has another purpose - it can serve as an excellent fertilizer for the soil and improve it mechanical characteristics. In particular, based on them you can make.

The composition of sawdust includes:

• essential oils;
• microelements;
• cellulose;
• resins;
• other substances.

Adding wood waste to the soil makes it loose, air- and moisture-permeable. Sawdust attracts soil microorganisms, which enrich the fertile layer with the products of their vital activity. As a result, you get a “living” and nutritious fertile layer on which a rich harvest will grow.

Sawdust absorbs hazardous substances (chemicals, pesticides) and prevents them from entering vegetable crops.

Fresh wood is saturated with resins, lignin, cellulose - these substances interact with the soil and form complex compounds that are not digestible by plants. Also, a huge number of bacteria formed during the decomposition of wood take nutrients from plants for their life support (they need phosphorus and nitrogen). A deficiency of phosphorus and nitrogen contributes to soil acidification, which negatively affects its composition. Therefore, fresh shavings are not added to the soil, but only used as mulch.

However, fresh sawdust binds excess nitrogen compounds found in acidified soil. Thus, they prevent the accumulation of nitrates and metal salts in vegetables and fruits, which are dangerous to humans. Also, fresh wood waste is added to soil with an excess of chemical fertilizers - for the same purpose.

Note! Only environmentally friendly wood is used for fertilizer. Sawdust from furniture and others wooden products unsuitable.

Is it possible to pour sawdust into the garden? Sawdust mulch retains moisture well in the soil, protects strawberries from rotting and prevents the growth of weeds. Mulch wood shavings it is possible until mid-July, when the sun dries out the soil greatly. By August, only memories will remain of sawdust - earthworms and other soil inhabitants will make a fertile layer out of it. If you spread sawdust in a thick layer during a rainy summer, this will become a big obstacle to ripening. berry bushes and young fruit trees - moisture will not be able to evaporate.

Of course, sawmill waste is inferior in its nutritional characteristics to manure or peat, so to increase its value as a fertilizer you need to know the rules and secrets of preparing compost.

Compost

When preparing compost from wood raw materials, you need to know the principle of its maturation. Processing sawdust before adding it to the soil has its own characteristics. Unlike manure, sawdust begins to rot from above, and not from the inside. This slows down the process of rotting of the wood substrate in the heap - you will have to wait at least five years until the entire mass rots. To speed up the process, organic additives are used and the compost is constantly moistened.

There are many ways to make compost from wood waste. They differ in the composition of additional components. The components can be:

• fruit waste;
• vegetable waste;
• vegetable raw materials;
• biological additives.

Pine waste is not used for compost, since the excess resin content prevents decomposition.

If you add tree bark or roots to the compost perennial plants, this will increase the ripening period of the compost. In order for the raw material to quickly rot, it must be crushed.

Compost boosters

Biological enhancer additives help turn sawmill waste into useful fertilizer. The following are used as amplifiers:

• slurry;
• bird droppings;
• mullein.

You can also speed up the maturation of sawdust using the drug “Baikal M-1”. To do this, you need to moisten the raw material well and then put it in a plastic bag. Having tied the bag tightly, it is placed in the sunniest place in the garden. To ensure that the compost warms up evenly, the bag is turned over periodically. In a couple of weeks you will receive excellent sawdust fertilizer with a crumbly consistency.

Preparation

The entire process of compost maturation is divided into three stages:

• decomposition;
• humus formation;
• mineralization.

At the decomposition stage it is released a large number of heat, due to which the wood structure decomposes. At this time, bacteria appear in the sawdust layer and actively process the material. They are also joined by earthworms, accelerating the transformation process.

The formation of humus is achieved through the active saturation of the compost heap with oxygen. To do this, you need to regularly turn the layers over with a shovel and pierce them with a pitchfork.

The third stage is characterized by the release of carbon dioxide and the transformation of wood particles into salts and oxides. The substrate becomes digestible by plants mineral characteristics: It is in this form that they can be easily absorbed by the root system.

Compost in 2 weeks

Nutrient substrate from wood waste can be prepared using cold or hot methods. Cold method- the longest, but also of better quality. However, there is not always time to wait for compost to ripen for years, so gardeners use the second method - hot.

When ripening compost hot, it is necessary to ensure heat loss and establish ventilation. To do this, the mass is placed in a closed container - a barrel, tank, box with a lid or a plastic bag. Ventilation can be achieved by making holes in the sides.

Rules accelerated maturation masses:

• The container with sawdust should be in sunny place garden;
• it is necessary to protect the compost from drafts so that the heat does not erode;
• sawdust and green additives do not need to be mixed;
• compost layers should not exceed 15 cm.

Note! Compost pile should be no more than a meter high in order for the substrate to mature properly. Ideally, the heap area should have a base of no more than 1 m2.

Layer distribution:

• lower - dry grass, foliage;
• the second - sawdust moistened with slurry;
• the third is a mixture of manure with green matter (weeds, tops);
• fourth - any soil (garden, forest);
• fifth - pre-shredded straw;
• then the layers are repeated, starting with sawdust.

When the layers of the pile are formed, it is covered with light-proof material. If the technology is strictly followed, the mass will begin to heat up already on the fourth day after laying. Be careful to maintain moisture by pricking the pile with a fork and turning it with a shovel every third day. After two weeks, the finished substrate can be used to care for cultivated plants.

A compost heap made from sawdust should not emit bad smell. If this happens, it means you have violated the technology.

If an ammonia smell (ammonia) appears, you need to add paper to the pile - this will correct the situation. The paper is pre-shredded. If the smell of rotten eggs appears, you must carefully shovel the substrate and loosen it.

Application

Sawdust is used as fertilizer for open ground and in greenhouses. There are several ways to use this substrate. Let's look at them in detail.

Mulching

For these purposes, it is best to use a rotted substrate, or, in extreme cases, an under-rotted one. Fresh waste is not suitable, as it negatively affects processes in the soil. Mulch the soil both in spring and autumn. To prepare sawdust for mulching, do the following:

• on plastic film lay out fresh sawdust in the volume of three buckets and urea (200 g);
• the mixture must be well moistened with water;
• pour another layer of urea on top and moisten;
• tie the film to create airtight conditions;
• leave for a couple of weeks to ripen.

The substrate can be used for root powder or spread between rows. This procedure accelerates the ripening of fruits and protects seedlings from late blight and other diseases.

Note! The prepared mixture is used only for mulching and not for application to the soil.

Mulching strawberries with rotted sawdust is especially useful - the berries stop rotting and ripen well. However, instead of being useful, fresh wood waste can be harmful - it draws nitrogen necessary for plants from the soil.

When mulching, follow the rules:

• for vegetables and berry bushes - a layer of no more than a couple of centimeters;
• for raspberry/currant bushes - no more than 7 cm;
• for fruit trees - up to 12 cm.

For loosening the soil

Can sawdust be added to the soil? They are often used to improve the structure of the fertile layer. There are three application options for this:

• 3 parts of sawdust and mullein are diluted with water and fertilized the fertile layer of soil in greenhouses;
• rotted sawdust is added to the ground when digging;
• rotted sawdust is poured between the rows during the growing season of plants.

Is sawdust used for fertilizer in the fall? If you add compost during digging in the fall, the soil on the site will thaw much faster in the spring.

Use for seed germination

For this purpose, waste from deciduous trees is taken; pine is not suitable. The rotted raw materials are scattered in a layer on a tray, and prepared seeds are distributed on top. After this, the seeds are lightly covered with compost to retain moisture and watered. The tray with seeds is covered with a transparent film and placed in a warm place. Be sure to leave a gap for air to enter. As soon as the first sprouts appear, they must be transplanted into a regular soil mixture for germinating seeds.

Gardeners recommend using sawdust moistened with slurry to germinate potatoes. 14 days before planting, you need to fill the boxes with moistened compost and place the root vegetables. You will receive seedlings with a strong root system. Potatoes prepared in this way give an early harvest.

Use in greenhouses

When using a wood substrate, it should be remembered that fresh sawdust draws nitrogen from the soil. Therefore, only rotted substrate is used in greenhouses. Compost in greenhouses provides additional warmth, which is especially valuable when early growing plants.

Mode of application:

• in the fall you need to fertilize the soil with plant remains - tops, fallen leaves, straw;
• in the spring, manure is distributed onto the beds and sawdust is sprinkled on top;
• then the manure is mixed well with the soil in the beds - dug up;
• then spread straw in an even layer;
• straw is distributed on top with the addition of agrochemicals and ash.

Note! To quickly warm up the soil in greenhouses, it is watered with boiling water or covered with plastic wrap.

Covering plants

Sawdust for the garden can also be used as a covering material. To do this, you can distribute the raw wood substrate over plastic bags and cover the roots of trees or shrubs with them. To protect plant shoots from the cold, they are bent to the ground and covered with a layer of sawdust.

Note! Compost can save seedlings from spring frosts if you take care of their protection in advance.

Some gardeners install caps filled with fresh wood waste over their rose bushes. This protects the bushes from winter cold. Cover the plants in late autumn: if you do this earlier, the shelter will be used by rodents to burrow.

Bottom line

Fertilizer from sawdust is used when digging the soil, making compost and mulching seedlings. The beneficial effect of sawdust is based on attracting soil organisms, whose vital activity enriches the fertile layer with substances beneficial to plants. Wood waste is used both to retain moisture in the ground and to absorb excess water during heavy rains.

Can sawdust in the garden cause harm? If used incorrectly, they can harm the plants. For example, fresh tree shavings draw nitrogen from the ground that is beneficial for plants, and using sawdust in dry areas will kill plants. If you compost with manure and do not stir the mixture regularly, mold may grow in it. Therefore, when working with wood waste, follow the rules and recommendations. In this case, sawdust will serve you well, and you will collect summer cottage good harvest.

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