What is suitable for mulching. Mulching the soil, types of mulch, features of covering different crops

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For some reason, many gardeners underestimate soil mulching, practically not using it on their plots. They cultivate the garden “the old fashioned way”: autumn digging, spring loosening, planting and sowing, weeding, then watering and repeated weeding with loosening. This is a familiar set of techniques to which ordinary people in various regions and regions of the CIS are accustomed. But some amateur gardeners, brought up by the same examples, have already discovered the value of mulching (which, by the way, has been known for a long time and was used back in the USSR).

We will tell you why mulching the soil is necessary (which, as many believe, you can still do without). If you want to get maximum results at minimal costs and prefer to act most efficiently, this topic will be of great interest to you.

If you haven’t mulched yet, then we are coming to you;)

What is soil mulching?

Mulching is the covering of the earth's surface with any material, which can be of either organic or inorganic origin. It is called one capacious and in a simple word– mulch.

Initially, it was a layer of some kind of organic matter, which, like a natural process, covered the soil (both in the garden in the beds and in the garden under bushes/trees). Later, special mulching materials appeared, which became a worthy alternative to organic matter. The most famous of them is spunbond. But by and large, anything that can be successfully used for the purposes described below can serve as mulch.

Why mulch the soil?

Mulch is the top layer of any material that performs a number of important functions. Let's take a closer look at them.

1. Mulch perfectly protects the soil from evaporation of life-giving moisture. This function is difficult to overestimate, because water is one of the most important components that participate in plant nutrition. Everything depends on it - from the germination and development of plants to their productivity. Mulch allows moisture to remain in the ground, so that it is successfully consumed by plants. Proper mulching of the soil significantly reduces the need for watering, which makes growing different crops easier and less expensive. And during the dry period, this can literally save plants in cases where for some reason it is impossible to carry out timely watering.
2. Mulching creates an optimal soil microclimate. Thanks to this agricultural technique, favorable conditions are created in the root zone not only for plants, but also for underground inhabitants. Under a layer of mulch, worms and beneficial microorganisms feel good and are active, which are involved in the conversion of inaccessible micro- and macroelements into a form accessible to plants. And this has a great effect on the development of agricultural crops and reduces the need for fertilizing.
3. Mulching increases soil fertility. It allows you to create conditions similar to natural ones, in which underground inhabitants are actively working to create humus (look at a forest, meadow or wild field, always covered with a layer of some organic matter). Mulch is also a good source of food for worms and microorganisms. It can be recycled in the same season or become a source of plant residues in the next (this depends on how and what to mulch with).
4. Mulching helps improve soil health. This occurs through the natural colonization of the soil by beneficial microorganisms, which are natural enemies of many diseases of garden crops. Most shining example– Bacillus subtilis, on the basis of which the well-known drug Fitosporin is produced. It is successfully used to combat late blight, powdery mildew and other dangerous plant diseases. In a sufficient layer of mulch, the hay bacillus develops itself - this is a natural process that occurs everywhere in wildlife. In addition to these bacteria, mulch can become an excellent substrate for the colonization of Trichoderma - another natural enemy of pathogens of agricultural crops. These microorganisms are the active ingredient of the very effective biological product Trichodermin. That is, mulching the soil naturally helps create healthy conditions for plant growth, participating in the fight against harmful bacteria and fungi. At the same time, the need for treatments against diseases is reduced and, due to the intensive and healthy growth of crops, maximum yields are achieved, which is economically beneficial in all respects.
5. Mulch protects the soil from weathering of moisture and various useful substances. Wind is a very important factor that is often underestimated by gardeners (after all, not only the scorching sun can dry out the soil). And not only lack of moisture negatively affects the growth and development of agricultural crops. Weathering leads to the loss of substances beneficial to plants, which not only reduces fertility, but also causes compaction of the soil (that is, deterioration of its structure). And this always negatively affects plants and causes the need for additional measures to improve soils.
6. Weeds practically do not grow under a layer of mulch. If the layer is thin, then some vegetation may break through. But you can pull it out with your hands without much difficulty. Under a good layer of plant residues or under agrofibre, weeds do not survive at all. By the way, this is an excellent way to develop virgin lands and free heavily overgrown areas from weeds. At the same time, herbicides and heavy mechanical tillage are not needed, which saves time, money and effort. And in ordinary beds, mulching allows you to do without grueling weeding.
7. Thanks to mulching, you can keep your crops healthy and clean. A layer of mulch protects the fruits from contamination and disease penetration. The most striking example of this is garden strawberries, which remain clean and healthy on a layer of straw or hay (because they do not come into contact with moisture and soil). For tomatoes, mulch becomes a barrier between the soil, which may contain late blight, and the plant. This is an additional measure of prevention and protection against such a dangerous disease. Creeping cucumbers also feel better on a mulch layer, where there is no high humidity after rains or watering. It is known to be a good breeding ground for pathogens. Thus, mulching the soil protects not only the soil environment, but also the plants themselves from diseases.
8. Mulch protects plant roots from being washed away during watering. The stream of water does not disturb the soil cover and does not expose the roots - this is prevented by the mulch layer. This is a nice bonus to everything else that miraculous mulch can do. Thanks to this, there is no need to specifically cover the roots with soil or loosen it (we’ll talk about the latter in the next paragraph).
9. Mulching protects against the formation of soil crust. This means that after watering there is no need to loosen the soil again. It breathes perfectly without losing its structure or becoming crusty. Thus, in addition to the benefits described above, mulching the soil allows you to avoid doing additional work, which makes the process of growing plants easier, thereby reducing the cost.
10. Mulch can successfully perform decorative functions. In parallel with the above properties, in landscape design mulching material performs an aesthetic function. They cover the ground with it, creating a decorative effect. For this, tree bark, pebbles, small pebbles and other materials are used. As you can see, mulching the soil is a multifunctional and very effective technique that allows you to solve a large number of problems in one fell swoop.

How can you mulch the soil?

Let's consider the materials used to mulch the soil in the garden or vegetable garden.

• Hay. This organic material protects the soil well from evaporation and weathering, subsequently becoming food for soil humus producers. It is suitable for all plants, successfully coping with soil mulching tasks. During the season, the lower part of such mulch will be slowly processed into humus, which will require periodic addition of hay.

Any grass. Many experts recommend mulching the soil with slightly dried grass (that is, not immediately after mowing), explaining that it lies quite tightly, does not allow air to pass through properly, and begins to rot. If you use mulch only to cover the surface of the ground, you can heed this advice. Although a small layer of fresh grass will quickly dry out on the bed and will not interfere with aeration. If the purpose of mulching is not only protection from weathering or evaporation, but also to obtain compost in the current season directly in the garden bed, then everything is exactly the opposite. We will talk about this in an article about active mulch - it will reveal valuable information on how to increase productivity, fight diseases and improve soil fertility in the most optimal and effective way.

• Straw. Same good material for mulching the soil if you have access to enough of it. The famous potatoes under straw, which produce large yields, are one of the options for the successful use of this organic material. Straw can be used to mulch any crop.
• Sawdust and shavings. This organic matter can also be used as mulch. But when using it, you need to remember that fresh sawdust in the garden will begin to decompose with the active absorption of nitrogen, which is in the soil. It is consumed in higher doses by those microorganisms that are involved in decomposition. That is, such mulch will partially take away this element in plants. In order to avoid this, it is better to use sawdust that has already lain for at least one season and has changed its color - some of certain processes will already have taken place in them, so there will be no such absorption of nitrogen. Sawdust protects the soil well from evaporation and weathering, allowing air and water to pass through perfectly. True, small sawdust can partially absorb and retain moisture. By the way, if the soil is well fertilized, you should not be too afraid of fresh sawdust, especially if it is not laid in a very large layer and will then be buried in the ground or sent to compost heap(over time, so much will return to the soil necessary for plants nitrogen). You can also use sawdust/shavings together with nitrogen fertilizers and ash, which will remove the issue of nitrogen loss from the soil and add micro- and macroelements to it.
• Tree leaves. This is also a good option for mulch, often used by gardeners. As a mulch layer, you can use forest litter, which perfectly protects the soil and can later be easily processed into humus. But you need to remember that it may contain tannins.
• Needles. This material in the form of needles is used on those soils that need to be acidified, or under plants that love a relatively acidic environment. In addition, the needles perform well in garden strawberry plantings, protecting them from gray rot, a common problem for this crop. In other cases, it is better not to use pine needles, so as not to acidify the soil and not harm crops that prefer a neutral environment.
• Peat, humus or compost. A good mulch is lowland or transitional peat. Other types are not used for this purpose. It is important to mulch the soil only with dried and aerated material, so as not to harm the plants. Fresh peat can be toxic to them. The addition of peat not only covers the surface layer of the soil, but also makes it looser, warmer and more air/water permeable, which significantly improves heavy soils. The use of humus or compost as mulch also improves the structure of soils, while simultaneously increasing their fertility. But these options are used less frequently because they are expensive - it is still more efficient to use such valuable material for plant nutrition.
• Tree bark, cones and wood chips. These materials are used in landscape design. They cover the ground well, successfully complementing the aesthetic picture of plant compositions. The wood chips can be tinted, which has an additional decorative effect, and the bark itself looks beautiful and goes well with green spaces. The cones also look quite aesthetically pleasing. In addition to being decorative, bark, cones and wood chips successfully perform the functions described in other paragraphs, protecting the soil and preventing the growth of weeds. Although for the latter in landscape design, as a rule, black agrofibre is used, which is placed on the soil under a dusting of bark, wood chips or pine cones.
• Pebbles and sand. This can be stone chips, pebbles, granotsev, crushed stone (including painted), sand and other materials that look beautiful. They are poured onto spunbond and perform a decorative function in flower beds and in various landscape design compositions.

• Paper/cardboard. You can also use paper (preferably without printing ink) as a mulching layer of soil. But such material is used quite rarely. This is just an alternative option for small plots of land.
• Film. You can also use film to retain moisture, warm the ground faster and create obstacles to the growth of weeds. But this is a temporary option that does not allow moisture and air to pass through, and can also lead to overheating of the soil in the root layer.
• Agrofibre. This material has already gained popularity, providing us with the opportunity to quickly and effectively protect the soil from excessive evaporation or weathering, preventing the growth of weeds and contamination of berries. The advantages of spunbond are that it is inexpensive, allows air and water to pass through, 100% stops the growth of weeds and can immediately cover large areas of land, requiring minimal labor costs. In addition, in the spring it allows the soil to warm up quickly, which is prevented by early mulching of the soil with light organic matter. But this material does not improve fertility and is not as good for soil dwellers who produce humus. In addition to the above, there are other materials that can be used as mulch. These are flax seeds, mustard cake, pieces of wool from factories, etc.

Rules and secrets of soil mulching

1. It is important to know that not every type of soil or area can use mulching. So on heavy soils, especially in humid climates where it rains often, it is not recommended to mulch the soil at all. This can lead to stagnation of water and rotting of the roots. In those regions where the issue of moisture evaporation is relevant, it is possible and necessary to mulch the soil.
2. The layer of mulch on heavy soils (clayey, loam) should be small - about 2 cm. On the rest, the optimal value is 5-8 cm. A smaller thickness will less well protect the soil from moisture loss. In addition, a small layer of mulching material can be blown away by the winds. According to experienced gardeners, a layer of mulch that is too thick interferes with the breathing of the root system. But for this it must be sufficiently compacted. The maximum thickness of 8 (sometimes 10) cm is more due to proven effectiveness with minimal mulch input than fear of impairing root respiration. This is confirmed by the fact that the so-called “active mulch” is laid in a fairly thick layer and does not harm plants at all. True, the soil under such mulch has a certain loose and fertile layer (it is not clay).
3. In the spring, you need to start mulching the soil only when the soil has already warmed up sufficiently. Otherwise, you will simply delay the development of plants or even harm them. As an illustration, an example from life: inexperienced gardeners planted potatoes in early spring before the soil warmed up directly under the straw (to obtain high yields). And after a while they discovered that it had not risen at all. While the neighbors' potatoes were already sprouting with might and main. After digging one of the holes, it turned out that the potatoes continued to be quietly stored in the soil, without even trying to germinate. And it’s not surprising, because the temperature under a decent layer of straw was about the same as in a cellar.
4. Mulching the soil is done on loose, watered soil. This is done for the following reasons: then the land will no longer be mechanically cultivated and if the soil is left dry, water will be poorly absorbed during rains. Before mulching, you also need to apply mineral or organic fertilizers. After the event, tearing up the soil will be inconvenient and impractical.
5. Mulching in the garden is also an effective technique, which ultimately has a good effect on both trees and shrubs, eliminating the need to fight weeds and allowing you to maintain an aesthetically pleasing appearance in the garden. Shrubs are mulched to a depth of 50 cm around the plants, and trees to a depth of approximately 80 cm.
6. Dry mulch that was under plants affected by diseases is best raked and burned. This will protect the plants from infection in subsequent seasons. If the grown crops remain healthy, then the layer of mulch can be transferred to the compost heap, treating it with Fitosporin for insurance. But if active (hot) mulch was laid on the garden bed, it is left in its original place to complete the process of rotting (conversion into compost).
7. It is important to know: rotted straw has properties to inhibit plant germination, so it is not used before and during sowing.
8. Proper mulching of clay soils significantly improves them, forcing soil processes to radically change. N But this does not appear immediately, but only after three to four years. That is, on such soils you need to be prepared for long-term work, without expecting quick results. Improvement of heavy soils occurs due to the gradual formation of a humus layer (about 1 cm per year). For this, active mulch, peat, compost and humus are used.
9. According to experts, an important requirement when mulching the soil is the absence of soil compaction and rotting processes that take place without air access. To do this, you do not need to compact the mulch or apply too thick a layer of it. But this question remains open for now and will be discussed in more detail in the topic about active mulch.
10. After mulching the soil, it is very undesirable to trample on the beds so as not to compact the soil. At a minimum, you should not step on the tree trunk zone of plants, where soil respiration, moisture absorption and other vital processes take place.

This is the most important information about mulching the soil, which it is advisable for every gardener to become familiar with. But that is not all. In the next article we will talk about “hot grass” or “active mulch”, which gives maximum effect in dynamically improving fertility and impressively increasing crop yields. This is a very interesting topic for those who want to get the most out of their plot, getting a lot of tasty and environmentally friendly products.

Every gardener knows about the benefits of mulching the soil. This agricultural technique works in three important areas Agriculture: improves the soil, increases the productivity of all crops and facilitates the work of those working on the land.

From this article you will learn why and how to mulch the soil correctly, and what type of mulch is suitable for your plants.

What is soil mulching

Mulching is an effective agricultural technique that involves the formation of a loose, moisture-saving surface layer by constantly loosening the soil or covering the ground with a layer of special materials to protect and improve its properties.

It combats compaction, drying out, loss of soil structure and low fertility. It is especially important to use it in hot, arid areas where bare soil turns into a cracked desert and loses its fertility.

Mulching the soil means:

• retain moisture during periods of prolonged drought and reduce water consumption for irrigation;
• reduce the number of weeds;
• prevent plant roots from overheating in summer and freezing in winter;
• keep vegetables and berries clean on rainy days;
• prevent pathogens from entering the plants from the soil during rain and watering;
• improve the structure, looseness and moisture permeability of the soil;
• prevent erosion and weathering of the soil from under the roots of plants, and thereby promote the formation of a good root system;
• enrich the soil with natural fertilizers by rotting the mulch;
• create a breeding ground for worms and beneficial insects that improve the soil.

How to mulch the soil

Natural and artificial materials are used as mulch.

Mulching with hay, fresh grass, sawdust, leaves, humus is used by private owners small areas. These materials are cheap or available for free. When digging up the garden, they mix with the soil, rot and fertilize the soil.

When mulching with organic matter, you need to take into account the characteristics of certain materials, which plants and where you will mulch. So, mulch from cones and pine needles is suitable only for plants that like acidic soil. Sawdust must be rotted before use, because fresh sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil. In gardens, the spaces between trees and bushes are planted with ground cover plants, and decorative bark, pebbles, and expanded clay are used in flower beds. In areas overgrown with weeds that are difficult to remove, cardboard mulching is used, which completely rids the ground of grass over the summer.

Artificial materials - black agrofibre, film - are used more in industrial and farm fields when growing plants in long, raised ridges. They allow you to avoid the cost of manual hoeing between plants and the use of equipment for weeding between rows. Withstands several seasons without the need for replacement.

As we see, different materials used for different purposes. Let’s take a closer look at the most used of them in summer cottages.

What can you mulch with pine needles?

Mulching with pine needles acidifies the soil. Fresh needles must rot and only then are they added to plantings of plants that like high acidity: , , , , . For these plants you can use pine, spruce, and fir needles. Some garden crops also feel good under it: sunflower. For other vegetable plants, needles are not used.

You can mulch the soil not only with pine needles, but also with bark. This technique is widely used in landscape design; more can be found in the article “”.

Mulching the soil with grass clippings

The most convenient way is to mulch with freshly cut grass. When weeding weeds, lay them in a thick layer between the plants in the garden. If you use a lawnmower with a grass catcher, even better. Under a thick layer of grass, weeds practically do not grow, the ground remains moist and loose for a long time.

Disease spores that are in the ground do not reach plants during watering and rain. It is especially good to mulch the soil with grass in beds to prevent phytosporosis. The only point is, do not lay the grass close to the trunk; with high humidity, it can get wet. Periodically, the layer of grass needs to be renewed, as it dries out quickly.

Mulching with sawdust

Fresh sawdust is not used as mulch, as it takes nitrogen from the soil, which has a bad effect on plant growth. You will have to wait until they rot or prepare them in this way:

1. Pour 3 buckets of sawdust onto a large piece of film, add 200 g of urea, and pour a bucket of water over it.
2. In the same sequence, several such layers are made, hermetically covered with film, pressed down with boards and bricks.
3. After a couple of weeks, the sawdust is ready for mulching.

The prepared sawdust is spread in a layer of about 8 cm under and on the beds with.

Mulching the soil with straw

Straw as mulch is one of the best natural materials. It can be used when growing any crops. It rots slowly, the thickness of the layer lasts all season and does not need to be added, as when using grass. This mulch is good in areas with, during rain the berries remain clean and do not rot.

The disadvantage of straw is that it harbors mice. They can damage the bark of bushes and trees, but do not harm garden crops.

How to mulch the soil

Knowledge of the basic principles, which do not change depending on the type of mulching material, will help you mulch the soil correctly. Lay mulch on the beds in the spring, when the earth has completely warmed up but has not yet lost moisture. When laying, free space is left near the trunks of young plants so as not to shade immature shoots, and in rainy weather, so that the root zone dries out faster.

After rain or watering, when the ground dries out a little, remove all the weeds along with the roots. Loosen the soil. If necessary, apply organic and mineral fertilizers. Cover the beds with mulch.

As you can see, mulching the soil is a necessary and obligatory measure, especially in the context of recent climate changes in Ukraine. Use this agricultural technique, help the land recover, and it will definitely thank you with good harvests.

In the article, Oleg Telepov summarizes and analyzes organic materials for mulch.

The use of various mulching materials on the site allows you to obtain high yields without the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides.

A large number of articles have been written about mulch. The topic has been discussed many times in periodicals and on the Internet. The opinions of gardeners are different, often diametrically opposed. There are reports of unusually high yields obtained using mulch. There are also reports of the negative impact of mulch on plants, even death.

This topic interested me several years ago. During this time, I tried to understand the issue, communicated with practitioners and theorists, and experimented. That's what I want to say. Mulching as a technique deserves more attention from gardeners and gardeners. I specifically went to the practices and saw their plots, saw the harvests. Based on this (and not my own reasoning), I can say that fantastic yields, obtained largely thanks to mulch, without the use of fertilizers, stimulants, and pesticides, are a reality. I see the same thing in my area.

Mulching reduces moisture evaporation. Protects the soil from erosion and plant roots from freezing in winters with little snow. Helps maintain and improve soil structure. Prevents the formation of soil crust. Reduces daily temperature fluctuations. Inhibits the germination of weeds, enhances microbiological processes in the soil that improve plant nutrition.

Why have so many experiments with mulch ended in failure? Under the influence of the media, certain stereotypes have developed in the minds of gardeners. These strong opinions carry over to mulching practices, regardless of what mulching material is used and under what conditions.

Often, failures are related to various types of errors: incorrect choice or incorrect use of fertilizers, planting plants unsuitable for a given climate and soil, untimely care of plantings. The diverse flora and fauna in our areas is a living system that is influenced by a very large number of factors. Without taking this into account, gardeners often make the wrong conclusions regarding mulch.

Gardeners often treat certain techniques or preparations as if they were a magic wand: just use them and a super harvest is guaranteed. One thing to keep in mind is that mulching alone does not magically correct problems. This technique does not replace work in the garden, vegetable garden, or flower garden, but it greatly simplifies the care of plantings, provided that it is used thoughtfully, taking into account the climate, plants, and mulching materials. Here everyone needs to observe and think.

On my site I used different mulch: compost, humus, straw, hay, leaves, pine needles, sawdust, green grass. In private conversations, people often ask, which mulch is better? There is no clear answer. To avoid failures, you need to take into account that each type of mulch has its own characteristics depending on the materials used.

This article is an attempt to summarize and analyze the use of different organic materials for mulch. Everything that has been said is based on experience in the region where I live. In other conditions it may be different. There are no universal techniques.

Every time the conversation turns to mulch, it is worth understanding for what purpose the author used the mulch. Often disagreements arise because gardeners set different goals for mulch, and argue without taking this fact into account.

It makes sense to evaluate mulch for two purposes:
1 -
2 -

Mulch for the second task should be assessed according to several criteria:

Even taking into account this division, it is necessary to pay attention to other aspects of technology that may affect the effectiveness of the use of this organic material.

Let me give you an example. The gardener is faced with the task of reducing the number of weeds.

A person considers two options for using mulch: compost and unfermented organic matter. B.S. Annenkov uses ready-made compost in his practice. I.P. Zamyatkin uses unfermented organic matter in his practice. Both have no weeds in their beds. What to choose? I compared: I mulched one bed with compost, the other with straw. There are an abundance of weeds in the compost bed. In the bed with straw, here and there sow thistle and bindweed have appeared. It turns out that Annenkov is lying? Not at all.

The fact is that Boris Sergeevich adds compost to the soil of the beds in the fall and spills it with a solution of the EM preparation. This provokes the emergence of annual weeds, which soon die from the cold. That is, the problem of getting rid of weeds is solved NOT by mulch, but by an EM preparation. In this case, mulch (any kind) is not needed at all to get rid of weeds. In my experience, the EM preparation was not used; compost and straw were under the same conditions. Straw turned out to be better.

I will carry out the comparison, keeping in mind the same other conditions.

1. Mulch as plant nutrition

In the minds of modern gardeners, the belief that plants need to be fed is firmly established. And the source of such nutrition is mineral fertilizers, compost, humus, and manure. Straw, hay, leaves, post-harvest residues, as a rule, are not included in this list.

Strictly speaking, organic materials used as mulch cannot be called plant nutrition. Plants do not eat grass, straw, or compost - even a schoolchild understands this. Microbes, fungi, soil insects, and worms decompose organic matter to a state that is assimilated by plants. During this decomposition, organic acids, carbonic acid, and microbial enzymes are released, which in turn make soil minerals available to plants. Carbon dioxide released by microbes and other soil digesters is used to feed plants.

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We will not go into details of this process. The fact remains: only the use of organic mulch and the creation of conditions for its decomposition can provide sufficient and balanced nutrition. cultivated plants. And this is without introducing manure, compost, humus, mineral water, EM preparations, humates, etc. into the soil. This is what happens in nature. And I have been seeing these same facts in my garden for several years now. I saw even more impressive results on the plots of other gardeners and gardeners.

But the most impressive argument is nature. In nature there is no heap of organic matter, no heap of manure, no mineral fertilizers. And yet everything is growing beautifully.

In order for mulch to provide nutrition to plants, it is important that it quickly releases nutrients and promotes the development of microorganisms and other soil inhabitants.

Compost and humus are perfectly suited for this purpose. They still contain quite a lot of undecomposed organic residues. They contain a large number of saprophytes - organisms that decompose organic matter. They contain a lot of so-called “mobile humus” - nutrients available to plants that have not yet been combined into organo-mineral aggregates - humus. Such mulch immediately begins to provide nutrition to plants and, given favorable conditions, provides nutrition for a long time. This type of mulch is most suitable at the stage of transition to natural farming, when natural microbiological processes in the soil are still extremely sluggish, there are no worms and there is very little humus in the soil. It must be borne in mind that all of the above does NOT apply to old humus and compost that has been stored for several years.

Freshly cut grass, pulled out young weeds, green manure. When creating optimal conditions, they “work” just as well as compost and humus. They contain a lot of water and little fiber, and they decompose very quickly. At the same time, they provide plants with quick and abundant nutrition. But not for long. A thin layer of such mulch decomposes very quickly. Thick - rots and turns from a source of nutrition into a source of plant poisoning with rotting products. This mulch should be used for “feeding”. But creating optimal conditions for such mulch is difficult. Requires constant very frequent addition.

Hay, dried non-lignified weeds. Contains easily decomposed fiber. When optimal conditions are created, it decomposes quickly enough, providing good nutrition to plants. You can speed up the supply of nutrients to plants by grinding these materials. Depending on conditions, it requires one or more additions per season.

Straw, dried woody weeds. Contains difficult to decompose fiber. This slows down the decomposition process, providing nutrition more slowly than from hay. But the period of supply of food is more extended. This mulch lasts longer and does not need to be added. When crushed, it decomposes faster.

Leaves of trees and shrubs. They take even longer to decompose than straw. Accordingly, plants receive less nutrition. In addition, the nutrition for garden crops from leaf decomposition is of lesser quality. It becomes complete nutrition after processing by worms.

Sawdust, bark are decomposed by microbes extremely slowly. To use them as a food source, mushrooms are needed. Worth using on perennial crops.

Conifer needles It is advisable to use it as a source of nutrition on crops that prefer acidic soils. In other cases, needles should be used with caution; in some cases, soil acidification may occur. Mushrooms are also needed to quickly decompose needles.

A mixture of different mulch materials can be very effective as a source of plant nutrition. The more diverse the composition of such a mixture, the more fully the composition of microelements and other useful substances is represented in organic residues. A good effect is achieved if dry plant residues are mixed with green parts of plants. Rotting will not occur in such a mixture, and it will decompose quickly enough. There are no places on my site where exclusively one type of mulch is used: I always use “mixtures”. But they are not specially prepared, they are not mixed - various uncrushed materials are simply layered on top.

All of the above assumes that favorable conditions have been created for microbiological activity in the mulch. These conditions are: favorable temperature and optimal humidity.

2. Mulch to provide favorable environmental factors

Here we will talk about the classic use of mulch, without taking into account the above.

- mulch as protection against weeds

Weeds do not grow under mulch because mulch blocks sunlight. In this regard, the main requirement for mulch is its light resistance and density. The denser the mulch is, the more effectively it protects against weeds. In this regard, the undisputed leader is the foliage of trees and shrubs. Wet and caking foliage creates a very dense layer, completely impenetrable to the sun, and accordingly leaves no chance for annual weeds. To control weeds, 3-4 centimeters of compacted foliage is enough.

The hay lies densely, but its layer should be somewhat thicker than the leaves. Even more straw is needed. It is not advisable to use needles from coniferous trees. They create a loose layer, and weeds easily grow through such mulch. There are reports that a layer of needles of at least 30 cm is needed to keep weeds out. In my experience, a 10 cm layer of needles did not constitute weed protection.

Compost and humus offer little protection from weeds, and more often they carry a large number of weeds.

Newspapers and cardboard are effective for weed control. They need to be laid so that there are no gaps between the sheets and pressed so that they do not blow away with the wind. You can press it with straw, hay, or other organic matter.

It is sometimes recommended to carefully weed out the weeds before mulching. I never do that. I simply trample down annual weeds and cover them with mulch. If the weeds are very large, it makes sense to mow the greens and only then cover with mulch.

In some cases, powerful perennial weeds are worth weeding. But weeding will not get rid of all the weeds; some will grow back. For example, bindweed and thistle pierce the asphalt; none of the organic mulching materials will contain them. Other perennial weeds should be gotten rid of in advance.

Some gardeners believe that straw is preferable to hay because hay retains weed seeds. From my own experience, I know that straw can contain no less weed seeds than hay. In my practice, I don't look for weed-free mulching material. Unfermented organic matter quite effectively inhibits the germination of weed seeds. If some weed breaks through, it is very easy to remove - the roots under the mulch are superficial and pull out without effort. When mulching paths, on the contrary, I try to use seeded weeds. Weeds sprouted in the aisles at the beginning of summer are a free source of organic matter. You just need to pull them out or mow them down in time. I have already written about this in detail.

- mulch as a thermal regulator

The ability of soil to absorb and retain Sun rays largely depends on its color. By changing the color of the soil surface we can regulate its thermal properties. Dark mulch on the soil surface quickly absorbs heat, partially warming the soil. Light mulch, on the contrary, increases the ability of the soil surface to reflect the sun's rays, which prevents the soil under the mulch from overheating. This must be taken into account when choosing mulch for each specific case. In addition, you need to take into account the thickness and composition of the mulch.

Mulching materials protect the soil and plant roots from sudden changes in temperature: it does not allow it to heat up excessively in the sun or cool down sharply at night, during frosts and cold spells, keeping it a little cooler in hot summers and warmer in winter. But it is precisely this property of mulch that prevents the soil from reducing the effect of frost on the above-ground organs of plants. Open soil warms up during the day. At night, heat coming from the ground warms the surface air, reducing the effect of frost.

Mulching loose substrate is a poor conductor of heat, therefore it prevents the soil from heating during the day, and at night it insulates the heat accumulated in the ground. Therefore, frost-sensitive plants should not be mulched with a thick layer in early spring and autumn. The thicker the coating layer, the lower its thermal conductivity, the more such areas are exposed to the danger of night frosts.

A thick layer of mulch will prevent the soil from warming up quickly in the spring. To warm up the soil as quickly as possible, it is better to expose it. But this leads to rapid loss of moisture. For arid regions, this option is extremely undesirable. Therefore, in the spring it makes sense to use a thin layer of mulch, dark mulching materials, but not completely remove them. This solves the issue of warming up and preserving moisture at the same time. Warming up of mulched soil can be accelerated in other ways, but this is a topic for another conversation.

In regions with hot summers, protecting the soil from overheating is an urgent problem. This problem is well solved by foliage, hay, straw, bark. Humus and compost have a loose structure, due to which they protect against overheating, but the effectiveness of these materials is much lower than that of leaves, hay, straw, and bark. Compost and humus are dark in color, which means they heat up quickly.
The needles provide little protection from overheating.

- mulch for preservation in logs

Mulch helps retain soil moisture at the roots of the plant. For this, the density of the mulch is also important. Here the places are distributed as follows: foliage, bark, hay, straw, compost.

In this matter, you need to take into account that when watering mulched beds, more water will be required to wet the mulch layer and moisten the soil underneath it. The thicker the layer of mulch, the longer it retains moisture and the more water is needed when watering. Different mulching materials react differently to watering. For example, sawdust absorbs a lot of water, and until it is saturated, it does not allow water to reach the soil. The bark, on the contrary, almost does not absorb water; all the water goes to the soil. During hot and dry periods, water mulched areas less frequently, but more deeply. If your main goal is to save water, then it is worth considering an irrigation system under mulch.

Also, make sure the soil is well-moistened before mulching. Light rains will not be able to wet the mulch, and the soil will remain dry, which means the plants will not receive nutrition. In areas where water stagnates for a long time in the spring, there is no need to rush with mulching.
Shaded areas are usually less susceptible to drying out, and a thinner mulch cover can be used there.

Apparently, in regions with big amount precipitation, mulch is not required to retain moisture. In an arid zone, especially in a non-irrigated garden without moisture-saving mulch, it is extremely difficult to obtain a high yield, and this technique becomes decisive for an intensive garden.

- according to the degree of durability (time until complete decomposition)

In some regions, the need to use mulch is due to unfavorable climate factors: too hot or too dry. If you choose mulch based on these criteria, then it is desirable that the mulch lasts longer without losing its properties. Mulch has these qualities and does not decompose for a long time. The leaders here are bark and sawdust, then, as efficiency decreases: foliage, straw, hay, compost.

- in terms of accessibility and ease of use

Here everyone decides for themselves, based on their own conditions. Some people have the opportunity to make hay, while others have access to straw or leaves. It is more convenient to use small organic material, for example, it is more convenient to mulch beds with root crops with leaves than with hay or straw. If it is possible to grind organic materials, this makes working with mulch easier. It’s worth thinking about this issue and asking around. It is quite possible that there will be a way to obtain the required amount of mulch without much time, money and labor. It is not advisable to prepare compost for mulch. In this case, labor costs increase greatly, and the volume of raw materials decreases several times.

- beneficial or harmful effects on plants (allelopathy, acidity, etc.)

It has long been noted that plants react to their neighbors. Some neighbors stimulate growth, while others, on the contrary, repress it. It is believed that litter, post-harvest residues of plants, have the same properties. For example, there is information that wormwood, wheatgrass, bromegrass, and feather grass do not allow other plants to grow next to them. It is possible that mulch from these plants will also have a negative effect on vegetable crops. Unfortunately, this topic is little studied. And it remains to be seen how mulch made from this or that material affects specific crops. Using different mulches on my site, I did not notice any inhibition of plants by any type of mulch. But this, of course, does not mean that there is no oppression or stimulation. There is a universal option that will allow you to avoid the strong influence of allelopathic plants: you need to make the mulch varied. The more components, the better. Then the influence of any one component will not play a role.

Mulch constituents can affect mulched plants through many factors. For example, this fact is known. In the Main Botanical Garden in Moscow, wind-broken poplars and ash-leaved maples were passed through shredders, and the resulting mass was mulched over heathers. As a result, many “fell out” (as botanists say) valuable species heather crops. For them, for complete prosperity,
a layer of mulch is really necessary. but only from coniferous pine litter, in which mycorrhizal cultures live and reproduce well, with which heathers (like some conifers) coexist in close symbiosis. Apparently, the wood and bark of poplars and maples contained substances that were poisonous to heathers (or fungi that were friendly to them).

For different crops, you need to take into account the mulching time and the thickness of the mulch. For example, carrot seedlings can easily overcome a centimeter layer of compost. But the same layer of straw, hay, and leaves will be an insurmountable obstacle for tender shoots - you will not see shoots. But the seeds of mustard, radish, daikon pass through a centimeter layer of hay and straw. Garlic shoots can easily penetrate any organic mulch, but onion shoots are much weaker. The seedlings of beans and potatoes have great strength. You need to observe and use mulch based on these observations. So it is better to mulch carrots after germination, and garlic and beans immediately after planting. As winter mulch, organic matter should be placed under perennials after the ground has frozen.

The fraction of the mulching material also plays a role. Crops that develop slowly during the initial period of growth are best mulched with fine or crushed organic matter.

Plant preferences for soil acidity must also be taken into account. For example, there are known facts when coniferous plants died after using chips of deciduous trees as mulch under them.

- according to the degree of aesthetics

Here, to each his own. Some people do not accept straw in the garden, while others can easily tolerate any organic matter. I think shredded organic materials always look better in the garden than whole organic materials. Bark mulch looks beautiful.

From all of the above, it is clear that no type of mulch is ideal for performing both tasks. The material that is best suited for solving the first problem is poorly suited for the second. And without solving the second problem there will be no solution to the first. For example, compost mulch will dry out quickly without watering. No water - no solutions - no food. You can, of course, make the layer of such mulch thick, then in the lower part of this layer we will obtain the necessary conditions. But thickening the layer will significantly increase labor costs.

The conclusion naturally suggests itself that the ideal mulch should be layered: on the bottom there is mulch that best solves problem 1 (compost, hay), on top there is mulch that is more suitable for solving problem 2 (leaf, straw). This is how it is in nature: fresh litter remains on top and solves problem 2, below are layers of organic matter in varying degrees of decomposition, they solve problem 1.

What should those who don’t have the ability to create the perfect mulch do?

First, decide why you need mulch, what task you set for it.

For example, in early spring you need to quickly warm the soil and retain moisture. To do this, it is rational to use compost (it has a dark color, almost black). Dark mulch, by reducing the loss of water from the surface of the ridges, helps to accelerate the warming of the soil. In summer, the soil will overheat under dark mulch. In this case, you can add cut grass, which becomes lighter as it dries, or straw on top.

If you have a mixture of different mulching materials, then you should decide where it is best to use it. To speed up the decomposition of the mulch, the mixture should consist of post-harvest vegetable residues, grass and weeds. Rough materials in the mixture will prevent caking and rotting of the mixture and provide aeration. This mixture is better suited for mulching annual crops. When a long duration of action of mulch is desired, wood waste should predominate in it: bark and leaves, sawdust and shavings. This mixture is good for mulching perennials and garden crops.

Once you figure out what’s what, it won’t be difficult to create very comfortable conditions for your plants.

Dividing mulch according to tasks and criteria is absolutely arbitrary. This division is only necessary for understanding. In reality, this is what happens: you lay mulch on the bed to solve problem 2. In the presence of moisture and heat, microbiological processes begin - layer-by-layer decomposition of the mulch. The lower layers of mulch already solve problem 1. And the top layer decomposes slightly; it acts as a protective covering, smoothing out external influences. Gradually, the upper layers are exposed to microbes. If you annually use mulch from undecomposed organic matter, you will automatically have flaky mulch, just like in nature. And the longer you do this, the greater the effect of such mulching - the soil becomes more biologically active.

There are different recommendations in the literature regarding mulch. Some of them, based on personal experience seem unnecessary to me. For example, there is a recommendation that before mulching it is necessary to loosen the soil. And during the summer, even if mulching is applied regularly, heavy soil needs constant loosening. Perhaps this is necessary at the stage of transition to the constant use of mulch, on very heavy, clay soils. On my heavy loam, loosening is not required either before mulching or during the growing season. Under mulch, the soil itself, under the influence of microbes, insects and worms, comes to the desired state. I think that on sandy loams and sand, loosening before mulching is all the more unnecessary.

For perennials, there are recommendations to incorporate old mulch into the soil in the fall, and mulch the soil surface again in the spring. In my opinion, this is labor-intensive and pointless - it is more advisable to lay a new layer of mulch on top of the previous one. This will ensure the natural scenario for the flow of soil processes.

Authors of articles about mulch sometimes warn about different undesirable consequences this technique. For example, they write that organic mulch, rich in worms and insects, attracts birds from all over the area. Secondly, it serves as a reliable refuge for mice and moles, which undermine and gnaw young plants. When using mulching, you have to fight rodents.

In eight years of total mulching (20 acres), I have not noticed that my site is particularly popular with birds. The only problem I had with birds was the neighbor's chickens. But this issue is resolved by fences.

I didn't have any problems with rodents either. Minor damage to potato tubers and root crops (less than half a percent of the crop) occurred only in an extremely dry year. I think this was due to a lack of succulent food for rodents. The rest of the time I don’t think about rodents, and I don’t fight them in any way. “Just in case,” I don’t use straw under garden trees that can be damaged by mice; I use potato tops and coarse weeds for mulching. I must say that several cats live on my property. But they clearly couldn’t get the mice under the thick mulch on the potatoes.

I can’t say anything about moles. We simply don't have them. In our region there live shrews, whose lifestyle and diet are the same as that of a mole, but I have never seen them on my site.

Slugs are often mentioned in connection with mulch. The messages are the opposite. And the arguments of both defenders and opponents of mulching are quite logical. Slugs feel great under mulch. But the decomposing mulch provides them with the nutrition they need. And yet, in some cases, slugs harm with triple the force, in others they stop harming completely. I have a lot of slugs, but they don’t cause any noticeable harm. The conclusion suggests itself that there is the influence of some other factor. Apparently, under certain conditions, plants simply become “unpalatable” to slugs. Perhaps, by receiving balanced nutrition, due to the active action of microorganisms, plants significantly increase immunity and become unattractive to slugs. But the soil cannot instantly restore its best properties; this takes some time. At first, the effect may not appear. It may be that some other factor plays a role that we do not yet know about.

Opponents of mulch say: “You need a lot of mulch. This requires large material or labor costs.” In some cases this is true.

For example, my plot uses a lot of mulch (compost paths). There are reasons for this - this is a topic for another conversation. But the amount of mulch needs and can be reduced after a certain limit, and in my case. On initial stage it is necessary to increase the potential fertility of the soil, accumulate humus, restore the optimal structure - create a favorable background for dynamic fertility. When this problem is solved, much less mulching materials are needed. The amount of mulch needs to be understood and used rationally. This is a matter of practice. For example, on my site there is an active increase in the thickness of the fertile soil layer. This means that a lot of organic material is not used for dynamic plant nutrition and is stored as a reserve. Today I am faced with a task: to find the amount of mulch that would allow the plants to be provided with dynamic nutrition as much as possible, but not accumulate reserves. I have already written about the sources of mulch that I use. If desired, almost everyone can find opportunities.

Is it possible to use less mulch than I have? It’s easy to follow the example of I.P. Zamyatkin. Make narrow fenced beds and wide passages. Use mulch only on beds. Leave the passages under turf. Then much less mulching materials are needed, and the grass growing in the aisles will be a source of mulch. In addition, local conditions must be taken into account in each specific case. For example, I have 2/3 layers of mulch to retain moisture and protect the soil from overheating (average annual precipitation is 300-350 mm; July temperature is up to 40 degrees). In regions that do not experience problems with precipitation and less hot summers, these problems most likely do not exist, which means much less mulch is needed.

Mulch is not a technique of purely natural agriculture; it is also used by adherents of other areas of gardening. And quite successfully.

Nature specialists and organicists urge people to give up mineral fertilizers and pesticides, considering them harmful. Agrochemists, on the contrary, say that these things do not cause harm. Many practitioners believe that they need to use both “reasonably.” Most likely the truth is somewhere in between these opinions. Everyone has the right to their opinion. The dispute has been going on for a long time and to no avail.

The main thing is clear to me now. Regardless of whether mineral water and pesticides harm the soil and plants, you can get large yields without them. If mulch is used correctly, they are simply not needed - yields can be much higher than with a complex of agrochemical techniques. Unfortunately, the results of mulching heavy soils do not appear quickly. It takes time to increase yields significantly. This stops many impatient gardeners. All processes can be rushed by using EM drugs. Among my friends there are people who have achieved very good results with the help of EM.

I don’t presume to discuss what, how and with what to mulch in conditions different from mine. Very often in practice “illogical” things happen. For example, “contrary to logic,” mice and slugs do not cause problems for me. I talked quite a lot with people who have studied some issue theoretically (and more often who have read 1-2 articles), and who believe that they have thoroughly know topic. Such experts foam at the mouth to prove “their” rightness, without having any real practical experience.

For example, I recently read the following comment on the Internet under one of the articles: “You are doing everything right! Next year, I WILL TRY TO DO THIS, too.” When you read this, it becomes sad. How do you know what is right and what is wrong if you didn't do it?! There are plenty of such people in the camp of opponents of mulch and no less among its supporters. Alone, having reasoned, “saw” a bunch of disadvantages of mulching. Others blindly copy someone else's experience. This approach can discredit any worthwhile technique. I would like to advise those who want to try using mulch in their garden: try to understand what your main goal is. Observe whether the mulching materials you have serve this purpose and adjust the application time, layer thickness, etc. Chat with those who really get good results from mulching in your region. And only after this is it worth drawing conclusions.

Oleg Telepov,
member of the Omsk Potato Growers Club

Mulching is covering the soil surface with a layer of mulch in order to protect it from weathering and enrich it mineral composition, as a result of its colonization by a large number of agronomically effective microorganisms.

Mulch is any material with which we cover the soil. Mulch can be organic or inorganic. Bark, grass, wood chips, humus, sawdust, straw, paper, cardboard, nut shells, leaf and pine litter, compost, silage, and cake are used as organic mulch.

Inorganic mulch includes films and nonwoven materials, sand, crushed stone, screenings, and expanded clay.

Organic mulch compensates for the removal of nutrients, micro and macroelements from the soil by the crop. And most importantly, with mulch we introduce carbon compounds into the soil, which is the building material of both the plants themselves and future fruits.

How mulching is beneficial for the soil and plants.

Mulching the soil allows you to get rid of weeds in the garden. Reduce the amount of watering, because moisture retention under a layer of mulch is much higher. This is very important during dry periods of the year.

In addition, mulching the soil cools the root zone of plants and allows the suction roots of the plant to consume moisture from the soil at the optimal temperature.

The same cannot be said about a plant that is watered in unmulched soil. It is forced to consume very warm moisture from the soil. And this does not contribute to optimal cooling of the plant during the hot period.

Under a layer of mulch, the soil structure improves. The soil becomes looser, more airy, a large number of soil microorganisms settle in it and, accordingly, the biological activity of the soil increases. Which will definitely have a beneficial effect on your future harvests.

Mulching locks nutrients in the soil, preventing them from leaching and weathering. In addition, thanks to mulch, water vapor condenses from the air.

Mulch stimulates the growth of adventitious roots, because the soil under the mulch is not covered with a crust and air flows to the roots constantly, and not only after loosening the beds.

In addition, a layer of mulch provides plant-friendly temperature regime. This also prevents deep freezing of the soil in winter. In early spring, beds mulched with leaf litter before winter can be quickly sown with cold-resistant green manures such as winter and spring rapeseed, rye, oats, mustard, and phacelia by removing a layer of leaf mulch.

But don’t rush to put the leaf litter that has served its purpose into the compost; we will need it later. When we lack green grass for mulching in the summer. Due to its fading under the southern scorching sun.

The mulch layer is an obstacle to the development of fungal diseases, preventing the dispersal of spores of late blight, mildioidium and other fungi. Under the mulch, Trichoderma and Bacillus subtilis rapidly grow, with which the causative agents of most fungal diseases are not very friendly.

Mulching material prevents soil from splashing onto plant leaves when watering. This provides additional protection against traditional fungal diseases. Which grow wildly in gardens by mid-summer.

What needs to be done before mulching.

Before you start mulching, you need to weed out the weeds and loosen the soil. Mulch is spread on the surface of the loosened soil on which vegetables are grown.

The mulch should not adhere closely to the trunk or root collar. Firstly, this can lead to fungal diseases, and as a result, plant rotting.

The mulch layer should be 5 cm, but if the soil on your site is clayey, then the mulch layer at first should be no more than 2 cm. This is necessary to prevent the plants from getting wet. Then, after a few years, when the soil is enriched with humus due to mulching, the thickness of the mulch layer can be increased.

To give impetus to the rapid development of soil microbiota under a layer of mulch, it is necessary to place bokashi under the mulch. Bokashi is bran with agronomically effective microorganisms populated on it.

They need to be placed there immediately before covering with a layer of mulch. Otherwise, they will quickly die in the open sun.

Mulching with grass and straw.

Grass and straw are the most effective mulching materials. Green grass contains a lot of nitrogen and such mulch does not remove nitrogen from the soil. Which is inevitably consumed by soil microorganisms during the decomposition of green mulch into organic compounds beneficial to plants. Which is very important on infertile soils.

Straw is an excellent mulching material that retains heat in the soil. Straw is rich in carbon but low in nitrogen at only 0.5%. This leads to little difficulty when using unprepared straw for mulching infertile soils.

Fertility and productivity are really falling. But this is only in the year of mulching and the next year. But then the soil fertility in the areas mulched with straw improves irrevocably. That the straw did not remove useful macroelements from the soil even in the first year of use, the straw must be well chopped and enriched with nitrogen.

In order for the layer of mulch at the edges of the beds to be as thick as in the middle, it is convenient to limit the edges of the beds with wooden sides. Fastening the walls together with boards. Placed between pegs driven into the soil.

Mulching the soil with cardboard.

Because of overseas videos about organic farming and cultivation of virgin soil overgrown with weeds using cardboard. Our compatriots have developed a genuine interest in using this material to mulch the soil in their gardens.

In my opinion, mulching the soil with cardboard is only suitable for use in areas where people rarely set foot, but not in row-spacings. Because, firstly, it is not aesthetically pleasing. It is much more pleasing to the eye to look at row-spacings covered with grass or straw. Secondly, dry cardboard always lifts up and you can accidentally trip over it and fall.

But there is one undeniable advantage of this mulching material. If it is humid enough, worms like to settle under it. Worms simply love cardboard; it becomes both home and food for them at the same time. And if any of you wanted to build such a house for worms in your garden, then it will look something like this.

Therefore, I recommend covering row spacing or areas free from planting with cardboard in several layers and pressing the sides of the cardboard sheets. In the absence of natural moisture in the cardboard in the form of rain, it is advisable to spill it with a hose.

It is better to use corrugated cardboard for mulching the soil. There is an air gap there, which has a beneficial effect on the aerobic processes that occur during the decomposition of cardboard.

Woodchip mulch.

This is one of the materials that is easier to buy than to prepare yourself. Of course, wood chips will not last forever; they will have to be renewed periodically, but not often. Most often, such mulch is enough for two to three seasons.

Today you can find a wide variety of wood chips in the store. A skilled designer will fit any “cheerful” color into the landscape.
But if you are not a designer, then it is best to choose wood chips in natural colors: green, brown and yellow, for decorating flower beds.

When buying wood chips, pay attention to how they were painted. Natural dyes entering the soil will not harm it. But artificial ones will harm the soil microflora.

Another disadvantage of wood chips is that it draws nitrogen from the soil. Therefore, it is better to lay it out in the tree trunks of mature trees and shrubs. And for young people it is worth putting a layer of compost or humus under the mulch.

The longevity of the mulch is affected by the type of tree it was made from. Coniferous trees last longer than hardwoods. But at the same time, pine chips acidify the soil. Mulch from linden or birch will rot faster, but is also suitable for any plants.

To help the soil dry out faster in the spring, the wood chips are raked. Then it can be washed, disinfected and, after drying, used again.

What mistakes are possible when mulching the soil?

• They mulched it very early.

The planted seedlings are mulched immediately after planting. And sowing seeds only after the plants have risen and grown by 10 cm. Otherwise, the sprouts will not be able to break through the layer of mulch.

• The mulch was too thin.

It is necessary to lay a layer of mulch on the soil no thinner than 3 cm, normally 5–7 cm. The bottom layer must be moistened. Then the mulch will not fly away from the garden bed. And it becomes a medium for the development of biocenosis on the surface of the beds. In addition, a thin layer of mulch does not inhibit the growth of weeds.

• The wind blew away all the mulch from the beds.

When you mulch already raised plantings, the risk that the mulch will be carried away by the wind will be minimal. Since the plants themselves will stop the mulch from blowing it away from the beds.

If you plan to mulch the beds when it rains, then the mulch moistened and compacted by the rain will no longer be blown away from the bed by the winds. But if rain is not expected, then you yourself can water the newly mulched plantings.

Soil mulching is an agrotechnical measure, the implementation of which guarantees better development of vegetable crops, increased productivity, reduced risk of plant infection with infectious diseases, as a result of reduced evaporation of liquid from the soil and limited weed growth. Material for soil mulching can be of organic or inorganic origin. This article is all about the advantages and disadvantages of mulching.

A bed of strawberries covered with straw.

Mulching is an activity aimed at preserving moisture in the soil and protecting beds from pests and weeds. To reduce the growth of weeds, mulch the row spacing between vegetable beds and fruit trees. various materials. It is difficult for weeds to grow through the thickness of the mulch material; in addition, the protective layer makes it difficult for them to access sunlight, without which weeds cannot develop favorably.

Mulching materials spread over the surface of vegetable beds successfully protect the soil from erosion and prevent the formation of a hard crust on the soil surface, which can significantly improve the aeration of the root system of vegetable crops.

Thanks to mulching, the number of waterings of vegetables and berry bushes is reduced, allowing gardeners to save water and effort. Under the protective layer covering the soil in the beds, bacteria and small insects multiply, improving the structure of the soil, creating favorable conditions for the reproduction of earthworms, whose vital activity helps to increase the air flow to the roots of vegetable plants.

In the presence of a mulch layer on the beds, vegetables develop a powerful root system, which has a beneficial effect on increasing productivity.

Mulching methods

To mulch beds, organic and inorganic materials are used, which are distributed over the soil surface in vegetable and berry beds; the combined use of different types of mulch is allowed.

Inorganic materials for protecting beds include: crushed stone, granite and marble chips, pebbles, gravel, film covering materials.

Hay, mown grass, eggshells, green manure, leaf litter, pine needles, nut shells, crushed bark, pine cones, compost, peat - this is not a complete list of materials of organic origin that are often used for mulching beds. Unusual methods of covering the soil surface, for example, mulching the soil with newspapers, can also be considered this type of protection.

When choosing a mulching method, it is necessary to take into account soil type and climatic factors. Each type of soil surface protection has its own positive and negative sides, it is worth choosing the most suitable materials for mulching for a particular vegetable crop.

Cones are an ideal material; they are easy to collect in the forest.

To achieve good results, you should follow some recommendations that will allow you to carry out high-quality mulching of beds:

1. It is best to start mulching garden beds in the spring, when the soil is sufficiently warmed up but has not yet lost moisture.
2. If the soil is dry, before laying the mulch layer, it is important to moisten it - do this 1-2 days before covering the soil, having first removed debris and dried plants from the surface of the ridges.
3. The thickness of the organic mulch layer is taken based on the soils lying on the site.
4. It is not recommended to cover heavy soils with a layer of more than 2-5 cm. Light soils can be mulched with a layer of material up to 8 cm thick.
5. It is not allowed to lay mulch near the branches of bushes and tree trunks; it is necessary to leave some distance between the plants and the layer of protective material.
6. When mulching the trunk circles of trees and shrubs, you should follow the following rule: the radius for shrubs is at least 0.4 - 0.5 m, for trees the mulching radius is at least 0.7 m.
7. You can use mulch throughout the season; when digging the beds in the fall, organic mulch is embedded in the soil.

Inorganic materials

The berries in such a bed with a film coating remain whole and clean.

Inorganic materials cannot decompose and therefore do not enrich the soil. nutrients. Crushed stone and gravel, as well as marble chips, have a solid structure, and therefore are resistant to negative factors ( low temperature, heat, high humidity). Colored stone chips serve as an additional decoration for flower beds, allowing you to decorate the garden in the same style.

Mulching the soil with film is carried out using a certain technology, which is worth talking about in more detail. It is not recommended to choose a transparent film for creating a protective layer; such mulch is not capable of suppressing development weeds. Sunlight freely penetrates through transparent film materials, which stimulates seed germination, and moisture and nutritious soil only aggravate the clogging of the beds with weed seedlings.

Film

The bed is prepared for planting seedlings.

Mulching film is usually made of black polyethylene; sometimes colored opaque versions of film coatings are used.

Before mulching, the bed should be dug up, leveled, covered with a thin layer of straw or sawdust, and then pieces of cut film should be placed on top. Holes are cut in the film covering at regular intervals, moistening is carried out, and then seedlings are planted in the slots. Holes in the material allow unhindered watering of the beds and facilitate the application of fertilizers directly under each plant.

Film for mulching the soil is used when growing strawberries, which perfectly helps preserve the quality of ripened berries - strawberries do not come into contact with wet soil, so the crop gets wet and rots. Berries are more reliably protected from pests. Good results can be achieved by mulching beds with melons, cucumbers, and ornamental flowering crops (roses).

A dark film covering on the beds helps reduce moisture evaporation, protects against temperature changes, and prevents soil compaction and crust formation.

In areas with hot climates, black film overheats greatly, which can cause polyethylene to decompose. To protect the film from heat and exposure to ultraviolet rays, its surface is covered with a layer of straw or hay.

Organic mulch

Decorative wood chips, straw and hay are ideal materials for covering beds.

Organic mulch has undoubted advantages - wood chips, bark, pine cones, leaves, when rotting, saturate the soil with nutrients. During autumn digging, these materials can significantly improve the soil structure.

Organic materials for covering the soil in beds and tree trunks very often solve a decorative problem - they serve for decorative design of the site. For these purposes, colored wood chips are successfully used to cover flower beds and paths.

The material is absolutely safe, decomposes without residue over time, and serves as a nutrient medium for the development of plants.

Compost

One of the most nutritious mulching products is brown compost, which can be prepared from plant residues, straw, sawdust, leaf litter, ash from burning cut trees, as well as household waste and a small percentage of bird droppings and manure.

Compost can be prepared directly on garden plot, for which all the ingredients are mixed in a specially dug hole (you can leave the compost to mature in the open air, collecting it in a heap). The composition is completely ready in 4-5 years, but this is a very long time to obtain compost.

You can make compost mulch using the hot method somewhat faster. To do this, you will need to fulfill several conditions:

• Prepare fresh greens (for example, weeds), as well as dry tops garden plants, leaves, shavings, household waste.
• In this recipe it is necessary to use manure, green manure, and California worms, which will speed up the composting process of the composition.
• To supply the ripening compost with oxygen, it is necessary to periodically stir the mass with a pitchfork, as well as moisten it if the ingredients dry out.
• It will be necessary to maintain a sufficiently high temperature (from 65 to 85C) so that the mass can ripen in six months.
• Using special containers for composting will allow you to prepare compost in 1 month.

The advantages of using compost are undeniable - plants receive nutrition and protection. When covering beds in winter, perennial crops are reliably protected from frost by a layer of compost.

The disadvantage of this composition is the danger of infecting the garden with weeds and diseases, especially if the mass preparation technology is not followed.

Peat

Peat chips to protect tree trunks.

Peat soil is ideal for mulching the garden, because its natural composition contains absolutely no harmful substances and is an environmentally friendly product. However, it is worth remembering that peat has high acidity, which, when used to mulch beds, can change the acid-base balance and lead to acidification of the soil.

Peat chips can be used to mulch beds with plants that prefer soils with high acidity.

Natural materials do an excellent job of protecting garden beds. The material is breathable, lightweight, and promotes rapid air access to plant roots. When choosing a method for mulching a garden or vegetable garden, you should carefully consider the option of using this or that material.