Is it possible to use sawdust as a fertilizer in the garden and vegetable garden. Sawdust as a fertilizer: how to make compost and use humus correctly Sawdust fertilizer technology

Almost all gardeners are inclined to believe that manure is a valuable component for soil nutrition. However, it is quite expensive, so many people use sawdust as a fertilizer. If they are applied correctly, the soil will be enriched with the necessary substances, due to which it will be possible to get a rich harvest.

Benefits of sawdust

sawdust- this is an organic material that periodically appears in almost every yard during the preparation of firewood for the winter. Especially a large number of such fertilizer is available to those who are engaged in construction work. In addition, this material can be bought, it is inexpensive. Some businesses even take the sawdust to the landfill, so you can find it here as well.

The use of such material in agriculture is very large. Some gardeners put it in compost, others use it in the process of forming ridges, growing seedlings on it. However, this natural fertilizer must be carefully prepared before use. But first things first.

Impact on the soil

If the soil is enriched with loosening organic matter, then it will absorb moisture well, due to which the plants in the garden will develop well. In addition, a crust does not form on its surface after rain, so loosening the soil is not required so often. However, only rotted or at least half-rotted sawdust has such properties. They have a brownish tint. The longer they rest, the darker their color will be.

It must be understood that the overheating of sawdust is a very lengthy process. On the fresh air it can last for about 10 years or more. Therefore, this material is rarely used on its own. It is usually added to the compost heap along with manure.

Advice
As a result of the fact that pine sawdust can acidify the soil, it is recommended when using them to further enrich the earth with limestone.

Mulching with sawdust

Sawdust can also be used as a mulching material. To do this, it is better to use rotted, semi-rotted or even fresh materials. They are spread in a layer of 3-5 cm. This mulch can be used in raspberries or on vegetable ridges. Fresh sawdust must be prepared before use. To do this, you need to take a film and lay it on an area illuminated by the sun.

After that, sawdust should be poured out (3 buckets each), on top - 200 g of urea each, and then thoroughly moisten them with water. So you need to continue until all the sawdust is over. From above, you also need to cover the products with a film, crushing it with stones. After about 2 weeks, sawdust can be used as a fertilizer.

But there is one caveat: you can use such fertilizers only in the first half of summer, when water from the soil evaporates quickly. Already in the second half, there will be no trace of the mulch, as the worms will loosen it well, so it will completely mix with the soil. If you use it in the second half of summer, when the rainy season begins, then because of the layer wood fertilizer moisture will not be able to evaporate, which may affect the condition of the plants.

Use in greenhouses

Sawdust as a fertilizer for greenhouses and hotbeds is absolutely irreplaceable. It is very useful to mix them with both manure and plant residues. This will help the soil warm up much faster, so seed germination will also begin earlier. But you need to understand that fresh sawdust can only be used if fresh manure is used. If you take rotted manure or do without it at all, then in this case it is recommended to take only rotted sawdust.

You can bring them into greenhouse or greenhouse ridges both in autumn and in spring. The most favorable option is as follows: in the fall, it is necessary to lay a layer of straw, leaves, grass. During the winter, all this tops will rot, so a sufficient amount of nutrients for plants is formed. In the spring, you can also lay manure with sawdust. The soil should be thoroughly loosened with a pitchfork so that both layers are properly mixed. After that, it is necessary to lay another layer of straw, on top - soil mixed with ash and mineral fertilizers.

Advice
In order for the soil in a greenhouse or greenhouse to warm up better, it is necessary to pour boiling water over the ridges, and cover them with plastic wrap on top.

Compost with sawdust

Many summer residents add sawdust to the compost. Most often they are mixed with manure. However, such compost cannot be used immediately. It should be left for about a year. That is, it is desirable to prepare compost in the spring, so that next year it will be ready for use. If necessary, you can slightly moisten the created mixture. At the same time, there should be little water, otherwise useful material. If there is no manure, then you can mix chicken manure with sawdust. It is also recommended to add urea to the resulting mixture.

You can use sawdust as fertilizer in compost only if the mixture rots. So it will have more nutrients. To speed up this process, you can add initial stage slurry or kitchen waste into it. It will also be nice if soil is added to the compost. At the same time, its amount should be moderate: about 2-3 buckets per cubic meter of sawdust. This will multiply earthworms contributing to the rapid decay of wood.

Strawberry and wild strawberry fertilizer

Sawdust is also a good fertilizer for strawberries and strawberries. In addition, if used as mulching material, the berries will not touch the ground, which will reduce fruit loss from rot. In winter, such materials will not allow the roots of the plant to freeze. It is advisable to take only fresh material that has been treated with urea. It is best that it be obtained from conifers. Oak sawdust will not work.

But walnut or birch sawdust can be used to raise ridges that are located in low places. To do this, you need to dig a trench around the ridges. With the help of excavated earth, it is necessary to form ridges, and sawdust should be poured into the trenches. Thanks to such a simple manipulation, it will be possible to avoid drying out the beds even during dry periods. Fertilizing the soil with sawdust will also contribute to the fact that weeds will not grow on it. In addition, over time, they will rot, due to which the soil will become lush and fertile.

Substrate for seed germination

Many are interested in whether sawdust can be used as independent soil? As you know, there are two technologies by which seeds germinate. Some plant them directly into the soil, while others place them first in old sawdust. After all, they are perfect soil for a short period of time. Due to their loose structure, intensive development of the root system occurs. And then the seedlings can be transplanted completely "painlessly" for her. However, sawdust alone does not contain required amount nutrients for plants, so if left in such soil for the entire growing season, they can dry out completely.

Algorithm for planting a plant in sawdust

1. Take a flat, shallow container that must be filled with wet sawdust in advance.
2. At a short distance from each other, seeds should be placed, which are again covered with fertilizer from above.
3. Containers should be placed in open plastic bags. You can also cover them with cling film on top, making several holes on its surface. Then the boxes should be taken to a warm place, preferably well-lit.
4. After the first shoots appear, you can remove the plastic bags. Sprinkle on top fertile soil so that the plants get used to the ground.
5. Seating plants in separate containers does not occur before the advent first sheet.
6. Fertilization of the land with sawdust should also occur before planting seedlings in the garden.

Sawdust for growing potatoes

Sawdust - fertilizer for potatoes, with which you can get early harvest vegetables. To do this, you need to buy tubers germinated in the light in advance. early potatoes, as well as several deep drawers. They should be filled with overripe sawdust. About two weeks before planting the tubers in the soil, they must be placed in these boxes, and sprinkled with chopped wood on top. It is important that the substrate is not too dry or too wet. After two weeks, you can start planting tubers on the beds. After planting potatoes, it is recommended to cover the entire area with straw to avoid freezing tubers. You can speed up the harvest by several weeks.

Thus, sawdust is an indispensable fertilizer, which in recent times used by many gardeners. Its advantages are low cost and ease of use. At the same time, such materials can be used for various purposes: for mulching, warming, fertilizing the soil.

However, it must be taken into account that each of these processes is carried out according to a certain technology. Therefore, it is impossible to start their implementation without familiarizing yourself with these technologies. This can result in the loss of a large amount of crop.

In search of cheap fertilizer, most land owners line up for sawdust, which is considered natural and very useful top dressing. What is their surprise when, instead of flowering and smelling plants, they receive not only a decrease in yield, but also the complete death of crops.

This is not surprising, because everything must be approached wisely. After reading this article, you will learn from which side to approach the issue of fertilizing the land with sawdust.

Sawdust in compost sauce

If you put fresh sawdust without any particular treatment directly under the plant, then soon you will see how it begins to die. Why? Soil bacteria did their best here, which, when “working” on wood, suck out nitrogen from the fertile soil, which is a vital element for plants.
Fresh sawdust contains an increased amount of various resins. Penetrating into the soil, they not only destroy the fertile layer, but also poison it for future plants.
Some summer residents are sure that they can do valuable fertilizer, accumulating mountains of sawdust in one place. This is not true. It can take years for one small pile to rot. This is explained quite simply. The process of decay is under the influence of moisture, and sawdust practically does not let it through. The bottom of the pile will always remain dry. Even after many years, several kilograms of sawdust can be found at its bottom, which could retain all their original properties.

The correct sawdust compost can be made according to the following recipe:
1. A pile must be formed through layers of sawdust, wetting each of them with urea (200 g per 10 liters of water);
2. The pile is covered with a film in the form of an airtight dome;
3. Every 2 weeks, the layers must be shoveled so that they are enriched with oxygen;
4. After the compost sawdust turns black, it can be used as fertilizer.

You can use another recipe for making compost from sawdust with the addition of fertilizers:
1. Still, sawdust will need to be formed in layers;
2. Pour all layers with plenty of water, sprinkle with lime and add a solution of fertilizers. To prepare the dressing, it is necessary to take, based on 10 kg of sawdust, 150 g of lime, 130 g of urea, 70 g of potassium chloride, 10 g of superphosphate. The height of the heap can be made up to one and a half meters, periodically maintaining its humidity.

Instead of chemical fertilizers you can use chicken manure at the rate of 1:1 with sawdust. Feel free to throw food waste, straw, weeds, etc. into such a compost heap. The ripening period of such compost is about six months.

Sawdust compost with nitrogen flavor

As noted earlier, when the soil is fertilized with fresh sawdust, nitrogen is absorbed from the soil. This is easy enough to avoid by doing just 2 simple steps:
1. It is necessary to sprinkle wood shavings with nitrogen-containing fertilizer at the rate of 20 g of the mixture per 1 kg of wood;
2. Put the resulting substance on the ground and carefully dig everything.
It is important to remember that if you are preparing beds for tomatoes, potatoes or carrots, then it is better to do this procedure in the fall. If your goal is to grow cucumbers, pumpkins or cabbage, a mixture of nitrogen-containing fertilizers and sawdust compost is best combined with manure, fertilizing the ground in the spring.

Mulch filled with sawdust

Sawdust is great for mulching the soil. There are several reasons for this:
Perfectly retain moisture;
Does not contain weed seeds;
Weed grass hardly breaks through a dense layer of sawdust.
Mulching the earth with sawdust is not only useful, but also very beautiful. You just need to know the right recipes.

Here is one of the options for making sawdust mulch:
1. Sawdust is soaked in a strong solution of potassium permanganate, which gives them a beautiful color;
2. We also paint well-ground branches with potassium permanganate;
3. We mix sawdust and branches, carefully lay them under the trees.

Be careful when choosing sawdust, because not all are environmentally friendly. For example, chipboard chips contain various carcinogens, which are hardly washed out of the soil and penetrate into the fruits. vegetable crops.

The nuances of using sawdust as fertilizer for the garden

Not everyone knows that sawdust can be used as fertilizer for vegetable gardens and orchards. But it's much easier to get them than horse dung, about the benefits of which so much is said. Today we will consider how to use sawdust as a fertilizer, whether it is worth doing it or not.

The effect of sawdust on the soil

Sawdust added to the ground makes it lighter, looser, breathable, and does not retain excess moisture. Such soil resembles peat in its qualities, allows the root system of plants to develop better. A tree is an organic matter that contains many useful substances, but even the process of its decay enriches the soil with beneficial bacteria, as carbon is released, which activates the microflora.

But in all this there is one nuance that makes gardeners refuse cheap, healthy fertilizer: the tree significantly oxidizes the soil. And fresh sawdust takes nitrogen from the earth, very needed by plants. To use sawdust as a fertilizer, they can be mixed with horse manure, mullein, bird droppings and let them rot. To use them with 100% benefit, not to increase the acidity of the soil, and not to reduce the amount of nitrogen in it, you will need urea and lime. That's when you get the perfect fertilizer.

Sawdust significantly enriches tired infertile soils, in which there are no useful substances necessary for active growth and fruiting crops. But this does not apply to pine waste. Coniferous trees contain resins with antibacterial action, which greatly slow down the decomposition process.

Application

If you have sawdust left after construction, there is no reason to get rid of them. They can be perfectly used with great benefits for the garden or garden. The soil is enriched with rotted wood waste, but they can bring many benefits even in the process of their decomposition - this is a significant plus of their use.

in compost

Sawdust, simply left in the open, can rot for more than 10 years. The absence of moisture inside, the frozen crust on the outside - that's why there is no decomposition process. And if you do compost pit, then you can quickly prepare a wonderful top dressing for your dacha. First, you need to lay out small wooden waste mixed with horse manure, then add plant remains - fallen leaves, mowed grass, vegetable tops and kitchen waste, if there are no bones, meat, fat. All this would be nice to periodically water hot water, cover from the cold with a film - in a year you will have an excellent fertilizer that can be used for garden or vegetable garden plants. If you add at least a little earth with earthworms, the process will go much faster.

It is not easy to buy horse manure now, it is expensive, in compost heap it can be replaced by mullein or bird droppings, it is better to dilute them with water and water sawdust with this slurry. But it is quite possible to buy urea - it will turn out cheaper, but the result will still be good. Completely prepared humus from a compost pit resembles greasy crumbly earth. So that there is no doubt about the acid balance of the soil, lime flour can be added to the sawdust. Thus, a universal organic fertilizer is prepared that will not take nitrogen, will not add acid, but will bring only useful substances that will make the soil fertile.

Video "On the use of wood tyrsa in the garden"

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As a mulch

All plants in the garden can be mulched with sawdust. If from the beginning of summer to cover the ground in the garden with a layer of sawdust 2-3 cm thick, then this will save the vegetables from weeds, retain moisture, and relieve the owners of the need to often loosen the ground. And by the end of summer, sawdust will almost imperceptibly mix with top layer soil, make it lighter and more breathable. After harvesting vegetables, they usually dig up the ground - the sawdust will be evenly distributed and turn into fertilizer for the next plantings, you can also sprinkle it with lime flour to avoid soil acidification.

Features of the use of sawdust as a fertilizer

Usually, at the beginning of summer, moisture must be retained, and later an excess of it can damage plants, so it is advisable to carry out such mulching no later than June.

If there were too many sawdust in the garden, and by the end of summer they had not mixed with the ground, it is better to remove them so that this excess does not prevent the ground from freezing in the spring.

Fresh sawdust around strawberry bushes will help it grow without weeds and pests, especially coniferous trees. She is able to save potatoes from colorado potato beetle. If you spread the chopped parts of coniferous trees between the bushes, the Colorado potato beetle will not eat your potatoes. But you will have to change the sawdust at least three times during the summer.

Raspberries can be covered with a thick layer of sawdust - up to 20 cm. It is sprinkled with lime on top and spilled with a solution of urea. Such a mulch will protect the soil from moisture loss, make it looser and lighter, provide fertilizer constantly flowing to the roots, and rid the raspberries of pests.

For greenhouses

When preparing soil for greenhouses, a summer resident can mix sawdust with horse manure, chopped grass, leaves - this will warm it up perfectly. It is only necessary to use rotted sawdust with rotted horse manure (or mullein) and, accordingly, fresh sawdust with fresh manure. If you prepare a garden bed in the fall, then you can lay plant remains before winter, and in the spring put horse manure on top, cover it with lime and tyrsa. Put some straw on all this, soil with mineral fertilizers. Such a bed will warm up quickly and will constantly keep the temperature.

On the beds

With the help of sawdust, beds are formed and the garden is rid of excess water. If the site is flooded with melt water (or showers), then it is very convenient to dig a groove along the perimeter with a depth of 20-25 cm and a width of 30-40 cm. This groove is filled with sawdust, and the soil is transferred to the beds - there will be no excess moisture, the edges will not dry out, and the path will always be dry. After 1-2 years, fertilizer will be made by itself, with which it will be possible to feed the soil during general digging.

Sometimes summer residents organize high beds for vegetables or flowers - this can also be done using carpentry waste. A trench is dug, on the bottom of which leaves, grass, sawdust, lime meal, urea (manure, if any) are laid. Then grass is laid on top again, the dug soil is returned. So that the edges do not dry out, they can be covered with turf, laid with a film. The process of overheating inside such beds occurs constantly, heating and nourishing the plants.

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Sawdust for fertilizing and mulching the soil: methods of application

Many summer residents know about the beneficial properties of sawdust, but they use them on their site only as mulch or as a material for winter insulation shrubs and perennials. But sawdust is an excellent fertilizer. If you know how to use them correctly.

Sawdust is small particles of wood that are formed during its sawing, drilling, grinding. Their size depends on the sawing tool. The chemical composition is varied, depending on the type of wood, but the bulk falls on cellulose (50%), lignin and hemicellulose. Softwood sawdust contains a lot of resins.

You can get sawdust cheaply and in large quantities at woodworking enterprises, and they are almost everywhere. There is wood waste in workshops, at home craftsmen, everywhere where wood is processed. Often they are burned or taken out as garbage.

As you know, organic waste, rotting under the influence of moisture and soil bacteria, enriches the soil nutrients and improve their structure. But many summer residents, having once tried to dig up the ground, pouring sawdust into it, refuse this idea - the harvest decreases, the plants wither. What's the matter?

The fact is that fresh sawdust and humus from sawdust are materials that differ greatly in their effect on the soil.

How does fresh sawdust affect the soil?

In the process of decay, sawdust absorbs a lot of nitrogen. They take it from the soil, impoverishing it. They also take phosphorus, but in a smaller amount than nitrogen. And these are vital elements for plants. The very process of their decomposition is rather slow, so the depletion of the soil will continue for some time. Rapid decay prevent the resins contained in the sawdust. In addition, sawdust from many of our tree species increases the acidity of the soil.

Sawdust absorbs a lot of water, swells and retains it for a long time. If they are laid out in a thick layer on the garden bed, then in a dry summer the soil under them will be too dry, sawdust will take away all the moisture of infrequent rains. On waterlogged soil, they form a crust and will prevent the normal evaporation of water. In the spring, a frozen layer of wet sawdust will delay the thawing of the soil layer.

How do rotted sawdust affect the soil?

Decayed sawdust has a dark brown color, half-decayed - a light brown tint. Unlike fresh sawdust, rotted sawdust is good for the soil. They loosen the soil, enrich it with nutrients.

It turns out that the main task- in some way to speed up the process of sawdust decay, so that from harmful material get valuable fertilizer.

How to speed up the decay of sawdust?

Stacked in a heap, sawdust rots for several years, for some tree species - up to 10 years. The reason is that moisture and soil bacteria are required for decomposition, and they are not present in sawdust. Even if the heap lies under open sky, not covered by anything, then during rain its upper layer absorbs water and forms a crust through which moisture does not seep into the heap.

Bacteria involved in the decomposition process wood residues, require a lot of nitrogen for reproduction. The more it is, the more actively the process goes on and the fertilizer useful for the soil will be obtained faster.

The main goal is to enrich the sawdust with moisture and nitrogen. How to do it?

There are several options. You can simply add urea to a pile of sawdust, cover with a film to keep warm, regularly water it with water and mix. But it's troublesome. There is an easier way - to make compost from sawdust and other organic matter.

Sawdust as fertilizer: are they effective?

Proper organics, this is important.

sawdust in compost

In order for the sawdust to rot actively, it is necessary to mix them with other materials containing a lot of nitrogen. It is best to mix them with manure and bird droppings, and then let them lie down for a year, moisturizing and covering if necessary, so that useful substances are not washed out.

If there is no manure, then mowed grass, young weeds weeded from the beds, kitchen waste (cleanings, cores, husks, remnants of ordinary food, bread crumbs) will be a good companion for sawdust. This entire border contains quite a lot of nitrogen. There is more of it in fresh grass than in fallen leaves, for example. It is also necessary to lay the compost correctly, alternating layers. Sprinkle a layer of wet grass or weeds with sawdust, lay kitchen waste on top of them, then grass again, and so on. All this is well poured with water and covered with a film.

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

sawdust as mulching material

For mulching, you can use rotted, semi-rotted or even fresh sawdust with a layer of 3-5 cm - such mulch will be especially good under bushes, in raspberries and on vegetable ridges. Over-rotted and semi-rotted sawdust can be used directly, and fresh ones will have to be pre-prepared, if this is not done, they will take nitrogen from the soil, and hence from the plants, as a result, the plantings will wither.

The preparation process is relatively simple - you need to put a large film on a free area, then pour 3 buckets of sawdust, 200 g of urea into it sequentially and evenly pour a 10-liter watering can of water, then again in the same order: sawdust, urea, water, etc. d. At the end, close the entire structure hermetically with a film, pressing it down with stones. After two weeks, nitrogen-enriched sawdust can be safely used.

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

Features of mulching with sawdust

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. The aisles are covered with a thick layer of sawdust to prevent the growth of weeds.
2. Biocompost is introduced into the ridges themselves.

   If the earth is clayey, then add sand.

3. As crops grow, sawdust is sprinkled between the rows, the ridges themselves are loosened and biocompost is regularly introduced.
4. Berries are covered with a layer of sawdust, mulch is regularly sprinkled.
5. Sawdust can be applied on top of the manure, which will retain moisture.

For loosening the soil, improving its structure and accelerating decomposition organic dressings it is worth launching earthworms on the ridges. Alexander Kuznetsov refutes the opinion that sawdust, like mulch, enrolls the soil, because they are brought on top of the soil. The soil is acidified not by sawdust, but by fungi that destroy them.

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

Advantages and disadvantages of mulching

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

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

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

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

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

When to use sawdust on the ridges

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

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

In the summer they fall asleep with sawdust vegetable beds with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and beets. This prevents crops from drying out.

Mulching strawberries has many advantages:

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

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

Mulching trees and shrubs

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

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

Sawdust mulching is suitable for the following horticultural crops:

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

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

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

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

Mulching with sawdust in a greenhouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to mulch beds in winter

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

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

Answers to frequently asked questions about mulching

Question number 1. What sawdust is best for mulching?

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

Question number 2. What crops are sawdust used for?

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

Mulching garden strawberries with sawdust on the ridge

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

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

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

Yes. The soil fertility improves, the soil does not overheat, the irrigation rate decreases, and moisture evaporates more slowly. The crops are even watered cold water while it passes through the sawdust, it will warm up. Improved fruit preservation taste qualities and the maturation period is accelerated.

Question number 5. What is the timing of mulching?

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

Mulching gardening mistakes

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

1. It is important to choose the right size and type of sawdust. The younger the seedlings and the thinner the sprouts, the finer the chips. But sawdust similar to wood flour is not used at all. It turns into a dense crust on the soil surface, which does not allow water to pass through.
2. Large sawdust rot for several years. They are not suitable for vegetable beds.

   Sawdust fertilizer, increase your yield!

   Use shavings for trees and shrubs.

3. Before making mulch on the beds, nitrogen fertilizers must be used, otherwise the growth and development of crops will slow down.
4. Use rotted sawdust. Fresh ones increase the acidity of the soil, which negatively affects the development of crops.
5. Do not rush to mulch. If you make sawdust on unheated soil, this will affect the growth and development of crops.

How to use sawdust as a fertilizer?

Most often, gardeners and gardeners use sawdust as mulch and insulation for certain plants for the winter. And not everyone knows how to use sawdust as a fertilizer. With proper processing, sawdust can become an excellent plant nutrition, or rather, the basis for a nutritious organic complex.

The most common mistake is to use clean sawdust as fertilizer. It is absolutely impossible to do this, because in this case, the waste from the woodworking industry not only does not become useful, but also greatly impoverishes the soil.

How to make fertilizer from sawdust?

If sawdust is not suitable in its pure and unprocessed form, then how can they be used as fertilizer? It is best to pass them through the compost pit so that they become part of the nutrient organic matter for the subsequent enrichment of the earth. Moreover, the compost with sawdust rots faster, because they maintain the right temperature. In the spring, such humus is more loose and breathable. Using it is a pleasure.

How to prepare sawdust for soil fertilization?

So, how to prepare rotten sawdust as fertilizer? For this we need the following ingredients:

• sawdust - 200 kg;
• grass, leaves and other plant waste - 100 kg;
• ash - 10 l;
• water - 50 l;
• urea - 2.5 kg.

Urea is first dissolved in water and watered over the sawdust, grass and ash lined with layers.

Another recipe for making fertilizer based on sawdust is as follows:

• oak sawdust - 200 kg;
• mowed grass - 100 kg;
• cow dung - 50 kg;
• food waste and feces - 30 kg;
• humates - 1 drop per 100 liters of water.

Such soil fertilization with sawdust is suitable for plants requiring large doses of nitrogen.

Which sawdust is better as a fertilizer?

Not all waste from the wood processing industry is suitable for the preparation of fertilizer. For example, pine sawdust as a fertilizer is completely unsuitable. Like all conifers, pine rots very badly.

Whatever the breed of sawdust, in a clean and even rotted form, they are very "sour" the soil. Not all plants grow on acidic soil, so you have to deoxidize the soil with limestone flour.

To prevent this, you can immediately prepare sawdust with lime. To do this, you need to dig a hole 1 meter deep in one of the corners of the garden, fill it with fresh sawdust, and sprinkle lime on top.

After two years, the mass will overheat and become suitable for use in the beds as a fertilizer. The benefits of it are enormous, since the carbon released during the process of overheating enriches the soil microflora, activating beneficial bacteria and increasing their number.

Sawdust is one of the most common organic fertilizers used by summer residents. However, many believe that if you do not know and do not follow certain rules of use, this cheap, environmentally friendly and practical material can significantly damage plants. To prevent this from happening, you must first figure out how to use sawdust in the garden, and only then proceed to actions in your summer cottage.

Sawdust for the garden: benefits and harms, safe methods of use

Let's figure out how to use sawdust correctly so that they will surely benefit. Sawdust is really good as a fertilizer for the garden, but there are some nuances. You should not expect a rich harvest if they were simply thoughtlessly scattered along the garden until a stable microbial community has been created.

1st method: sawdust as compost

This is how it is done, and everyone has been scared for a long time that you should not use fresh sawdust for any crops. Decaying, they will use up the available nitrogen in the soil, while expelling toxic substances. It would be much more rational to make compost from sawdust.

To do this, the bottom layer of grass or hay is first laid out in the compost tank, and then sawdust is compacted in layers of 10-15 cm. Each layer is significantly filled with a solution of water with urea, made in proportions of 200 grams of this substance per bucket of water.

Of course, mineral water can be replaced with weed infusion (there are more nettles and dandelions, but with roots) or bird droppings can be diluted. It is also good to layer each layer of 10-15 cm with earth in order to populate the compost with beneficial microbes.

When the whole pile is ready, it should be covered with a film or any material that does not allow drying. After two weeks, the pile must be poured with a shovel (transshipment should be done). After a two-month period, the sawdust will completely darken and a safe organic fertilizer for the garden is ready.

Method 2: Nitrogen Enriched Sawdust - A Quick Mix for the Lazy

There is not always time and patience to make a full-fledged compost fertilizer. Not a problem. Plants will benefit greatly from sawdust from raw wood mixed with a nitrogen fertilizer prepared in any of the following ways:

• 20 grams of urea per kilo wood chips;
• 0.5 liters of solution bird droppings on a bucket of water;
• 3 liters of weed infusion for 7 liters of water.

You can mix dry sawdust with urea in advance, or first scatter them on an empty garden bed and spill it with a solution - it doesn’t matter. After a while, the ground covered with sawdust can be processed as usual. Enriched sawdust is great to use when laying high beds - they give looseness to the soil, improve moisture capacity.

Whoever has a little sawdust, you can enrich them with home remedies - rinse the bowl from the preparation of the dough for the jellied pie (another name is "charlotte") and soak the sawdust. The wash from the dough contains everything you need - the remains of eggs, flour, sugar. Soil biota will definitely be delighted with such a freebie. By the way, it is not a sin to powder the soil in pots of home flowers with such sawdust - evaporation from the soil surface will decrease, transpiration jumps will smooth out.

3rd way: enrichment of fresh sawdust with EM cultures

Wood sawdust as fertilizer for the garden can be enriched with EMs. It doesn't matter if it's purchased or homemade. We cook just like OFEM in this video of charming Valeria Zashchitina:

4th method: a mixture of fresh sawdust with compost or manure

Potatoes, tomatoes and carrots can be fertilized with sawdust mixed with organic fertilizers. In this case, it is better to shower them on the ground autumn sometimes.

As for cucumbers, cabbage, gourds, then fertilize them in this way, preferably in the spring, mixing with farm animal manure and ash.

5th method: mulching the soil with sawdust

As already mentioned, due to the many publications, novice summer residents doubt whether it is possible to mulch with fresh sawdust. It seems to us that such articles are incomplete and scare beginners in vain. sawdust - beautiful natural material, and to refuse such cheap organics is simply a sin. By the way, such a wonderful fertilizer as lingohumate is obtained from wood waste. Haven't tried? Try at least on seedlings.

How sawdust mulch will remarkably protect the soil from adverse weather conditions and drying, because they perfectly retain moisture. In addition, many rooted weeds will not be able to break through their stratification.

After a year, the sawdust will rot without a trace, saturating the soil with nutrients during this process, which will ensure a good harvest. In the next season, it is advisable to take care of the plants by soaking sawdust mulch with aerated compost tea or weed solution.

To avoid trouble

And, as usual, having considered all the advantages, we must still recall the harm of sawdust to the soil. There are not so many cons. For example, do not sprinkle the soil around the plants with sawdust of unknown origin. Varnishes, glue, carcinogens and others chemical substances contained in them can kill crops or spoil the expected harvest. If a mistake has already been made, all the beds should be generously watered with rotten humus. It will gradually cleanse the soil of unwanted substances.

The second warning is also quite simple - softwood sawdust contains organic resins, and they acidify the soil. It is desirable for them to mulch the soil near rhododendrons, blueberries and heathers. Or add deoxidizers - dolomite flour, ground eggshell and/or wood ash.

Third - sawdust of poplar, oak, walnut known to be allelopathic. That is, their excretion inhibits the growth of many cultivated plants. But do not throw away such organic matter! It is better to accumulate sawdust, shavings and foliage of these tree species somewhere separately (bag, box, etc.), spilling them with EMs or urea and calmly use them in a year or two.

By this time, the natural colins will have weathered out, the waste will be saturated with natural organic acids, saprophytes will develop in it, and the entire armada of soil biota will pounce on these sawdust when you distribute it in the garden.

Here are some ways to use sawdust in the garden. So do not be afraid of incomplete publications, and do not try to collect and take sawdust in the country somewhere, and even more so burn it - this is blasphemy! We hope excessive emotionality the article did not prevent you from understanding how you can use sawdust for the garden - the benefits and harms of their use in the country have become obvious.

Sawdust as a mulch and a heater for fruit trees, berries, flowers is used by many gardeners. But wood waste has other useful properties. This is an excellent basis for making nutritious compost. In what cases can sawdust be used as fertilizer, how to apply them? Let's talk about this in more detail.

Sawdust - affordable fertilizer

Soil for growing crops in different regions Russia is very different. And in many areas, the use of sawdust is necessary measure to improve soil structure on summer cottages and vegetable gardens. It just needs to be done right.

Of course, crushed oak or other waste cannot be considered a full-fledged organic fertilizer. Sawdust improves the mechanical properties of the soil, it becomes airy and loose, perfectly absorbing moisture. But in order to understand how small particles of wood affect the nutrient layer of the soil, you need to know the composition and properties of wood chips.

The composition of sawdust includes many useful trace elements, fiber, resins, essential oils other necessary for the plant trace elements. But this composition is only for the correct compost sawdust.

sawdust properties

Sawdust are the smallest pieces of wood. This is waste from the woodworking industry. Often there are sawdust in summer cottages where construction is underway. By value, wood waste is superior to peat and manure, they contain more valuable substances. It is a cheap and readily available material.

AT pure form wood cannot be fertilizer. It contains a lot of nitrogen, lignin, cellulose, resins, they bind many useful substances, impoverishing the soil. This is due to the fact that during the decomposition of sawdust, a lot of fungi, bacteria, microbes are formed, which take useful elements(phosphorus and nitrogen) in plants. The soil starts to oxidize.

Add sawdust to the soil fresh not recommended, but you can spread it on top, but in a small layer. Most often, the soil around trees and shrubs is mulched to retain moisture and heat. If you use sawdust as a fertilizer or mulch on strawberry plantings, wood waste will help protect the berries from pests and rot.

Mulching with sawdust is carried out only until mid-summer. By the end of August, the sawdust will completely dissolve due to the constant loosening and activity of the worms. If a thick layer of sawdust is poured during the rainy season, excess moisture will not evaporate from the soil. This will adversely affect the ripening of shoots in fruit trees and berry bushes. Later, it will be difficult for plants to prepare for winter.

How to get fertilizer from sawdust

In order for wood waste to become fertilizer from sawdust, you need to wait a long time, moisture must accumulate in them, microorganisms must appear. The process of obtaining compost from sawdust can naturally last from 5 to 10 years. Heaps of waste will be moistened by rain, that part of them that gets wet will turn black. But it's too much long process. You can speed it up by mixing sawdust with mineral fertilizers, fertile soil, regularly pouring water from a hose.

sawdust compost

It is necessary to take waste only from the purest wood. When the trunks are treated with impregnations, they can only fill the soil with toxic substances. Almost all plants can be composted into a mixture with sawdust. Exceptions are perennial weeds, wood and bark of old trees. Small waste is easily composted, quickly acquiring the desired useful properties.

Speeding Up the Process with Amplifiers

Stages of obtaining compost

Conventionally, the process of obtaining fertilizer from sawdust can be divided into three stages:

1. Decomposition. The mixture actively releases heat, which contributes to a change in the structure of the conglomerate components. Beneficial microorganisms are born in the mixture: lactic acid, photosynthetic, yeast bacteria, fermenting fungi, actinomycetes. Entire colonies of earthworms are formed, they speed up the process of processing sawdust into fertilizer.
2. Humus and its formation. At this stage, you need a lot of oxygen, it is necessary for the active reproduction of microorganisms. Heaps need to be mixed manually with a pitchfork or a shovel.
3. Mineralization. Organic residues decompose. A large amount of carbon dioxide is released.

How to make sawdust compost in 14 days

You can prepare healthy organics in two ways:

• slow (cold);
• fast (hot).

With the cold method, a more useful and high-quality substrate is obtained. But it takes too long to get it. If you want to get compost quickly, you need to fulfill three main conditions:

• Heat loss must be prevented. This can be done by putting the mixture in a container. With the hot method, only a limited amount of fertilizer can be prepared.
• It is necessary to provide natural aeration. To do this, make holes, slots in the walls of the container for air access.
• Grind all ingredients. The size of the fractions should be no more than 15 cm.

How is compost mass formed?

In order for the compost formation to proceed quickly, the following conditions must be observed:

• the mixture had to be under the sun;
• the container should not be blown by the wind;
• components are divided into two separate fractions: dry and solid (branches, shavings) and green (weeds, foliage, tops);
• in the compost heap, all components are stacked in layers;
• at the bottom there should be a layer of dry grass and leaves, then there should be a layer of sawdust mixed with a dry fraction moistened with liquid mullein or urea. The next layer is a wet fraction with manure, forest soil, chopped hay, then again there should be an alternation of layers, where the first layer will be sawdust.

The optimal height of the container with the substrate is about a meter. The area is not less than a square meter. The container should be closed with a dense material. If everything is done correctly, after three days heat will begin to be released. Regularly the mixture must be shoveled, providing air access.

You need to make sure that there are no smells from the compost pit. If there is a smell of ammonia, there is an excess of nitrogen in the compost, it is worth adding a small amount of shredded paper. If there is a hydrocarbon smell, the reservoirs are lacking oxygen.

Sawdust as a fertilizer, how to apply

Sawdust nutrient substrate absorbs chemical and toxic substances from the soil. Due to this, fruits and berries do not accumulate heavy metals, nitrates.

Fresh sawdust is also used in saline soils. They allow them to improve their health without negative consequences. Experienced gardeners recommend adding sawdust compost to poor soils 3-4 years in a row. If the land is fertile - a year or two. The result of sawdust fertilizer lasts for five years, in terms of efficiency it is comparable to cow dung.

The use of sawdust in greenhouses

In greenhouses, the use of sawdust as a fertilizer, as well as any compost based on them, is effective. Before planting seedlings in the spring, a layer of fresh sawdust up to 25 cm thick is scattered in the greenhouse. Mineral fertilizers are scattered from above. On the square meter take:

• wood ash - 300 grams;
• double superphosphate - 200 grams;
• ammonium nitrate - 250 grams;
• potassium sulfate - 120 grams.

If not mineral, but organic fertilizers are used, the usual dose is increased. For chicken manure - 2 times, for a solution of ordinary manure - three times. Sawdust sprinkled with water room temperature, mixed after pouring. The procedure is carried out a month before the date of planting seedlings.

When growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, sawdust top dressing is used, but it is necessary to fertilize the plants every week before harvesting the fruits. nitrogen fertilizers. Use during fruiting complex fertilizers. Every year a new portion of sawdust is added to the ground.

On fresh sawdust, you can grow seedlings of cucumbers, squash, zucchini, as well as pumpkins, melons, watermelons, onions. Almost any seedling of vegetables can be grown on a sawdust basis.

Sawdust for growing potatoes

For cultivation early potato use almost rotted sawdust. A layer of birch sawdust or any other is poured into the prepared boxes, germinated tubers are placed on it. A layer of sawdust is again poured on top. The boxes should be at a temperature of 20 degrees, keeping the substrate moist. With an increase in sprouts, sawdust is watered with a solution of urea. Potatoes, along with sawdust, are planted in holes, covered with earth. Landing is covered with hay or straw.

Almost all summer residents are well aware that it is categorically not recommended to introduce sawdust into the soil and good harvests on such grounds it is definitely not worth expecting. This is especially true for fresh sawdust, because they often lead to excessive acidification of the soil, a fungus can easily appear in them, and they also draw a decent amount of nitrogen from the soil. But, nevertheless, sawdust can be an excellent component for improving air permeability (they are an excellent leavening agent) and soil structure! True, in order for them not to overrip and thoroughly spoil the soil, they must be properly prepared. And it's not that hard to do it!

How to prepare sawdust for fertilizer?

In order to prepare sawdust for subsequent application to the soil, you will need to acquire some kind of nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizer. Urea is especially well suited for these purposes - for each bucket of sawdust it will be enough to take one handful of urea. At the same time, it is important to take into account the ability of powdered urea to cake and form sparingly soluble lumps, so it is better to immediately purchase a granular version. Useful for harvesting sawdust and huge black plastic garbage bags (up to two hundred liters).

Pre-moistened sawdust is thoroughly mixed in a large garden bucket, in an old tank or in some other container with urea or other nitrogen-containing fertilizer, after which they are carefully poured into pre-prepared bags. When the bags are filled, they are tightly closed and the contents are allowed to “brew” well for at least three weeks - during this period, the sawdust will be properly saturated with nitrogen and become absolutely safe for the soil. It is especially good to use sawdust prepared in this way in the fall - over the summer they are not only perfectly saturated with nitrogen, but also lose their pricklyness and rigidity.

How and when to bring ready-made sawdust into the soil?

Sawdust-based fertilizer can be applied to the soil both in autumn and in spring - as a rule, this is done when digging the soil. And, most importantly, such fertilizer can be applied under absolutely any crop! Highly good results gives its introduction under the potato - the tubers in this case always turn out to be clean and even. And if you take pine sawdust as a basis, they will become a real salvation from the Colorado potato beetle (in the event that there are too many beetles on the site, such fertilizer is applied three times over the summer)! For potatoes, sawdust is also good because they in every possible way prevent it from overheating and drying out.

As for the end of summer, it is better not to introduce sawdust into the soil during this period. Especially it concerns fruit plants- if ignored this rule, fruit ripening and the entire fruiting process as a whole can be greatly delayed.

Sawdust saturated with nitrogen can be used not only as a fertilizer, but also as a mulch or insulation - they can safely cover the beds with winter garlic, garden strawberries, as well as flowerbeds with winter flowers! As you can see, the scope of sawdust is very extensive, so do not rush to get rid of them as unnecessary as soon as possible! Better put them into action - you won't regret it!