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The use of sawdust in the country. Useful tips for using sawdust in the garden If sawdust is added to the ground

Should I use sawdust in the country? Many people ask this question, let's find out the opinion of those who used sawdust in practice.

Question: How useful or not useful are sawdust on the site? Where and how can they be used? Or maybe it's better not to use it at all?

We have several bags of sawdust. A neighbor asked us and scattered it around her site. The mother-in-law wants to fall asleep with them under raspberries - I don’t know if this is right or not?

O.: I have a bad opinion on them. They acidify the soil terribly. And shed urea, it's still bad.
Raspberries didn’t even gain leaves, and the lawn didn’t grow at all, or rather, terrible shreds. And she fell asleep, and that she just didn’t do it. All that season, where there were sawdust, down the drain.

O.: The paths between the beds are covered with sawdust, they are watered all summer to rot, in the spring they are closed up in the beds, something like that.

O.: Sawdust perfectly loosens the soil and serves as an excellent mulch. But! If you do not have blueberries, rhododendrons or needles that require acidic soils, then add dolomite flour along with sawdust to alkalize the soil.

O.: Sawdust can be taken free of charge at wood sawing enterprises. In Berdsk I know what they give out, my brother traveled like that, collecting sawdust to cover the roof of the bathhouse.
Sawdust should be used carefully, because, on the one hand, sawdust loosens the soil, and on the other hand, it acidifies it very much.
Therefore, our parents and grandmothers advised us to pour sawdust on the paths so that there was less dirt, and in the fall, add slaked lime to the soil, simply scattering it around the garden, in the spring the whole thing is dug up.
Sawdust is also used in the processing of onions, kerosene is diluted in water and sawdust is added there, a little infused and then scattered over the onion bed - not very dense, of course.

O.: Sawdust actually greatly increases the acidity. Together with the ashes, I pour them into the beds and dig them up, they neutralize each other, otherwise I have solid clay in my garden.

O.: Girls, I don’t advise using sawdust anywhere in the garden, because of them a wireworm appears, which begins to devour everything, and it’s very difficult to get it out. where I sprinkled sawdust.

O.: One year she poured sawdust into the aisle of strawberries ... Then I had to cut it down, they were so caked over the winter that they took on a crust. And weeds grow very well on them.

O.: And we have been using sawdust for 3 years in a row. My husband has his own sawmill. I sprinkle all the paths between the beds, the grass grows much less, and sometimes I also sprinkle under the bushes, it’s better, of course, not to sprinkle fresh. No worms or animals. Everything looks great and beautiful, like a snowball on the ground. And in the spring we dig it all up with a motor cultivator.

O.: And we also love sawdust, only we have them with chicken manure. Sawdust och. loosen the soil, and in order not to acidify, you must first fill a bucket of sawdust with water. And I make a warm bed for cucumbers - in the center of the bed I bury sawdust with chicken droppings, and cucumbers around the edges, and they always grow very good. well.

O.: Girls, you all know. Cons: sawdust acidifies the soil, sawdust removes nitrogen from the soil. Now we change minuses to pluses.
It acidifies - it means that you need to alkalize, mix with ash, and where they were used, add fluffy lime in the fall (now a special lime deoxidizer is sold in garden stores, by the way, it’s great to use it when growing clematis).
It takes nitrogen - it means that we pour it not dry, but soak it in a bucket with urea, and even better with calcium nitrate - this is nitrogen + calcium, which also alkalizes (deoxidizes the soil).
I take a bucket, dry mix the sawdust with ash and pour 2-3 tablespoons of calcium nitrate into a bucket of water. I use it as a mulch for both raspberries and strawberries.
Thus, any minus can be changed to a plus.

Here you can see that the strawberries are mulched with sawdust, they are gray from the ashes, in the fall of 2012 they were fresh, straight from the sawmill. Then I can show which berries will grow with these "sour" sawdust.
Yes, conifers, hydrangeas, rhododendron, blueberries generally say "thank you" for sawdust mulch.

O.: For the 101st time I sing a hymn to sawdust, well, and to any other organic matter to boot. This time I photographed the obligatory sawdust companions when mulching.
I remind you:

  • ash and lime for leaching, so that the soil does not acidify when use of sawdust,
  • urea (calcium nitrate) so that sawdust decomposes faster and does not take nitrogen from the soil,
  • water to dissolve the urea, and it is evenly soaked in fertilizer,
  • Sawdust to make the earth lighter, plumper, looser.


As a result, we draw the following conclusion: sawdust can be used, but correctly. To benefit from them, you must follow the rules described above for making.

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

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

Why sawdust is good in the garden

Sawdust has a lot of necessary and useful properties for a gardener. For example, they are a good soil leavening agent, which improves its structure and prevents cracking and crusting. In addition, sawdust is able to absorb and retain liquid, which allows it to be used where it is necessary to reduce moisture. Sawdust can insulate, disinfect, decorate, protect.

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

How to avoid problems when using sawdust in the country


But if sawdust is so beautiful, why are there opponents of its use? There are, in fact, two reasons for distrust of sawdust: the introduction of fresh sawdust increases the acidity of the soil and sawdust absorbs nitrogen from the soil during decomposition.

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

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

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

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

How to put all this into practice? We take big piece film and spread it on the site. Pour sawdust mixed with ash onto the film. For each bucket of sawdust we take ten liters of water and two hundred grams of urea. We dissolve urea in water, spill sawdust, cover it with a second piece of film on top, press down on the film so that it does not blow away. In this form, we leave our mixture for two to three weeks. There is no place for such a structure? No problem. Prepared sawdust can be folded into black garbage bags and tightly closed.

After the expiration of the prescribed period, we will receive the so-called rotted sawdust. All the shortcomings of fresh sawdust can now be forgotten.

13 ways to use sawdust in the country

Method 1. Mulching


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

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

Method 2. Composting

Another obvious use for sawdust in the garden is to add it to sawdust. Sawdust is a great carbonaceous component for making compost, and when mixed with plant residues, kitchen waste, grass or manure, it turns into a natural organic fertilizer quite quickly.

You can compost sawdust and “no impurities”. To do this, you will have to dig a hole a meter deep, fill it with fresh sawdust, and sprinkle lime, ash, etc. on top. After two years, the sawdust will rot and they can safely fertilize the beds.

Method 3. Germination of seeds and tubers


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

To germinate potatoes, sawdust is moistened with water, poured into a box with a ten-centimeter layer. Seed tubers are laid out on sawdust, sprinkled with another layer of smaller sawdust - 2-3 centimeters. Sprinkle the contents of the boxes with water from time to time. When the tubers sprout 6-8 centimeters long, you can plant them in the ground.

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

Method 4. Device ridges

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

Method 5. Coating for furrows and tracks


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

Method 6. Storing vegetables


Carrots, cabbage and apples are well stored in sawdust. And if you decide to do it yourself to store the crop on the balcony, sawdust can come in handy as a heater.

Method 7. Preparation of soil for seedlings

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

Method 8. Growing mushrooms


Mushroom farming is very interesting. On fresh sawdust of hardwoods (oak, birch, willow, aspen, poplar, maple), oyster mushrooms work well. However, the technology for growing mushrooms is far from simple, and in order to become an ideal substrate for mycelium, sawdust must go through a multi-stage preparation.

Method 9. Warming of fruit trees

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

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

Method 10. Bedding for animals


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

Method 11. Smoking

Those who smoke meat, fish or lard in the country, sawdust, wood chips and shavings will always find a use. True, not all sawdust is suitable for a smokehouse, but only certain types of wood. Juniper and alder chips are most suitable for smoking. Ash, hazel, pear, maple, oak and apple are sometimes used. Each tree gives ready meal its flavor, so some gourmets prepare special smoking mixtures from several breeds. Chips and shavings for smoking are advised to be made from branches cut in the spring, for example, during planned pruning.

Method 12. Construction and decoration


Many, for sure, know that sawdust can be mixed into concrete. Garden houses and arbors are plastered with sawdust concrete or a mixture of clay and sawdust. Concrete with sawdust can be made into bricks or building blocks. Sawdust is also used as an insulating material for walls and floors.

Method 13. Creativity

Sawdust is loved to be used for crafts by both children and adults. First, they can serve excellent material for stuffing toys, pillows, torso for a stuffed animal, any elements of country decor. Secondly, sawdust can be made colored! They are mixed with gouache solution and dried well. And from multi-colored sawdust they make both applications together with children, and the most complex “sawdust carpets”. For example, these:

We wish you success and great harvests!

Ecology of consumption. Manor: About the benefits and dangers of sawdust on suburban area gardeners have been arguing for a long time. Someone categorically opposes their use, and someone ...

Gardeners have been arguing about the benefits and dangers of sawdust in their summer cottage for a long time. Someone categorically opposes their use, and someone regularly pours a thick layer in the garden and claims that this improves the structure of the soil and fertilizes it.

Who is right? We'll figure out!

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

Properties useful and not so


1. Sawdust makes the soil looser

They help her breathe, prevent the formation of a crust on the surface of the earth, so it is not necessary to loosen the plantings so often.

2. Sawdust absorbs and retains moisture

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

3. Weeds do not break through the layer of sawdust

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

4. Sawdust fertilizes the soil

But this is true only if they are well rotted, and if they are applied to the soil correctly.

5. Wood chips acidify the soil

And this is a minus. Some gardeners have had a negative experience and say that even fertilizers do not help later - almost nothing grows in the garden. Let's talk about that too.

6. Sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil

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

Problems and Solutions

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

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

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

Generally, alkalis must be applied with sawdust. The main thing is to follow the dose and the rules. So, with lime and dolomite flour, fertilizers enriched with boron and manganese must be applied to the soil.

To find out the acidity of your soil, use special tests with litmus papers. They are also available at garden stores and are very easy to use (no chemistry knowledge required).

Problem number 2 - "pulling" nitrogen. And with a lack of nitrogen, as we know, plants do not develop well.

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

Now let's go directly to the ways of using sawdust in the country.

Scopes of sawdust at their summer cottage


1. Sawdust - mulching material

The tasks of any mulching material:

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

To make sawdust a good mulch, you need to prepare it.

Here is one way:

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

After the sawdust "ripen", sprinkle them on the ground with a layer of 3-5 cm, mixing with ash. And you can mix with alkali in the first stage. I note right away that it is not necessary to cook rotted sawdust in this way, but in any case, fresh ones need to be “marinated”.


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

2. Sawdust + manure = good fertilizer

Dung is an expensive pleasure. To generously fertilize the entire area, mix manure with sawdust and let them rot well. The worms will do their job, and the sawdust will quickly become safe for your garden.

The ratio is as follows: 1 cubic meter of sawdust requires 100 kg of manure (preferably cow manure) and 10 kg of bird droppings. This mixture should lie for a whole year. Periodically, the compost heap needs to be spilled with water, "flavored" with hay, grass, leaves and waste from the kitchen. It is better to cover the top of the pile so that the rains do not wash out the useful elements. Instead of manure, you can use one urea, mullein or a solution of bird droppings.

Before laying the compost heap, do not forget to moisten the sawdust with plenty of water. Slurry or liquid waste from the kitchen is also suitable. In addition, ordinary earth will be useful in the compost heap, at the rate of 2-3 buckets per cubic meter of sawdust - this is necessary so that the worms get down to business faster.

3. sawdust for tracks

First of all, it looks nice and neat. You can even walk along such paths in late autumn without risking dirt on your shoes.

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

AND, third, sawdust, sprinkled on the aisles, protect the edges of the beds from drying out. Do not forget that fresh sawdust in any case needs to be prepared.

4. Sawdust for garden beds

If your site is located in a lowland, using sawdust, you can raise the level of the beds. To do this, dig a trench 25 cm deep, cover it with straw or hay and fill it with sawdust (of course, with urea and alkali). We put the excavated soil - the most fertile top layer - on top, thereby raising the level of the beds. Immediately put the sawdust between the beds. When they rot, they can fertilize plantings.

5. Sawdust for seed germination

Sawdust easily replaces the earth, but only for as long as there are nutrients in the seed. If the plant is not transplanted into the ground in time, it will die.

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

  • Pour a thin layer of sawdust into the container and spread the seeds on them.
  • Sprinkle the seeds with another layer of sawdust, lightly. You can not sprinkle, but you will often need to check the humidity. So it's better to sprinkle.
  • We cover the container with polyethylene and put it in a warm place (+25 ... +30 degrees). When sprouts appear, the container must be removed to a cooler place, the polyethylene removed, and the sawdust sprinkled with soil on top.
  • As soon as the seedlings have the first true leaf, we plant them in the ground, in separate containers.

In this way, almost any seed can be germinated.

6. sawdust and early harvest potatoes

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

What do we do:

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

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

7. Sawdust and plant insulation

Most reliable way- stuff bags with sawdust and lay them around the plants. In this case, sawdust does not get wet during bad weather, does not freeze, and does not become a habitat for mice. True, there is a more reliable way. So, the vine is often insulated as follows: a frame is knocked together from the boards (like a box without a bottom), put on a plant, covered with sawdust and covered with polyethylene. From above they also throw a layer of earth. With such protection, the plant is not afraid of any frost.

It is necessary to warm the plants with sawdust carefully. If the sawdust is simply poured, they will get wet, and then turn into an ice lump. In addition, as already mentioned, mice and other rodents can “have fun” in them. Therefore, it is better to use the dry method of insulation with sawdust, be sure to cover them with polyethylene and something inaccessible to mouse teeth.

8. Sawdust on the farm

What else can be done with sawdust in the country?

Here are some possible areas of their application:

Ceiling insulation

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

Space heating

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

Wall plaster

Previously, this was the only thing they used to plaster: they mix clay with sawdust - that's plaster for you. Cement can be used instead of clay. The method is suitable, for example, for plastering garden house or gazebos.

Sawdust in children's creativity

Kids actually love them as much as sand! Do you know that you can even make colored applications from sawdust? To do this, they need to be painted in a solution of gouache and dried in the sun. Then draw some kind of outline on the cardboard, smear it with clerical glue and pour multi-colored sawdust on it, creating applications.

Storing vegetables in the cellar

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

Firing of clay products

If you are fond of modeling, you should know that a beautiful glaze on products appears during repeated firing using sawdust, when burned, the product quickly heats up and cools down.

sawdust as stuffing material

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

Sachets

From juniper sawdust you can make a flavor for the cabinet. Put them in a rag bag and hang them in your closet.

Animal bedding


In this case, sawdust plays 2 roles: floor insulation and hygiene products (absorb slurry, waste). However, not all are worth using. Of course, fruit tree sawdust is best - they have less resin. Pine - you can, but it is desirable to dry them well first. But from walnut sawdust in horses, inflammation of the hooves can even happen.

Pine sawdust in the garden benefit or harm

Sawdust in the garden: harvesting, use, benefits and harms

Probably, many people think that dreams of zero-waste management household so it will remain a dream. However, there are things that can be used even when it seems that they are no longer suitable. Such material is sawdust. Few people know how to properly use sawdust in the country, at home, in the garden. Most gardeners and gardeners do not know exactly how sawdust affects the soil, having only the information that sawdust acidifies the soil, and refuse to use this material in their plots. But our ancestors knew about the use of sawdust in garden plots. In this article, we will talk about how to use sawdust in the garden, about the benefits and harm that they can bring.

What are useful and what sawdust is better to use in the garden

Due to its availability, sawdust has gained popularity among gardeners and received wide application in the garden. Most often, sawdust is used as fertilizer, or gardeners mulch with sawdust, or use it while loosening the soil. Sawdust has a beneficial effect on plants in the garden due to the fact that during decomposition they release carbon, which activates the soil microflora by 2 times. In particularly dry areas, sawdust can be used to retain moisture, but if the trees suffer from constant flooding, then a trench is dug around them and covered with sawdust.

Sawdust from almost all trees, made from any part of the tree, can be used to make fertilizer/mulch for the garden. The only limitation is pine sawdust, their use is a difficult process, as they slowly rot on their own, and also slow down the rotting of other components due to the high level of resin content. However, the use of pine sawdust in the garden is beneficial.

How to use sawdust in the garden and in the garden

Increasingly, the owners of summer cottages use sawdust as a fertilizer, because it valuable material, which can be found right on your site. Often on websites and forums there are questions about whether it is possible to pour sawdust into the garden, how to mix sawdust with other fertilizers, how to prepare sawdust for mulching, etc. Next, we will tell you more about how to use sawdust for the garden and garden, and also consider not only benefit, but also harm.

Mulching the soil with sawdust

Sawdust as mulch is often used by gardeners and gardeners. Experienced owners advise: if you do not know all the features of the soil (namely, the level of acidity), then you can try to mulch one bed. This will not bring any special losses, but in the future you will know for sure whether sawdust mulch is suitable for your site. The use of sawdust in the country as mulch is not limited to mulching in open field, they can also be used in greenhouses and greenhouses.
Mulching with sawdust can be done in spring or autumn. It is pointless to use sawdust fresh. It is better to use completely rotted or semi-rotted material.

Important! AT vivo the overheating procedure can take up to 10 years, so there are ways to quickly prepare sawdust for use.

The most common and in a simple way preparation for mulching is as follows: 3 buckets of sawdust and 200 g of urea are poured onto the film and water is poured on top so that it completely wets the sawdust, then the layer is poured with urea and the procedure is repeated. Thus, several layers are obtained, which are then hermetically wrapped and kept in this state for two weeks. After this period, sawdust can be used. You can scatter sawdust not only near the plant itself, but also in the aisles between plantings. It would be logical to ask whether all plants and, in particular, tomatoes, can be mulched with sawdust. Mulching with tomato sawdust can increase yields by 25-30%, as well as speed up the ripening process and prevent diseases, such as late blight.

Among gardeners, disputes often arise about whether it is possible to sprinkle strawberries with sawdust. Can. The main thing is to sprinkle, and not to bring into the ground. Sawdust mulch prevents fruit rot and is ideal for strawberries.
When it comes to using sawdust, it is important not only that you can mulch / fertilize with sawdust, but also how to use it. So, for example, vegetable crops are mulched with a thin layer, only a few centimeters, shrubs - 5-7 cm, and trees - up to 12 cm.

Using compost with sawdust

Now that we have figured out whether sawdust can be mulched, let's talk about how to use sawdust in combination with compost / manure and other organic matter. Many are afraid to use sawdust for a garden or garden in pure form, but there are ways to make this application easier and more beneficial using compost. Compost due to its availability - irreplaceable material for growing both fruit and vegetable crops on your site, and if it contains sawdust, then the benefits will increase several times. To prepare such compost, you need to mix manure (100 kg) with 1 cu. m sawdust and withstand a year. This fertilizer will significantly increase the yield.

Important! Rotted sawdust can only be mixed with rotted manure, fresh - with fresh. This will improve the quality of the compost.

The use of sawdust for seed germination

Sawdust, due to the fact that they can retain moisture for a long time, has interested gardeners and gardeners not only as a material for mulching or fertilizer, but also as a material for germinating seeds. In order for sawdust to serve well in germination, you need to use only rotted sawdust from deciduous trees, while using materials coniferous trees it is forbidden.

A very important advantage of germinating seeds in a sawdust substrate is that it is then much easier to transplant the sawdust plant without harming it. In order for the seeds to germinate, they must be poured onto a layer of wet sawdust and sprinkled with another layer on top, but the second layer must be thin enough to just cover the seeds. If the second layer is not done, then the seeds will have to be moistened much more often. The seed container is covered with polyethylene, leaving a small hole in it for air to enter, and placed in a warm place.

Sawdust as a baking powder for the soil

If there is no time for processing into high-quality nutrient material based on sawdust, and there is a lot of raw materials (sawdust), then they can be used to loosen the soil. There are three ways to use sawdust for loosening:

  1. Sawdust is mixed with mullein and added to the soil when growing vegetables in greenhouses (mix 3 parts sawdust, 3 parts mullein and dilute this with water).
  2. When digging the soil in the beds, rotted sawdust can be added to it. This will help the soil stay moist longer and solve the problem of heavy, clay soils.
  3. When growing vegetables that have a long growing season, sawdust can be added to the soil between rows.

Important! If, when digging the soil, sawdust is added to the soil, then in the spring such soil will thaw faster.

The use of sawdust as a covering material

"Waste" after wood processing can be used to protect plants as a shelter. The most proven method is when plastic bags are stuffed with sawdust and wrapped around the roots of the plant. Plants such as roses, clematis and grapes are left to winter in place of growth to protect them, the shoots are bent to the ground and covered with a layer of sawdust. If you want to achieve 100% confidence in the safety of your plants in winter, then you can make a stronger shelter: put a cap over the plant (for this you can use wooden box) and fill it with sawdust from above - in this case, frosts obviously will not harm.

Sawdust can also be used as a wet shelter, however, this is fraught with the fact that in severe frosts the sawdust will freeze and form an ice crust over the plant. Such a shelter is not suitable for everyone, although garlic tolerates winter well under wet sawdust of coniferous trees - they not only provide warmth, but also protect the crop from diseases and pests.

Sawdust can also be used to provide thermal insulation to the root system, for this they simply need to be poured in a thick layer at the bottom of the planting pit.

Features of the use of sawdust in greenhouses and greenhouses

For greenhouses and greenhouses, sawdust is a very valuable material, because they are perfect for greenhouses and mixed with plant residues, and with manure, as compost. You can use sawdust in greenhouses and greenhouses both in spring and autumn. It is better to introduce rotted sawdust, which does not draw nitrogen from the soil. The effect of sawdust in greenhouses is that, in combination with manure or other organic material, the soil warms up faster, and plants absorb nutrients better.

How to use sawdust in closed ground:

  • in the fall, lay the beds with the remains of organic matter (leaves, tops, straw);
  • in the spring, put a layer of manure on top and sprinkle with limestone flour and sawdust;
  • mix all the material in the garden (you can use a rake);
  • put a layer of straw on top, on the straw - a layer of earth with the addition of mineral fertilizers and ash.

Important! For better heating, such a mixture can be spilled with boiling water or covered with a film.

Sawdust in the garden: benefit or harm

Despite the fact that sawdust is increasingly used by gardeners / gardeners, their use in the country is still a matter of controversy. Let us consider in more detail the advantages and disadvantages of sawdust.

Sawdust Benefits:

Disadvantages:

  • fresh sawdust introduced into the soil with fresh manure can draw nitrogen out of it, resulting in lower yields;
  • if sawdust with manure lie in one heap for a long time and do not mix it, then a fungus can start in such a mixture;
  • it is impossible to use sawdust in too dry areas.
As you can see, the advantages of using sawdust are much greater than the disadvantages. After all, the effectiveness of the material largely depends on the correctness of its application, and in the hands of a gardener who loves his work, any material will be useful.

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The use of sawdust for the garden: the benefits and harms, which are better, rules for use

Various production wastes are often used in the household.

Often they can successfully replace purchased products and turn out to be no worse in quality.

Waste that appears in the process of sawing wood (sawdust) can be very useful in the garden.

After all, with their help:

  • fertilize the soil, making it more fertile;
  • create favorable conditions for the germination of seedlings and seedlings;
  • fight weeds;
  • regulate the acidity of the soil;
  • protect the roots of plants from drying out and frost;
  • make the paths cleaner and more comfortable to move.

Use before planting

Most types of seedlings need to be planted at the very beginning of spring, when the air temperature at night often drops to negative values.

Because of this, the soil temperature does not exceed +5 degrees, so the roots do not develop well in it, and the plant is sick.

If it is not possible to put a greenhouse, then good decision it may turn out to be filling fresh wood waste into grooves or holes.

Sawdust should be poured 3–5 cm below the level of the roots, so make the seats a little deeper.

After digging a hole or groove and laying some sawdust on the bottom, pour it with any fertilizer that contains nitrogen and phosphorus, you can also put a few grains of urea.

In this case, the bacteria that ensure the decay of wood waste and raise their temperature will take these substances from the fertilizer that has soaked the ground and the top layer of soil will be provided with constant heating, and will not lose the microelements necessary for plant growth.

For such bedding, sawing waste of hardwood fruit species (pear, apple, apricot, etc.) is better suited. If such sawdust is not available, then any other leafy waste can be used, mixing it with a small amount of manure or droppings to speed up the decomposition of wood.

If only coniferous sawdust is available, then they must be mixed in equal parts with manure, and also treated with aerobic bifidobacteria. Such drugs are sold in garden stores, they can also be bought on the Internet, for example, here. The cost of packaging sufficient to process 25 m2 is 4–4.5 thousand rubles.

Pour a mixture of garden soil and humus over the sawdust, because in most cases the garden soil is very depleted, so the plant will not be able to develop normally in it.

There are many useful substances and trace elements in the mixture of earth and humus, so the planted seedlings will not suffer from their lack.

Do not mix soil with unripe sawdust, manure or manure, because such a mixture will burn the roots of plants and you will not get a crop.

If you have completely rotted sawdust, then they can also be added to the mixture of soil and humus, they will improve the structure of the soil, so that the earth will be better filled with water, air and various nutrients.

In addition, rotted sawdust will provide the plant with additional nutrients, in particular calcium and phosphorus.

This planting method can be used for any garden plants, however, for the best result, soil acidity must be taken into account.

You can determine it using analyzes or by plants on the site. If they grow there:

  • sorrel;
  • horsetail;
  • buttercup;
  • acid;
  • blueberry,

then the earth is very acidic and the pits or grooves for planting should be shed with a solution of slaked lime, and the bottom layer of sawdust should be sprinkled with wood ash.

If on the site appeared:

  • heather;
  • fern;
  • cornflowers,

then it is enough to shed the holes or groove with lime mortar.

Most root crops, as well as cucumbers and tomatoes, love moderately acidic soil, so if there are no plants listed above on the site, sawdust sprinkled on the bottom of the hole, groove or furrow will slightly acidify the soil, so that the seedlings will grow better.

Overripe sawdust does not change the acidity or nitrogen content of the soil, therefore, by mixing it with soil and humus, you only apply additional fertilizer, so acidity or nitrogen adjustment is not required.

The same method of adding sawdust to the bottom of grooves or holes can also be used to plant seeds directly into the ground. However, for such a planting, a greenhouse is needed, because the time for planting the seeds is in February and March, so the debate of sawdust will not be able to warm the earth and air to the desired level.

Planting seeds on sawdust allows you to meet the deadlines and avoid transplanting plants from pots into the soil that injures the roots of plants, because, unlike the earth, sawdust has a very loose structure, so the roots remain intact during transplantation.

If you are going to grow seedlings in separate containers, and then transplant them into open or closed ground, then completely rotted sawdust must be mixed with soil and humus. This will provide the maximum amount of nutrients and elements necessary for seedling growth.

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sawdust are good material for the production of fertilizers, and depending on the method, its composition, characteristics and the time during which they turn into fertilizer change.

Here are the main ways to get fertilizer:

  • natural decay;
  • rotting with droppings or manure;
  • rotting with the addition of bifidobacteria.

The process of natural decay takes several years, and its speed depends on the type of wood, humidity and temperature.

Soft hardwoods rot the fastest. The process lasts somewhat longer in medium-hard hardwood waste. The sawdust of coniferous and hard hardwoods rots the longest.

Adding litter or manure to wood waste accelerates their decay, and also makes ready-made humus more useful.

In addition to glucose, calcium and phosphorus, it contains nitrogen and other useful substances. Adding bifidobacteria to the mixture of sawdust and litter or manure allows you to get ready-made humus within a few months.

Such fertilizers can be applied from autumn to spring. In the summer, when the plants are gaining strength and bearing fruit, this is undesirable. After all, the earth must take in the fertilizer and mix with it, otherwise, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe roots, areas will turn out where the content of nutrients exceeds not only the norm, but also a safe value.

This is exactly how vegetables soaked in nitrates are obtained - fertilizer was applied at the wrong time and it did not have time to dissolve in the ground. As a result, the roots of the plant were not in the ground, but in the fertilizer and absorbed too many nitrogen compounds.

Mulching

After watering, water not only permeates the soil and goes into the depths, but also evaporates from the surface.

The evaporation process directly depends on the wind speed and air temperature, therefore, on sunny or windy days, the earth dries up quickly.

As water evaporates, soil moisture drops and plant roots lose their ability to absorb nutrients and trace elements necessary for growth.

The roots can only absorb an aqueous solution of these substances.

A layer of sawdust laid on top of the soil (mulch) reduces the rate of moisture evaporation, due to which the plants absorb the water solution more efficiently and need less watering.

Fresh sawdust negatively affects the acidity of the soil, and also draws nitrogen out of it, therefore, immediately after laying the mulch from sawdust, the earth must be watered not only with water, but also with a solution of nitrogen-containing and alkaline fertilizers.

In addition, these fertilizers need to be applied 2 more times throughout the season - in mid-spring and mid-summer. For more information about this process, as well as various combinations of fertilizers, read the article (Sawdust mulch).

The chemical methods of struggle used in the fields are not always applicable in the garden, because domestic animals often run around it, which can be poisoned. Therefore, gardeners are forced to look for other ways to fight, one of which is backfilling the earth with a thick (5-10 cm) layer of sawdust.

This is similar to mulching, however, not only the space around the stem of the plant is covered, but the entire garden.

Wood waste, laid in a thick layer, deprives seedlings of weeds sunlight, because of which they cannot grow and soon die off.

Slugs are one of the most dangerous and tenacious pests living in vegetable gardens. Mulch from fresh sawdust sticks to the body of the slugs, because of which they lose the ability to crawl and soon die from dehydration.

Such a mulch should be sprinkled once a week with a thin layer, and also watered with coffee residues dissolved in water, which is detrimental to slugs.

If you only have rotted sawdust, then due to the softening of the wood during the process of decay, they can no longer stop slugs, therefore they are useless in the fight against these pests.

Backfilling tracks

During rain, the paths between the beds become limp and turn into an impenetrable mess, so many gardeners fill them with various materials.

Wood waste is more suitable for this task than crushed stone, broken slate or brick, because they not only eliminate dirt, but also improve soil structure. In addition, the lower layer of backfill gradually rots and after 1-4 years, depending on the humidity and type of wood, it turns into a good fertilizer, which is received by nearby plants.

If, over time, you decide to change the shape or location of the beds / plantings and dig up the garden, then in this case, sawdust will be useful.

They will improve the structure of the soil, making it looser, and also fill the soil with nutrients.

To reduce Negative influence wood on the soil, 3-4 times a year spill the paths covered with sawdust with urea and slaked lime or ash solution.

These preparations compensate for the loss of nitrogen in the soil, and also adjust the acidity of the soil to an acceptable level.

When choosing between coniferous, including pine and hardwood sawdust, consider different time their decay. Hardwoods turn into humus much faster, and the softer the wood, the less time is needed for this process.

Waste sawing alder or poplar will rot in 1-2 seasons, and oak or coniferous - in 3-5 seasons.

You can not divide the garden into beds and paths, filling the entire area with sawdust. The optimal layer thickness is 10 cm. In this case, it is advisable to use rotted sawdust, because before winter and spring it is advisable to dig up the ground.

Fresh wood, once in the soil, will acidify it and reduce the level of nitrogen. If there is no rotten wood waste, then immediately after backfilling and in the fall, after harvesting, pour sawdust with a solution of litter or manure, as well as a means that accelerates the reproduction of bifidobacteria.

From spring to autumn, these sawdust will play the role of mulch and backfill, and bacteria will turn them into high-quality fertilizer by spring. By plowing the entire garden, you will mix the soil with fertilizer, so that all plants will receive a more abundant and balanced nutrition.

Coniferous and deciduous - which is better for the garden?

On numerous forums, users often ask the question - what kind of sawdust is best for the garden and is it possible to use coniferous or some other wood waste?

At correct application any sawdust brings many benefits, but improper use can harm and completely destroy the crop, making the land unsuitable for growing some plants.

Any waste from sawing wood makes the soil more acidic and also draws nitrogen out of it, so it is necessary to apply fertilizers along with it to compensate for these changes.

Sawdust, both fully or partially rotted and fresh, improves soil structure, which is especially important on clay soils. On particularly heavy soils consisting of solid clay, it is necessary to add sand along with sawdust.

Fresh wood waste during the process of decay is very hot, which leads to an increase in soil temperature and overheating of plant roots, so fresh sawdust should not be laid close to the roots.

Therefore, there is not much difference between coniferous and hardwood sawdust - when used correctly, they bring many benefits, and mistakes can be harmful and lead to sad consequences. Most of the negative reviews about the use of sawdust in the garden are due to their incorrect use, while those who used them correctly are satisfied with the results.

However, it is important to understand the differences between hardwood and softwood sawdust and how the latter affect the soil.

In most cases, coniferous sawdust means pine or spruce sawdust as the most affordable, as well as the cheapest. Pine and spruce are used for most joinery and carpentry, so sawdust is everywhere.

Due to the high resin content, fresh pine and spruce sawdust rots much longer than hardwood sawdust, and also draws more nitrogen from the soil.

Improper use of pine and any coniferous sawdust causes much more damage to the garden than hardwood.

Due to the high content of resins, humus from coniferous sawdust contains more microelements necessary for plants, therefore it is better suited for balanced feeding.

If coniferous sawdust is laid in furrows, ditches or pits, then due to the greater need for nitrogen for complete decay, it is necessary to increase the amount of nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

In addition, coniferous sawdust acidifies the soil more strongly, so you need to increase the amount of slaked lime or ash.

It is not only possible, but also necessary, to use pine and other coniferous sawdust in the garden, taking into account their features and compensating for the negative impact on the land. Only in this case they will bring a lot of benefits.

Deciduous

Due to the lower resin content, humus from leafy waste is a little less balanced, but they rot faster. In addition, hardwood sawdust is less accessible, so dried and chopped branches and twigs of fruit trees are often used in the garden.

When using such material, be careful, because among the dried branches there are often sick or affected by various pests.

Such sawdust cannot be used, because the bacteria will not be able to process pests and pathogens, so fertilizer from them can infect your plantings.

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All this allows us to conclude that those sawdust that are easier and cheaper to bring to the garden are better suited. Whatever wood waste you use, you still have to use other fertilizers along with it.

In this article Where to get sawdust, we talked about places where you can buy wood sawing waste, and also talked about various ways, which allow you to save on their purchase.

Only an integrated approach, in which the negative impact of wood on the soil is compensated, will lead to improved plant development, as well as more abundant and high-quality fruiting.

Related videos

This video talks about the use of sawdust in the garden:

Summarize

Sawdust is very useful material useful for any gardener. After all, they are used for:

  • mulching;
  • dumping tracks;
  • plant nutrition;
  • improve soil structure;
  • earlier planting of seedlings or seeds.

After reading the article, you learned how to use this material correctly and what mistakes gardeners most often make.

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Sawdust for the garden: the benefits and harms of them as fertilizers

If it is necessary to make the earth loose, use sawdust for the garden, the benefits and harms of which have been studied by experienced gardeners. But it is not recommended to use fresh sawdust. First they need to be prepared. To do this, urea or mullein infusion is added to wood chips, covered with polyethylene, and then stirred from time to time to speed up the process of overheating.

After a couple of weeks, the shavings are ready to be used as fertilizer. Much has been written in the reviews about the benefits or dangers of sawdust in the garden. Experienced summer residents claim that they take nitrogen from the soil, and therefore from plants. They say that you should not use fresh sawdust in the garden, as the plantings will begin to wither.

The benefits of sawdust in the garden

Plants need loose soil to thrive. The addition of rotted sawdust makes the earth a favorable environment for planting garden plants, the roots of which receive a sufficient amount of moisture and oxygen. The use of sawdust allows you to get rid of the crust in the dry season.

They contain a large number of fiber, essential oils and active substances. The material is successfully used to eliminate soil moisture. To do this, ditches are dug in the aisle and sawdust mixed with lime is poured. Their regular use improves the composition of the soil, reduces the number of weeds, and increases productivity.

What is their secret and how do they work?

They form a natural ecosystem for plants in the garden. It is important to use sawdust that has not been chemically treated or contaminated. Otherwise, they will become a real poison for horticultural crops. If rotted sawdust is used as mulch at the beginning of summer, then by the end of the season, as a result of loosening and the activity of earthworms, they will mix with the soil.

A thick layer of sawdust spread over the surface of the earth during the rainy season prevents moisture from evaporating from the soil surface. This negatively affects the state of fruit and berry crops.

Basic rules for the use of sawdust

Wood shavings are great for mulching the soil. They are sprinkled with a thick layer after planting seedlings.

Advantages:

  • the weed disappears;
  • soil moisture is maintained;
  • insect protection;
  • the soil remains loose;
  • favorable conditions for the growth of bacteria.

Mulching

Do you need sawdust for the garden in the fall? Everyone is trying to figure out their benefits and harms. As a rule, the soil is mulched for the winter. To do this, fresh sawdust is mixed with peat or manure and scattered on the beds. During the winter, the wood decomposes and becomes a nutritious substance. In the spring they dig or loosen the soil.

High warm beds

The benefits and harms of sawdust for the garden should be studied by every summer resident. How to make multilayer high beds in the bottom of the plot? For such purposes, it is convenient to use sawdust. The top layer of fertile soil is removed. They build a side, cover it with a film to preserve moisture in the garden. A trench is formed and filled with straw, hay or grass. Further, sawdust soaked in urea is placed on top of this, then a layer of organic residues is placed and everything is completed with a fertile layer of earth.

Mulch for strawberries

Do coniferous sawdust in the garden bring benefit or harm? Sawdust, used as mulch under strawberry bushes, protects them from contact with the soil. Thanks to them, the berries are protected from the effects of gray rot. For this purpose, fresh coniferous shavings treated with urea are used. Mulch is applied in the fall to protect the strawberries from freezing and create a barrier to many weeds. Weevil is repelled by pine sawdust in the garden, the benefits or harms of which are learned by practical experience.

Sawdust in a greenhouse and greenhouse

Sawdust is a useful fertilizer for soil in a greenhouse. They are sprinkled with plant residues and manure, which warm up in the spring and quickly overheat. The air permeability of the soil increases, it becomes loose and nutritious. In autumn, straw, mowed grass and tops are laid out on the garden bed.

In the spring, fresh manure is added and sprinkled with lime and sawdust, mixed with a pitchfork. Then lay the soil mixed with ash and mineral fertilizers. To increase the speed of heating, pour boiling water.

Sawdust for early potato harvest

So, why do we need sawdust for the garden? What are their benefits and harms? The use of sawdust helps speed up the potato harvest. Choose tubers of early varieties and germinate in the light. At the bottom of the boxes, 10 cm of sawdust is poured, tubers with sprouts are laid out and sprinkled with moistened sawdust. Set aside for 2 weeks.

Features of substrate care:

  • the optimum temperature is not higher than +20 ° С;
  • sufficient moisture.

Before planting, the soil is covered with a film to warm up. Sprouts 8 cm high are watered with complex mineral fertilizer and planted in prepared holes. First, the potato planting is covered with straw or hay, and then with a film.

Sawdust and plant insulation

So that the sawdust does not get wet, they are stuffed into bags. Then spread around the plants. If sawdust is poured around the plant and not covered, then they will get wet and turn into an ice crust in winter. Rodents also like to hide in them, so be sure to cover them with polyethylene.

Sawdust for seed germination

Seeds are comfortable in moistened sawdust, but if the plant is not transplanted on time, it will die.

The germination technology is as follows:

  1. Sawdust is poured into the container and the seeds are laid out.
  2. Sprinkle with a thin layer of sawdust.
  3. Cover with polyethylene and clean in a warm place (+25 ... + 30 ° C).
  4. As soon as shoots appear, the container is cleaned in a cool place.
  5. Remove the polyethylene and sprinkle with soil.
  6. Dive when the first true leaf appears.

This technology can be applied when germinating any kind of seeds.

DIY fertilizer

Nutritious compost can be prepared in 4 months. Dense polyethylene is spread on the ground, shavings, weeds, foliage are poured. Add 200 g of urea and pour 10 liters of water or mullein. Cover with polyethylene on top to create a greenhouse effect. Under the influence of sunlight, the process of reproduction of microorganisms begins, and the sawdust quickly rots. The main thing is to monitor the humidity inside the heap and mix it periodically. Vegetables and raspberries can be mulched with half-ripe sawdust.

A month later, the sawdust that has percolated is ready for use in the beds. The constant use of such a fertilizer will make the soil loose, similar in consistency to the one sold in flower shops.

Cons of using sawdust and cautions

So, we have already found out whether fresh sawdust in the garden brings benefit or harm. If sawdust is introduced without waiting for the moment when it is completely overheated, then the wood will take some of the nitrogen from the soil for the decomposition process, as we discussed above. And also the acidity of the soil may increase, the growth of beets and cabbage will slow down.

Before the onset of winter, it is not recommended to cover the beds with a thick layer of sawdust, since the layer will begin to overheat from below, and no changes will occur from above until the onset of spring. Spruce or pine shavings contain a lot of resin, which garden plants do not like. Sawdust generated during construction work may contain chemicals. Therefore, they are used with caution.

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Sawdust for the garden: the benefits and harms

Mulching is the surface covering of garden and vegetable garden soil with mulch, which can be crushed bark, pine needles, sawdust and other natural materials. This agricultural technique avoids many health problems. cultivated plants on the ground and in the greenhouse. Using sawdust as a mulch can achieve amazing results in the growth and development of a plant, but only if certain rules are followed.

Properties of wood chips and shavings

Sawdust mulch is suitable for use on all types of soil. What is good about this material:

  • Does not release moisture from the ground, thereby helping to maintain the balance of water in the dry season and in hot areas;
  • Does not allow weeds to grow. This is one of the main reasons for the use of wood waste as a mulch powder;
  • Fresh sawdust is used as bedding for berries - the smell of wood repels some pests from fruits, and clean small chips keep strawberries and strawberries clean;
  • Mulching the soil allows the roots of some plants to survive the winter;
  • Wood chips serve as fertilizer. True, for this you need to fulfill some conditions.

It is worth noting that mulching with sawdust cannot be done in the form in which they are. The fact is that wood does not saturate the soil with useful substances, but, on the contrary, draws them out like a sponge. Sawdust material becomes useful if it is added to the main mixtures for fertilizer or kept for a year or two in a compost heap. At this time, bacteria settle on the surface of the chips, which saturate the wood with useful microelements released during decay and reproduction of microflora.

What are the benefits and possible harm?

Sawdust is often used by gardeners to improve the quality of plant life, but not always a person knows about the true benefits of taking it and is not able to accurately assess its harm. However, in most cases, a positive effect is still obtained from their use. Sawdust in the garden - good or bad?

Advantages of sawdust:

  • With proper preparation, an excellent humus is obtained, similar in properties to traditional manure, which, as you know, costs a lot.
  • Sawdust scattered on paths in the garden prevents the spread of weeds.
  • Retain moisture in the soil, especially in spring. To do this, it is necessary to mulch the soil in the fall.
  • Contribute to the natural aeration of the soil a few years after use.
  • Coniferous shavings and chips practically do not tolerate pathogenic microbes, which eliminates the risk of plant infection.

Harm of wood waste:

  • Sawdust in its pure form is not fertilizer. According to some reports, they absorb minerals from the soil and the soil becomes depleted. To be more precise, nitrogen is drawn out from the fertile layer, which is necessary for the vital activity of microorganism.
  • Fresh sawdust oxidizes the soil.
  • When using sawdust of unknown origin, it is possible to infect plants with certain diseases. To eliminate this drawback, you should not take material from unknown sources.

What sawdust to use

Shavings different trees Not suitable for all plants

  • Waste of deciduous trees is suitable for all cultures, except for oak.
  • Conifers saturate the soil with acid, therefore they are only suitable for lovers of such an environment - tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and others.

Several fertilizer recipes

Sawdust in its pure form is only suitable for filling paths in order to retain moisture and stop the development of weeds. In other cases, the preparation of raw materials is required.

In order for the sawdust in the garden to become useful, they need to rot. To achieve the desired condition, they will have to lie down for at least 10 years in a pile, while the bacteria process the wood into a useful substrate. To speed up the process, you should make compost from sawdust. In combination with manure and additional additives, the fertilizer ripens faster due to thermoregulation in the right range and maintaining a sufficient level of humidity.

Recipe 1: wood and ash

Lay down:

  • Wood sawdust - 200 kg;
  • Urea rich in nitrogen (up to 47%) - 2.5 kg per pile;
  • Ash necessary for alkalization of the soil - 10 kg;
  • Water - 50 liters;
  • Grass, food waste and drains - up to 100 kg.

Shavings and grass are laid in layers, ash is added and the “pie” is poured with urea dissolved in water. You can cover the pile with polyethylene film, but small pores should remain in the surface: this way the temperature and humidity level will be optimal, and oxygen will remain available.

Recipe 2: Enriched with organics

For poor soil that requires a significant dose of fertilizer, prepare this compost from sawdust:

  • Wood waste - 200 kg;
  • Cow dung - 50 kg;
  • Fresh cut grass - 100 kg;
  • Organic waste (food, feces) - 30 kg;
  • Humates - 1 drop per 100 liters of water (no more).

When this fertilizer ripens, a significant amount of nitrogen is released.

Fertilizer from fresh sawdust

As already mentioned, fresh sawdust does not benefit the soil as a fertilizer for the garden. If you have not done composting in advance, but it is necessary to saturate the soil, use a sawdust mixture with the following additives per bucket of wood chips:

  1. Ammonium nitrate - 40 g;
  2. Granular superphosphate - 30 g;
  3. Slaked lime - 120 g (glass);
  4. Calcium chloride - 10 g.

The mixture must be infused for 2 weeks. To do this, spread polyethylene on the street and sprinkle the ingredients on it.

Mix and leave to highlight the necessary elements and carry out chemical reactions. After that, add the resulting mixture to the soil when digging the beds. The earth will receive a sufficient dose of ammonia, the acid-base balance of the soil will be leveled, the release of useful substances will occur immediately after the first watering. Fertilize the soil should be in the amount of 2-3 buckets per 1 square meter site. This procedure contributes to the natural loosening of the soil.

How to properly mulch

Sawdust in the country is useful not only to speed up the composting process, but also for the winter shelter of plants, their fertilizer and protection from pests.

Prepared sawdust as a mulch is good to use in the first half of summer, when seedlings and plants are just gaining strength and need protection from weeds, soil moisture loss and disease attacks. By the middle of summer, there will be no obvious trace of the powder - it will be mixed with the earth by rains and worms.

Basically, sawdust saturated with fertilizers is lined in the aisles. This must be done between beds with tomatoes, potato rows and other plants.

Other vegetables grown in the garden - onions, carrots, beets, garlic, turnips - also need a protective powder. It must be done after picking, when the plantings are thinned out and have reached a height of 5-7 cm, for them a 3-4 cm layer of sawdust is lined.

Raspberries are one of the main fans of mulching in the garden. It is necessary to preserve the soil moisture necessary for setting berries. Prepared sawdust is plentifully poured under the bushes.

Strawberries and wild strawberries

Is it possible to mulch strawberries with sawdust? The answer is unequivocal - it is possible and necessary, just like strawberries. This procedure is useful for berries:

  • Sawdust maintains the balance of moisture in the soil;
  • Tender fruits remain clean without touching the ground;
  • Slugs and snails do not crawl on the berries.

For mulching, clean sawdust without impurities is needed, but before the procedure it is important to saturate the soil with minerals and fertilize well to prevent the impoverishment of the fertile layer. The material used can be mixed with urea in the above proportions.

Sawdust is moistened and laid out under the bushes, under each branch and between the bushes. The layer thickness should be 5-7 cm. This work is presented in the video.

Backfilling is done when the seedlings are already rooted and have gained a height of more than 7 cm. Mulching strawberries with sawdust for the winter will help perennial plant it is better to survive the winter and keep it intact root system.

How to cover roses

Gardeners say: “A rose is a child of manure”, because sawdust is necessary for it as a fertilizer, but they are not suitable as a shelter for the winter, such a mulch does not have sufficient heat-retaining performance.

Shelter of roses with sawdust can be used for wintering only in combination with other, more effective materials. The expert will talk about this in more detail in the video.

Sawdust for seedlings

Tomatoes and other seedlings do not come to the garden and garden as seeds, but in the form of ready-made seedlings. They can also be bred in small wood waste - such an environment is more favorable for a tender seed than soil. How to properly organize the process:

  1. Moistened small chips are poured into a flat container;
  2. Seeds are planted, they are generously sprinkled with fertilizer, since there is nothing nutritious in the sawdust;
  3. Cover with a film, make holes for air and expose to the sun;
  4. When sprouts appear, soil is poured on top so that the plant gets used to it.

The advantage of germinating seeds in woody material is a loose environment that allows the seedling root system to develop intensively, but only if there is an adequate supply of nutrients.

I remember that 25-30 years ago there were no problems with where to get fresh manure. My father and I always made a high bed for growing cucumbers from cow dung. Collective farmers offered him almost for nothing - just take it on yourself and take it out. Now real horse or cow dung - the most valuable types of dung, you will not find it during the day with fire.
Of course, you can order a car loaded with this valuable natural fertilizer from a farm or a private courtyard for money. But the price for such a service leaves much to be desired. So we, the summer residents, have to get out in order to somehow improve the properties of the soil that becomes poorer over time. In this article we will talk about the use of sawdust in the country. They can be a fertilizer, a mulch layer, as well as a substrate for growing various vegetable crops.

It should be noted that sawdust is one of the cheapest and most accessible production waste. It is best to take them at the sawmill, where the primary processing of tree trunks takes place. We propose to consider different variants use of this material, and how, due to sawdust, to increase your future harvest.

sawdust as fertilizer

Sawdust is an organic material that comes from sawing wood. Most of this material can be found at sawmills and from those involved in construction work. Compared to manure, it is much cheaper. So why throw sawdust in a landfill if you can use it as fertilizer? However, in order to use sawdust in the country, they must be properly prepared.

Sawdust in compost for soil fertilization

When the soil is enriched with loose organic material, it absorbs moisture well, thanks to which the plants develop better. Because of the mulch, a crust does not form on the surface of the earth after rainy weather, so such soil does not require additional loosening from the summer resident. But you need to use only already rotted sawdust. The better the sawdust is quarried, the darker the color they have.


It should be noted that this process takes a lot of time. In the open air, it can decompose for about 5-10 years. To speed up the process, it must be added to the compost pile, mixed with manure or watered with special mixtures. This mixture can already be used as fertilizer after one year.


Therefore, it is better to prepare such compost in the spring, so that already on next year it was already ready to use. The mixture needs to be slightly moistened for the best. It is not worth pouring - useful substances will be washed out of the compost. It is better to use a mixture of urea instead of water.


A good result is the addition of sawdust to slurry or mixing with liquid kitchen waste. If you add a little soil to the mixture, then soon earthworms will also appear here. Their waste products - humus, will contribute to the process of decay of wood waste.


It should also be noted that pine sawdust (the main waste item) acidifies the soil. Therefore, they must be introduced together with limestone, which neutralizes this action.

Sawdust for fertilizing strawberries

Sawdust is an excellent fertilizer and mulch for garden strawberries. Such mulching will prevent the berries from falling to the ground, which will significantly reduce crop losses from rot.





In the winter frosty time sawdust mulch will not allow the roots to freeze. use fresh sawdust treated with urea. In this case, softwood sawdust is best suited.


Birch sawdust is often used to raise ridges located in marshy and low places. For this purpose, trenches are dug around the ridges and covered with fresh sawdust. Such trenches will not allow moisture to evaporate quickly on a hot day, and will not allow the crop to die from drought. A dense mulch layer will not allow weeds to break through to the surface.

Sawdust for seed germination

Stale sawdust is an ideal soil for a short period of time for the development of the root system. So, for example, you can grow early potatoes in March-April by placing the tubers in a sawdust substrate. Then, the strengthened plants are painlessly transplanted into the soil.



Mulching the soil with sawdust

But most often sawdust is used by summer residents just as a mulching material. For these purposes, you can use sawdust of any freshness. Try to spread it in an even layer of 3-5 centimeters. This mulch is best suited for raspberries, other fruit bushes, or vegetable beds.

An accelerated method for preparing fertilizer from sawdust


Pour sawdust on it (three buckets), then pour urea (200 grams), and then pour water from the watering can (half of the watering can). And so we do for the right amount of sawdust. We cover with a film on top, and in turn, press it down with stones or bricks. After two weeks, you can use this sawdust as a fertilizer.


It is possible to apply such fertilizer only until mid-July or the dry season, when water from the soil evaporates rapidly. From the second half of summer, such a mulch will completely mix with the soil.

The use of sawdust in greenhouses

Sawdust, as a fertilizer for greenhouses, should always be mixed with fresh manure and plant residues. This helps the soil warm up much faster and seed germination will also begin earlier. Make such a mulch in the spring, before planting.

Planting plants in sawdust

We take flat containers, which we fill in advance with moistened sawdust. We spread the seeds at short distances from each other, and cover them with sawdust from above. The containers are placed in slightly ajar plastic bags. You can also seal the top with cling film by making a series of small holes in it. After that, we put the boxes in a warm, lit place.


After the first shoots appear, you can remove the plastic bags. A layer of fertile soil should be poured on top so that the plants can get used to the ground. Planting plants in separate containers before the advent first sheet. Fertilization of the land with sawdust will also occur before planting seedlings in the garden.

sawdust for growing potatoes

Sawdust is a wonderful fertilizer for potato crops, with which you can harvest an earlier crop of this vegetable. To do this, you need to buy or prepare in advance, early varieties of potato tubers germinated in the light, as well as several deep boxes. these boxes must be filled with rotted sawdust. About 2 weeks before planting the tubers in the ground, they must be placed in these boxes, and sprinkled with sawdust on top.


Make sure the substrate is not too dry or too wet. After two weeks, you should start planting tubers on the beds. After planting potatoes, it is recommended to cover the entire area with agrofiber or straw to prevent the tubers from freezing. In this way, you can speed up the ripening of the potato crop by several weeks and eat young potatoes already at the end of June.


From the foregoing, it follows that sawdust is an indispensable fertilizer, which has been so intensively recently used by many summer residents on their plots.


Main sawdust benefits are its relative cheapness and ease of use.


Purpose of sawdust different: for soil mulching, warming of vegetable crops, fertilizing the soil layer and retaining moisture in it during a dry period of time.

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