Nothing provokes such furious controversy among gardeners-gardeners than mulching strawberries with sawdust. Some believe that such a method of protecting beds is very doubtful in terms of harm and benefit, while others are simply delighted with the result. Pros and cons of mulching sawdust will help evaluate this article.
Can I use fresh sawdust for mulching?
Many opponents of the use of sawdust in garden business argue their position by the fact that fresh sawdust:
- actively extract nitrogen from the soil so necessary to all plants;
- significantly acidify the soil;
- serve as an ideal environment for breeding various pests.
To argue with the fact that each of these factors takes place to be, it would be foolish. But if you use sawdust as a mulch, you can not help making the correction that both acidity increase and nitrogen level reduction are so insignificant that plants simply do not notice them. As for pest breeding, the experience of many gardeners shows that sawdust mulch not only does not increase their number, but even slightly reduces it. For example, gladioli and tulips, covered with mulch from fresh sawdust, are much less likely to suffer from mice raids. Those who still do not risk to cover their beds with fresh sawdust can pre-treat them. To do this, lay the sawdust and urea (3 buckets of sawdust 0.2 kg of urea) on a dense polyethylene film and moisten it abundantly from the watering can (10 liters of water per layer). On top of the resulting "pie" covered with another layer of polyethylene and left for 10-14 days for pereprevaniya.
Mulching strawberries with sawdust in spring
In addition to maintaining the necessary moisture level and hampering the life of weeds, sawdust mulch on strawberry beds also plays the role of a kind of padding protecting berries from contact with the ground. Mulch strawberries with sawdust can be immediately after the spring sanitary trim. Ideally, for these purposes, coniferous sawdust, which has been treated with urea, will help, since it will help protect the bushes from attacking the weevil.