A well-kept vegetable garden, orchard or garden plot –the cherished goal of every gardener - vegetable grower. The constant desire for order, beauty and harmony is embedded in the human subconscious. And its achievement causes a feeling of satisfaction and joy. But the concept of a "well-groomed plot" implies not only order on it. In addition, it is also the health of all its components - soil, plants, ponds in the garden. Here we will talk about mulching - one of the ways to improve the health of the soil and plants. There is nothing new under the sun. Mulching is a natural technique for maintaining the water balance in the soil and smoothing out sudden temperature changes in it. This method is "spied" from nature itself. In addition, proper mulching of the soil is a reliable protection of your site from weeds.
A modern way to care for the land
Simply put, mulching is covering.open ground with various suitable materials. They can differ greatly from each other. Mulch is laid around cultivated plants, after watering, weeding and fertilizing. The materials used for mulching are well known to many gardeners and gardeners. For this purpose, you can use dark film, sawdust, peat. Recently, mulch made from coniferous tree bark has appeared on the market. This material is not only environmentally friendly, but also beautiful, which is an important quality. Mulch from larch or pine bark is a ready-to-use substance. With its help, you can mulch your site. It should be simply distributed over beds, flower beds or flower gardens. You can also use this material for decorative purposes, for example, to decorate paths or playgrounds for children and for recreation. Until 2000, mulch was not officially used anywhere in Russia. Gardeners and vegetable growers became interested in the new product, and landscape designers actively adopted the experience of using mulch in Holland, Finland, the United States and other countries. There, soil mulching has been used for a long time and quite successfully. Foreign trips, landscape exhibitions and the Internet did their job - advanced domestic specialists began to work little by little with the new technology of soil protection. But most gardeners and vegetable growers still have not figured out what it is. This is due to the lack of clear and detailed information. Another difficulty is that mulch refers to completely different materials. And some gardeners cannot wrap their heads around such diversity, because it does not correspond to a specific product.
The whole truth about the mulch
Despite the fact that we have mulchinghas not been used for very long, it has already become surrounded by a variety of myths. From exaggerations about record tomatoes weighing a kilogram to horror stories about a ruined plot of land where nothing else grows. Neither extreme has any basis. The real cause of the problems are mistakes made when working on the land. This is the wrong choice or incorrect dosage of fertilizers, planting plants that are not suitable for the soil or the local climate, improper care for them, etc. Mulching itself does not magically correct all the mistakes made earlier. It does not replace or cancel work on the site, but it greatly simplifies the care of the plantings.
Summer time management
Have you ever noticed thatThere are no completely open areas of soil in nature? The earth constantly gives life to many plants, which, dying, create a natural layer of mulch. In our summer cottages, we plant only those plants that we want to see there. But, unfortunately, not only they grow, but also weeds. When they appear, the weeding process begins, which can continue incessantly. We start from one corner of the garden or vegetable garden and finish in the opposite one, putting enormous effort into this labor-intensive task. But by the time we reach the end of the plot, we have to start all over again. Weeds are very persistent plants, and getting rid of them is not so easy. Summer residents have almost no free time during the season. In order to free up time for yourself to relax, it is worth considering the use of mulching materials. They maintain the water balance in the soil and restrain the growth of weeds. In practice, this means that you will have to spend much less time weeding and watering. And you can use the freed up hours for relaxation, and not for hard, exhausting work.
How to apply mulch?
If you have never done it beforemulching the soil, then early spring is the most suitable time for this. Decide for yourself where you will use this material: will it be only beds and flower beds or will you also cover paths with it. Depending on this, you will have to calculate the required amount of mulch. It comes in different sizes: small, medium and large. All three types are suitable for any work, but experts advise using large ones for decorating areas and paths. For mulching beds and flower beds, it is better to take small or medium-sized material from pine bark. For decorative work, you can use larch bark, since the mulch of the noble color of mahogany looks very attractive. Mulching materials from pine and larch are absolutely equivalent in their properties. The only difference between them is in their service life: pine decomposes to the state of humus in three to four years, and larch - in four to five years. This humus then serves as excellent fertilizer for plants. Naturally, large mulch lasts longer than small. Medium mulch will last at least three to four years, and small mulch will last only two to three. After the mulch decomposes, you will only need to add a new layer on top of the old one. The nutrients from the resulting humus will gradually enrich the soil, and your plants will take everything they need from there. Mulching is done in the spring, before the weeds appear. The first layer is made at least 5-7 centimeters thick. If fertilizer needs to be added, this should be done before mulching. Experience shows that bark material does not completely eliminate weeds, but there will be few of them, they will be frail and will not be able to grow quickly. Weeding them will not be difficult. In addition, bark mulch has the property of absorbing moisture, for example, during watering or rain. After which it will gradually give it to your plants in dry weather. This way, you protect your plants from both excess and lack of moisture. Observations show that when using mulch, the need for watering is reduced several times: where daily watering was required, it will be enough to water once a week. This can be done directly on top of the material. Mulching can also be done in late autumn. They begin when all the weeds have dried out. In winter, the mulch layer is increased to reduce the risk of plants freezing. In spring, when the threat of frost has passed and warm weather sets in, the mulch layer can be reduced. If last year's material, which has turned into humus, is not enough, you can pour a new layer up to three centimeters thick. Topping up can be done at any time of the year - in summer, spring or autumn. We have tried to reveal to you all the advantages of using mulch on a personal plot. It is a modern technological way of caring for the land, it allows you to significantly reduce labor costs for its processing and use your strength and time more efficiently. In addition, the use of mulch for decorative purposes allows you to use it in landscape design, which will help make your site beautiful and well-groomed.
