Useful tips for using sawdust in the garden. Use of sawdust in a summer cottage Use of sawdust in a summer cottage

The vast majority of gardeners are convinced of the value of such fertilizer, although at current prices very few buy it, unfortunately, they cannot afford it. But few people know about the benefits of sawdust, although it is a very valuable organic matter, which correct use can provide very good results.

At the same time, this organic material regularly appears in considerable quantities to everyone who enthusiastically continues to work in their garden. And purchasing a machine of sawdust is not a problem for many, since they are much cheaper compared to manure. Sometimes some enterprises even take them to a landfill.

Meanwhile, options for using sawdust on garden plot quite a lot - they are placed in compost, used as a mulching material and when forming ridges, sprinkled on paths, etc. And they are even used as a substrate for germinating potatoes and seeds, and seedlings are grown on them. However, you should not take these words quite literally and immediately start, for example, growing tomatoes on sawdust or covering raspberries with a thick layer of sawdust - nothing good will come of this, since everything is not so simple.

How do sawdust affect the soil?

Sawdust as a mulching material

You can use rotted, half-rotted or even fresh sawdust in a layer of 3-5 cm - such mulch will be especially good under bushes, in raspberry fields and on vegetable beds. Rotted and half-rotted sawdust can be used directly, but fresh ones will have to be prepared first; if this is not done, they will take nitrogen from the soil, and therefore from the plants, and as a result, the plantings will wither.

The preparation process is relatively simple - you need to place a large film on a free area, then pour 3 buckets of sawdust, 200 g of urea on it in succession and evenly pour a 10-liter watering can of water, then again in the same order: sawdust, urea, water, etc. d. When finished, seal the entire structure with film, pressing it down with stones. After two weeks, the sawdust can be safely used.

True, it makes more sense to use such mulching material only in the first half of summer, when moisture from the soil is actively evaporating. In this case, in the second half of summer, only memories will remain from the mulch, because... thanks to the loosening, it will be well mixed with the soil. If you pour such a thick layer of sawdust in the second half of summer, when there is a lot of rain, then such mulch will prevent the evaporation of excess moisture from the soil, which will negatively affect the ripening of annual shoots of fruit and berry plants and their preparation for winter.

If the layer of mulch turns out to be too large and it does not mix with the soil, then in the second half of summer, during heavy rains, it is necessary to thoroughly loosen the mulched soil. If rains are rare, then this operation can be postponed to autumn, but loosened (or dug up or processed with a flat cutter, if we're talking about about vegetable beds) you still have to, otherwise in the spring the frozen layer of sawdust will delay the thawing of the soil layer. This is especially important for areas where planting is carried out in the early stages.

Sawdust in greenhouses and greenhouses

In closed ground, sawdust is absolutely irreplaceable. They are useful for flavoring both manure and plant residues. In combination with sawdust, manure and all kinds of tops warm up faster in the spring. In addition, the rate of their overheating increases, and the resulting compost will be much better both in terms of looseness and breathability, and in terms of its nutritional value and diversity of composition.

Just keep in mind that when using fresh manure they use fresh sawdust, which will take away excess nitrogen from it, and in the case of introducing rotted manure, or if you do without it at all, then use only rotted sawdust - they do not need additional nitrogen.

Sawdust can be added both in spring and autumn, and it is best to mix it with other fragments of the soil being formed. It makes the most sense in the fall to lay a layer of plant debris on the ridges in the form of straw, fallen leaves, mown grass and various tops. And in the spring, add a layer of fresh manure, sprinkle the latter with lime and a small amount of fresh sawdust, then use a pitchfork to mix the manure with other organic residues. After this, you will need to cover the manure with a small layer of straw or leaves, lay a layer of soil, adding ash and mineral fertilizers to it. For better heating, it is also advisable to pour boiling water over the ridges and cover them with film.

Sawdust in compost

Since it is the rotted sawdust that is of the greatest interest, it is wiser to compost some of the sawdust. It is best to mix them with manure and (per 1 m² of sawdust 100 kg of manure and 10 kg of bird droppings), and then let them sit for a year, if necessary, moistening and covering them so that they do not wash out useful material. It is also useful to add mowed grass, hay, fallen leaves, kitchen waste, etc. to this compost. In the absence of manure, you will have to add urea to the sawdust (200 g of urea for 3 buckets of sawdust), you can replace the urea with diluted mullein or a solution of bird droppings.

To speed up the process of sawdust rotting, before adding compost, you need to moisten it well with water, or even better, with slurry or kitchen waste. In addition, it is useful to add soil to the sawdust: two or three buckets per cubic meter of sawdust. In such compost they will multiply quickly earthworms and microorganisms that accelerate the process of wood decay.

If sawdust was stored near abandoned areas overgrown with weeds, they also need to be pre-composted. Moreover, the compost heap must warm up to at least +60°C - only in this case the weed seeds, which can remain viable for up to 10 years, will die. You can achieve such heating of the heap by watering sawdust hot water followed by quickly covering it with plastic wrap.

Sawdust on strawberry beds

Sawdust will also be useful for mulching - it will not allow the berries to touch the ground, and this will reduce fruit loss from gray rot.

And when applied in the autumn (a very thick layer is required), sawdust will also protect the strawberry plantings from winter freezing, and next year they will prevent many weeds from germinating. True, when mulching strawberries, you need fresh sawdust, pre-treated with urea, and preferably from coniferous species. Indeed, in this case, they will to some extent begin to scare away the weevil.

Sawdust when forming ridges in low places

Sawdust will also help raise ridges in low places. In this case, wide (30-40 cm) furrows are dug around the proposed ridge to a depth of 20-25 cm. The soil removed from the furrows is placed on the bed. Sawdust is poured into the trenches formed around the bed. This is beneficial for a number of reasons. Firstly, after any rain you can walk to the garden bed in slippers. Secondly, by filling the furrows, you will thereby prevent the bed (especially its edges) from drying out. Thirdly, sawdust will prevent weeds from germinating. Fourthly, in the future, rotted sawdust will become excellent fertilizer- when they are transferred to the garden bed, the land will become not only lush, but also warmer and more fertile.

Sawdust on high ridges

Formed on a thick layer of organic matter with the addition of a small amount of soil, vegetables, flowers and other plants grow well. garden plants. You can also create such a multi-layer bed using sawdust. First remove the top fertile layer earth and set it aside. In the resulting trench 1 m wide and 3-5 m long (the length depends on your desire), lay a layer of grass (hay, straw, etc.), add a layer of sawdust flavored with urea.

Then lay another layer of organic debris, such as leaves, and cover the entire structure with the previously deposited soil on top. And to prevent the earth from crumbling along the edges of the ridge, build a kind of barrier around it from mown grass, straw or layers of turf (it must be placed with the roots facing out). Keep in mind that plants on such a bed require more water, so it is also a good idea to cover the sides of the bed with film to reduce evaporation.

Sawdust as a substrate for seed germination

There are two technologies: directly into the soil or into old sawdust. Sawdust is an ideal soil for a short period of time, because... they represent a very loose substrate, ensuring intensive development of the root system, on the one hand, and guarantee absolutely painless plant transplantation, on the other. True, we are talking about a short period, because... sawdust nutrients they are not contained in a form accessible to plants, and therefore plants on them can develop only as long as they have enough nutrition from the seeds - that is, approximately until the appearance of the first true leaf.

The technology for sowing into sawdust is as follows. Take a flat, shallow container filled with wet sawdust. Seeds are sown into it at a certain distance from each other and again sprinkled with sawdust - the last operation for many seeds need not be done, because In the light, seed germination increases. True, in the absence of a top layer of sawdust, the danger of the seeds drying out increases, and if you do not have the opportunity to check their condition several times a day, then it is better not to refuse the top layer.

Containers are placed in slightly open plastic bags in a warm place (for example, on a radiator, if it is not too hot there). During the germination period for many seeds, in particular nightshade crops, it is desirable to maintain a temperature of approximately 25...30°C. With the emergence of seedlings, the temperature is reduced: during the day to 18...26°C, and at night to 14...16°C, but the temperature data given, of course, is for different plants vary.

After the emergence of shoots, the bags are removed and a layer of sawdust is sprinkled fertile soil approximately 0.5 cm, and the containers move under the lamps daylight. When the first true leaf appears, the plants are planted in separate containers.

Sawdust for early potato harvest

If you dream of getting one, then sawdust will come to the rescue here too. Get the right amount of light-sprouted potato tubers early varieties, several boxes and stale, moistened sawdust. Two weeks before planting the tubers in the garden, fill the boxes 8-10 cm with sawdust, place the tubers sprouts up in the boxes and cover them with a layer of the same substrate 2-3 cm thick.

Make sure that the substrate, on the one hand, does not dry out, and on the other, does not become waterlogged. Provide it with a temperature no higher than 20°C. When the height of the sprouts is 6-8 cm, water them generously with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers and plant them together with the soil in prepared holes, covering both the tubers and sprouts with soil. Before this, the soil must be pre-warmed, covered in advance with plastic film, and after planting, the entire potato plot must be covered with straw or hay, and then with the same plastic film, so that the tubers do not freeze. As a result, you will speed up your potato harvest by several weeks.

Svetlana Shlyakhtina, Ekaterinburg

Fertilizer is not only chemical substances, specially synthesized. To replenish the soil when growing crops, you can use waste from various industries.

It can also be sawdust - as a fertilizer, it can be used both in the greenhouse and in the fields. This option is a simple and cheap soil recharge.

1 How do wood shavings affect the soil?

D Wood chips are a natural organic material in which, even in the form of sawdust, useful elements still remain. When they rot, they release carbon, which has a beneficial effect on microflora.

Mixed with the soil, sawdust makes it looser and lighter, improves air permeability, and at the same time does not retain moisture. As a result, the soil becomes more like. It will be easier for the root system of crops to develop in it.

This is primarily useful for the following areas:

“tired” lands that were actively used for growing any crops (even if the cultivation was carried out according to all the rules);

soils with poor fertility.

After adding shavings, the soil is less susceptible to drying out, and in dry weather a crust does not form on its surface.

1.1 Pros and cons of application

This fertilizer material has the following advantages:

cheap and easy to obtain (sawdust can beliterally for pennies you can buy it in any woodworking shop,or even pick it up for free if you don't need it a large number of );

P ease of use;

improving the condition of poor soil, simplifying the development of the root system;

loosening the soil.

There are also disadvantages:

“fresh” sawdust oxidizing t soil, so apply their necessary in moderation, only after preliminary preparation(about preparation - below);

shavings are not the “main” fertilizer - they are just auxiliary material for soil.

1.2 Using sawdust in the garden (video)

1.3 For what crops can it be used?

The sawdust composition can be used for any type of planting:

“garden” crops, from potatoes to strawberries;

trees (fruit, berry);

agricultural crops grown in fields.

Use this fertilizer as much as possible outdoors(in the garden, on the field, in the garden), and in greenhouses and hotbeds.

This method of fertilization is practically not used in the fields, and if it is used, it is infrequently, rather as an exception. Crops grown in large volumes are usually fertilized with specialized preparations. And sawdust is rather one of folk remedies, from the “arsenal” of amateur gardeners.

2 What sawdust is suitable for fertilizer?

Before using sawdust fertilizer, it is worth remembering the basic rules:

Pine shavings are not suitable. Pine (and others coniferous trees) contains resin, which slows down the process of wood decomposition. This means that all the benefits of the application will come to naught.

“Fresh” sawdust should be used with extreme caution (so as not to overdo it with the quantity), and it is better not to use it separately at all. The reason is that fresh wood will oxidize the soil.

The decomposition of wood in the ground helps reduce the amount of nitrogen in it. Therefore, crops that will grow on it may experience a deficiency of this element.

If the shavings were stored near/under thickets of weeds, they can be used as fertilizer only after treatment by hot composting. To do this, you need to pour hot water over the sawdust (hotter than 60 degrees), quickly cover it with polyethylene and leave it for several days.

The following conclusion can be drawn: the following are suitable for safe use:

Sawdust from non-coniferous trees.

Rotted shavings (which were lying on fresh air as long as possible, ideally not less than a year). Its color will be darker than fresh ones. The darker the better (that is, the longer they last, the better).

Mixing with other types of fertilizers.

2.1 What can you mix with?

It was mentioned above that sawdust is best used by applying it together with something else, making a mixture. "Recipes" can be like this:

2.2 Use as mulching material

P use sawdust Can be used as mulch- this is true for any plants in the garden.

This is done in early summer (no later than June). All land plot(on which crops will grow) is covered with a layer of sawdust, 2-3 cm thick. Such preparation will prevent the appearance of weeds, make the soil looser, and help retain moisture in the soil.

After harvesting, the soil needs to be dug up. At the same time, the sawdust will be mixed with the soil, and next year it will turn into fertilizer for the next plantings.To neutralize soil oxidation (from “clean” wood chips in it), it is recommended to sprinkle it with lime flour.

WITH You should not use too much sawdust for mulching. At the end of the season, after digging up the area, they should not remain on the surface. Otherwise next spring they will only be a hindrance: they will prevent the soil from freezing.

WITH The preparation process looks like this:
The fertilizer will be ready in 10-14 days.

2.3 Application in greenhouses/greenhouses

P When preparing soil for greenhouses/greenhouses, it is important to use shavings so that the soil maintains its temperature more stable.

It should be mixed with finely crushed leaves and grass. Moreover, if the manure is taken fresh, then the sawdust must be fresh. And vice versa: if the manure is rotted, sawdust should also be taken that is already rotted.

2.4 About the benefits and rules of use (video)

2.5 Application on beds

AND using sawdust as fertilizer, maximum efficiency can be achieved by growing strawberries (strawberries)and potatoes. They will also be useful in gardens located in lowlands.

To protect the planting from drought and weeds, shavings can be used not directly under the plant, but nearby. To do this, furrows (25 cm deep) are dug along the bed, into which sawdust is poured. They will play the role of a kind of barrier that will not allow weeds to enter the plant and will not release water. Having rotted, the wood shavings will release useful elements into the soil, and a year or two after burial they will also turn into fertilizer.

The most effective way to use sawdust in garden beds is as follows:
Today I’m writing a post about sawdust because I’m sure: not only priroda_veda The question that concerns me is how realistic it is to use them in the garden.

I’ll say right away: sawdust and small shavings of wood are valuable materials for loosening the soil, composting and mulching. But... This must be raw material from unpainted and untreated wood. For different purposes, sawdust and shavings must be specially prepared
As a conditioner - a leavening agent - sawdust and shavings are kept in the open air for 2-3 months, during which time the pile must be loosened a couple of times in order for the composting process to begin. Such raw materials are used to add soil for planting acidophilic plants, i.e. preferring acidic soil. These are blueberries, rhododendrons, heathers, some conifers, etc. For blueberries, at least a bucket of sawdust is added to the planting hole per bush.
For use for other crops, sawdust and shavings are piled up, overlaid with weeds and fallen leaves, and kept for at least 4-6 months, regularly watered with water with the addition of urea (20 g per 10 liters of water) or mullein infusion. Again, shovel the pile 2-3 times and be sure to cover it with thick film. Such sawdust is added to the soil in the fall for digging, simultaneously with the addition of dolomite flour, or in the spring, sprinkled with ash. This use of sawdust loosens heavy soils well. They can also be used for the lower layers of warm ridges.
How component compost sawdust is used for pouring layers with food waste, as well as for lining the bottom compost heap. At the same time, sprinkle the layers with dolomite flour.
Sawdust and shavings can be used as mulch even fresh, for example, on raspberries or blackberries, but once every 2-3 weeks such mulch needs to be watered with a solution of mullein infusion or green fertilizer, a couple of times a season with a daily infusion of ash (1 liter jar per 5 liters hot water) . Such mulch is very effective on paths in a stationary garden, where the ridges are edged with a border. To do this, first the paths are cleared of weeds using a flat cutter, compacted, sprinkled with ash or dolomite flour, covered with sawdust, and watered abundantly. This mulch suppresses weeds, and those that do sprout are very easily pulled out. In addition, snails and slugs really do not like to move along such paths. Therefore, every spring you need to add a little fresh sawdust to the paths.
Sawdust mulch decomposes very slowly by microbes, so it lasts a long time. But the decomposition process still occurs, so sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil. To replenish it, once a month the paths need to be watered with an infusion of green fertilizer.
I must say that a 10 cm layer of sawdust mulch on raspberries and blackberries reduces the amount of weak growth. And for blueberries, such high mulching is a guarantee of maintaining acid reaction soil.
And one moment. Sawdust and shavings of coniferous trees need to be kept in heaps 2 times longer than waste from deciduous crops.

Should you use sawdust in your dacha? Many people ask this question, let's find out the opinion of those who have used sawdust in practice.
Question: How useful or not is sawdust useful on the site? Where and how can they be used? Or maybe it’s better not to use it at all?
We ended up with several bags of sawdust. A neighbor asked us for it and scattered it around her property. My mother-in-law wants to put them under the raspberries - I don’t know if this is right or not?
ABOUT.: I have a bad review for them. They acidify the soil terribly. And I spilled urea, it’s still bad.
The raspberries didn’t even get leaves, and the lawn didn’t grow at all, or rather, it was in terrible shreds. And she added it, and did everything she could. That whole season, where there was sawdust, went down the drain.
ABOUT.: The paths between the beds are filled with sawdust, they are watered all summer so that they rot, and in the spring they are embedded in the beds, something like that.
ABOUT.: Sawdust perfectly decompacts the soil and serves as an excellent mulch. But! If yours is not blueberry, rhododendron or pine needles, which requires acidic soils, then add dolomite flour along with sawdust to alkalize the soil.
ABOUT.: Sawdust can be obtained free of charge from wood cutting companies. In Berdsk I know what they are handing out, my brother went there and collected sawdust to fill the roof of the bathhouse.
Sawdust must be used carefully, because, on the one hand, sawdust loosens the soil, and on the other hand, it very strongly acidifies it.
Therefore, our parents and grandmothers advised us to sprinkle sawdust on the paths so that there would be 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 when processing onions, kerosene is diluted in water and sawdust is added, let it sit a little and then spread over the onion bed - not too tightly, of course.
ABOUT.: Sawdust actually greatly increases acidity. I pour them into the beds along with the ashes and dig them up, they neutralize each other, otherwise my garden is full of clay.
ABOUT.: Girls, I don’t recommend using sawdust anywhere in the garden; because of it, a wireworm appears, which begins to devour everything, and it’s very difficult to get it out. I didn’t listen to the advice of my friends, now I’m looking on the internet for how to get rid of it, it appeared right there , where I sprinkled sawdust.
ABOUT.: One year I poured sawdust into the rows of strawberries... Then I had to cut them down, they had become so compacted over the winter that they had crusted over. And weeds grow very well on them.
ABOUT.: 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 it under the bushes, it’s better, of course, not to sprinkle it fresh. No worms or living creatures. Everything looks great and beautiful, like snow on the ground. And in the spring we dig it all up with a motorized cultivator.
ABOUT.: We also love sawdust, only we have it with chicken droppings. Sawdust very good loosen the soil, and to prevent it from acidifying, you first need to fill the bucket with sawdust with water. And I do warm bed under the cucumbers - in the center of the bed I bury sawdust with chicken droppings, and the cucumbers at the edges, and they always grow very well. Fine.
ABOUT.: Girls, you know everything yourself. Cons: sawdust acidifies the soil, sawdust removes nitrogen from the soil. Now let's change the minuses to the pluses.
It acidifies, which means it needs to be alkalized, mix with ash, and where they were used, add fluffed lime in the fall (special deoxidizing lime is now sold in garden stores, by the way, it’s great to use when growing clematis).
It takes nitrogen, which means we don’t pour it dry, but soak it in a bucket with urea, or even better with calcium nitrate - this is nitrogen + calcium, which also alkalizes (deoxidizes the soil).
I take a bucket, dry mix sawdust with ash and pour 2-3 tablespoons of calcium nitrate into a bucket of water. I use it as mulch for both raspberries and strawberries.
Thus, any minus can be changed to a plus.

You can see that the strawberries are mulched with sawdust, they are gray with ash, in the fall of 2012 they were fresh, straight from the sawmill. Then I can show what berries will grow with these “sour” sawdust.
Yes, conifers, hydrangeas, rhododendron, blueberries generally say “thank you” for the mulch with sawdust.
ABOUT.: For the 101st time I sing a hymn to sawdust, and all other organic matter in addition. This time I photographed the obligatory companions of sawdust when mulching.
I remind you:
- ash and lime for alkalization so that the soil does not acidify when using sawdust,
- urea (calcium nitrate), so that sawdust decomposes faster and does not take nitrogen from the soil,
- water to dissolve the urea so that it is evenly saturated with fertilizer,
- Sawdust to make the soil lighter, plumper, looser.
As a result, we come to the following conclusion: sawdust can be used, but correctly. To benefit from them, you must follow the application rules described above.

It is known that introducing sawdust into the soil, especially fresh ones, is not recommended. On this basis good harvest won't grow. If there is a lot of sawdust, it is not difficult to turn it into a wonderful component for improving the structure of the soil and its breathability.

In order to bring unrotted sawdust onto the site, you first need to prepare it. To do this, you need to stock up on nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizer, for example, urea. Its quantity can be calculated if you consider that for each bucket of sawdust you will need about one handful of dry fertilizer. It is better to take fertilizer in granules; powdered fertilizer can cake and form a long-soluble lump.
To collect sawdust, it is convenient to use large two-hundred-liter black polyethylene garbage bags.

The preparation process is very simple. In an old tank or large garden bucket, thoroughly mix sawdust with fertilizer in specified proportion, having previously moistened it, and carefully pour it into bags. The filled bag is tightly closed and left for at least three weeks. During this time, the sawdust will be saturated with nitrogen and become safe for the soil. It’s good if sawdust needs to be added in the fall. Over the summer, sawdust in bags will not only become saturated with nitrogen, but will also lose its rigidity and prickliness.

Both in spring and autumn, sawdust is added to the soil for digging for any crops. The experience of using sawdust in potato beds is successful - potatoes give a good harvest of even and clean tubers. However, it must be borne in mind that it is not worth applying nitrogen-containing fertilizers at the end of summer. Especially under fruit plants. This can delay fruit ripening and even fruiting. You can also use sawdust as mulch and insulation, covering the beds garden strawberries, winter garlic and flower beds with wintering flowers

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Application sawdust in the garden

They are irreplaceable on our heavy loams. I’ll tell you about my 10 years of experience in using this valuable fertilizer.
We get it from a sawmill located near our partnership. Sawdust has many useful properties.

Sawdust is a valuable fertilizer. It contains a lot of carbon, thanks to which the soil microflora actively develops - the number of beneficial bacteria increases by 2.5 times. In terms of its nutritional properties, sawdust is close to high-moor peat; it is rich in fiber, contains microelements, lignin, resins, essential oils. True, they must be used together with liming materials.

The drying capacity of sawdust is high. One part of them can hold 4-5 parts of water. Using this technique, it is not difficult to significantly reduce flood damage and prevent flooding of beds. We dug ditches 40-50 cm deep along the perimeter of the site, scattered the excavated soil around the site and leveled it, and periodically put sawdust in the ditches, sprinkling them with lime. After 3-4 years, humus forms from them, which we distribute over the beds. In the spring, we fill any damp, low-lying places with sawdust so that we can walk everywhere and start digging earlier.

Sawdust also “works” against harmful insects. One day there was a season favorable for the Colorado potato beetle. But after introducing fresh sawdust into the rows, the number of larvae began to decrease before our eyes. Fresh sawdust releases resinous substances that repel pests. But over the summer you have to renew the sawdust in between 2-3 times. After a year, we swap the beds and potato boundaries.

Sawdust makes excellent mulch. We mulch with a thick layer in the fall winter garlic And winter crops. In the spring we rake them so that shoots appear faster.

In the roast and dry summer Fresh sawdust, due to its light color, reflects the sun's rays well, saving the soil from overheating and excessive evaporation of moisture. We mulch small-seeded crops thin layer, and we try to take smaller sawdust.

We cover the raspberry roots with a layer of 20 cm. Add powdered chalk on top, and then pour in a urea solution ( 200 g per 10 liters of water), because microorganisms developing in sawdust consume a lot of nitrogen. By autumn, the sawdust turns black and its layer thins, so for the winter we again add this fresh wood mulch, at the same time adding 50 g of nitrophoska per 1 m2. No digging or loosening is needed at all.

Thanks to sawdust, our raspberries do not get sick and grow in one place more than 10 years. Strawberries also give bountiful harvest under sawdust in the same beds for 13 years. We spread sawdust on the beds twice: in the spring and after cutting the leaves. Each time we first scatter the ground eggshells and ash, and then sprinkle the ground fresh sawdust. After heavy rains feed strawberries with complex mineral fertilizers(50 g/m2).

Sawdust is an excellent loosening material that improves the structure of the soil and its physical properties. They do not contain weed seeds, unlike manure, and also evaporate moisture slowly. Even if weeds make their way through a thick layer of mulch, they can be easily pulled out of the loose soil.

Every year we add sawdust to film greenhouses to loosen the soil. We pre-moisten them with mullein (3 kg per 10 liters of water). This solution is enough to moisten 3 buckets of sawdust. In the fall, we scatter limestone material and embed the sawdust into the soil 2 weeks before planting seedlings of cucumbers and tomatoes.

We use fresh sawdust as a component in nutritional mixtures, adding 20% of them from the volume of the total substrate. We even put sawdust in the peat nutrient mixture “Malysh” and “Ogorodnik”. Such soil does not need loosening and frequent watering. We enrich the compost with sawdust. Then the organic content in it reaches 40%.

We put sawdust in a pile, interlayering plant residues, garden soil, add a little lime. If the sawdust is spruce, increase the dose of lime to 500 g per bucket. In summer, we water the stack with water and a solution of complex mineral fertilizers.

To speed up the maturation of compost, we also add microbiological preparations Flumb K or Flumb Super. In this case, the compost is ready within a season. We don't even shovel it. It is not inferior in quality to manure.

Vera Sinitsyn
- Books for gardeners provide scant information about sawdust. It only says that they acidify the soil. So summer residents are afraid to use sawdust. But in vain!