Material prepared by: Nadezhda Zimina, gardener with 24 years of experience, process engineer
Applying various agricultural techniques, you can achieve better results when cultivating your personal plotwhile applying less effort... For example, once applying the mulching technique for processing the soil surface, you can long time forget about watering, loosening and weeding. Plants will feel comfortable without additional maintenance. And decorative mulch, which is available in a huge assortment, will allow you to decorate the garden, place accents and fill the empty spaces of the beds.
Mulching technology
Before you cover the ground protective layer from a covering material, it must be prepared.
You need to do the following:
- Remove weeds from the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe treated surface;
- Water the garden so that moisture remains in it, which we will preserve;
- Loosen the ground to a depth of at least 5 cm;
- Ventilate, slightly drying the top layer of the soil, so that when mulching it does not sag and compact.
When to mulch?
Covering measures that promote long-term retention of moisture around flowers constantly growing in one place must be carried out in the spring, after the soil thaws and warms up well... If done earlier, when the soil is cold, the mulch layer will prevent thawing by keeping the cold close to the roots. This can lead to plant death.
In the fall, they also cover the soil. Indeed, under a protective layer much longer than in environment the vital processes of soil organisms will continue, which will lead to additional production of organic matter from the covering substrate. In autumn, it is possible to plant under mulch of various cultivated plants, eg, . He winters well under a shelter of pine sawdust, which, among other things, also protect him from diseases and pests.
Many garden vines also need autumn shelter, otherwise they do not survive the winter, freezing at the root. For successful protection from cold over, climbing roses, actinidia, clematis with their own hands build a dry shelter. It is simply impossible to cover them with sawdust - during thaws, the water will wet the covering substrate, and with a significant decrease in temperature, it will turn into an ice shell, under which the plants may die.
To build a reliable shelter, use wooden frames or boxes under which whips and vines are placed, they will be in a dry air environment. Then protective structures covered with a "blanket" of sawdust. But this is not enough, since wood shavings do not in any way protect the plants from getting excess moisture... On top, you need to make another layer to prevent it from entering. To do this, use a film for mulching.
winter shelters for grapes
The quality of covering measures largely depends on the material used. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, which can help or harm specific plants. For the right choice it is necessary to have information on the properties of protective materials.
Mulching with green plant residues
Siderata
For spring soil mulching, there is an original, and very economical method that allows you to grow healthy seedlings right in the ground. Of course, we are not talking about tomatoes and peppers (although in southern regions You can also try). First of all, in this way you can plant zucchini, eggplant, and pumpkins.
In the spring, as soon as the ground thaws, they dig it up, and sow green manure, rye is best suited. When the soil warms up well and constant positive temperatures are established, you can start planting seeds of cultivated plants. Rye will serve as a natural defense, shading young sprouts at the initial stage, creating comfortable conditions for them to develop. When the cucumbers and zucchini grow up, the cereals around are removed and the ground is covered with straw. She serves good stuff for mulching, while feeding the soil with nitrogenous compounds.
It must be remembered that green manure cannot be used immediately after removal from the soil. They must be dried within a day, otherwise the straw will smell bad and rot, as a result of which pathogenic microflora and fungi may appear on it.
Cut grass
Weeding or mowing the lawn leaves a lot of grass. Throwing it away is irrational, therefore, this type of plant waste has two ways of implementation. The first is to put them in compost. The second is to organize mulching of beds, flower beds and tree-trunk circles with grass fruit trees.
You can also throw the weeded potatoes with the cut grass instead of hilling. The tubers will thrive in a loose layer of semi-rotten substrate, and in the fall the potatoes can be easily removed by pulling out the bushes by the tops.
But melons and gourds, cucumbers and cabbage should not be mulched with grass, as they can become infected with rot or fungus. For the winter, fresh grass mulch does not need to be left, as pests can grow in it. It is best to use crop residues a second time by composting them. Well-dried hay is used as a covering material for the winter, which is used to cover the tree trunks just before the frosts.
Video: an example of mulching tomatoes with plant residues
Sawdust mulching
The main function of mulching is the ability to create comfortable conditions for plants. Using materials from organic matter, you can significantly increase soil fertility, reduce the number of watering and loosening, and get rid of weeds.
Mulching is one of the most common types of cover. They are especially often used for. Under warm blanket from large shavings strawberries and garden strawberries winter well and do not get sick different types rot. Pathogenic flora is the very negative factor that significantly affects the harvest. But when using sawdust, which acts as a sorbent, a significant part of the berries calmly sings on the bushes, and does not rot, since it does not come into contact with the moist earth.
Strawberry mulching technology is simple and effective:
Before adding sawdust, the bed is weeded, loosened and watered. After the formation of a light crust on the upper layer of the earth, they begin the main work. To do this, take cardboard (it is better not to use a newspaper, since the ink for printing contains lead), and cover the space between the rows with them. Sawdust is poured on top of the cardboard. That's it, the work is over. By the way, this method protects not only from the appearance of weeds, but also from excessive growth of the strawberries themselves.
Mulching with hay and straw
These natural materials, which are easy to find in any village, summer residents began to use for planting on new technology, for the use of which you need to stock up on cardboard (you can ask for boxes in the nearest store), planting material and dry grass.
The process itself can be broken down into several stages:
- Covering the ground with cardboard. It can be laid directly on overwintered grass as soon as the snow melts. The point of this action is to prevent light from reaching the weeds, which will die along with the roots within a few weeks.
- Germination and disinfection of potatoes. You can disinfect with a solution of any ready-made biostimulant, and germinate in the sun, greening the tuber. These preparatory procedures have a healing effect so that later potatoes under mulch do not get sick with late blight.
- The next stage is planting planting material. To do this, holes are made in cardboard sheets, whose radius should be twice as large as the radius of the tubers. After that, the seed potatoes are placed directly on the ground, sprouts up, so that they rush into the sunlight.
- The final stage of planting is to mulch the entire row with straw. To do this, dry residues of cereals are poured directly over the cardboard, with a layer of at least 15-20 cm. Some people use hay for shelter, but it has a significant drawback - it is a carrier and accumulator of weed seeds.
This method, which is revolutionary for the consciousness of many gardeners, has many advantages. First, it is minimal in terms of labor costs. Imagine, you do not have to plow, weed and huddle plantings. Potatoes under mulch grow well without unnecessary interference. An exception is drought, when you have to water your plantings a couple of times. And still, the amount of physical labor used is incomparable with the traditional way landing.
Harvesting potatoes that have grown under a straw shelter is also an easy walk compared to traditional digging. This is a pretty clean job, as getting to the tubers is very easy - you just need to move the straw apart and harvest.
After harvesting, the beds are left without digging. They are already natural compost, which will calmly rot in the time remaining before the onset of winter cold weather, and next year these beds can be used for planting without additional processing... Using the straw mulching method, it is possible to achieve a significant improvement in soil fertility on the site in 2-3 years.
Video: comparison of the crop of potatoes when mulching different types
Mulching with textiles and foil
This type of protective procedure is used in two cases:
- The first is when constructing "dry blankets" for the winter for various ornamental plants and lianas, as already described above.
- The second type of use is to protect the beds from weeds and moisture evaporation.
A prerequisite for using roll covering materials is compliance with all preparatory procedures (weeding, moistening, loosening), before covering the beds with polyethylene. Applying this method in summer time, use only transparent film and agrotextile. But the black film is used before planting. It has too strong a depressing effect on any plant flora, therefore, even with partial perforation, it is not suitable for summer use.
mulching with agrotextile (left) and film (right)
The film is spread on the beds at the end of March, when it is already warm enough and weeds begin to grow. Within 3-4 weeks, they all die under a black film, and their roots, which die off naturally, can be easily removed with a rake.
Agrotextile is very often used for mulching strawberries. Usually they take non-woven densely, which allows moisture to pass through. It is spread over all surfaces of the garden, cutting on equal distance circles under berry bushes. When using this method, strawberries bear fruit well throughout the season, and practically does not require additional maintenance.
Peat mulching
This fertilizer from the swamp is very often used as a mulch layer for the soil, when planting different plants... serves as an excellent protection against weathering and leaching of fertile components from the soil, and does not allow the growth and development of pathogenic flora. After the end of the season, this substrate is left in the beds, and it gradually passes into the soil, improving its composition.
decorative use of peat
The homogeneous structure of peat allows it to be used as a decorative filling. Peat is also used in the garden, for mulching various crops that require increased care, for example, tomatoes. Under nightshades, this substrate is applied when they are well rooted, a couple of weeks after planting the seedlings in the ground.
Peat is ideal for mulching. It creates optimal conditions for the growth and development of this moisture-loving shrub. The soil will constantly retain moisture and become loose, which allows the raspberry root system to develop well.
Mulching with bark and wood chips
This way of gardening is gaining new fans every year. Bark mulch is commonly used for paths and large open areas... In our climatic zone the most widespread is pine bark. This material for landscape design possesses a number of useful properties.
decorative mulch from bark and wood chips
Decorative bark mulch stays in one place for a long time unchanged, perfectly protects the soil from weeds, and saves from the sun on hot days. It also does not compact for a long time due to its porous structure and embossed surface.
Pine bark
This type of covering material is very popular throughout the country. Benefits pine bark are its lightness, thickness and high content of fungicides, which suppress the unfriendly microflora, and prevent the appearance of pests.
Features of mulching with bark / chips of tree trunk circles
Bark for mulching has been used for centuries. This type of protection has become especially popular for those who constantly need comfortable conditions... The bark retains moisture for the root system, and perfectly decorates the trunk circle, which saves time when caring for these capricious flowers. It also serves as a winter shelter from freezing.
Wood chips
When buying this material, you should pay attention to the number that is indicated on the package. It corresponds to the size of the chips and indicates the size of the product. Chips are small (5-8 cm), medium (8-15 cm), and large (more than 15 cm). It is advisable to purchase this covering material from manufacturers who guarantee the minimum inclusion of chip dust in the composition. This property helps protect the beds from oxidation.
Mulching chips serve the same function as other materials. It keeps the soil moist and loose, stimulates the development of beneficial microflora, naturally forms humus. In addition to all the above advantages, this material perfect for decorating the site.
decorative mulch options - based on wood chips and bark
Decorative mulch can be of any color and size. It is used in young flower beds, or in beds made in a minimalist style. It is resistant to external influences, so you can fill up flower beds and garden paths with it.
Precautionary measures
The choice of wood chips must be approached more carefully than the purchase of other materials. When buying it, it is desirable ... to smell it! If the substrate emits an acidic vinegar smell, then it is better to postpone the purchase. Most likely, the wet chips were stored without oxygen, and decay products, very harmful to plants, began to be produced in it.
But, if the acquisition has already been made, the situation can be corrected. Chips need to be dried well. Once the sour smell is gone, you can use it to mulch the soil.
Unusual types of mulch
Leaves
They are used everywhere, this is the most affordable covering material that serves to protect plantings with perennial flowers and wintering bulbs.
Pine needles
Needles are mulched plants that are susceptible to massive attacks of pests, for example, garlic.
Eggshell
This species is used as an obstacle in the path of slugs, scattering the shell thin layer around the rose bushes.
Using various materials at hand for mulching the beds, you can greatly simplify your life. The protected plant roots make full use of all the moisture brought into the soil, which provides them with excellent nutrition. The need for constant watering is eliminated, as well as constant loosening. Mulching the soil will help to put the garden and vegetable garden in order, and free up time in order to finally straighten up and admire the beauty and order created by your own hands.
Video comparison of various mulching materials
Everyone prepares for winter differently. People buy warm clothes and get their skis from the attic, animals carry grains into their burrows, and fish dig deeper into the mud. Garden trees also need to be prepared for snow and cold weather. Special attention in this regard, care for the apple tree requires. Preparing this fruit tree for winter requires pruning branches, peeling the trunk, and many other activities. There are many videos and articles on this topic on the Internet. A gardener armed with useful knowledge will be able to save trees and future crops.
Branch and trunk care
The first thing to work with when preparing a tree for winter is the branches and trunk. The apple tree must be carefully examined and dry, broken, diseased branches and those that grow inside the crown must be removed.
Attention! You can cut off branches only in clear weather at a temperature not lower than -10 ° C. If you do not follow this rule, then cracks will appear on the fresh cuts, which will grow over time and destroy the apple tree.
You need to remove the branches in such a way that the cut is as even and smooth as possible. It is unacceptable to leave bark scuffs. After trimming, the damaged areas must be carefully treated with a solution of copper sulfate at the rate of 1 tsp. 1 liter. clean water. Then the slices are also processed garden pitch... These measures help prevent the appearance and reproduction of fungal diseases.
Pruning branches
And, finally, you need to remember about the whitewashing of the trunk, which protects the tree from rodents and sunburn... You need to process the trunk from the root to the lower branches or slightly higher. The best prescription formula for a whitewash mixture for an apple tree: lime - 3 kg, wood glue - 200 g, copper sulfate - ½ kg, water - 10 liters.
Council. If the apple variety is not frost-resistant, you can wrap its trunk with spruce or pine branches for the winter, and you can also wrap it with tar paper.
Tilling the soil around the tree
Processing the soil around the apple tree in preparation for winter includes 3 stages: harvesting, digging, mulching.
- Cleaning. You need to start this stage with the cleaning of fallen leaves and volunteers. It is in this mass that pathogenic bacteria and pests hide and multiply. Leaves and rotten apples are best discarded in compost heapsprinkled with lime. Then in a year it will be possible to feed the tree with this.
- Digging. When the ground under the tree is cleared, you can proceed to digging the soil. In this case, the shovel is immersed parallel to the ground by 20 cm.If the gardener works with a pitchfork, you need to carefully monitor so as not to damage root system... You also need to dig up the soil that goes beyond the crown, since there are no roots, the shovel can be immersed deeper.
- Mulching. This procedure can be done with compost or manure. It is also recommended to use peat, sawdust, straw, shavings or needles.
Identification and neutralization of pests
Autumn is a great time to identify and neutralize pests that have settled on fruit trees. Most often they can be found under the old bark of the apple tree. You need to bend it and inspect the trunk under it. Insects found there should be destroyed immediately. Too large growths of old bark are best removed.
Apple tree trunk processing
In order to treat and prevent the apple tree, autumn is treated with insecticides. For example, a urea solution will help fight powdery mildew or scab. Also used laundry soap, soda ash, copper sulfate. If you have no desire or opportunity to prepare solutions yourself, you can use ready-made fungicides such as Aktara, Karbofos, Horus.
Autumn feeding of apple trees
- Organic fertilizers such as compost or humus are applied at the rate of 4-8 kg per 1 m² of soil.
- If there is no way to make organic fertilizer, you can use a mixture of phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen fertilization... At the same time, nitrogen is needed in very small quantities, about 10 g. Such feeding will be useful for root growth.
- Acidic soils under apple trees are neutralized with lime, which is applied every 3-4 years. They use ground limestone for this or even old plaster, marl, dolomite flour, a piece of chalk.
- To make the trees easier to endure severe frosts, they need to be fed with superphosphate, diluted in 30-50 g per 1 liter of water.
Council. Dense fertilizers must be crushed before applying to the soil. For example, burnt lime is extinguished with water at the rate of 3 liters per 10 kg.
The owners of some household plots prefer to postpone the apple tree care for the spring. But this is the wrong approach, which can significantly damage the tree and reduce the yield. But proper autumn preparation will help the tree to endure the harsh period.
How to prepare an apple tree for winter: video
Autumn processing of an apple tree: photo
Common parsnip, or Field parsnip, or Sowing parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) in the wild is widespread in regions with a temperate climate (middle zone of Russia, North Caucasus, Crimea, Ural, Altai, etc.), but so far it is rarely found in garden plots... True, today the popularity of parsnips is growing quite actively. In animal husbandry and beekeeping, it is used as a fodder plant and honey plant, and in cooking - as a tasty and healthy vegetable.
The host's common favorite among decorative deciduous perennials captivates not only with the beauty of the leaves. It is durable and relatively undemanding, it grows in the right place for many years, but it can hardly be called fast-growing. Hosta reproduces easily, although you will have to be patient to get spectacular highly decorative bushes. To independently increase the host collection, first of all, you need to remember about the peculiarities of this culture.
Dill spreads well by self-sowing, so many summer residents do not consider it necessary to sow this crop every year on the site. But at the same time everyone understands that dill and dill are different. And the greens of carefully grown dill in the garden taste and the flavor is generally superior to the greens of dill, which grows on its own. In this article, we will tell you how to have enough green dill in the beds with early spring until late autumn.
Stir-fry with beef, soy noodles, vegetables and Iceberg salad - recipe quick dinner or lunch for a busy person. It takes no more than 15 minutes to cook it, and you can feed them a couple of hungry mouths, which cannot wait for a tricky dinner. Stir-fry is a way to quickly fry vegetables and meat that came to us from the east. Don't be discouraged if the wok is not among your kitchen utensils. Plain frying pan with a thick bottom and non-stick coating will do too.
Among the plants that boast variegated foliage, alpinia claims to be not only the rarest, but also the most original culture. It simultaneously reminds of bamboos and arrowroot calatheas, and sometimes even Vriese. True, it looks like the latter only with its inflorescences. Luxurious leaves, most often covered with variegated contrasting stripes, look so modern that it is impossible not to admire the beauty of their impeccable patterns and brilliance.
Vegetarian cabbage rolls with mushrooms - steamed cabbage rolls for dietary, vegetarian and lean menu... Cabbage rolls are unusually tasty, very appetizing, and, if applicable to food, beautiful, unlike their counterparts from white cabbagebraised or fried in a pan. Savoy cabbage tastier than white, loose head of cabbage, easier to disassemble into individual leaves. The color of the leaves is from pale green to emerald.
IN winter time every summer resident is looking forward to spring and is happy to open the season with the first crops of flower and vegetable crops for seedlings. But, unfortunately, the space on the windowsill is limited, and it is not always possible to place in the apartment the right amount seedlings in cups. In addition, some of the crops may simply not grow, something will die ... And for us, summer residents, no matter how much we plant, it is not enough! Therefore, almost every gardener buys at least some seedlings.
Growing annuals in the garden has at least two advantages over growing perennial flowers. First, most popular annual plants bloom profusely throughout the growing season. Secondly, many annuals sow freely and appear in the garden year after year with minimal participation from the grower. Which summer people can be planted only once, and then, following simple techniques, meet them in the garden every season?
You can make jellied meat and meat salad with onions from pork shank. The shank, especially the back, is a very tasty and affordable piece of pork carcass that can be fed small company... A 2-pound shank will make a bowl of meat salad and a large plate of aspic. There will still be meat broth, on which I advise you to cook cabbage soup or borscht. For this dish, we take a rear knuckle weighing from 1.7 to 2 kilograms, I advise you to beg the fleshy from the butcher.
Eggplants require a sunny but short day, medium-warm temperatures, without sweltering heat, sufficient moisture, but without flooding the root system. Provide such conditions in open ground most regions of Russia are quite difficult. Therefore, earlier eggplants were grown only in protected ground. With the development of selection, it became possible to grow eggplants in the open field, not only in the southern regions, but also in middle lane.
Among the predatory plants, the sundew rightly claims to be the brightest and most expressive beauty. This plant attracts, first of all, with its unusual textures and play of colors. But the feeding mechanism of this swampy and quite hardy miracle is so exotic that it is very easy to forget about sundews as plants, primarily decorative ones. The sundews are quite demanding on humidity, but they are not so difficult to grow in ordinary living quarters.
Chocolate cake with a custard made from simple and affordable ingredients, it turns out to be so delicious that rarely anyone is limited to one slice. Biscuit cakes wet, they seem to be made of real dark chocolate, although the recipe only contains cocoa powder. Creamy custard delicate and lightweight, goes well with chocolate biscuit... All this splendor of tastes is complemented by coconut flakes, an ingredient is simple, but in this recipe, like the cherry on the cake, it comes in handy.
Although the calendar spring begins in March, this month can hardly be called spring. But May is already a real long-awaited spring, filled with aromas and colors of awakened nature. Fresh young leaves on trees and bushes attract the eyes that yearn for greenery during the long months of winter. In May, the parade of primroses continues in the garden, delighting with variegated foliage and flowering ornamental shrubs, perennials, conifers are being updated.
In the middle lane, the formation of grapes suggests the possibility of shelter on winter period, which means that the reference point should be to keep the head of the bush at the soil level. Further north by big harvest it is not necessary to count, but for such areas there are their own principles of pruning. The article discusses the fan-shaped scheme of forming a grape bush, which is often used in the middle lane, and the cordon one, which has shown itself well in regions with a more severe climate.
Beef with eggplant with vegetable sauce in the oven is a simple dish, very tasty and not very high in calories, which is quite important in our time. Only vegetable sauce, no flour, sugar, milk or cream. The meat is fat-free and yet juicy and tender. Can be replaced with chicken or veal. Eggplants do not need to be pre-fried, just salt a little to become soft. TO ready meal I advise you to make a light yogurt sauce.
For trees to grow quickly, be strong and tall, they need care. This applies to both decorative and fruit species... If earlier trunks around trees were left in the form of open areas of soil, which were dug up and fertilized in autumn and spring or covered with mulch, nowadays everything large quantity summer residents plant flowers, spicy and vegetable crops on them, or sow lawns.
This not only beautifies the garden and benefits the trees themselves, but also saves land space in favor of other plant species.
To dig or not to dig?
For many gardeners, the urgent question is how to properly care for fruit trees and when to dig the ground around them, whether to do it at all, or is it better to sow this area with grass. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages of digging are the following:
- There will be fewer pests or they will disappear altogether.
- Since the near-trunk circle of fruit trees expands as they grow, this makes it possible to use this land with benefit, for example, to break a flower garden.
Since there are more disadvantages to digging up land around trees, many summer residents abandoned this practice. This is due to the fact that:
- When digging up the soil in the fall, not only pests are destroyed, but also beneficial microorganisms. For example, aerobic bacteria living on the surface require oxygen. When digging, the top layer of the soil turns over and they find themselves underground. Deprived of oxygen, they die, and since it is the aerobic bacteria that supply the plants with the main nutrients, then thus the trees are deprived of elements important for vital activity.
- When digging, there is always a risk of root damage. This is especially true for those that are closer to the surface and receive the necessary nutrition from it.
- Autumn digging reduces the frost resistance of trees, since the soil becomes open to the cold.
Each summer resident decides for himself how to care for his garden, but all more people tend to believe that the soil around trees is an area that can be used effectively and profitably both for the plant and for oneself.
Flowerbeds and beds around trees
In light of the above, gardeners prefer to use trunks and sow them with either herbs, flowers, or healthy vegetables and spices. This has its advantages:
- Gradually, the untouched soil is enriched by the plants growing on it, which, having outlived their life, become a natural fertilizer for the tree.
- It is especially useful to plant trunks for additional insulation root system. The roots of the "neighbors" create a kind of pillow that prevents frost from penetrating into the ground.
- In summer, the lawn or flower garden protects the roots from the sun, and the tree needs less watering.
- Trunk circles trees filled with vegetation do not need digging and special weeding, which not only frees you from unnecessary work, but also helps to preserve the fertile layer of the earth.
Considering all the advantages, more and more summer residents use the soil around trees to plant beautiful or useful plants.
It is important to know: plants are not always compatible with each other. Before planting something, you need to make sure that the "neighborhood" will be mutually beneficial. This is especially important for fruit trees, since their harvest can be significantly reduced from satellites, which will act depressingly on them.
Types of trunks and their care
Designing and caring for the soil around the tree begins with planting it. So, when he is 2-3 years old, he is 2 m, by the age of six he reaches 3 m, and by 10-12 - 3.5-4 m.Along with the growth of the crown, its near-stem circle grows, the design of which as the tree grows can change.
Soil care depends on how the soil around the seedling looks:
- If the soil remains under black fallow, then it needs regular weeding and light loosening after each rain or watering. In the presence of heavy soil, autumn digging should be carried out annually, while on loams this can be done every 2-3 years.
- Mulching, although it is the best way preserving moisture, improving soil quality and protecting against cold weather, however, is considered by many gardeners to be a waste land area... Mulching methods are described below.
- Decorated trunks are becoming more and more popular as they make it easier to maintain and create beautiful flower beds, lawns or mini-gardens.
It is important to know: if you plant plants around a tree, then it should be noted that its trunk should already be high enough (from 75 cm), and the branches should be raised above the ground.
Materials for decorating trunk circles
Long gone are the days when the design of the tree trunk circle consisted only of mulching or "bare" soil. Today, landscape designers use natural and artificial materials, flower and herb seeds.
Summer residents do not lag behind them and ennoble their gardens:
- decorative stone;
- gravel and pebbles;
- glass;
- synthetic fiber fabrics such as agryl;
- lawns;
- beds with spices;
- medicinal herbs.
It is important to know: the soil around trees is effective areawhen used correctly. What is permissible on large landscaped lawns does not make sense on a plot of 6 acres, where every meter of land counts.
Stone decoration
The use of small pebbles or gravel to decorate tree trunks is especially popular with summer residents who cannot devote much time to their garden. These "helpers" are capable of:
- retain moisture;
- protect the roots from hot sunlight and severe frosts;
- prevent weeds from growing;
- keep pests out.
This decor of the trunk circle frees the gardener from weeding, loosening and digging up the earth. Stones are a natural material that is durable, does not scatter from gusts of wind and looks spectacular.
Mulching
In regions where rains are rare, but frosts are not, summer residents use dry manure, straw, peat or leaves with reeds in the form of mulch. There are reasons for this:
- it is a natural fertilizer that is dug up in spring and gives the roots additional nutrition;
- this mulch warms the soil;
- retains moisture well.
It is important to know: such mulching should be done not only 10-15 cm from the trunk, as many gardeners do, but along the entire near-trunk circle.
However, in warmer regions, an increasing number of summer residents prefer not only to mulch the tree trunk circle of fruit trees, but also to decorate it. Pine cones, for example, are great for this. They look beautiful, keep heat well, let and retain moisture, are not blown away by the wind and do not give a chance for weeds to germinate through such a barrier.
In any case, the choice is which natural material used for mulching, remains with the summer resident, based on weather conditions and the needs of the tree itself.
Lawn around trees
A beautiful, well-groomed lawn always looks impressive. It is no exception when it covers the near-stem circle of an apple tree, for example, or other fruit trees. Owners of large plots can afford this luxury. As the grass grows, it is cut with a lawn mower and removed. As practice has shown, a lawn in near-trunk circles is beautiful decorationwhich provides the tree with additional care:
- protects from the sun;
- protects from cold weather;
- retains moisture well;
- the roots of the grass themselves loosen the soil, and it breathes.
It is important to know: the lawn requires constant maintenance, otherwise the garden will look overgrown and abandoned. Also, trees need regular spring feeding, which is best applied directly under the roots.
Tinning of near-trunk circles with herbs
The lawn is not suitable for the owners of the cherished six acres, so the best way out is to create a cultural turf, for which herbs are used. Better sow perennial herbs, for example, a cereal mixture of meadow fescue (up to 60%) and meadow bluegrass (40%).
As the grass grows, it needs to be mowed and folded under the trees, as this is the best natural fertilizer, which frees the grower from additional organic fertilizing. Such turfing serves as a natural “carpet” that keeps tree roots from scorching sun, severe frosts and droughts.
Flower garden
Before you start creating a flower garden, beds with spices or medicinal herbs, you should find out which plants in the trunk circles will bring the most benefit to the tree. For example, the following flowers are combined with an apple tree:
- daisies;
- daffodils;
- lungwort;
- pansies;
- forget-me-nots;
- bells;
- nasturtium;
- periwinkle.
They will not only decorate the near-trunk circle, but also have a beneficial effect on the yield of the tree. Among spices and vegetable crops, the apple tree gets along well with:
- dill;
- radish;
- feather onions;
- salad;
- sorrel;
- basil.
Today, the cultivation of tree trunks is a common practice, not a tribute to fashion. When the land can not only be used effectively, ennobled and beautify, but also without special efforts improve its composition, this is a chance to make your site perfect.
Early and unexpected frosts pose the most serious danger to garden plantssince they have not yet had time to adapt to low temperatures and are easily damaged. But it is very simple to insure against such unpleasant surprises - it is enough to carry out the autumn mulching of trees and bushes in your garden.
The roots of plants are especially affected by frost. To protect the soil in the near-trunk circles, the soil must be dug shallowly and mulched. For this purpose, both organic and inorganic materials are used.
The former include humus, compost, spruce and pine, the latter, in turn, include crushed stone, expanded clay, gravel, etc. The indisputable advantage of organic is that over time it rotts, mixes with the soil and not only protects, but also nourishes the plantings.
After mulching, a mound should appear around the trunk, but not so high. This is an example of an incorrect procedure.
However, the use of sour peat and needles provoke an increase in acidity. garden soil... Therefore, these substrates are mainly mulched trees and shrubs, which grow better on slightly acidic or even acidic soil.
Inorganic materials are more durable, but some of them, similarly to organic matter, have a significant effect on the acidity of the soil, its mechanical and chemical composition... For example, it is recommended to cover the soil in rock gardens and rockeries with a layer of gravel and limestone, because plants that prefer an alkaline environment are most often cultivated in them.
The mulching technology itself garden trees and bushes is carried out as follows:
- a circle is drawn around the trunk of a tree or bush, the diameter of which is half or two-thirds of the diameter of its crown.
- then, in the inner part of the circle, sod and weeds are removed, a layer of soil with a depth of 15 to 20 centimeters for shrubs and 20 to 25 centimeters for trees is removed.
- the roots are carefully dug in, and the bottom of the formed pit is loosened with a pitchfork either.
- the surface of the earth is leveled and tamped a little, and the pit is filled with mulching material (preferably organic).
- in the last turn, the earth, which was previously selected from the pit, is returned to the place.
Please note that for conifers, the diameter of the circle should be made the same as the diameter of the crown or even more. The optimal mulch mixture for these plants is their own needles mixed with sour peat.
Of course, in large gardens it is simply unrealistic to insulate all plants in this way, so I advise you to first protect those varieties and species for which the minimum is characteristic. Also, if the soil is on your site easy and clean of weeds, then there is no need to dig a hole and choose the soil from it, but it is enough just to loosen it and sprinkle it with a 15-20-centimeter layer of mulch.