To protect the garden beds from drought and freezing, use pine bark. It improves soil structure and serves as an excellent decorative ornament. In what form is it used in flower beds and garden plots? What are its features and properties? This will be discussed in the article.
Garden Mulch
First of all, it is worth saying that this is a 100% natural raw material. It is suitable for landscaping flower beds, home gardens, gardens and paths between beds. Mulch or pine bark comes in several varieties. Each of them is selected, depending on the scope of application.
So she could be:
- fine fraction (up to 8 cm);
- medium fraction (8-15 cm);
- large (more than 15 cm).
For soil cover, a material better than pine bark will be hard to come by. It slowly decomposes and breaks down. Therefore, such a mulch will last for many years without replenishment. For mulching trees and shrubs, this raw material is very popular.
Benefit
It contains fungicides that prevent pests. Thus, it is possible not to treat the garden with additional chemicals. Material such as pine bark is an excellent shelter from freezing and at the same time decorative design. Among flowers, a rose responds well to such a mulch.
Lay this material around the trunk along a radius of up to 70 cm.
Before using this method of protection and decoration on the plots, it is necessary to know the features of the application of each type. In particular, sawdust leads to a nitrogen deficiency in the soil and can acidify the soil.
In addition, pine bark will not completely get rid of weeds, but caring for plants will greatly facilitate. After mulching, weeds grow much more slowly, with only single frail stems.
Steps for preparing mulch for beds
Finished material can be bought in specialized stores. This is not a cheap pleasure. But, if there is a forest nearby, then the bark can be made by yourself. The first thing to do for this is to give preference to pine among all varieties. She will serve on the site three times longer. Pine bark should not be stripped from young trees for mulching.
Fallen, old, diseased trees are not suitable for this business. In such material, useful substances will be absent and pests can quite easily start up. It is necessary that the bark easily separates and does not fall apart.
Trees cut no more than six months ago are suitable for harvesting. To mulchpine bark, it is crushed with scissors or secateurs. The size of the fraction will depend on the destination, but for strawberries and vegetable beds, it should have a state of small chips.
After manual or automated grinding, the prepared material must be dried.
Which period is suitable for soil mulching?
The best time is spring or autumn. The soil must be warm. Pine bark is laid down before weeds appear. If they have already been found on the beds, then the site must be weeded. Fertilizers are applied before laying, and a layer of mulch 5-7 cm in size is poured on top. If weeds reappear, they are pulled out carefully, without disturbing the coating.
It is not recommended to mulch the beds before May. You need to wait for the crops to emerge and, if the earth is too damp, then you should let it dry, but do not dry out! If the soil is generally dry, water it before mulching.
When sowing new beds, bark can be applied regardless of the season, even in summer.
In general, in September they mulch to preserve beneficial microorganisms in the soil. And in November or December - for shelter from frost.
In autumn, everything is done after weeding. By winter, a layer is poured. If last year's layer is already below 3 centimeters, then it is also increased. Once again, it is worth noting that the best protection is pine bark.
Application by fractions
For a start, when mulching has never been done, the best time will be spring. Major faction alwaysused in the garden and, most often, as a decoration for paths and playgrounds. The large size of the fraction will be an excellent choice to cover the flower beds for the winter. For vegetables and strawberries, medium and small fractions are suitable. Mulch carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini.
Small fraction serves about two seasons, and the average fraction - 3-4 seasons.
The article presents photos of pine bark in different fractions. It should be noted that the decomposed material turns into humus, and all nutrients pass into the soil. Due to this process, the development of crops improves. In its pure form, pine material is not used for shrubs, vegetables, trees, peonies and roses.
Fertilizers
Mulch can be applied in 2 ways:
1) A layer of rotted manure is laid and covered with bark.
2) Mix pine bark with horse manure 2:1 and lay a 5-7 cm layer on the bed. Leave space around the trunks for air exchange.
Organic fertilizers are buried at the optimal distance for feeding the roots - this is 20 cm. If top dressing is placed at a shallow depth, the plant will not be able to fully absorb nutrient compounds. Horse and cow rotted manure is excellent as fertilizer. For 1 m² of land, 4 kg of horse and 5-8 kg of cow manure are needed. Other organic fertilizers are also used. Compost and peat will well supply the soil with nutrient compounds. It can be mixed with mulch and buried in the ground. 5 kg of compost is used per 1 m² of land, and whether2.5 kg of peat.
Mineral fertilizers are applied as needed: nitrogen, phosphorus and potash.
The thickness of the mulching layer depends on the density of the soil. If it is clay soil, then the thickness will be up to 2 cm. Sandy - up to 8 cm. The beds are mulched every 2-3 years.
Fresh pine bark cannot be used. It contains substances that affect the growth of culture. Before use, it is dried in the sun for 2 months. Even better, use raw materials that have lain in the forest for more than 6 months.
Orchid cultivation
For these colors, raw materials from conifers are best suited. Most often it is pine and less often spruce.
Domestic pine bark for orchids is very popular with flower growers. Spruce is considered a little more resinous, although it is no worse in terms of utility and structure.
Raw materials are taken from long-dead trees. The bark peels off freely, so it's great. Her tissues were mostly freed from resin and fungal pathogens. There are almost no insects in such material, but there may be larvae that need to be disposed of.
The bark of deciduous trees is not recommended! In their tissues there may be substances that affect the slowdown in the growth of orchids. Therefore, the best remedy would be pine bark for orchids.
How to prepare the substrate yourself?
The main thing is the initial raw materials and proper processing. Walking in the forest and meeting a dead pine, you need to collect the bark, which, as it wasalready said, should be easily separated from the wood. To remove excess insects, it is necessary not to hit it very hard on the tree trunk. Then they put it in a package. You can also put pieces that fell from the tree yourself there. They tend to just roll underfoot on the ground.
Don't forget about pine cones either. They will come in handy.
At home, the bark is immediately cut, subjected to heat treatment. Boiling will destroy insects, eggs, their larvae and wash out substances that inhibit plant growth. Most of the resin will also boil off, but some of it will inevitably remain, despite the processing. Do not be upset - these leftovers will not interfere with the flowering of orchids and their growth.
To start processing, you need to break very large pieces of bark, shake off debris and put in an ordinary galvanized bucket. Press down on top with a flat oppression (stone) so that the bark does not float up. All this is filled with water and put on fire.
The pan should be allocated separately for the mulch, as it will certainly be spoiled. It will not be difficult to remove resinous scale from the edges of a galvanized bucket. To do this, wipe the bucket that has not yet cooled down (hot) with the wet side of a hard sponge, which is usually used for washing dishes.
Cook the bark for about an hour over low heat. After the fire is extinguished, the water is allowed to cool. After that, the bark is taken out in a colander so that the water is glass and it dries a little. Then it, a little wet, is immediately cut or broken into small fractions. After that, dry again. youngorchids need 1x1 (1.5x1.5) cm pieces. It is very convenient to use a pruner. After cutting into small pieces, the material is ground to smooth out sharp corners. This is done manually. Construction gloves are put on hands.
The dust that will collect is an excellent substrate for ground orchids, cymbidiums.
The bark is laid out to dry and, when completely dry, it is packed in small portions in bags. This reduces the likelihood that domestic bugs, ants, butterflies will start in it.
If the bark becomes moldy during storage, it should not be boiled again. Under all storage conditions, this white coating is not dangerous for plants. Molds are normal orchid symbiotics.
To sum it up: what does mulching do?
- The soil does not dry out, and moisture remains in it longer.
- Weeds will be significantly less, this is very important for flowers, especially peonies. Weeding takes a lot of time and effort.
- The bark gradually decomposes and nourishes the soil. This is a slow process, so mulching will last more than one year.
- Flower beds look beautiful and well-groomed.
