Sawdust for the garden: how to use, benefits and harms and which ones are better to use

Sawdust may accumulate in large quantities on some farms. They can be used in gardens and gardens. Consider how to use sawdust for the garden, which ones are better to choose, their benefits and harms, different ways of spring and autumn use in the garden: for seedlings, for sprouting, mulching, warming plants, fertilizing beds, storing crops.

Benefits and harms

Sawdust has many advantages, because of which their use in a summer cottage or garden plot is justified. They can make an excellent mulch, this is one of the most common ways to use shavings on private estates.Added to the substrate, they make it loose, thereby creating conditions for the early germination of seeds and seedling growth. If you cover the beds with sawdust, you can stop the growth of weeds, regulate acidity, protect plant roots from frost or drought, and prevent compaction and cracking of the soil surface. They can be sprinkled on garden paths to keep them clean and dry.

Sawdust absorbs moisture well and retains it, so they can be used in the beds if the rows need to be moistened. They also work as a heater, protect against frost, if used as a warming material before winter. Chips, like wood waste, decompose well and become an excellent natural organic fertilizer.

Problems and Solutions

Sawdust acidifies the soil, this can be a problem when used on neutral or acid soils. Most plants do not like acidic soils, with the exception of conifers, rhododendrons, blueberries, under which chips can be safely applied.In other cases, when used, alkaline materials must be added to it, which will neutralize them. These include ash, lime, chalk, dolomite flour, alkaline fertilizers.

The second problem is the absorption of nitrogen by the material. This important element must be compensated by the application of nitrogen-containing fertilizers: nitrate or urea. Sawdust is impregnated with a solution of fertilizers immediately after laying on the beds.

Pests and rodents can start in the chips, so you should control them throughout the season and take action if necessary. Wood shavings can be a carrier of diseases and pests if they come from wood that has been infected with diseases or harmful insects.

Types of sawdust and which is better to choose?

For use in the garden, you can take any wood shavings, from hardwoods or conifers. However, their properties are not the same, so they must be applied differently.

The best material is rotted sawdust, they no longer absorb nitrogen, they can serve not only as mulch, but also as fertilizer. Fresh ones absorb nitrogen and heat up, an increase in temperature can lead to overheating of the roots.

Sawdust of deciduous trees rots quickly, does not contain resins, so they can be used for all crops. Conifers - pine, cedar, spruce - are impregnated with resin, especially fresh ones, rot longer, draw out nitrogen and acidify the soil more strongly. But, due to the resin content, they can be used as a good remedy against infections and pests.

Spring use

Sawdust can be used throughout the season. In spring and summer, they can be used for seedlings, when germinating seeds and tubers, for mulching, covering beds.

For seedlings

Over-rotted sawdust can be used as a substrate for seedlings. They can be taken in their pure form, as the only material, or they can be prepared as a soil mixture based on them, mixed with earth, peat. With sawdust, the mixture will become loose and airy, which will be a clear plus for young plants.

Sprouting seeds

Loose substrate on sawdust can also be used for germinating seeds of any crops. Or just sprinkle on top of the seeds, making the top layer light. Seedlings can easily break through it.

For sprouting potatoes

Sprouting tubers is another option for using sawdust. In them, potatoes quickly take root and sprout, they are not held back by dense soil. Air and moisture can easily penetrate them. Tubers are easily removed from sawdust, fragile roots and sprouts do not break.

Creating beds

If the plot in the country is in a lowland, you can raise the beds with this material.How to do it: in the garden you need to dig trenches no less than a shovel bayonet deep, cover the bottom with straw, add a layer of sawdust on top, soak with a solution of urea as a fertilizer. Lay the excavated earth on them.

Mulching

You can mulch with rotted sawdust beds with any crops. In the spring, a layer of at least 5 cm is laid. In the summer, they are sprinkled, as the material shrinks. Mulch is used to regulate moisture and air exchange in the soil, to control weeds and as an organic fertilizer.

Lot layout

If there is a lot of sawdust, all the beds and tree trunks are mulched, and the question arises of where to put the rest, you can sprinkle the paths with them. It will become more comfortable to walk on them, the earth will not stick to shoes.

Autumn application

Sawdust can also be used in autumn. This is a good material for warming plants for the winter, they can store vegetables and root crops.

Plant warming

During the autumn work in the garden and vegetable garden, after harvesting the remains, shavings are sprinkled on the near-stem circles of shrubs and trees to keep them from freezing. Warming material for the same purpose is placed on the beds with strawberries and garlic. The layer should be thicker than in spring and summer, at least 10-15 cm. The colder the winters in the region, the more material needs to be poured. By spring, most of it will have time to rot and become fertilizer.

Crop storage

Root crops and vegetables, potatoes are well stored in dry clean sawdust. They perfectly regulate humidity, protect against spoilage, rotting, at the same time, root crops do not dry out, retain juiciness and taste. It is enough to put the vegetables in the boxes in layers and sprinkle each layer with clean shavings. Of course, in this case, hardwood shavings should be used, not softwood, which is unsuitable for this purpose due to the resinous smell that stored root crops can absorb.

Fertilizer plot

Fertilize any crops with sawdust that has rotted for 1-2 years. As a fertilizer, it is best to use not clean shavings, but the compost in which they are added. There are more nutrients in humus or compost than in pure material. Loose compost nourishes plants and improves soil structure, so it brings double benefits.

A mixture of fresh sawdust and fresh manure should not be used due to the risk of root burns.

For sawdust, fresh or slightly overripe, there are many uses in the garden and garden. It is an excellent mulch, baking powder, fertilizer, soil improver. They benefit any kind of crop, but harm is possible only if used incorrectly.

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