Natural farming is becoming increasingly popular these days. In addition to significantly reducing the volume of excavation work and the pleasure of obtaining high yields of various garden crops, this method requires the mandatory use of mulch. Various materials can be used as mulch. Mulching with pine needles is used when growing many plants that are not afraid of acidified soil. For these purposes, they do not use green pine needles, but brown ones that have fallen long ago.
Purpose of mulch
Mulch is any type of loose, air- and moisture-permeable, biodegradable material that is placed on the surface of the soil. The use of mulch provides:
- keeping the soil moist for a long time;
- growth retardation of many types of weeds;
- maintaining optimal soil temperature;
- creation of humus through gradual rotting;
- maintaining the vital activity of beneficial organisms inhabiting the top layer of the earth.
Growing plants on soil covered with a layer of mulch gives incomparably better results than without it. The thickness of the mulch should be from 5 to 20 cm. The needles are laid out at some distance from the base of the plant. They only need to cover heated soil.
If you rush to lay mulch in the spring, the ground underneath will remain cold for a long time. The effect of such use will be the opposite - a delay in plant development.
If in spring and summer the purpose of mulch is to protect the soil from drying out and the growth of weeds, and to accumulate heat, then in the fall it is to protect the soil organisms living underneath it from freezing.
Many natural materials can be used as mulch:
- pine litter;
- hay, straw;
- husks from seeds, buckwheat;
- pine nut shells;
- dry last year's leaves;
- sawdust and shavings;
- wood chips from tree bark;
- crushed cones;
- humus, humus, peat;
- freshly cut grass.
It is not easy to buy mulch from natural materials; it is rarely on sale even in specialized stores. Such materials are quite expensive and require renewal after a year, as they decompose in the soil.
Currently, in addition to natural shelters, modern nonwoven materials are used:
- spunbond;
- agril;
- lutrasil;
- Virotex.
They allow moisture to reach the ground and delay its evaporation. Their use is justified by their ease of acquisition and use. But it will not be possible to create real humus under such cover. Such a cover will not provide nutrition to the plant.
By using completely free pine litter, which can be collected from pine forests in any quantity, gardeners receive not only mulch, but also a natural factory for the production of humus.
When raking needles into bags, you can see white mycelium veins under the pine needles. These myceliums provide the soil with enhanced nutrition and protection. Fertility both in the wild and in garden beds is created by soil inhabitants who actively process a thick layer of needles.
Soil inhabitants - fungi, bacteria, small fauna that live under litter, help plants digest and assimilate any organic matter. Plant productivity in such conditions is optimal. After all, if there is no organic matter, there is no soil life, and there is no food for plants.
Application of pine mulch
In gardening literature you can read about restrictions on the use of pine needles. It has an acidic reaction and over time, with constant use, acidifies the soil. Not all plants like this. Some people need such land, others suffer and get sick in such conditions.
The way out of this situation is very simple. It is worth remembering which vegetables, bushes and trees love such conditions. Raspberries and blackberries tolerate acidic soil well. Slightly acidic soil is suitable:
- for apple trees;
- pears;
- cherries;
- plums;
- quinces;
- gooseberries;
- currants
Medium acid soil is suitable:
- for strawberries;
- potatoes;
- pepper;
- pumpkins;
- parsnip;
- sorrel.
Pine mulch helps the growth of sunflowers, eggplants, onions and garlic.
Among ornamental plants, hydrangea, rhododendron, all heathers, and roses like coniferous mulch.
In addition, acidic soil can be neutralized by sprinkling slaked lime on the beds in the fall - 50 grams per 1 square meter. m. It is even better to deoxidize the soil with ash, which is a natural supplier of nitrogen.
Pine needles contain natural phytoncides that counteract fungal and bacterial diseases. The needles also contain a huge amount of vitamins and minerals, which gradually pass into the soil.
Raspberries
Mulch from pine needles allows you to grow luxurious crops using biotechnology, which was studied and described by the outstanding Russian land manager Alexander Kuznetsov. Its principle is that plant nutrition is provided by root microbes and fungal mycorrhiza. Microbes and fungi do not live in the arable layer, only in rotting plant residues.
That is, by covering the raspberry beds with pine litter or any organic mulch, they create conditions for a favorable symbiosis between the plant, fungi and microbes. This symbiosis is a living biological product that enhances the breakdown of organic matter and improves plant nutrition.
Raspberry roots secrete substances necessary for the life of mycorrhiza, and mushrooms enrich the soil with nutrients. Pine mulch provides a natural habitat for mycorrhizae.
Its presence makes it possible to increase the planting density from 5 shoots per 1 sq. m. up to 30-40 pieces.
At the same time, the weight of the berry increased from 4-6 g to 10-12 g. Fruiting of remontant raspberries instead of August begins in mid-July.
In beds that are mulched annually, plants either do not get sick at all or the disease is mild. With such agricultural technology, fertilizers, frequent watering, and chemicals for baiting pests are not needed.
Strawberry (strawberry)
When using Kuznetsov’s biotechnology, strawberries instead of ordinary berries weighing 40 grams produced berries weighing 65 grams. The harvest increased by 1.5 times. Mulch, among other things, plays the role of an antiseptic; strawberries do not suffer from any diseases.
Unlike straw mulch, pine needles will prevent slugs from getting close to the berries. Mice won't live in it either. The mulch layer should be at least 5-7 cm high.
Lingonberries, blueberries, cranberries
Growing these crops is gradually becoming fashionable. Small plantations are planted in fenced beds covered with peat. For good development of plants, they are watered with acid-containing solutions. Covering such plantings with coniferous mulch is a mandatory procedure.
Onion and garlic
It is recommended to cover the beds with these plants with pine litter. Needles will not only retain moisture and prevent weeds from sprouting, but their phytoncidal properties will save plants from fungal and bacterial diseases. From mid-May, the beds are covered with a dense layer of pine mulch. At the same time, work on watering and loosening the beds is reduced.
It is very good to cover the roots of berry bushes, fruit trees, grapes and strawberries with pine mulch for the winter. Protecting from icy winds and low temperatures, it prevents the roots from suffocating from lack of oxygen. Many other protective structures become winter quarters for rodents. The needles will not allow them to settle in shelters built for grapes and roses.
" Strawberry
Mulching strawberries is an agricultural technique that makes it easier for the gardener to work and prevent crop diseases. A good knowledge of the technology and timing of laying mulch, the characteristics of materials will help solve many problems in caring for plants and increase productivity. In this article we will talk about how to mulch strawberries, what you can sprinkle on the beds and why this is necessary.
Proper development and fruiting of plants is impossible without regular soil formation. The surface layer of soil plays a decisive role in this. It is he who is most exposed to adverse factors. Rain washes away minerals, wind and temperature changes lead to drying out and freezing.
These conditions are unfavorable for the activity of living soil organisms, which are an important link in the formation of humus. They move into deeper layers and the soil loses its fertility.
Mulching is covering the surface of the soil under plants with organic and inorganic materials. This protects it from all unfavorable factors. Increases the reproduction of living organisms, earthworms and beneficial insects, which together with organic acids form a fertile layer.
Mulch does not allow sunlight to pass through, making it difficult for weeds to grow. The denser the material and the higher the layer of mulch, the more effective the protection against weeds. The thermoregulating property of mulch protects plant roots from freezing, overheating and the effects of frost.
A layer of mulch reduces the evaporation of moisture from the soil, which reduces the need for watering. It makes it difficult for viruses and fungal spores to reach strawberry roots, reducing the incidence of root late blight, rhizoctonia, and verticillium. Ripe berries do not come into contact with the soil, and the percentage of rotting is practically eliminated.
During the decomposition process, organic mulch forms all the nutrients necessary for strawberries. They slowly enter the soil throughout the growing season, supporting mineral exchange between the roots and the above-ground part of the strawberry.
Before choosing material for mulch, you need to decide on the purpose of the event. Depending on the material chosen, mulch can be a source of nutrition for strawberries, protection against disease, or simply create a favorable environment in the soil.
Timing for mulching strawberries
The soil under the plants should not be under a high layer of mulch all year round. In spring it needs to warm up. Otherwise, the growing season of the crop will be greatly delayed. Mulch strawberries only after flower ovaries appear.
Mulching can also be done during the summer. Regardless of the period, the soil and plants must be prepared before laying the material:
- loosen the soil;
- remove weeds, diseased leaves, excess tendrils;
- water abundantly;
- apply seasonal fertilizer.
The deadline for pre-winter mulching of strawberries is the end of September, when the plant is preparing for dormancy. During this period, mulch is used as a thermostat. This is protection against severe freezing of the soil in snowless winters and damage to roots during thaws.
Mulch is not enough to lay, in the summer you need to monitor its condition. Organic materials need to be turned up regularly and rotting areas changed. The material should not fit tightly to the stems of the bushes; there must be a gap of 1-2 cm for aeration of the roots.
Selection of materials and mulching rules
This review presents materials that have all the necessary qualities for mulching strawberries. Having assessed their advantages and disadvantages, you can choose the optimal mulch for individual conditions and purposes.
Straw
Straw is the recognized leader of all materials suitable for strawberries. For mulching, use only dry material.
Straw contains difficult-to-decompose fiber, which protects it from rapid rotting. For the same reason, it is a poor source of nutrition; in addition, it draws nitrogen from the soil. To compensate for the loss of the mineral and provide the bushes with nutrition, the straw is combined with compost or rotted manure.
Straw attracts rodents as a shelter and is scattered by the autumn wind. Therefore, during autumn work it is collected and disposed of, and winter mulching is carried out with suitable material.
The optimal layer of straw for loose soils is 15-20 cm. After a few days it will settle to 5-7 cm. On heavy clay soils, cut straw is used, laid in a layer of no more than 3-5 cm, renewing the surface every 15 days.
How to mulch strawberries with pine needles?
The advantage of needles is the high content of phytoncides and bactericidal substances. It is a powerful defense against diseases and pests. Substances contained in coniferous materials improve the taste of strawberries.
The tannins of the needles gradually acidify the soil. Therefore, it is used in slightly acidic soils or slaked lime (50 g/1 m2) is added before laying the mulch.
In regions with hot summers, you should take into account: needles do little to protect the soil from overheating. Needles lie on the ground in a loose layer through which weeds easily germinate. In practice, it has been proven: to protect against weeds, you need to lay a 30 cm layer. This is difficult and impractical.
Weathered and slightly yellowed pine needles are used for mulch. They are laid in a layer of 3-5 cm. In the spring, the old mulch is renewed or embedded in the ground during weeding.
Hay, fresh grass and green manure
Is it possible or not to cover the berries with hay or fresh grass? These plant components contain easily biodegradable fiber and provide strawberries with abundant nutrition. But only for a short time.
Rapid decomposition leads to depletion of the thin layer of mulch and rotting of the lower layers of the high one. When rotting, plant waste becomes the cause of strawberry poisoning by rotting products.
Hay is suitable for temporary. To create a favorable environment in the soil, they will have to be laid out in a layer of 7-10 cm and replaced with fresh mulch every 15 days. This is very labor intensive. Before laying, the mown grass is dried, and plants with abundant ripened seeds are removed. The optimal layer is 3-5 cm.
Tree bark
To mulch strawberries, use pine or larch bark of small or medium fraction. They contain little tannins, so there will be no acidification of the soil. This is the most durable mulch material, suitable for winter mulching. It will last up to 5 years.
The bark protects the soil well from overheating and freezing, gives an aesthetic appearance to the garden bed, but retains moisture relatively poorly. More frequent watering will be required. The required layer of mulch is 5-7 cm.
Mulching with tree bark Sawdust
Sawdust decomposes slowly, so it should not be considered as a food source. For the same reason, sawdust can last up to 3 years. The rough surface of such mulch complicates the movement of slugs and snails, and there are fewer of them.
Sawdust strongly absorbs moisture, until this happens, there will be no flow of water to the roots of the plant. Therefore, the volume of watering should be increased, but this is rarely necessary.
For mulching, overlapping newsprint is spread on the surface of the soil, sawdust is laid out on top with a layer of 5 cm. The sawdust is suitable for use in summer and before winter.
How to use cardboard correctly?
Cardboard can be used to regulate the optimal environment on the soil surface. To do this in the spring, large pieces of cardboard are laid overlapping between the bushes, leaving holes only around the bushes. The edges and joints of the cardboard are secured with heavy objects.
Watering and fertilizing are carried out through the holes. To feed strawberries during the summer, you can spread a 3-5 cm layer of compost under the cardboard.
Spandbond as mulch
This is a geosynthetic material, produced using special technology. It does not allow light to pass through and maintains temperature and moisture in the soil. Spandbond can be used for irrigation and fertilization.
Well-known firms:
- Agrin (Ukraine);
- Agrotex (Russia);
- Lutrasil (Germany);
- Aguile (France);
- Plant-Proteks (Poland).
For mulching strawberries, choose black material with a density of 60 g/m2.
Before planting strawberry seedlings, they spread it on the surface of the bed and make cuts in the places of future holes. The edges of the spandbond are secured with pins or heavy objects. To mulch already planted plants, agrotextiles are spread between the rows, maximally covering the soil surface around the bushes.
Spandbond can be used all year round. It is resistant to putrefactive bacteria, mechanical stress and low temperatures. Service life 3 years.
How to mulch a berry with a film?
To mulch strawberries, use a black film with a thickness of 30 microns. Service life of a film till 3 years. For one season, thinner material can be used. For hot regions, manufacturers offer a film with a white surface and a black backing. It simultaneously reflects the sun's rays and retains moisture.
The technology for laying film mulch is similar to spunbond. Only watering in this case is organized by micro-drip irrigation under the film or watered locally through the holes.
A mixture of different mulch materials can be very beneficial for strawberries. To do this, you can combine dry plant residues, bark and sawdust with green parts of herbs, compost or rotted manure. This mulch simultaneously creates a good environment and nourishes the plants.
Mulching with black film on an industrial scale The benefits and harms of mulching in spring or autumn
Mulching strawberries causes heated debate among gardeners, during which diametrically opposed opinions can be heard. There are claims of unusually high yields after mulching and also of its negative effect on strawberries. Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages will help you better understand mulching.
Advantages
Depending on the material used, mulching can help solve many gardening problems.
This:
- prevention of soil overheating in summer and hypothermia in winter;
- retaining moisture in the soil;
- reducing the number of weeds;
- protection from pathogens entering the soil;
- preventing soil erosion;
- protection against rotting of ripe berries in rainy summers;
- maintaining soil looseness;
- formation of a larger number of adventitious roots;
- reduction
This impressive list includes a large expenditure of labor and money when carried out separately.
Strawberry grown under mulch Flaws
One of the disadvantages of mulching gardeners call the reproduction of slugs and snails.. For them, the moist inner layer of mulch becomes a refuge on dry summer days, and decaying organic matter becomes food. The conditions for pests are truly attractive.
This is not a reason to stop mulching.
In areas with an increased pest population, sawdust or pine needles can be used. To create a natural biocenosis that will restrain the number of mollusks to a harmless threshold.
Another disadvantage of mulch is rotting of the lower layers in rainy summers or when laid on heavy clay soil. This problem can be solved simply. It is necessary to focus on the regional climate, do not lay a high layer on clay soils, and regularly monitor the mulch throughout the season.
Mulching strawberries with long-term materials can play a bad role in case of return frosts. In this case, all the heat will remain in the soil, increasing the negative impact of frost on the above-ground part of the strawberries. Keeping an eye on the weather forecast will help you cover your plants on time.
The downside of mulching is also the attraction of rodents, insects and birds. However, this is difficult to consider as a specific disadvantage. A garden plot with an abundance of vegetable and fruit crops is in itself attractive to potential pests.
Experts are sure that bad experience is caused by poor knowledge of the characteristics of materials, soil on the site and regional climate. It is important to take into account that mulching does not at all exclude other types of strawberry care, so it cannot be treated as a solution to all problems.
Cones are an affordable and effective material with which you can make the site blooming, beautiful and fruitful.
This article talks about when cone mulch is used, highlights its features, benefits and specifics of application.
Pine cone mulch is highly acidic and therefore not suitable for all types of plantings. But there are a number of plants that will grow well in such soil:
- Coniferous: cedar, spruce, pine, larch, sequoia, yew.
- All hydrangeas.
- Heather (rhododendrons, erica). Their root system is in symbiosis with mycorrhiza (mushroom threads) and through it receives substances from humus. Mushrooms, on the other hand, feed on the secretions of the roots of the plant and love acidic soil.
- Berries of northern latitudes: cranberries, drupes, lingonberries, bearberries, blueberries, blueberries, cloudberries.
- Fruit: remontant strawberries and wild strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, onions, garlic. For these plants, the cones serve as protection against slugs and snails. It is better to use covering material in the composition with organic matter (foliage, straw).
- Roses. This combination is practical and original. But in this case, ash must be poured under the mulch layer to neutralize the acidity.
How to mulch with pine cones?
The procedure begins after winter on completely dry and sun-warmed soil, when the garden plants have already grown a little.
Under trees and bushes, it is optimal to lay a layer of 10-15 cm; on beds, 5-7 cm is enough.
Because useful micro- and macroelements are released from the cones slowly; when watering, it is recommended to add liquid fertilizers suitable for the specific crop to the water.
Under perennial plants, the cones can be left for the winter, and in the summer they can be dug up with green manure, compost or any other soft organic matter.
In the case of annual crops, the mulch is removed from the beds after harvest. Can be left under strawberries and wild strawberries to protect the soil and roots from freezing.
With regular use of coniferous litter, the soil is strongly acidified. In this case, the additional use of green manure, manure, and fallen leaves is strongly recommended. To stabilize the soil after harvesting, dolomite flour is added to it, and ash is added every 2 years.
Features and benefits of pine cone mulch
The cones have a woody structure. This distinguishes them from other types of coating and adds a number of features:
- the soil remains as loose as after cultivation, which contributes to better air exchange in it;
- during rain, cones work on the principle of dispersion, breaking drops into smaller particles and softening impacts;
- in windy weather they protect the soil from crumbling;
- prevent weeds from germinating, especially in combination with additional covering material;
- due to the porous structure, air freely penetrates through them to the soil;
- have thermal insulation properties: in winter the roots under them are warm, and in summer they are cool;
- protect plants and root surfaces from attacks by insects and rodents;
- the woody structure decomposes more slowly, which provides the soil with useful substances for several months;
- reduces the number of waterings, because moisture stays in the ground for a long time. This is convenient if it is not possible to water the area regularly;
- closing the soil from rain and sun, they retain a little amount of nutrients for a longer period;
- the harvest remains clean: the coniferous coating protects it from dirty splashes during rain.
Pine cones are considered the strongest type of mulch.
The use of spruce and pine cones as mulch is dangerous near buildings, because the material is rich in resin, which is easily flammable. Therefore, they cannot be placed near houses, bathhouses, or outbuildings.
It is forbidden to spread such a coating under barbecues, barbecues and cauldrons: an accidentally falling spark can quickly lead to a fire.
When choosing cones, you need to pay attention to their appearance. The presence of dark spots can be the cause of the disease. If you mulch the soil with such material, diseases can be transmitted to garden crops.
Beautiful and even cones give the garden bed or flower bed a neat and attractive appearance.
Mistakes gardeners make when mulching soil with cones
Often gardeners spread pine mulch under any crops located on the site. But due to the property of conifers to acidify the soil, they are not suitable for all plants. It is especially not recommended to place cones under plantings that prefer an alkaline environment.
Another mistake is to leave pine cones in the beds over the winter: over the winter they will acidify the soil even more. If the cones have not lost their appearance, they must be collected, washed, dried and stored in a dry place until spring. So they will retain their properties and decorative function.
Do not spread pine mulch without pre-treatment.
To prevent infection of cultivated plants, be sure to water the pine cones with any disinfectant solution before using them. You can find one in a specialized store.
Under no circumstances should cones be added to compost: they take a long time to break down, and the resin kills beneficial microorganisms in the humus.
Disadvantages of Pine Cone Mulch
Despite the obvious advantages, the mulching material in question has its disadvantages:
- If the soil needs additional replenishment with useful substances, then it is not advisable to use coniferous mulch: the cones take a long time to decompose, releasing a small amount of micro- and macroelements into the soil. Therefore, annual crops and plants with underdeveloped root systems require additional fertilizer.
- In places where there are no pine and spruce forests, collecting suitable material is difficult. The solution is to buy it in a store.
- Cones are not suitable for uneven surfaces: they will roll down, be washed away by rain, and be blown across the area by gusts of wind.
Making your own pine cone mulch
Collection of material should begin in May - June. If collected earlier, they contain seeds that can germinate on the site.
To avoid oxidation of the soil, it is recommended to lay a covering material under the layer of cones: it will delay the entry of excess resin into the soil and protect the laying area from the germination of weeds. The special fabric does not deteriorate and allows moisture and air to pass through well. A layer of cones with a thickness of 7 to 15 cm is laid on top.
To deepen the mulch, before laying down the fabric, it is recommended to make a recess along the area of the intended coverage.
Another way to reduce acidity in the soil is to add wood chips, tree bark, moss or peat to the cones. You can use chopped branches or nut shells.
To improve the fertile properties of the soil in the summer, mulch is dug up with compost or humus. In the fall, you can add manure or the ground up top part of green manure.
The larger the plant that is supposed to be embedded in the soil, the larger the pieces of cones in the mulch should be.
There are many types of fertilizers designed to saturate the soil with minerals. Mulching with pine cones is an easy way to combine the benefits of the material for plants and its decorative properties.
Spruce and pine needles are widely used in summer cottages. This is not only an excellent mulch and natural covering material for the winter, but also an excellent fertilizer, as well as a remedy for pests and garden diseases.
Coniferous mulch
For mulching, it is preferable to use pine rather than spruce needles. It perfectly retains moisture in the soil, prevents the germination of weeds, and protects crops from fungal diseases and pests.
This covering material is best suited for garden strawberries. The berries will not touch the ground, which means that crop losses from rotting will be minimized. In addition, the needles will not allow slugs to fatten on the berries.
The needles are also suitable for mulching the tree trunks of berry bushes and fruit trees.
Be sure to keep in mind that pine needles acidify the surrounding soil. For this reason, it is not used for mulching many flowers. The only exceptions are heather, hydrangea and rhododendrons.
You need to use pine litter or rotted collected pine needles as mulch. Fresh needles will not work!
Spruce branches as a covering material
Many gardeners use spruce branches as a covering material. The structure of the material allows you to effectively retain snow cover. In addition, the prickly needles reliably protect wintering plants from rodents.
An important advantage of spruce branches compared to many artificial covering materials is its breathability. That is, your wards will not face any damping-off during the winter thaw.
This mulch is suitable for covering strawberries, various perennials, and tree trunks of garden shrubs and trees.
Fertilizer
Like other organic matter, pine needles are perfect for adding to compost heaps. After overheating, it will turn out to be an extremely useful natural fertilizer, which not only effectively feeds the plant, but also improves the structure of the soil.
For indoor plants, you can make a nutritious infusion based on spruce or pine needles, which has not only nutritional, but also pronounced bactericidal properties.
To prepare it, fill a three-liter can one third full with pine sawdust (small twigs are acceptable) and pour boiling water on top until it is full. Infuse the mixture for 3-4 days, then strain through cheesecloth. Before use, dilute it with clean water in a ratio of 1 to 2. This fertilizer will be useful not only for home plants, but also for garden plants.
Spruce mulch is very good for growing onions. From 1 kg of sets you can get a harvest of up to 40 kg, and in any summer!
Pest Control
Needles have long been used to protect potato crops from wireworms and mole crickets. Place 1 handful of it in each planting hole, adding half a glass of wood ash on top. This composition will protect the tubers from scab.
It was already mentioned above that pine needle mulch will keep slugs and snails away from strawberries. Feel free to use it to protect against these pests and other garden plants that grow well in acidic soils.
To combat weevils on raspberries, codling moths, moths on gooseberries and currants, use pine infusion. For 10 liters of boiling water take 1.5 kg of pine needles. The composition must infuse properly, after which it must be filtered through cheesecloth. Pour the prepared mixture into a spray bottle and spray.
The optimal time for the first treatment is the flowering period. Perform the next two sprays at intervals of a week.
A more concentrated pine infusion (2 kg of pine needles per 10 liters of water) will help cope with aphids, copperheads, Colorado potato beetles and cruciferous flea beetles. You need to insist in a dark place for a week, stirring the composition daily. In some cases, reduced concentrations of the solution also help (the infusion is diluted with water 1 to 3).
For better adhesion, a small amount of grated laundry or liquid soap can be added to these compositions immediately before use.
For followers of organic farming, pine needles can be an excellent helper. To use it, you do not need to cut down trees or tear off their branches (except for the case of collecting spruce branches); it is enough to collect spruce or pine litter from time to time.
STRAWBERRY LOVES CONINES. With the onset of spring, when the return of cold weather has passed, remove the old leaf from the garden bed, loosen the soil with fertilizers and, after new leaves begin to “sprout”, cover the entire bed with pine needles (dry fallen needles) with a layer of 5 cm. Grass will not grow through the needles, When watering from a watering can through pine needles, the soil will not become compacted, and there will be no need for frequent watering and loosening the soil during the summer. In any rainy weather, the berries lying on the pine needles are always clean. Until the end of the harvest, all worries will be reduced to watering (sometimes with fertilizer) and rationing of the remaining bushes. Leave 1 - 2 early tendrils on the bush with the first rosette. Root, spreading the needles for subsequent planting in the “school”. After harvesting, remove the pine needles from the garden bed (there is no need to bury them - the soil will turn sour), pour it with a solution of potassium permanganate, dry it and store it in paper bags until next spring. The needles will last 3-4 years without adding fresh ones. There is no need to be afraid of the acidifying effect. Strawberries tolerate slightly acidic soils well and even produce higher yields. As for protection against slugs, spruce needles are better suited for this - they are shorter and prickly than pine needles. But strawberries are often mulched with pine needles. This is due to the fact that we simply have more pine forests. Over time, the needles overheat and become softer. Therefore, it is updated periodically. It is better to do this before the berries ripen, when under their weight they fall to the ground. In the forest, pine needles are collected in dry weather or dried in bags. Slugs do not like dry, prickly needles.
If pine or spruce trees grow near your site, you can use pine needles for mulching. It is believed that, just like sawdust, it acidifies the soil. However, some summer residents, having experimented with such mulch on their site, became convinced that this was not the case. But in order to be on the safe side, you should sprinkle a layer of rotted leaves or humus under the needles in the fall.
Mulching strawberry needles is not a complicated procedure at all. The source material collected in the nearest fishing line can be placed between the plants either in its pure form or after mixing it with other plant residues.
Old, fallen pine needles are very suitable as insulation for strawberries. Needle consumption is approximately 1 bag for my standard bed of 22-24 strawberry bushes. A little less pine needles are spent on young strawberries, and a little more on an adult two or three year old one.
Pine and spruce needles are known to most readers mainly for their medicinal properties, which are well studied and widely used in medical practice. According to well-known herbalists in the country, up to 2/3 of all diseases, including cancer, can be cured with the help of pine needles. However, needles, as experience shows, are capable of more, including serving a person in his fight against pests and diseases, in increasing soil fertility and plant nutrition to enhance their growth and development.
The most effective results of the use of pine and spruce needles are known in the fight against pests and diseases of fruit and berry crops: apple codling moth, moth on currants and gooseberries, weevil on raspberries, etc. In all these cases, it is enough to take 1-1.5 kg of needles, insist it in 10 liters of hot water, cool, strain and use a sprayer to process trees and bushes, and it is best to first trunks, then branches and then a green crown. Such treatment of trees and shrubs is advisable at the beginning of their flowering and 2-3 more times with breaks for a week.
The experience of using needles against aphids and suckers is also very effective, and they take 2 kg of needles per 10 liters of water and insist for a week, keeping the infusion for about 7 days in a dark place and stirring daily. Before use, the infusion is diluted to a ratio of 1:3 or 1:5 in water. Both pine and spruce needles give good results in the fight against cruciferous flea on salads, cauliflower and a number of root crops (radish, turnip, radish, rutabaga, etc.). Moreover, the plants are either sprayed with a solution of infusion in water at a ratio of 1:5, or a mixture of needles and water at a ratio of 1:1 is introduced into the aisles of plants. There was also a positive experience with the use of needles in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes.
It should be noted that spraying with a solution of needles of fruit and berry and vegetable crops can be carried out both in the morning and in the evening, avoiding only periods of dew and rain. In order for the solution not to be lost, you can add 30 g of laundry soap to it. According to my observations, some gardeners add an ash extract to the solution of needles, which, in combination with soap, eliminates the likelihood of soil acidification that occurs when using needles. The addition of chopped coniferous branches and cones to the infused mixture of needles and water by individual gardeners, according to available information, only weakens the insecticidal properties of the solutions.
In recent years, I have also gained some experience in the use of pine and spruce needles when growing tomatoes, strawberries and potatoes. In the first case, we added ash to a mixture of pine and spruce needles, boiled the mixture in water, filtered, and then treated 10 tomato bushes twice with a solution having a ratio of 1:5. By this we managed to induce them to more intensive growth and eliminate the backlog in development. What is important, the treated bushes bloomed earlier and more amicably than all the others and did not hurt anything, and the harvest on them was greater than on the untreated bushes.
But, perhaps, strawberries and potatoes were the most pleasing, when planting which, in the first case, a mixture of needles with sand, ash and compost was used in equal proportions, and in the second - a mixture of needles, bark, ash and compost in the same ratio, and on In a strawberry bed, the mixture was embedded in the soil of the upper layer, and when planting potatoes, it was applied under the tubers and on them in a volume of about 1 liter per bush. As it turned out, strawberry bushes, being in such soil and having enough nutrition and moisture, did not have pests and diseases, bloomed faster than others and yielded a crop of almost 1.5 times more than before. At the same time, the berries differed not only in their large size, but also had some particularly pleasant taste.
However, the potato was the most surprising, the planting tubers of which were affected by scab. When digging up its first bushes, we were surprised to note that none of the tubers had not only scab, but even any of its very tenacious sclerotia. The harvest of grown tubers turned out to be quite good, although the weather that year was not very pleasing.
Excellent results when using needles are obtained by the famous experienced gardener L. Rendyakov. In his practice, he covers the onion plantings with coniferous spruce branches, and after removing the spruce branches after 2-3 weeks, the topsoil is well mulched with needles, due to which the soil retains friability, nutritional value and moisture for the entire period of onion cultivation, does not have weeds and protects plantings from diseases and pests . As a result of all this, from 1 kg of sevka, the harvest of a full-fledged onion is up to 40 kg, and for about 4 years and regardless of the weather.
Known from the press is the experience of the craftsman gardener V. Shchelkov, who uses needles mixed with sawdust to fumigate potatoes stored in the cellar with smoke. Such processing of the cellar is carried out for about 0.5 hours, and monthly, until the end of the storage period. At the same time, potatoes not only do not rot, but also retain their properties well.
From all of the above, it is clear that pine needles effectively serve not only as a garden healer, but also as a fertilizer for soil and plants. This is explained by the fact that the needles contain, first of all, a very rich complex of physiologically active substances; it also contains many chemical elements: calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, cobalt, zinc, etc.
Of course, there are also obvious opponents of the use of pine needles on plots, pointing out the harmfulness of removing green pine needles from trees and the possibility of terpenes, esters, etc. getting into the water and soil. Practice does not confirm this, since the doses of removing pine needles from the forest and introducing them into garden and vegetable garden are very small, and scientists have not found any noticeable difference between the properties of green and fallen needles. This means that it is quite possible to make do with fallen pine needles.
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