2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Mulching is a great way to provide the most favorable conditions for growing crops. And with its help, you can make the site much more attractive. This technique is actively used by many gardeners and gardeners, and what they do not mulch their plots! You should not ignore the bark mulch, because such material has many advantages
What is mulching?
Mulching is a widespread agricultural technique, the essence of which is to cover the soil with a layer of inorganic or organic material. And it is carried out both outdoors and in greenhouses. With the help of mulching, you can solve a huge number of important tasks: protect the fertile soil layer from possible erosion, save moisture in the soil, prevent the active growth of weeds and hypothermia of vegetation, prevent the leaching of various nutrients from the soil, protect the vulnerable root system from overheating, and even decorate the site.
A great variety of a wide variety of materials, both artificial and natural, can act as mulch. Bark is considered one of the most interesting and effective materials. Only it is necessary to use it mainly for perennial crops - it will not work for annuals.
Benefits of bark as mulch
Bark when used as mulch:
1. Boasts the ability to perfectly filter water and prevent the penetration of various harmful compounds to the root system.
2. Increases soil fertility in the process of decomposition, and also actively saturates it with various nutrient components.
3. Prevents extremely undesirable hardening of the outer soil layer and eliminates the need to weed the beds too often. Bark mulch is especially good when growing crops with a superficial root system, because it is very easy to damage it during loosening.
4. Provides a slightly acidic soil level, making it suitable for growing cranberries, blueberries, blueberries, as well as conifers, rhododendrons, heathers, etc.
5. It contains various phytoncidal elements that help prevent such ailments as root rot, fungal infections and gray rot.
6. Reliably protects the soil from possible infestation by pests.
7. Contributes to the creation of a favorable microclimate for luring earthworms to the site, helping to improve the structure of the soil, as well as to increase its fertility and air permeability.
8. Due to its nematicidal properties, it helps to prevent attacks of soil nematodes.
How to prepare mulch yourself?
For mulching, you can use the bark of almost any tree. Larch or pine bark is especially well suited for this purpose, while pine bark can last three times longer in the beds. But oak bark, rich in tannins, is recommended only for growing unpretentious crops. If you want to give the site a special decorative effect, you should pay attention to the birch bark.
In no case should you remove the bark from living trees - their death in this case will be inevitable. Destroyed or old trees will not be the best option either - the bark of such trees does not represent absolutely any nutritional value, since it does not contain the substances necessary for soil and plants. In addition, old trees often infect fungal diseases and attack pests. Therefore, the use of such bark is fraught with infection and plants cultivated on the site.
The bark for the subsequent preparation of mulch should easily lag behind the trunks and not disintegrate into small pieces. It is best to take it from trees that were cut down no more than six months ago.
The prepared bark is finely chopped - any tools are suitable for this, but it is best to arm yourself with scissors, pruning shears or a garden shredder. First, the dry bark is simply cut into small pieces (their size should be in the range of one to five centimeters). Then the prepared material is sterilized to eliminate the risk of subsequent infection of plants with pests or diseases. To do this, the bark is placed in a container filled with water, after which it is boiled for ten minutes. However, you can use another method - warm up the bark in the oven at a temperature of about seventy degrees for fifteen to twenty minutes. In this case, it is especially important to monitor the temperature - at a temperature of more than seventy degrees, pieces of bark can ignite. Some summer residents often resort to steaming, but this method is definitely not suitable for the bark - the structure of the wood under the influence of steam quickly collapses. Only after the bark has been sterilized can it be finally crushed. The mulching material is ready!
Recommended:
Plum Pests. Bark Beetles
Bark beetles occupy a special niche on the drain. Their narrow profile - eating up the dense tree shell that carries vital nutrients to the plant - makes them the most dangerous. Hidden under the upper layers, they easily endure the harsh winter conditions. What species can be found on the plum?
Bark Beetle: Benefit Or Harm?
In any garden or vegetable garden, a wide variety of insects are constantly scurrying - both useful and harmful. Summer cottages and bark beetles do not bypass their attention. And, unfortunately, these seemingly harmless creatures refer specifically to pests - if you do not start a timely fight with them, they can cause quite serious damage! What should be done in order to get rid of these uninvited guests?
We Are Treated With The Bark Of A Tree
It has been proven that the bark is the most healing part of the tree, since a lot of useful substances are concentrated in it. It is used in medicine and helps fight various problems. We offer information on the bark of oak, aspen, lilac, blackthorn and recipes for use
Variegated Bark Beetle
The variegated ash bark beetle lives almost everywhere. This nondescript pest damages not only ash - often lilacs with unpretentious hazels, as well as maple and beech, mighty oaks and walnuts, suffer from its invasions. Apple trees with pears do not go unnoticed either. In order to protect valuable trees and field-protective plantations from serious damage, you need to fight to death with ash bark beetles. Only in this case can you achieve the desired results
Brutal Western Unpaired Bark Beetle
Western unpaired bark beetle is very harmful to stone fruit and pome crops, damaging absolutely healthy trees. However, he often attacks some forest species. Young and middle-aged trees mainly suffer from the invasions of this pest - this feature distinguishes it from other varieties of bark beetles. The trees damaged by cruel parasites quickly weaken, and numerous tinder fungi begin to appear on them
