Good afternoon, my reader. Various materials can be used to create mulch, each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. Knowing how to use any of the shelters, you can decide on the choice of material for mulching strawberries.
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Popular materials for creating mulch
Experienced gardeners advise to carry out the process of mulching strawberries in the amount of 2 times a year. The first one - during the period of ovary appearance, and the second - in the last days of October. In both cases, the soil and bushes need to be well prepared: remove dried foliage and mustache, remove weeds, dig up the earth and water it, then be sure to apply fertilizer.
Choose a shelter based on your strawberry area, soil type, and plant variety. Organic fertilizers supply the soil with useful microelements and stimulate its fertility. However, such mulch needs to be updated frequently. Artificial material will last much longer, but it is able to overheat the soil and cannot supply it with useful elements.
Straw
Dried spikelets as mulch are in a leading position in comparison with other organic materials. Straw is able to pass moisture and protect the root system from exposure to sunlight, protects berries and foliage from contact with the ground.
Use dry straw for mulching. It is placed around the strawberry bushes in such a way that the cover layer is at least 15 cm thick. Raw materials acidify the soil and draw out nitrogen, this should not be forgotten.
In addition to all this, you cannot leave such mulch for the winter, since various rodents will settle in the straw.
Straw can be replaced with hay, dried grass, or weeds.
Black plastic wrap
Most often, gardeners use black film as a shelter. It should be at least 30 microns thick. This material delays the emergence of weeds and helps to retain moisture in the soil. In addition, the mustache cannot take root, the soil warms up, and therefore the berries ripen faster.
Polyethylene is best used only in springtime, as it is unlikely to protect crops from frost. And the roots can rot, and the plantings will be damaged due to the accumulation of condensate.
It must be remembered that atmospheric moisture will not be able to penetrate through the film to the roots of plants, which means that it is necessary to use a drip irrigation system.
Using Spunbond
Although spunbond is more expensive than polyethylene, many summer residents use only it for mulching strawberry bushes. It's just that through this material you can freely water and apply fertilizing, with the help of it the required temperature and moisture is maintained. And sunlight will not be able to penetrate to the roots.
There are some disadvantages when using spunbond:
- overheating of the earth occurs;
- the bushes are affected by fungi due to the accumulated moisture under the shelter.
To prevent these problems, you should regularly ventilate the area by lifting the edges of the spunbond.
Wood shavings and sawdust
Mulch made from shavings and sawdust looks impressive. Such a shelter retains moisture in the soil and does not allow light to penetrate to the roots, interferes with the movement of slugs and snails. Prevents weeds from growing.
However, such mulch will not be able to protect from pests, because many insects live in sawdust. And also during decomposition, the raw material draws nitrogen out of the soil. So before using wood waste as mulch, add this element to the soil or immediately apply rotted sawdust.
And also keep in mind that the waste obtained from the processing of conifers acidifies the soil. To avoid upsetting the acid balance, sprinkle the strawberry area with dolomite flour or ash powder before using such sawdust.
Do you know what materials are best for mulching strawberries?
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What to plant after strawberries, read the following article: What plants are better to plant after strawberries