A rich harvest without frequent watering and weeds: quick and easy technique

Maintaining the required level of soil moisture is perhaps one of the important tasks for the gardener when growing many crops. This is especially important in spring, when plants are just beginning to develop and are in dire need of water, in addition, the dry crust in the beds may simply not allow young plants to break through to light. The issue of moisture is especially acute in relation to soils prone to erosion, or in regions with an arid climate. An excellent solution to the problem would be to use mulch in the beds. Let's talk about the advantages of the procedure and the features of using various materials for mulching.

Mulch. Illustration for this article is used under a standard license © ofazende.com

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We keep moisture and more

In addition to the fact that mulch prevents moisture evaporation from the surface of the beds, it has other equally valuable properties:

• prevents the formation of a hard crust on the surface of the beds, the earth remains loose and soft;
• protects the root system from hypothermia or overheating;
• slows down the growth of weeds;
• some species, rotting, enrich the soil with nutrients;
• prevents the washing out and weathering of nutrients from the soil;
• promotes the reproduction of beneficial microorganisms in the soil;
• prevents fruit rotting due to lack of contact with the ground;
• keeps berries and vegetables from contamination by soil and splashes from water;
• gives an aesthetic appearance to the site.

For mulching, you can use various materials - from straw to agrofibre, we will tell you in more detail about the most popular options.

Sawdust

Wood waste is widely used as mulch. Bark, shavings, and chips are also used, but sawdust is more often used. Sawdust from fruit trees is best suited, but conifers and walnuts are used with caution due to the high content of resins.

Sawdust comes in different sizes:

• small cover the sowing of seeds with a thin layer;
• large ones can be put in a layer up to 7 cm under the seedlings.

Straw or dry grass

This option is used both for the garden and for the vegetable garden.

Mown grass is one of the most affordable options; for mulching, they take any grass without seeds, which is pre-dried and laid out on the beds under the plants that have already gained strength. Since the grass quickly decays, you can lay it in a thicker layer and periodically renew the covering.

Straw is the most popular type of mulch, great for pumpkins, squash, and garden strawberries. The cover is more durable than grass, as it rots more slowly and does not require frequent renewal.

Humus and manure

A double-acting variant, which, in addition to a protective shelter, provides additional nutrition for the plants. But to use this type of mulch, you need to consider the following points:

• manure must be pre-grilled so as not to harm the plants;
• use a mixture of straw and manure;
• there should be no grass with seeds in the compost, otherwise weeds will quickly germinate and hinder the development of crops.

Black film or agrofiber

Unlike organic mulching methods, inorganic varieties are most effective in helping to control weeds. The most popular are black film and special agrofibre. The latter, in contrast to the film, conducts air better and thus does not cause overheating of the roots.

There are two ways to lay the covering material:

• The rows between seedling plantings are covered with a film - a simple option, but not so effective due to the fact that part of the soil remains uncoated.
• First, the material is laid out on the beds, after which the markings are made into rows, the places for the holes are determined, and the places for planting are cut crosswise on the film. Thus, the material completely covers the entire surface of the beds, preventing any weeds from germinating. Of course, watering such beds in the usual way is not very productive, therefore it is better to carry out a drip irrigation system under the material in advance.

Each of the mulching options is good in its own way, if applied correctly. For fresh crops, humus and sawdust are suitable, for seedlings, straw or rotten manure, and for flower beds or cucumbers and tomatoes in greenhouses, a black film or covering material will be the best choice. Try different methods on your site and you will definitely get great results.

Do you know how to achieve a harvest without frequent watering and weeds?

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