Green fertilizer and grass mulch

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Green fertilizer and grass mulchIn essence, here we will continue talking about the implementation of reserves hidden in plant residues. Indeed, the tops, grass cuttings, weeds weeded out contain a large amount of nutrients. If you find a method for their extraction (extraction), then for feeding horticultural crops it is not necessary to wait for the green waste to settle in the compost heap and turn into humus.

One gardener correctly reasoned that since alkali softens the fiber, then using it, it will be easier to extract nutrients from the plant mass. It turns out something like a "chemical brew". Indeed, brewing tea, we thereby achieve softening of each tea leaf and the extraction of aromatic, tannin, and sugary substances from it, which actually make up a unique bouquet of infusion. But what is easy to do in a teapot is hardly applicable in our case. Pouring boiling water into a barrel is much more difficult. In addition, boiling water partially destroys natural substances, reduces their beneficial effect.

Alkali helps to work with cold water and at the same time, entering into exchange reactions, forms water-soluble salts with compounds that are insoluble in ordinary water. For example, biologists to study chlorophyll - a mixture of natural high-molecular compounds, with the help of which the absorbed light energy is converted into chemical energy of redox reactions that set in motion a unique mechanism of photosynthesis, use an extract isolated from an alcoholic extract of greens. But alcohol, for obvious reasons, is again not suitable for our tasks.

A similar chlorophyll extract is isolated using a weak alkali solution. It dissolves 150 g of caustic soda in a 200-liter barrel, places the cut grass and other plant residues there, mixes thoroughly and maintains the mass

3-4 days. During this time, mineral salts, hydrolysis products of cell sap and chlorophyll pass into a solution, diluting it 10 times, the author of the proposal feeds flowers every decade from spring until the beginning of flowering.

And what? Dahlias who received "green manure", the number of inflorescences increased significantly, their diameter was one and a half, and the dug tubers were almost 2 times larger than in the control specimens. A similar effect is observed on gladioli. Peduncles become more powerful, and axillary ones are also formed, which have to be removed. The baby, planted in spring, as a result of watering with "grassy water" turned into well-developed corms. After similar feeding, asters reached 55-60 centimeters in height and increased the number and diameter of their inflorescences. However, not all plants respond positively to this kind of fertilization. Therefore, you should use the tool in question carefully, carefully noting which plants benefit from it and which ones harm. And it is not suitable for all soil.

Green fertilizer and grass mulchThe pomace of the plant mass remaining after the preparation of the "green fertilizer" can be sent to the compost heap or ...

... Or use for mulching tree trunks. The method we are talking about is very versatile. Herbal mulch, made from cochineine, tops and weeding waste, protects the soil from overgrowing with weeds, keeps it loose and moist. To prevent the base of the trunk from warming, the green mass should not be laid close to the tree. Overripe grass serves as an additional source of nutrition. A good fertile layer is formed over several years.

Since the seasonal digging of the near-stem circles of fruit crops has always been considered mandatory, along with the harvesting and burning of fallen leaves, it makes sense to explain the essence of the proposed method in somewhat more detail.

One of the goals of seasonal digging is to control garden pests. It would seem that the abandonment of the established practice could cause a sharp increase in their number. However, one should not forget that any event in the garden is held in conjunction with others. And if during the season you conducted a systematic pest control, then, naturally, the possibility of their wintering is sharply reduced.

At the same time, the abundance of dry grass can attract mouse-like rodents, which arrange nests under the trees, break through countless passages, gnaw at the roots and trunk. It is not difficult to discourage them from hibernation in the garden: it is enough to spray the entire space of the trunk circle at the end of the leaf fall with a 10% creolin emulsion. In this case, the mass under the tree should be turned over several times so that the solution penetrates through the entire volume of the litter.

Creolin itself - a product of thermal processing of coal, wood, peat and shale - belongs to a wide range of insecticides, but these properties are not of interest to us in this case. Practically insoluble in water, when mixed with water, it forms a very stable emulsion, the droplets of which envelop the surface of grass, leaves, soil particles and create a strong film that repels rodents with its smell.

In passing, we note that plant residues are by no means the only mulching agent. Small waste wood is also quite suitable. It is not so easy for weeds to break through a layer of bulk wood, and their seeds will germinate and take root. By the way, horticultural practice recommends sawdust and shavings, for example, in the fight against such common strawberry diseases as gray and black rot. The high moisture content of sawdust protects the berries from waterlogging, and, consequently, from the encroachments of pathogens of many diseases. As a thermal insulating material, sawdust protects the soil from drying out, which is especially important in areas with a dry, hot climate. Such a “blanket” stabilizes the water and temperature regime of the soil, and at the end of the season it turns into a natural fertilizer.

Green fertilizer and grass mulchIt would seem much better. In addition, having served on the surface, sawdust, when digging, structure the soil and enrich it with products of biochemical decomposition. But in parallel, in the fertile layer, there is a process of accumulation of organic (so-called humic) acids formed during the decay of wood. These compounds acidify the soil, which at higher concentrations results in a decrease in yield. Therefore, one should clearly understand the mechanism of the processes occurring in the ground with the regular use of sawdust, and in a number of cases, take timely measures to neutralize the soil.

Regardless of which mulching agent a gardener uses, he should not lose sight of the influence of mulch on the formation of the root system of a tree. The presence of a loose fertile layer does not at all contribute to the development of the skeletal part of the root system, which goes deep into the ground. Roots located close to the surface freeze in severe winters.

To prevent this from happening, you need to organize a clear system of care for the seedlings from the very first days of laying the garden. There is a method of feeding and watering trees through special pits pierced along the entire perimeter of the trunk circle to a depth of 70–90 cm (10–15 pieces). Pits are made by hammering in an ordinary wooden stake, or drilled with a drill, which fishermen use for ice fishing. Pits are laid with a slight slope towards the center of the circle. Preventing earth from getting into them, the wells are plugged with a dry grass swab after each watering and feeding. And yet, the canals are gradually floating, so they are restored every year. Deep watering and the introduction of fertilizers through the pits promote the development of skeletal roots, increase the vitality of plants.

Nikulin F.E.- Big worries of a small farm


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