Sawdust is perhaps the cheapest material today. Often, at sawmills, where they simply do not know where to dispose of waste from wood processing, sawdust is simply given away - of course, subject to self-pickup. But not everyone knows about the value of sawdust, and many are afraid to use them on their site. Let's dispel all shadows of doubt and talk about sawdust and their value.
To begin with, a few words about the effect of sawdust on the soil. The soil enriched with sawdust has air and water permeability, no crust forms on its surface, therefore, it is possible to water and loosen the soil twice less often. However, it is permissible to mix with the soil at least half-rotted sawdust, which have already become dark brown, because they are decomposed by cellulolytic bacteria that consume nitrogen and deplete plants. The process of overheating sawdust cannot be called fast, but it can be put on stream. To create something like a compost heap only from sawdust, next year to make another such heap side by side, and so on for 7-8 years on a heap. After this period of time in the first heap the sawdust will be suitable for making, you will need to remove them from the heap and use it, and fill it again with "young" sawdust.
The process can be accelerated by mixing sawdust with compost or fresh manure, then there will be no need to wait 7-8 years, the sawdust will "reach the condition" in a year. In addition, there are many microbiological preparations that accelerate composting (Vostok-EM1, Baikal, Vozrozhdenie, etc.). With their help, mature compost from sawdust can be obtained in 1-2 seasons.
If you decide to mix sawdust with bird droppings or manure, then 80-90 kg of manure or 7-10 kg of bird droppings are needed per cubic meter of sawdust. Mixed sawdust and manure should lie for a year before use. During this period of time, during the warm periods of the season, it is necessary to periodically moisten the mixture and cover it with slate or other material so that the rains do not wash out the beneficial substances. In addition to manure and sawdust, you can add any cut grass to the mixture, including weeds, if they do not have seeds, dry hay, leaf litter, waste from the kitchen.
In the event that you do not have manure at your disposal, then ammonium nitrate can be added to the sawdust - only 300 g of ammonium nitrate are needed for five buckets of sawdust. Mullein can be used instead of ammonium nitrate. It is useful to add to the mixture and wet soil.
Do not forget to soak them well with water or slurry before placing sawdust.
When introducing ready-made sawdust under plants, do not forget that they slightly acidify the soil, therefore, it is undesirable to use them on acidic soils at all, and on neutral soils, simultaneously add 100-150 g of dolomite flour per square meter.
Sawdust as mulch
Sawdust mulch (and even fresh can be used) is a great way to forget about weeding. This mulch is most often used in plantings of shrubs - raspberries, currants, gooseberries, honeysuckle, and so on. Sawdust is best placed on moist soil, loose and immediately after weeding. A layer of 4-5 cm is enough. After laying, the sawdust needs to be leveled and slightly pressed to the ground and that's it, for the season you can forget about weeding. Only rare weeds can break through the sawdust and can be removed manually. Plants are watered directly over the sawdust, preferably by sprinkling, the water is absorbed very well.
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Sawdust and strawberries
In strawberry beds, sawdust is also appropriate. They inhibit the growth of weeds, prevent the roots from overheating, retain moisture and protect the berries from rotting. It is necessary to make sawdust on strawberry beds during the flowering of strawberries. Ideally, it is better to use fresh sawdust, but well moistened, with the addition of urea (a teaspoon in a bucket of sawdust). The best option is coniferous sawdust; with their aroma, they also scare away many pests, including strawberry weevil.It is better not to use oak sawdust, they contain a lot of tannins and inhibit plant growth.
High ridges with sawdust
You can also build a high bed on a layer of organic matter for vegetable and flower plants using sawdust. First you need to remove the top layer of soil and set it aside in an area acceptable to your site. Next, the empty space should be filled with a layer of organic matter, say, a layer of grass, hay or straw, then lay a layer of sawdust moistened with water, with the addition of urea (a teaspoon per bucket) 3-4 cm thick, on top of a layer of any organic matter, say - again a leaf mass , and cover all this with a layer of soil that you have left after digging a hole. If the bed is high and the soil is crumbling at the edges, then you can fence the sides with old boards or lay pieces of sod, turning the grass down. The film can significantly save irrigation water if the sidewalls of the beds are sealed with it.
Sawdust and potatoes
Well, a few words must certainly be said about how sawdust can contribute to an earlier harvest of potatoes.
Of course, you first need to acquire early potato varieties and germinate its tubers. After that, about 9-12 days before planting the tubers, take standard wooden boxes and fill them with moist, semi-rotten sawdust to a height of 9-11 cm.Place the tubers on the sawdust so that their sprouts look up and sprinkle with a layer of the same sawdust, thick about 4 cm.
It is important that the sawdust does not dry out, but it is not necessary to overmoisten them too much. The boxes should be placed in a room with a temperature of about + 19 ... + 21 ° C and wait until the height of the sprouts is 7-9 cm.After that, the sawdust can be poured with a solution of any growth stimulator - Epin, Heteroauxin, etc., or with a solution of nitroammofoska (a tablespoon for a bucket of water, 2-3 liters per box). After a couple of hours, you can carefully remove the tubers from the sawdust and, without completely cleaning them, plant them in the holes dug on the site, like ordinary tubers with sprouts.
Such a simple trick can shorten the waiting period for the harvest by a couple of weeks.
