Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica) and walnut (Juglans regia) - plants quite similar to each other. Both of them are massive, form a powerful root system that can destroy the foundation of a house, a huge above-ground mass, an abundance of large foliage and fruits - nuts. It is by the fruit that it is easiest to distinguish a Manchu nut from a walnut. At the first wall, the nuts are very thick and there is practically no edible pulp. The second shell is often thin, and there are ten times more tasty and healthy pulp. (See article on page Nut)... Well, why then plant a Manchu nut, you ask?
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It is known that the walnut is weakly winter-hardy and often freezes very much in winter, even in the center of Russia, but the Manchurian walnut is distinguished by increased winter hardiness and winters well in the center of Russia. Often gardeners simply decorate plots with such majestic trees, they look grandiose, and under their arches you can arrange a gazebo or a recreation area. The accumulated foliage, which, as if by magic, falls off all at once immediately after the first frost, can not be thrown away, but used as fertilizer.
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Leaf litter properties of nuts
The leaves of these nuts are equally rich in essential oils, contain many trace elements, so their use as a fertilizer can improve the condition, enhance growth and increase the fruiting of not only fruit, but also berry and even vegetable crops.
How to compost nut foliage
What needs to be done to properly compost walnut or Manchu foliage? To begin with, you need to set aside free space under the compost heap, then shovel all the leaves of the nut there, compact them with the back of a rake or a shovel. It is great if this place is fenced with boards, slate or iron, so that the leaves do not scatter throughout the site. When they are laid, you need to prepare a special solution to treat this foliage. The solution should consist of 30 g of urea dissolved in a bucket of water. With this solution, the leaves must be properly soaked. Depending on the volume, you may need 2 or 3 buckets of solution. Further, the mass moistened with urea should be left until spring, and in the spring, stir periodically, once every 10-12 days, pouring with a solution of urea. In the case of walnut or Manchurian leaves, you will have to be patient, they will completely turn into nutritious compost no earlier than the fall of the second season, that is, two years will pass before the application is started.
Accelerated way... You can reduce the waiting time by adding mullein infusion. The mullein should be diluted 1: 5 and poured into the center of the heap, and after 2-4 days, mix everything, wait another 2-3 days, pour the mullein bucket into the center of the heap again and mix again. This will have to be done 4-5 times, after which the heap can be left for a month without touching, and then mixed every week. Then, at the end of the current season, that is, after a year, the mass can be used as fertilizer.
Where to use it?
The ready-made mass can be used to cover the soil in autumn, which will help to save fruit trees and berry bushes from freezing of the root system in cold and little snowy winters. In addition, it is an excellent food for vegetable crops, especially melons, and a means for the production of warm beds.
Gardeners say that if this covers the soil in the plantings of cucumber, pepper or strawberries, then the bear will never touch them (although this is unlikely), and adding only 100 grams of this fertilizer to each hole before placing potato tubers there can increase yields by 50% (also more a fairy tale than a reality)!
Not into compost, so into ash!
But not only does compost have a positive effect on soil and crops, ash from burnt walnut leaves also has a positive effect. Ash can be added to organic fertilizers to enhance their nutritional properties, such as calcium and potassium fortification.The ash can be dissolved in water and the plants can be treated directly on the leaves, thereby protecting them from the attacks of spider mites and other sucking pests. Ash can be scattered around the garden for autumn digging, adding 250-300 g of this fertilizer per square meter. Such an introduction gives the maximum effect, since the soil is literally saturated with ash, and in the spring, mixing with moisture, it turns into elements available and necessary for plants.
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