To get a good harvest of tomatoes, care of plants is very important. This is watering, and pasynkovanie, and mulching the soil under tomatoes. I would like to talk more about this last element of care.
Why is mulching necessary?
Mulching - a covering of soil with a layer of loose mulch or different materials. It significantly reduces the number of irrigation, because under such a cover the soil less dry out even in hot weather. Under the layer of mulch for tomatoes, favorable conditions are created for the vital activity of worms and other soil microorganisms that feed on it. Thus, the soil is enriched with microelements necessary for plants, which contributes to an increase in crop yields.
Another useful property of mulching tomatoes is getting rid of weeds : a thick layer of mulch prevents the growth of weed grass.
Types of mulching tomatoes
Mulching the soil can be various ways and materials.
- The easiest way to mulch tomatoes is to loosen the ground after watering or rain. However, it has to be done almost constantly: after irrigation, the earth is covered with crust and crack, and it must be loosened again.
- Now find out what to mulch tomatoes in the greenhouse. Ogorodniki, living near the forest plantations, prefer mulching tomatoes in a greenhouse with a forest litter. Collecting such mulch may seem troublesome, but the forest litter will bring your tomatoes many useful bacteria and microorganisms, and its lower layer is humus, which will be fertilizer for plants. In addition, forest litter is an excellent prevention of diseases and pests of tomatoes. Collect this mulch best in a coniferous or mixed forest, where the grass does not grow under the trees. We rake the upper part of the litter together with a layer of earth about 5 cm. This "blanket" and cover our tomatoes in the greenhouse.
- Mulching tomatoes with straw is a more accessible method, and a cover made of straw is the most durable. Hay hastens the weeds worse, but it quickly turns into humus and becomes a fertilizer for plants. Also, the soil under the tomatoes can be covered with a layer of sawdust up to 15 cm thick. White sawdust reflects the sun's rays in the heat, suppresses the growth of weeds well, and also helps tomatoes to avoid various diseases.
- Sometimes gardeners are interested in: is it possible to mulch tomatoes with sawdust? Mulching tomatoes with small shavings, sawdust and chopped wood fights worse with weeds, and before sipping them under tomatoes, it is necessary to mulch such a mule well and to air.
- Healing for plants is considered to be mulch from humus and compost, which protect tomatoes from diseases. A layer of 3-5 cm will be enough to stop the spores of weeds in the ground. However, compost is quickly used by worms, so you should add some more mulch.
- Mulching tomatoes with grass adds nitrogen to the soil and retains moisture very well. But you need a lot of grass, as it dries quickly and becomes smaller in volume. This mulch is dark in color, warms well and can be laid even in autumn. And in the spring directly in such mulch planting seedlings.
- Mulching tomatoes with black film has both pluses and minuses. The soil under such a film does not dry at all, but humus can not be obtained from it. Therefore, before covering the tomatoes with a film, they should be fertilized. In the sun, the film gets very hot, but it's not
Harmful to tomatoes, as it does not let light, does not allow soil to warm up and create a greenhouse effect. The lack of a film is in its fragility, because it serves only one season. - The ruberoid is a more resistant type of coating, it can serve up to 4 years without requiring additional mulching.
As you can see, there are many ways to mulch tomatoes, but the best mulch is still organic. If it is dense enough and nutritious, it will breathe well and protect tomatoes from pests, then using it, you will get an excellent harvest of tomatoes.