Every year, many summer residents mulch their strawberry beds. And this is absolutely the right decision. Only now most gardeners use material for covering that slowly but surely kills berry bushes. Strawberries can die in one season or in several years.
What does mulching give?
Such a shelter solves several important problems: it prevents weeds from germinating, retains moisture in the ground, improves the quality of the soil and protects the roots of the crop from both heat and cold.
How to properly mulch strawberries
Experienced gardeners recommend using hardwood sawdust. Strawberries love this kind of shelter very much. They make the soil more alkaline, and this has a positive effect on the development of strawberry bushes. In addition, such mulch provides additional protection to plant roots from both overheating and hypothermia.
Strawberries also have a very positive attitude towards shelter from hay or straw. Among artificial materials, it is worth noting black lutrasil. It is these options that are best used for mulching your berry plantation. Straw and hay must be renewed every year.
What material to use for mulch is strictly prohibited
Absolutely cannot be used wood chips.
“Strawberries need alkaline soil, and wood chips have the opposite effect on it. It is this material that even experienced gardeners often use. And then they are surprised that the harvest leaves much to be desired,” says the author of the Zen channel “Successful Harvest” (12+).
What to do before mulching
Before covering the strawberry beds with sawdust, the plant must be prepared. It is necessary to remove all old and diseased leaves, as well as excess grass, and then carry out loosening and hilling. Then the bushes are sprinkled with a fresh layer of soil 2–3 centimeters thick so that the root system is not exposed.
For example, you can take sawdust from maple, ash, birch, oak, alder and other hardwoods. Such sawdust decomposes quickly enough, and they make an excellent organic fertilizer for planting. The larger the sawdust, the longer it will serve as a natural shelter for the garden bed.
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