Mulching strawberries with moss from the forest. Mulching: types of mulch and features of the use of each material. What is forest moss

Often, when preparing a site for winter, there is a need to protect certain plants from freezing. For example, irises, whose roots love to bulge above the ground by winter, flowers, daffodils, hyacinths and muscari, which are in a hurry to hatch during prolonged winter thaws.
Ordinary sphagnum moss can become a beautiful mulch in such cases. It can be easily collected in the forest without much difficulty.
By mulching flower beds with sphagnum, we not only protect plants from freezing. Unfilled areas of the flower bed, covered with moss, will not overgrow with weeds. Well, greenish islands will look much more picturesque than empty places.
With the same success, you can use moss in the fall to mulch beds with winter garlic.
It is also worth considering the fact that sphagnum moss has beautiful disinfectant characteristics, pathogenic bacteria do not develop under it. It does not rot, perfectly regulates the exchange of water.


By its composition, this moss is quite loose. If suddenly you did not have time to remove it in time, the moss will not interfere with the germination of bulbous plants.
For mulching, you should not take the moss that grows on trees and stumps. Although much more attractive, velvet pads have a completely different mix.
This moss is much denser than sphagnum. It can be used to mulch those areas of land where nothing should grow.
In black and wet places, this moss can grow and take on a life of its own. If the grass grows poorly in these places, then maybe it makes sense not to fight the weeds, but to let the moss grow in emerald tussocks, as in ordinary Japanese gardens.


You can use sphagnum in indoor floriculture. In pots on the upper layers of the earth, magnesium and calcium salts, poisonous to the plant, are collected. After some time, salinization of the entire earth occurs. Because of this, the growth of the plant slows down, it begins to hurt, it may even die. The soil around the plant can be mulched with sphagnum, which will maintain its moisture and collect all the salts. Sphagnum is enough to change once a year.

Mulching is if you want to reduce garden work to a minimum and get fabulous yields 🙂
Then meet MULCH!
What will she give us?
Practically DO NOT water, DO NOT weed, DO NOT dig, DO NOT loosen! Perfect!

Many still create problems for themselves on their land by weeding, digging, endless watering ... I am always horrified by photographs of bare earth into which unfortunate plants are stuck. And a lot of people are proud of it!

For several years now, on our farm, we have been using everything that comes to hand as mulch: mowed grass, fallen leaves, rotted sawdust, needles, bark, chopped branches, cardboard, peat. I love using sphagnum moss! We collect it all summer in bags and get treasures for growing anything ... I put sphagnum in pots with indoor plants and mulch the inhabitants of the garden, germinate cuttings and seeds in it. Moss-sphagnum is a natural antiseptic, so it can be used for any culture.

Tomato bushes under moss - sphagnum:

Violets under moss - sphagnum:

For vegetables, it is best to use manure rotted with straw, green manure, mowed grass, leaf litter. It's also a great supplement. If you need to acidify the soil, then it is good to use crushed bark, sawdust, needles.

If there is not enough alkali in the soil, then you need to add crushed eggshells or chalk to the mulch.

Straw is good for keeping warm, plant green manure for nitrogen-poor soil!

The layer of mulch should not be less than 10 cm. Mulch retains moisture in the soil and makes upper layer loose soil, and this is one of the main factors for a good and rich harvest. Earthworms under a thick layer of mulch begin an active life (organic mulch is their food), which also greatly improves soil structure.

So:
1. retains moisture in the soil

2. reduces the number of weeds to nothing.

3. there will be no overheating of the soil in summer and freezing in winter, if, suddenly, frost comes, and the snow does not have time.

4. no threat of soil erosion

5. there will never be an earthy "crust", but there will be an airy and loose top layer.

6. there will be very light ground under the mulch

7. any plants under MULCH will grow extra roots

We are also on the farm for a large number plantings for example, strawberries use black nonwoven fabric- spandbond: we form ridges, make cuts, holes in the cuts and plant strawberry seedlings.

There is also an interesting useful way mulching - mulching with stones. Mulching with rocks came in very handy during the hot summer of 2010. In the morning, warm air meets cold rocks (which heat up slower than air) and leaves dew on them, thus providing dry watering.

How to use moss as a decorative mulch? In fact, this great option make moss circles out of moss. In Japan, for example, in addition to traditional materials (sand, pebbles, bamboo and stones), it is moss that is considered the most important element in the design of a Japanese garden. Of course, we and our garden will not pretend to be Japanese gardens, but pay due attention to some agricultural practices are worth it. Moreover, moss mulch has a positive effect on the development of plantings, and also has its own advantages.

How to use moss?

So, we buy or independently harvest moss for the garden for the following reasons:

Evergreens have a more finished and neat look;
- Moss perfectly retains moisture in the soil, because it does not allow it to evaporate quickly;
- Weeds practically cease to annoy in those places where moss is used;
- Ground temperature becomes regular. Moss also serves as an insulator, keeping the ground warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather;
- If the rains are frequent, the moss will not allow the soil to become very compacted and eroded. It promotes penetration ground water deeper.

Gardeners advise using Leucobryum moss. It grows in bumps in wet areas, looks aesthetically pleasing and beautiful. Even the color of this type of moss can change depending on the lighting from dense green to light. It grows well on stones and easily breaks away from the base.

The mulching process itself is very simple. We will mulch the trunk circle. To do this, we loosen the ground around the plantation, remove weeds and lay black lutrasil. We will do this to prevent the germination of weeds. You can put moss on river sand. Immediately after planting, the moss should be moistened by sprinkling for the first four weeks. Already in the second month, sporophytes will appear on the bumps. These are such thin threads, on the tips of which spores ripen. The bumps themselves will begin to increase in size. Such signs indicate that the moss has taken root well and has begun to grow.

Moss - a plant for an alpine slide

Moss is beautiful ornamental plant, looking great in tandem with other plants and flowers. It pleases in green most of the year: from early spring until the first snow falls. And if your site has a dark corner in which nothing grows, decorate it with a moss carpet, on which, for example, large stones can be beautifully placed.

You can find moss for the garden in the forest. You need to transfer the moss plates with some soil on which it grows. Immediately after placing the moss in a new place, you need to water it abundantly for a whole month.

And here is another example of using moss. In the picture you see garden path created in one season. Moss needs to be rubbed finely with your hands and diluted in kefir. We take a brush and spread this mixture on the places where it is planned to get a moss coating. But for reliability, for the first 5-7 days, it is better to cover the path with a film and do not forget to moisten

• moss as fertilizer
• using moss in the garden
• Is it possible to use moss on the site

Sphagnum moss is a great mulch! Mulch is a garden topsoil material to help retain water, prevent the growth and spread of weeds, and control soil erosion. Sphagnum moss can be used for garden mulch, houseplants, soil improvement, fertilizer, and more. In this case, the mulched product is called "peat mulch". Different plants grow best in soils with different pH levels they need. Some plants - radishes, peppers, potatoes, blueberries, raspberries, most firs and pines, azaleas, roses - are preferred acidic soils. Gardeners living in areas with alkaline soils, or those who want to grow plants that prefer acidic soils, may need to increase the acidity of the soil to help the plants establish themselves. Unfortunately, most types of mulch and compost make the soil less acidic. An excellent sphagnum mulch, however, increases soil acidity. Sphagnum peat Sphagnum peat (from which mulch is made) comes from sphagnum moss, a family of Hypnaceae, and contains long fibers that resist rapid decomposition. Sphagnum is commonly used as hanging basket liners and for gentle soil improvement in areas with sprouts and young plants. But if you have a good supply of it, then sphagnum is welcome as an addition to your compost heap or mixed with other mulches. You can use it on its own, but it is very light and voluminous. Sphagnum gently makes the soil more acidic. Adding a whole kilogram of peat to a standard 6 acres will increase the soil pH by about one unit. You can add the moss or mulch directly into the soil, or add the moss to the compost before applying it. This is what distinguishes sphagnum mulch - in that it is not applied to the surface of the soil, but is, as it were, a layer inside. Sphagnum improves the texture of overly heavy or overly sandy soil, improves aeration and water exchange. Sphagnum mulch is attractive to gardeners in part because of its ability to absorb and retain water. She can hold 10 times more water from its weight, gradually giving it away as moisture in the soil decreases. By adding peat to the soil, you can reduce the amount of water that plants need. Moss mulch can also save plant life during extreme droughts when water is not available. Sphagnum Mulch Sphagnum moss is a great medium for certain beneficial organisms, while inhibiting the growth of fungi that can damage young plants. This makes it an excellent growing supplement. indoor plants from seeds and maintenance of seedling germination. Long-staple sphagnum makes an ideal mulch as it acts like a blanket to control soil temperature, conserve moisture, which allows the plant to grow steadily. This keeps the soil in the right microclimate range to better keep the plants from bacterial attack, and will protect the plants from harsh winter freeze and thaw conditions that can destroy roots. Sphagnum moss used as mulch can be left all year round to improve plant adaptation results. Some plants, including many orchids, bonsai trees, and succulents, grow best in a soilless environment altogether. Sphagnum moss provides excellent conditions for such special plants. Moss can remain moist for a long time without rotting, without carrying any substances and microorganisms that can be harmful. That's it useful plant can be useful to you in the construction and arrangement of your country wooden house.

Every year, gardeners puzzle over how to protect the soil from cold, drought, and pests without ruining the planting. There are many varieties of mulch, and moss occupies a well-deserved place on this list due to its useful properties- let's look at them in more detail.

The material in question is optimally suited as a mulching agent, since it protects plantings and soil from hypothermia, retains moisture, prevents insects from getting started and at the same time allows plant roots to breathe. Moss has all the properties that help improve the yield of crops that prefer acidic soil:

• cucumbers;
• blueberry;
• pepper;
• potatoes, etc.

Plants such as strawberries and wild strawberries are not recommended for mulching, as they can rot.

Reach best effect from mulching you can use a variety of moss called "sphagnum". This species grows in the forest in swamps, where peat is formed.

moss properties

The material has a number of useful properties that help grow garden and horticultural crops. It is also indispensable in cases where it is not possible to carry out constant care for plants: watering, weeding, disinfecting from pests.

Moss sphagnum has the following properties:

1. High degree of hygroscopicity - absorbs and releases moisture well. This effect manifests itself in any weather: if it rains, moss absorbs water, preventing the soil from becoming waterlogged, and during drought, on the contrary, it nourishes the earth with accumulated liquid.
2. Optimum breathability - the soil under the moss does not rot, so a greenhouse does not form between it and the soil, which dehydrates the plants.
3. Antibacterial - destroys microbes living in the ground and roots, which eliminates the rotting of plants.

Pros of Using Moss as Mulch

Material advantages:

• soil temperature control: in cold weather, the material heats the soil, in warm weather it cools;
• no need to constantly water plants covered with moss mulch - it absorbs water and gradually gives it away when the substrate dries;
• there is no need to constantly weed the beds, since the shelter in question protects them from weeds;

How to use moss mulch for different crops?

You can use the material in the garden, in the garden, in the greenhouse. The mulching process is as follows:

1. the soil around the plants is loosened, then weeded from weeds;
2. if desired, the soil is sprinkled with ash - this will help reduce the acidity of the soil. This measure is recommended in a situation where you need to cover plants that do not need acidic soil;
3. moss is laid on the prepared substrate.

In the garden

To achieve a greater effect on the beds, moss mulch is laid tightly on the soil under the plant. As a result, the number of rotten and frozen roots is reduced, and harmful insects and bacteria are destroyed due to the antiseptic properties of moss.

The mulching process in this case is carried out as follows:

1. The soil and mulch are prepared for laying (see the algorithm described above).
2. Then you need to tightly cover the treated surface with sphagnum (in one layer), leaving no unprotected areas.
3. In latitudes where the climate is warm and dry, the mulch should be watered: this way it will gradually release moisture to the soil.

In the garden

In garden areas, moss is used in the same way as in the garden - as both mulch and fertilizer.

In addition to these purposes, the plant in question is used as decorative material. In this case, there is no need to lay the mulch in a thick, dense layer: the thinned state will give the flower bed a neat look.

Moss is also used to root cuttings and roots. Material properties allow you to create in the soil optimal conditions for strengthening in the ground and subsequent vegetation - the percentage of non-engrafted and rotten shoots is significantly reduced.

For violets and orchids growing in room conditions, sphagnum will serve as fertilizer: a thin layer of material will oxidize the soil, which will be useful for these crops.

Moss - universal plant: it serves not only as a mulch, but also as a fertilizer, and also improves decorative qualities area where it is used.