In recent years, one of the effective ways to increase the yield of tomatoes has become mulching – protecting the top layer of soil with the help of covering materials of natural or artificial origin, which are laid on beds with crops. As practice shows, mulching tomatoes in a greenhouse makes it possible to increase yields by 25% and reduce the ripening time of vegetables by 5 to 13 days. The main thing is to know how and with what to mulch tomatoes in your greenhouse.
Why Mulch
The main task of tomato mulch in a greenhouse is to reliably protect the top layer of the earth from the formation of a crust on it, which will interfere with the normal access of air to crops. Mulching also prevents sunlight from entering, which is especially loved by weeds. A layer of mulch helps keep the surface of the ground moist for many days, which allows the gardener to water the tomatoes in the greenhouse less.
Also, frequent loosening of the soil will not be required, and very little time will be required for weeding – if the covering layer is very dense, and mulching was done after removing all unwanted weeds. Thus, covering the soil with artificial and natural materials is a modern agrotechnical procedure, during which, due to the action of microorganisms, loose material rots, and humus appears instead.
The obvious advantages of mulching tomatoes grown in their own greenhouse can be safely called an improvement in soil structure, a decrease in moisture loss, as there is minimal evaporation, saturation with useful substances necessary for normal growth and development of tomatoes, maintaining proper air permeability of the soil.
Mulching also provides an excellent opportunity to protect the lower leaves of crops from the ground, because if it gets into tomatoes, diseases can be observed. According to the results of its impact, mulching can replace such work as preventive maintenance against diseases and bacteria, protecting tomato roots from exposure to low temperatures in winter, regular weeding of the earth from grass and loosening.
Than
Experts advise to carry out the mulching procedure in a greenhouse with materials of natural origin, which are often located next to us. Gradually decomposing, the mulch is able to turn into humus useful for the growth and development of tomatoes in the greenhouse. It depends on the choice of covering material which microelements can enrich the soil. Today, not only straw or freshly cut grass can be used as materials for mulching, but also leaves, needles, tree bark or sawdust, compost, newspapers or cardboard.
Straw is an excellent material for sheltering tomatoes in a greenhouse.
Its layer about 15 cm thick can be a good protection against diseases – such dangerous ones as leaf spot, anthracnose, early rot and others. Straw normally passes air, the main thing is to make sure that rodents or insects do not start in it. Grass or weeds, either freshly cut or lightly dried, can be used to mulch tomatoes. The flooring layer is advised to be made quite thick, because after reducing and compacting it will become no more than 5 cm. Since the grass tends to decompose quickly, it will have to be updated from time to time. In this case, the soil will be saturated with nitrogen and other substances useful for plants.
If you decide to mulch tomatoes using leaves or tree needles, then you can easily find covering material in the nearest forest or even on your site. Material from mixed or coniferous forest has proven itself well. Compared to vegetable, experts consider wood to be more durable, therefore, it is advised to make flooring in a greenhouse from sawdust or bark. This is an excellent material for those greenhouses in which the earth is rarely dug up, while it allows the soil to remain moist. It is important to select the most dry material, and the laid layer of sawdust should be shed with a solution of urea. So that the soil does not oxidize, slaked lime or chalk should be poured onto the sawdust.
Mulching tomatoes with compost is also an easy task. You can prepare it yourself from any type of waste – old papers thrown into the compost pit, household garbage, rotten hay, which can decompose. It is best to mix the compost with other materials, and then apply it with a layer of about 3 cm. In the attic you can always find unnecessary newspapers, paper or cardboard that need to be crushed and made into a greenhouse flooring of about 15 cm. To prevent it from flying apart, you can apply straw or compost. Such a mulch will be able to increase the temperature of the soil and will last for several years.
It is also permissible to mulch a tomato using artificial materials. They create an excellent greenhouse effect and can last longer than natural ones. These include colored and black polyethylene film, non-woven material, roofing felt and roofing material. The film must be strong and opaque so that it prevents the appearance of weeds, and adheres tightly to the soil. For tomatoes, it is best to choose red. Non-woven covering material perfectly passes moisture and air, can serve as a mulch for up to five years, will not allow fungi and rot to appear, as well as pests. Ruberoid is a reliable material that does not transmit light, it is not toxic to plants.
How to
It is important to mulch when the soil is already warm enough. This is especially true for unheated greenhouses. For heated rooms, any day after the tomatoes have been planted may be fine. The soil should first be loosened normally, get rid of weeds that have already appeared.
The covering material must be laid out in the area around the plants in such a way that its flooring is from 3 to 8 cm. If the material has a loose structure, you just need to scatter it. Be sure to leave some space around the stems for easy watering in the future. Materials of natural origin, which were decomposed at the beginning of summer, are recycled by worms at the end of the season. In the event that some of the mulch remains on the site, you do not need to put it in the compost pit. Since cleaning is advised only on those beds where you are going to plant seeds of other crops next year.
At the end of each season, the top layer of soil will need to be removed, and the beds will need to be formed on a special biofuel. It is recommended to remove the layer together with the mulch either separately or together with the soil. After that, it can be used in the future at the discretion of the summer resident himself.
Video “Mulching the soil”
After watching the recording, you will learn about the mainadvantages and disadvantages of different soil mulching materials.
