Content
The mulching procedure is carried out in order to create favorable conditions for growing cultivated plants. When using organic materials as a shelter, it is possible to obtain a rich harvest of fruits. Mulching tomatoes with grass plays an important role in creating a soil microclimate, helping to protect plantings from drying out and exposure to high or low temperatures.
Both tomatoes cultivated in open ground and those grown in a greenhouse need to maintain comfortable conditions
The benefits and harms of mulching tomatoes with grass
Mulching is the process of creating a protective cover from natural or artificial material on the surface of the beds. The procedure is carried out to solve a number of agrotechnical problems:
- prevent the soil from drying out by reducing moisture evaporation and the formation of a crust on the soil surface;
- reduce the influence of unfavorable temperature factors on plants, protecting against seasonal and daily hypothermia/overheating;
- prevent the spread of weeds and infectious diseases;
- protect plants from the invasion of certain types of insects (for example, whiteflies, spider mites) and gastropods (snails, slugs).
A significant advantage when using natural covering is that the material is naturally processed into fertilizer, enriching the soil. Gardeners note that mulching with organic matter helps create good conditions for the reproduction of earthworms.
Beneficial inhabitants of garden plots improve aeration and soil structure
Tomatoes, like other vegetable crops, can grow without mulching. But the agrotechnical procedure greatly facilitates the care of the beds and has a positive effect on the condition of the plants, which ultimately has a good effect on the quality and quantity of the harvest.
Many owners of individual plots and farms use mowed grass as mulch. Covering the ground gives an impressive result - tomato bushes grow strong, and the fruits are large in size.
According to the observation of experienced gardeners, the fruiting period increases by 2-3 weeks
What grass is suitable for mulching tomatoes?
The effectiveness of mulching depends on a number of factors. The main one is the choice of material suitable for specific conditions. The creation of a grass mulch should also be applied taking into account the properties of the vegetation and the area where the procedure is carried out.
Lawn
The easiest option for mulching tomato beds is chopped grass from a lawn mower. During work, the cuttings are collected automatically into the bag of the device. Lawn grass is a free mulch material. When harvesting, you should take into account that you cannot mow vegetation in areas located near highways and industrial facilities, as it is saturated with salts of heavy metals and other harmful substances. When hazardous components enter the soil, they will spoil its composition, negatively affecting the quality of the future harvest.
After the formation of fruit ovaries, you can use lawn grass that has dried for two weeks for mulching.
Forbs
Forbs, unlike lawn vegetation, include many botanical species. Therefore, the mulch made from it contains more microelements. The rich composition is better suited for fertilizing the soil in the beds. To mulch tomatoes, we use herbs growing on the site, in its immediate vicinity, or green manure plants. According to experts, the following are most suitable for forming a shelter:
- Clover, white mustard, phacelia, rapeseed, which are sown as green manure.
After the seedlings have taken root, they are mowed and distributed over the surface of the bed, like mulch.
- Ryegrass forms a dense mulch around tomato bushes.
Spring ricegrass is usually used as green manure.
- Celandine is used when it is necessary to protect the root part of plants from rotting.
Additionally, celandine prevents the development of pathogenic microorganisms
At the end of the growing season, the crushed mulch is dumped into a compost pit. It is permissible to dig up the soil on the site along with rotted grass.
The growth of fruit crops is significantly enhanced by forbs mowed during the period of active flowering
Weeds
Freshly cut weeds should not be used for mulching, especially those that form a branched root system - sow thistle, wheatgrass, and spurge. After the seeds appear, it is permissible to use vegetation if it has undergone partial or complete rotting. At the same time, you should know that weeds that are uprooted remain viable even after processing.
Is it possible to mulch tomatoes with freshly cut grass?
Freshly cut grass contains a large amount of nitrogen and microelements necessary for cultivated plants. Stem cuttings improve heavy clay and sandy soils that are low in nutrients. In other cases, the material for mulching must be prepared in a certain way. Freshly cut grass is a haven for insect pests and their larvae. Mulching with contaminated material can cause significant damage to tomato plantings. It is equally important to mow the grass during the flowering period, but before the seeds form. During this period, there is an intensive accumulation of nutrients, which will subsequently go into the ground.
How to prepare mulch
Grass cut with a lawn mower must be properly prepared for further mulching. The easiest way is drying. Hay is less toxic than fresh grass and can also be used as mulch in early spring when there is no vegetation yet. Another way to prepare grass is to let it rot for a long time. The preliminary work algorithm includes the following steps:
- Placing the grass in a well-lit area of the garden.
- Drying for several days in the sun.
- Preparation of the bed - weeding, loosening, watering before mulching.
- Lay out a layer at least 10 cm high.
- Adding grass after the mulch has settled.
The last operation can be repeated several times. As the grass overheats, useful macro- and microelements enter the ground, in particular nitrogen, which is especially necessary for tomatoes in the first half of summer. Mulch dries out quickly, so you should add it, regularly creating a new layer.
Rotting grass must cool down before use, and the content of dangerous enzymes is noticeably reduced
When and how to mulch tomatoes with grass
Mulching is organized after the soil has warmed up sufficiently and the return of frost is excluded. If you cover cold soil with a layer of grass, the root system will suffer and the plants will die.
Mulch maintains temperature conditions, but cannot itself heat the surface layer of soil.
In the greenhouse
In a greenhouse that has a heating system, tomatoes can be mulched with mown grass at any time of the year. In unheated greenhouses, they wait until the soil at a depth of 30 cm warms up to +15 0WITH.
Mulching tomato seedlings in a greenhouse with freshly cut grass leads to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the room. Changes in air composition pose a threat to people working in a greenhouse. To reduce the emission of carbon dioxide from mulch when covering tomatoes in a greenhouse with grass, partially or completely rotted vegetation should be used.
Even when using the prepared composition, it is necessary to organize ventilation in the greenhouse so that the amount of harmful gas is not high
In the open ground
The first mulching of tomato seedlings is organized when the height of the bushes reaches 5 cm. At this time, the shoots of the plant are not yet strong enough, so you should be careful when laying out protective and nutritional material around the stems. The thickness of the mulch layer should be no more than 3 cm. It is important to note that a space of 2 cm should be left between the lower leaves and rotting grass, as otherwise the seedlings may get sick.
For the first procedure, rotten grass that has lain in a compost pit for a year is used. When using freshly cut vegetation, there is a possibility of burns caused by enzymes from bacterial activity. Full information on how to mulch tomatoes with grass can be found in the video:
What mulch should not be used?
When choosing a composition for preparing mulch, you should take into account the recommendations of agricultural technicians. The main prohibitions when using plant material are:
- it is unacceptable to use mowed grass from a lawn treated with herbicides against broad-leaved weeds;
- Vegetation from problem areas cannot be used - in areas near highways, industrial enterprises;
- you should not line the beds with fresh weeds, especially species with a developed root system;
- You should not lay an excessively thick layer of mulch, as this leads to self-heating of the shelter and can cause a fire; also, a wet, large layer of organic matter contributes to the appearance of mold.
It is important to remember that freshly cut vegetation, if used incorrectly, can cause significant damage to the farm. Moreover, the consequences of the unreasonable use of organic mulch can be observed in subsequent years.
Maximum efficiency from mulching is achieved when the procedure becomes part of the soil fertilization and regeneration system
Conclusion
Mulching tomatoes with grass optimizes the process of bush formation and increases yield. Only by correctly assessing the condition of the beds and knowing the characteristics of each type of plant material can you choose the best option for your garden. A competent approach to the mulching process will help you get an excellent harvest of tasty and healthy fruits.
