Many gardeners have heard that snow masses need to be thrown into greenhouses in winter, but few people know why such manipulation is performed. It is described further on whether snow is needed in winter in greenhouse shelters and why.
Do you need snow in the greenhouse in winter
There is nothing superfluous in nature; everything obeys its own laws. With the advent of winter, a snow cover covers the soil, thereby reliably protecting it from frost. But not only this is the meaning of the snow cover. The soil is regenerated and saturated with useful elements. And that means exposed land in a greenhouse suffers from depletion and moisture deficiency.
- Those gardeners who practice the method of covering the ground with snow cite their arguments for:
- snow mass protects the soil from deep freezing;
- freezing of the soil destroys numerous microorganisms;
- with the beginning of spring, when melting, the snow cover nourishes the soil with moisture and prepares it for planting;
- melt water is much richer in composition than rainwater.
Important! With all the advantages of this method, you should not throw snowdrifts in shelter. If the groundwater is close to the surface, after the snow has melted, you can get a real swamp on the site.
When it is necessary to fall asleep
Start throwing snow mass into the greenhouse as early as possible. But some gardeners claim that February is the best time to backfill it.
In any case, when the outer layer reaches 80–100 cm, it is time to snow drift inward.
If there is little precipitation, they should be thrown right away, forming a layer gradually.
How to and in what quantities need to fall asleep
Snow should not be removed from the beds - the garden needs such a blanket, otherwise you can provoke the death of other garden plants. It must be collected only from row spacing. Snow from the paths or the roof of snowdrifts formed after cleaning is also suitable.
Around the perimeter, a space about 90-100 cm wide is cleared around the greenhouse. That is, there are plenty of places from which to take snow. And this amount is enough for a standard greenhouse.
- The use of such snow carries a triple benefit:
- Trees cleared of snow will dry out faster in spring.
- The foundation of the greenhouse will warm up faster, and the snowdrifts will not break and do not deform the coating.
- The soil in the greenhouse will receive enough snow, be nourished with useful elements and thaw faster.
Important! An indispensable condition - the snow mass must be clean.
Throwing snow into the greenhouse is desirable in several approaches, distributing it evenly around the perimeter. Each time add 20-50 cm; as a result, a cover 50–80 cm thick should be formed. Then the beds will be provided with a sufficient layer of snow cover.
Do not make the layer too large - in this case, the ground will thaw for a rather long time, which will delay planting work for 7-10 days.
It is also not necessary to compact the snow cover. This violates the main property of snow - breathability.
Did you know? The composition of snowflakes is only 5% of ice structures and 95% of air. Therefore, in a snowdrift in the first place is air, which determines the most important characteristic - thermal insulation.
- Having learned why snow is needed in the greenhouse, some try to “freeze” the soil harder and open the room for the whole winter. It is absolutely impossible to do this, because:
- Strong gusts of wind (which are not uncommon in winter) will adversely affect the condition of the structure. It will lose elasticity or not stand at all. The windows and doors will have to be repaired anyway.
- If the doors are open, animals will penetrate inside, which can either settle there until spring, or simply spoil the room. in the spring it is necessary to solve this problem.
What else needs to be done if the winter is snowless
If winter passes with little snow or no precipitation at all, the soil can deeply freeze. In this case, certain measures should be taken.
To begin with, shelter near-trunk zones (about 1-2 m) of trees and shrubs. They use humus or sawdust for this. The layer should be at least 15–20 cm. This is especially important for delicate crops: raspberries, plums, blackberries, apple trees, apricots. The aboveground part of trees and shrubs can withstand frosts, but their roots freeze already at -15 ° C, if this temperature lasts at least 5-6 days.
To hold snowflakes, needles are laid on top of the mulch. It will fix the insulation and will not allow it to fly away from the wind.
Creeping crops (lemongrass, actinidia, grapes) are removed from the supports and laid on a spread layer of sawdust (non-woven covering material, boards, etc.). From above, the creepers are covered with sawdust or humus and put spruce paws.
Did you know? To melt snow faster in spring, you can sprinkle it with ash - becoming black, it will begin to absorb the sun's rays, and not reflect them. In addition, ash serves as an excellent fertilizer.
As you can see, snow is not at all an enemy of gardeners. Its presence on the soil not only protects against frost, but also helps to enrich the earth and moisturize it. The main condition is the competent use of snow mass.
