By Ritah Mukasa
Aside from conserving moisture, mulching enhances the soil nutrients according to Alisen Nuwamanya, an agriculturist and farmer majoring in backyard gardening.
Mulching also controls erosion, prevents weeds and in some cases, removes the residual effects of pesticides.
However, if you want to achieve all those attributes in your garden in addition to improving its aesthetics or beauty, consider using wood shavings or cut-offs to mulch your backyard garden.
Wood shavings are those cuttings obtained when wood is shaped using carpentry machines.
Betty Yiga, another backyard gardener has been using the shavings for years and says, she ensures to buy those from dry wood.
“I use the shavings to mulch my small vegetable garden. I grow tomatoes, spring onions, Sukuma wiki plus culinary herbs and spices,” she says.
Nuwamanya adds that the shavings are good at retaining moisture in the soil, especially during the dry season.
They are also mostly used in urban areas where people can’t easily access grass and other mulching mediums.
“The shavings are accessible, affordable and easy to transport because they are not bulky,” he says.
Add to that the fact that they are environmentally friendly since they turn into manure when they rot. In addition, the cutoffs don’t easily harbour pests; you get them from the carpentry directly to the garden.
On the flip side, however, be careful while choosing the shavings because some are acidic and can therefore affect the soil PH (acidity or alkalinity of the soil).
“Pay attention to the type of tree. Avoid those from Eucalyptus and pine trees because they are acidic,” he says.
Also, don’t apply the cutoffs to young plants or seedlings but on mature plants because since they are light, the wind can easily blow them and they cover the plants.
