Do I need to treat the damaged bark of garden trees? Summer residents often argue on this topic. At the same time, agronomists answer in the affirmative, arguing that it is absolutely necessary. But a neighbor in the country may say the opposite. In the forest, no one covers the trees, they survive on their own. This one is true, but the forest and the garden are very different from each other, and their permanent inhabitants are also different.
It is necessary to treat not only cracks, but also areas of sun-burnt bark, hollows and various injuries that we inflict on trees by grafting. Frost-beaten places also need to be smeared with garden pitch. You can buy it in a speci alty store or make it yourself.
Needed by every summer resident
Indeed, you can't do without it during the whole season, from April to October. Garden pitch is also called putty. You will need it in the following cases:
- when vaccinated;
- if mice ate trees in winter;
- if appearedbark lesions;
- after trimming.
What if you couldn't buy it in the store? It doesn't matter, let's learn how to make it with our own hands.
Emergency option
Perfect for a situation if you left for the country, forgetting to buy garden putty for fruit trees in the store. There is little time in the spring, and you don’t want to waste the weekend at all. Calmly do pruning by preparing an emergency var. Take equal proportions of resin and liquid mullein. If the resin is frozen, it must be melted. Dry leaves and blades of grass, as well as pet hair, are suitable as a binder. Not all summer residents like this option, but it is quite capable of replacing garden var.
Universal composition
Some gardeners simply decide to make their own var without spending money to buy it. The following recipe will require beeswax, rosin, linseed oil and charcoal. The components are all fairly simple and easy to find.
Garden var made according to this recipe has medicinal properties, all its components have a positive effect on the plant. For manufacturing, you will need an unnecessary cup or small saucepan. Melt four parts of wax in it and add one part of rosin. In this case, the mixture must continue to heat. Next, you need to mix in one part of linseed oil. It remains to mix the mixture well so that it becomes completely homogeneous.
Remove the composition from the fire and add twotablespoons of crushed charcoal. Such a garden var for trees is made immediately after pruning and applied in a warm state. After that, it freezes and requires reheating.
Var on grease
It is in the household of every motorist, but it is quite inexpensive. It will need to take 250 g. In addition to it, you will need the same amount of wax and about 50 g of natural pine resin. It can be easily found in the forest. Since it will not work to make a garden pitch based on solid ingredients, you will have to melt them first.
This is the main secret. All components must be warmed separately, and then mixed together. To do this, prepare a glass jar in which it will be stored later. According to this recipe, a rather viscous composition is obtained. To make it more plastic, you need to add a few drops of vegetable oil. For this, chebureks drained from the pan after frying are suitable, even with sediment.
And what if the var turns out to be very liquid? In this case, add some sifted ash to it. Now you can apply it to the wound.
Cooking rosin-based var
The composition of garden pitch can be very different. The main thing is that the result is a sticky mass that will not drain from the treated surfaces. Another option is a garden pitch with rosin, which is used by radio amateurs. This is an ordinary resin, only well frozen. For cooking, you need a gooda piece, weighing about 200 g. Rosin allows you to add stickiness to the composition. It is best to use beeswax to hold all the ingredients together. It will take twice as much. This is the basis of the var, to which additional components can be added.
In addition to vegetable oil, you can use any animal fat. If you have a household, then this will not be a problem. Pork or mutton fat ensures the plasticity of the mass. Usually it is taken in the same amount as rosin. How to make garden pitch at home? You just need to melt the rosin, warm the wax and combine the components, mix thoroughly and put in a jar where it will be stored.
Reshetnikov's ointment
To prepare it, you need 10 parts of fir resin. In addition, very important ingredients are 1 part of wax and the same amount of wine alcohol. In a metal bowl, it is necessary to mix the wax with the resin and heat them until the ingredients are melted. After the composition has cooled, wine alcohol is introduced into it.
Using the ointment is very simple. It is applied to damaged areas with a brush. The advantages of this composition are quite a lot. It remains flexible in all weather conditions. The substance densely covers the cut surface and does not solidify completely. Var does not form cracks and does not allow moisture to pass through. This is not the only cold-resistant composition, there are several more analogues:
- Var Gauga - for it you will need 400 g of pine pine, a teaspoon of foodsoda, 60 ml of medical alcohol and 4 g of gum. Heat the resin and add alcohol to it. Dissolve gum and soda in water and pour into the main composition. Lastly, alcohol and linseed oil are added. It is recommended to store in a tin so that you can easily reheat the composition if necessary.
- An almost similar composition is prepared on the basis of wood resin.
Alternative
If there is no time to prepare the mixture, and you do not want to leave the cut without treatment, then you can process it with simple and affordable means. If the sections are very small, then you can use brilliant green or potassium permanganate. A pharmacy brilliant green in the form of a pencil will do.
For major damage, you need to think of something else. Treat the crack with a stiff brush, then with a solution of potassium permanganate and prepare a mixture of mullein and clay. With its help, you need to carefully close up the wound. Can be tied up with a cloth.
How to do without putty
Not all gardeners spend their time preparing complex formulations, learning how to make garden pitch at home, and looking for the right ingredients. Some of them prefer to cover cuts and damage with ordinary oil paint. Others for these purposes take drying oil and apply it in several layers. Someone may even decide that the tree will have enough strength to cope with the damage on its own.
A few tips
There are certain rules by which youget better results:
- Only he althy wood can be treated with var, all damaged, dead and infected parts must be removed.
- The cut must be cleaned before processing, remove all bulges.
- Treatment should be done in spring or early summer. If damage occurs later, it is recommended to simply apply a protective layer, and with the onset of autumn, carry out a final cleaning and apply a thicker layer.
Cuts and damage are like wounds on the human body. They are susceptible to attack by fungus and various pests. To protect your garden, you can buy a garden brew or make it from one of the recipes.
