Content
Garden var is a solid or liquid composition of natural ingredients used to treat wounds of trees and shrubs. The tool can be purchased at the store, but it is better to make it at home. Do-it-yourself garden pitch is quite easy to make. There are several recipes available for this, for example, with wax, paraffin, resin and other components.
What is a garden var
It is a mixture that is used to soak wounds and scratches, as well as tree cuts. We can say that garden var is such a special tool that serves as a natural antiseptic, protecting plants from infection.
What a garden pitch consists of
Regardless of the specific recipe, the composition of the garden varnish is approximately the same. The mixture includes the following components:
- resin, rosin;
- medical alcohol;
- drying oil, grease;
- propolis or beeswax;
- base - edible fats (animal or vegetable);
- agrotechnical mixture, for example, "Heteroauxin".
Var can be prepared independently from available tools
What is a garden pitch for?
Garden var plays the role of a natural antiseptic that prevents the penetration of fungi, bacteria and other pathogens. Along with this, it promotes wound healing, "cauterizes" damaged surfaces. The benefit of the var is that it stops sap flow, preventing the liquid from flowing out of the plant tissues.
Garden var is a putty that is applied to damaged areas of plants. Therefore, it is recommended to stock up on such a remedy for all summer residents, farmers and gardeners.
How to make a garden pitch at home
The name of the product reflects the technology of its manufacture. At home, you can prepare a garden pitch on the basis of different components, which are mixed, then boiled until a homogeneous consistency is obtained and left to cool at room temperature.
DIY garden var: a recipe for paraffin
One of the popular recipes is based on the use of paraffin. For cooking, you will need to take paraffin, rosin, and vegetable oil (ratio 3: 1: 2).
The sequence of actions is as follows:
- Melt the paraffin wax over medium heat.
- The rosin is crushed (turned into dust) and added to the melted paraffin.
- The mixture is brought to a boil and oil is added in a thin stream.
- Then you also need to cook over medium heat for 10 to 30 minutes.
- The container is removed from the heat, cooled at room temperature and kneaded until smooth.
How to cook garden var with beeswax
For cooking, you need to take rosin and beeswax (ratio 2: 1), add interior fat (2 times less wax) and proceed as follows:
- Beeswax is melted and heated to a boil.
- Then add the rest of the components (you can at the same time).
- Boil over low or medium heat for up to 30 minutes, cool and knead.
Beeswax is a natural antiseptic, so it well protects plant slices from infections
How to make a garden pitch on lamb fat
You can also prepare a garden pitch for trees and shrubs based on lamb fat (fat tail). This drug is cold-resistant, so it can be used at any time of the year. For cooking, take rosin and ordinary wax, as well as a fat tail and a little medical alcohol (ratio 4: 2: 1: 0.5)
They act as follows:
- The fat tail, wax and rosin are melted together (the fire should be low).
- Bring to a boil, cook for 10 minutes and chill for several minutes.
- When the temperature drops slightly (steam is no longer formed), add alcohol.
- Cool to room temperature and cork in bottles.
How to cook garden pitch on coniferous resin
You can take pine or spruce resin, any vegetable oil, as well as turpentine and wax (ratio 4: 3: 3: 2). Melt the wax over low heat, then add all the ingredients and turn off the stove (it is not necessary to boil). Cool and pour into a container.
Yellow wax is often used as a base for making var
Var for garden trees on manure
Take clay and fresh cow dung (ratio 2: 1), add a little chopped straw and a pinch of copper sulfate. In this case, you do not need to cook anything - just mix all the components with water. The consistency should be thick enough, like sour cream, otherwise the mixture will not stick to the trunks.
How to make a cold-resistant garden pitch yourself
The cold-resistant preparation is versatile because it can be used even in late autumn and winter. There are several recipes for this, for example:
- Reshetnikov ointment: take fir resin, ordinary wax and alcohol (10: 1: 1), melt over low heat, but do not bring to a boil. Then it is cooled and alcohol is added.
- Raevsky's composition: 60 ml of rubbing alcohol is mixed with 500 g of tree resin and two large tablespoons of linseed oil.
- Gaug's Composition prepared on the basis of 400 g of pine resin, 10 g of baking soda and 60 ml of medical alcohol with 4 g of gum. The resin is melted, all the components are added, and the alcohol is poured in at the very end, when the solution begins to cool.
How to use a garden pitch
The instructions for using the garden varnish are quite simple. The mixture, if necessary, is brought to a liquid state (melted), and then applied to the cut. If the wound is old, it must be cleaned first.
Basic rules of work:
- The composition is applied as quickly as possible, because it hardens instantly.
- A fresh wound is not treated immediately, but after a few hours or the next day, so that it has time to dry out.
- It is best to work in dry weather.
- If the area of damage is very large, then it is pre-washed with a weak solution of copper sulfate, and after applying the layer, it is covered with old rags and tied with ropes.
- The mixture is applied in a thin, even layer. This can be done with a spatula or brush, or a roller can also be used.
- The putty may crack a little after a few days or weeks. Then they gently clean it off and put a new layer. The procedure is repeated until the wound is completely healed.
On large wounds, the mixture is applied with a spatula or roller.
When and how to use garden var
The tool is used in the warm season, since it hardens quickly in winter, and then the composition is difficult to apply to the surface of trees. However, there are special cold-resistant compounds that do not have this disadvantage.
Garden mixture is used in such cases:
- improper pruning;
- removal of wind-damaged branches;
- consequences of inaccurate vaccination;
- damage caused by rodents, as well as associated with various diseases or pests;
- sawing off tree branches (for domestic purposes).
How to soften garden var
Often, the drug is released in solid form. To soften the garden varnish, it must be heated until it is completely melted. In this case, you should not boil. Only cool or lukewarm product should be applied to trees or shrubs. This can be done with a regular brush or spatula. It is advisable to carry out all work with gloves.
Preparing trees
If the wound is fresh, it does not need special preparation - it is enough to rinse it with a weak solution of copper sulfate. If it is old, you must first clean it with a sharp knife. In this case, all the edges and the very base of the wound should be as smooth and clean as possible. If branches or young shoots interfere, they must either be tucked up and fixed, or cut off.
How to use garden pitch when pruning trees
Trees and shrubs are pruned with pruning shears or garden shears. Then you need to wait 1-2 days for the wounds to dry well. Slices are treated with copper sulfate, and then you can apply garden varnish with a brush, spatula or roller.
How to apply garden pitch to cracks and damage
Cracks usually have a small surface area. Therefore, a narrow brush is used for processing, or a rag is wound on a stick and the surface is thoroughly impregnated with the composition.
The mixture is applied in a thin, even layer
How to use garden var when grafting
To treat damage after grafting, it is necessary to make an even cut, it will be much more convenient to apply the composition on it. If the wound is old, it is first cleaned with a sharp knife.
How can you replace the garden pitch
At home, you can replace the garden pitch with ordinary paraffin. It is used instead of beeswax, while the rest of the components are better left.
How to replace a garden pitch for apple trees
For garden trees, including apple trees, instead of a var, you can use:
- Clay putty (clay, chopped straw and mullein in a 2: 2: 1 ratio).
- Mix equal amounts of mullein and clay.
- Just a lump of earth is an "emergency" option, when there is nothing else (it is fixed with a rag or bag).
- The package can be used on its own - especially if the damage is minor.
- Wax is another good substitute for var.
Which garden var is better
Depending on the characteristics of the composition and properties, the garden pitch is divided into 2 types:
- Heat-liquid: it is used in the warm season, and it must be warmed up before use.
- Cold resistant: does not need to be warmed up. Contains medical alcohol, so it can be used in winter.
Cold-resistant ones are used both in the cold season and in the hot, and heat-liquid ones - only in the summer season. Therefore, we can say that the first group of vars is more effective.
Storage rules
Storage conditions are practically any: in the temperature range from -40 to +40 ° С. At higher temperatures, the composition begins to melt, although even then it does not lose its effectiveness. The place should be dry and dark: access to sunlight is completely excluded.
Shelf life of garden var
Store drugs can be stored for the entire shelf life, which is 5 years. A similar period applies to self-made products. Some summer residents store solid mixtures for up to 10 years.
Var can be stored up to 5 years
Pros and cons of using a garden varnish in gardening
Garden var shows high efficiency, especially when treating large wounds associated with damage from wind, sawing or improper pruning. Experienced gardeners note that the product has the following advantages:
- the drug is easy to prepare from scrap materials;
- it is very cheap;
- when the composition hardens, it adheres well to the surface of the branch and does not fall off from it;
- also the pitch on the tree does not stain the body and clothing when touched;
- the composition contributes to the reliable protection of wounds from infections, as well as their rapid healing.
At the same time, the tool has its drawbacks:
- if the wound or saw cut is too large, you have to apply a lot of the mixture, which leads to the gradual rotting of the wood;
- in winter, early spring and late autumn, you will not be able to use the var - it hardens quickly (but cold-resistant compounds can be used at this time of the year).
- in extreme heat, the alcohol-containing composition can burn the tissues of the plant.
That is why in some cases it will be necessary to replace the garden varnish with other means.
Instead of a var, you can use a clay-based chatterbox.
Conclusion
Do-it-yourself garden var is easy to prepare if you have all the necessary components at hand. It is a natural remedy that not only disinfects wounds, but also promotes their rapid healing. Since the shelf life is at least 5 years, the solution can be prepared immediately in large quantities and used as needed.
