Preparing the soil for planting vegetables. Soil: preparation for planting vegetables and berries

Before sowing seeds and planting seedlings, the soil is prepared for planting using certain methods. It is necessary to start planting plants after completing certain actions. Soils in middle lane Russia, as well as in Siberia and the Urals, are characterized by great heterogeneity. Their mechanical composition is determined by the following characteristics:

clayey When dry, the soil is hard, but when wet it is viscous, sticky, smears heavily, easily rolls into a ball or rolls out into a thin rope that bends into a ring without breaking. When processing it, lumps are formed;
dry loamy the soil is ground into a heterogeneous powder. Under the magnifying glass, grains of sand and dust particles are visible. When moistened, it becomes viscous, rolls into a ball, rolls out into a rope, which breaks when bent into a ring;
sandy loam When dry, the soil is easily rubbed between your fingers. It is dominated by sand, visible to the naked eye. It is difficult to roll a ball from wet soil and does not roll out into a rope;
sandy dry the soil is loose. A continuous mass of grains of sand is visible. A ball of wet soil does not roll;
crushed stone or cartilaginous , the soil, along with clay and sand particles, contains fragments of cartilage ranging in size from 3 to 10 and crushed stone larger than 10 mm.

The most suitable for vegetables are light and medium loams, river floodplains and cultivated peatlands, where there is a lot of organic matter (humus).

The soil for all vegetables is carefully divided. The continuous treatment is carried out in autumn and spring. Autumn plowing (or digging up the soil) is preferable, especially for sowing early vegetables. It begins after harvesting and after removing the remains of tops and roots. Before this, fertilizer is spread over the area in an even layer.

When digging with a shovel, the layers of earth are turned over so that the upper, more dispersed, layer is at the bottom, and the lower structural one is on the surface. In autumn, clods of earth are not broken up and the surface is not leveled, as this will retain more moisture. The depth of the main processing is 22-30 cm.

In spring, it is important to promptly begin preparing the soil for planting crops. The goal is to retain as much moisture as possible. When digging highly moist soil, it is difficult to achieve a good cutting of it. And delay in processing leads to drying out. Therefore, in the spring you need to monitor the condition of the soil on a daily basis. Here are the simplest ways to determine its humidity.

Dry soil is dusty. The hand does not feel the coolness of the mass. Damp soil does not generate dust, slightly cools the hand and smears, but a sheet of filter paper attached to it does not get wet. Wet soil feels damp and does not ooze water, but a sheet of filter paper gets wet quickly, while wet soil oozes water when squeezed.

Tillage begins when the soil is prepared: it is still damp, but no longer sticks to the shovel and crumbles into small lumps. The soil should be prepared without long breaks so as not to dry out the soil. This is especially important for early vegetable crops.

When digging in the spring, you need to select roots and shoots from the soil weeds, as well as pest larvae.

Having dug up the area, experienced gardeners immediately bring the soil to a finely lumpy state (lumps 1-10 mm in size). They loosen it with a rake and level the surface with the back of it.

Areas with heavy clay soil, as well as those intended for late crops or fertilized before sowing, are dug up again to a depth of 14-16 cm, carefully cut with a rake or cutter. On the prepared plantation, plots and passages between them are marked out or ridges are made, and then vegetable crops are immediately sown or planted.

In order not to dry out the soil, it is necessary to prepare daily as much area as the gardener is able to sow on the same day.

Peat soils should be cultivated after the top layer has thawed to a depth of 10-15 cm.

A mandatory technique for soil preparation before sowing is rolling. To do this, use a special wooden roller, an ordinary board, or a tamper. rolling levels the surface of the plot, ensures seeding to the same depth, promotes the flow of moisture from the lower layers of soil to the seeds, ensuring their better germination and rapid emergence.

In Russian conditions, vegetable bed cultivation is very effective. On heavy, waterlogged, cold soils, ridges warm up faster in the spring, which is especially important when growing early and heat-loving vegetables. The layer of soil raised above the surface of the earth becomes looser, its physical and Chemical properties and the plants grow better. It is more convenient to sow and care for plants in the beds.

In low, swampy areas of the ridge, it is better to prepare in the fall, so that in the spring you can sow vegetables in early dates. True, in dry summers the ridges need to be watered more often, but the labor costs pay off high yield. In the beds, gardeners get better quality and early vegetables. Experiments have proven that the yield of cold-resistant crops (carrots, beets, early cabbage) in the beds increases by 2-13, and heat-loving crops (cucumber, tomato) by 27-32%.

With flat terrain, it is recommended to place the ridges from southeast to northwest or from south to north. At the same time, they are evenly illuminated and warmed by the sun, this ensures uniform development of plants. In beds placed in the direction from east to west, plants on south side develop faster, which leads to uneven ripening of the crop.

In vegetable gardens located on slopes, it is better to make ridges across the slope, otherwise they are destroyed by excess water runoff in the spring and heavy rains.

The size of the ridges depends on the configuration of the site, the depth of the arable layer, and other conditions. It is most rational to make them no more than 90-100 cm wide, 16-25 cm high, and no more than 10 m long. The width of the furrow-paths should be 25-30 cm. It is advisable to arrange earthen ridges or grooves on the ridges so that the water. Warm-season crops (cucumber, zucchini) are sometimes placed on ridges, at the base of which manure is placed. They turn out warm narrow ridges. The top of the ridges is leveled and seeds or seedlings of vegetable crops are placed.

Preparing the soil for a lawn is comparable to laying a solid foundation for a house. The more responsible you are about this important stage, the smoother and neater the finished lawn will look, and the more less problems will arise with him later. Be prepared for the fact that it will take you a lot of time and effort, but the result is worth it!

You will need to clear the selected area of debris, remove weeds and uproot stumps, dig up the soil, level the surface, apply fertilizer, compact the top layer of soil, and then loosen and level again. You will have to work especially hard if the area has not been developed before. It doesn’t matter whether you plan to sow the area with grass yourself or lay rolled lawn- soil preparation for the lawn will be the same.

The land for the lawn must also be completely cleared of trees, shrubs, young growth, former flower beds

Cleaning the area and preparing the area for a lawn

The first thing to do is to clear the area of construction and household debris, wood chips, stones, branches, etc. Just do not bury small debris in the ground, otherwise problems may arise later when using equipment, and foreign objects will interfere with the development of the plant root system. If you had concrete or stone paths in the place where you plan to place the lawn, you will have to completely remove them to the very foundation.

Video about preparing soil for a lawn

The land for the lawn should also be completely cleared of trees, shrubs, young growth, and former flower beds. Special attention is given to destruction weed. You can remove a thin layer of turf with a bayonet shovel and subsequently use it as fertile soil (put the turf in a stack with its roots up in the far corner of the garden, and within six months it will turn out to be excellent fertile soil).

Another option is to get rid of weeds using chemical substances(reglon or roundup), which, penetrating through the stems and leaves of plants into root system, in a few days they completely destroy all the grass. After applying herbicides, it is recommended to sow seeds lawn grass only after six weeks, carefully weeding out the weeds that appear during this period.

How to properly dig up soil for a lawn

Further preparation of the soil for the lawn involves carefully digging it up. This stage cannot be skipped, even if it seems very difficult. good soil(after a garden or flower bed) it is enough to dig to the depth of one bayonet of a shovel, turning over and breaking pieces of earth. A simple single-tier digging is only suitable for soil that was previously cultivated, since only the top layer of soil is prepared, and the bottom layer remains unchanged.

Well-rotted manure or compost can be added to the soil.

If the area has not been processed for a long time or the soil is too light or heavy, two-tier digging will be required:

dig a furrow across the area with one bayonet of a shovel, removing the soil to the side for a while;
Using a pitchfork or pick, thoroughly loosen the lower level of the soil;
dig a second furrow and fill the first furrow with soil taken from it;
break large clods of earth with a pitchfork or shovel;
the last furrow is filled with the soil that was dug at the very beginning.

Well-rotted manure or compost can be added to the soil. With poor drainage and clay soil Preparing the soil for a lawn also includes creating a drainage layer - during two-tier digging, crushed stone or gravel is poured onto the lower level.

Leveling the site and top layer of soil

When leveling the area, try not to mix the top layer of soil with the bottom

To ensure that the grass on small hills does not look trimmed, and in the lowlands it does not look too long, you need to take care in advance of how to level the area for the lawn. To do this, walk with a rake over the dug up area, at the same time removing old roots and stones that are on the surface. From time to time, carefully inspect the area from the side so that its level is the same from different points. Move the soil from the hillocks to the lowlands for leveling, but keep in mind: all unevenness will appear again after the land settles.

When leveling the area, try not to mix the top layer of soil with the bottom. If you need to level out hummocks and depressions, it is better to temporarily remove the fertile layer and put it aside, carry out all leveling work at the level of the lower layer, and then pour the fertile soil back. If there is a lack of fertile soil on the site (the layer must be at least 20 cm), you can purchase it and mix it with the existing soil - this will ensure uniform drainage.

Final preparation of the soil for the lawn

Before you prepare the soil for the lawn, you need to add mineral fertilizers to it, because in any case the soil will not have enough useful substances, and feeding on at this stage will allow for the best distribution of fertilizers in the soil. Organic fertilizers applied in spring and autumn.

Video about the lawn, preparing the land for sowing

The leveled ground must be trampled down in small steps or so that it does not sag after rain. In addition, grass will take root better in compacted soil. When the soil under the lawn is thoroughly compacted, walk along its surface with a rake again, leveling any uneven areas and removing stones. As a result, the surface of the earth should look like a pie sprinkled with sand crumbs, while remaining quite dense inside.

This completes the preparation of the soil for the lawn. It is recommended, if time permits, to leave the area fallow for one and a half to two months - the land will settle a little more, and you will be able to eliminate the defects that have appeared, as well as destroy the wave of weeds that will inevitably grow on freshly cultivated land. After this, all that remains is to loosen the surface of the area again with a rake and sow lawn grass seeds.

Regardless of what you are going to grow - vegetables, flowers or shrubs and trees, the first thing you need to do is prepare the soil. In well-loose soil, roots can develop optimally; rainwater and water from irrigation, and exactly where it is needed - directly to the roots, and excess moisture easily removed. Soil with small clods is the optimal cradle for your...

If you did not do deep loosening in the fall, you can do it in the spring. However, it must be carried out in a timely manner, when the soil is not frozen and no longer too wet. After all, after loosening, the soil must still settle a little and become compacted - only after that can it be planted in it. Try, if possible, not to trample loose soil. For example, work mostly “in reverse” and place a board if you still need to step into the garden bed.

Preparing beds and other areas for planting

Compost delivers nutrients slowly but over time and generally improves soil properties. And the plants begin to grow well after planting. But it is necessary to use mature compost, mixed with soil and sifted, which was “ready” last fall (especially for seedlings). It is best to apply it a couple of weeks before sowing. First, spread the compost with a shovel or bucket over the planting surface in a layer of about 1 cm, and then mix it with the soil, but do not bury it!

Prepare the beds - loosening in the spring: give air, weeds away

If deep loosening of the soil was carried out in the fall, light loosening in the spring is enough to ventilate its top layer:

To do this, use a grubber, cultivator or ripper.
In dug up soil, you first need to use a pick to crush large clods of earth.
At the same time, carefully collect the roots of the weeds - these efforts will be worth it in any case.

It is best to carry out loosening a couple of days before planting so that the soil has time to settle again.

How to get crumbly soil is an important point in preparing beds for sowing and planting seedlings

Rotary cultivator, or star roller - practical tool for crushing lumps and lumps and removing weeds. It will be especially useful on soils prone to clumping; in other cases, you can get by with a rake.

Expert tip: Put big clods land on - there they will serve you well.

Level the soil well

Some soils are sometimes very difficult to level. To do this, you have to work with a rake along and across the surface and rake large clods to the side. The fact that the soil is slightly compacted again does not harm the plants at all; on the contrary, it provides the seeds and roots of the plants with best contact with the ground.

Expert tip: Fill holes where water stagnates, as they can harm seeds and seedlings.

Paths and borders between beds

If the rows are not paved with anything, then it is best to trample them thoroughly and then cover them with bark mulch or crushed stone. To keep the edges of your beds clear, use a string stretched between pegs or a piece of hose. A simple and flexible border for garden beds can be made from durable plastic border tapes or vertically buried plates. A wooden picket fence looks, of course, more beautiful, but it outlines too harshly.

So, what is the best soil for seedlings, and what kind of soil should it be sown in? In the literature devoted to the problems of vegetable growing, one can find many recommendations for preparing soil for growing seedlings; their composition depends on biological characteristics crop, the period of its cultivation and on the available components.

We should start talking about seeds with the fact that they, having a supply nutrients, at first they do not require fertile soil. They need water and air the most. To use them fully, the soil for seedlings must, first of all, be loose, porous, moisture-absorbing, air- and water-permeable. Then the seeds will germinate without any problems, throw out the cotyledons and be in excellent condition for picking.

Knowing what kind of soil is needed for seedlings, you can buy a soil mixture in a specialized store or prepare it yourself by combining the available ingredients - peat, humus, compost, sawdust, sand, etc. The composition depends on the crop and the funds available to the gardener. Listening to the advice of experts, however, try to create your own recipe for the best soil for seedlings, based on your own capabilities. The only thing that everyone agrees on is that you should not use damp garden soil for sowing seeds, soil from the area where cabbage and potatoes grew, and from flower beds due to the fact that the former is unsatisfactory in structure; in other cases, infection by pests and spores is possible fungi and pathogenic microorganisms.

Speaking about which soil is best for seedlings, most gardeners recognize the following mixtures as optimal for sowing seeds:

compost, garden soil and coarse sand (1:1:1);
humus, turf soil and sand (2:1:1);
humus and sand (1:1).

These are the best soil options for seedlings, which are suitable for crops intended for picking at the stage of formation of cotyledons or 1-2 true leaves.

By the time of transplanting the seedlings, it is necessary to prepare the seedling boxes and fill them with soil. Compared to seed soil mixture, it should be more nutritious (all other qualities should also be present), especially since the plants will remain in it until planted indoors or. This does not mean that you can refill the soil at once minerals and forget about feeding. Remember that nutrients even in the most better soil enough for vegetable seedlings for no more than 2 weeks.

Composition of the correct soil for seedlings in a greenhouse and at home

If you decide to make soil for seedlings with your own hands, then you need to take care of it in advance and prepare turf soil, manure humus, non-acidic peat, coarse river sand, lime (chalk, dolomite flour), wood ash, mineral fertilizers, sawdust, etc. Of course, not all of this must necessarily be included in the mixture. From these components, you can choose what you have and make a soil mixture from them in the required quantity. For example, soil for seedlings at home from soil for seedlings in a greenhouse may differ in the quantitative content of manure (at home - less, in a greenhouse - more), because inhaling its vapors is an unpleasant task. Some components are interchangeable. For example, instead of humus or compost, you can use vermicompost (vermicompost).

So, we prepare the soil for seedlings ourselves, but first, check out some of the recipes that are most popular among gardeners. The composition of soil for seedlings can be as follows:

peat, turf soil, humus (compost) and sawdust (coarse sand) (3:2:4:1);
peat, compost and sawdust (3:5:1);
humus, turf soil and coarse sand (2:2:1);
turf soil and manure humus (1:1);
peat, humus and sawdust (2:2:1);
humus and peat (2: 2);
turf soil, humus and mullein (3:6:1);
peat, humus, turf soil and mullein (5:3:1:1).

In the soil for seedlings that you prepare yourself, add an additional 2 tablespoons per bucket of each mixture. wood ash and 1 tbsp. superphosphate.

High-quality soil for seedlings: how to prepare the soil

Turf soil deserves a few words. This component is included in many mixtures of high-quality soil for seedlings, since it is nutritious (contains rotten remains of plant and animal origin), porous and retains moisture well, but is not prone to compaction and does not allow excess moisture stagnate.

Before preparing the soil for seedlings, in order to get real turf soil, at the end of June it is necessary to cut layers of turf 20-30 cm wide and 8-12 cm thick (the length can be any) and lay them in a stack (width and height - 1.2 -1.5 m). The bottom row consists of layers laid with grass up, manure should be placed on it and another row of turf with grass down. If the soil is wet, then it is enough to pour layers phosphate rock(5 kg/m1) and lime (2-3 kg/m3), if it is dry, then pour water on it, or even better, slurry (this will speed up decomposition). Once all the sod has been laid, lift the edges of the stack to create a depression. It will retain liquid after moistening.

In the summer of next year, shovel the soil at least 2 times, and in the fall, sift through a sieve and pour into containers or paper bags. Leave her under open air it is impossible, since it will quickly lose those qualities for which so much time and effort was spent on it. If you decide to prepare the soil for seedlings as best as possible, keep in mind that turf soil with best properties It turns out, after 2 seasons.

What soil is needed for seedlings: soil composition

The soil for seedlings often includes sand. It is best if it is clean river sand that does not contain clay. It is enough to sift it to clear it of stones. Soil containing sand never forms a surface crust, which is a big plus.

When preparing soil for seedlings, refrain from using quarry sand, since it always contains clay and toxic impurities such as iron or manganese salts are possible (the brightness of the color of the raw material indicates their presence), which negatively affect plants.

In recipes for mixtures you can find manure or mullein. If you grow seedlings in an equipped greenhouse, there are no contraindications to their use. In the event that we are talking about residential premises, this issue must be approached with knowledge of the matter.

Manure happens:

fresh, in which the straw is clearly visible;
half-rotted, the straw is still visible in it, but it has already darkened and is easily torn;
rotted, representing an almost homogeneous (homogeneous) mass;
in the form of manure humus. This is the most the best option, since in such manure the nutrients are in the form that is most accessible to plants.

What kind of manure for soil is better when growing seedlings in a residential area? At home, only manure humus can be used as a component of the soil mixture, which is good not only from the point of view of hygiene and aesthetics, but is also beneficial for plants.

When preparing soil for seedlings, compost is also used, which still needs to be properly prepared, since the pile in the corner of the plot, consisting of food waste and weeds, has absolutely nothing in common with a real compost pile. If heating is not provided during its preparation, then plant debris and everything else that is usually put into compost will simply slowly decompose, losing nutrients and accumulating harmful microorganisms. For seedlings, only mature compost obtained through the process of aerobic decomposition (that is, in the presence of oxygen) and accompanied by heating is suitable.

Preparing the soil for planting seedlings: preparing the soil

When preparing soil for seedlings, in order to obtain crumbly dark-colored soil as a result of composting, you must follow some rules:

Besides organic matter, which quickly decompose (manure, plant residues, etc.), the necessary components of compost are slowly decomposing sawdust, shavings, chopped stems, leaves and garden soil, and not in an arbitrary, but in a strictly defined ratio -1: 1: 0.5.
Place compostable materials in layers, the last of which should be soil. If this requirement is not met, plant residues are compressed and begin to prevent oxygen from penetrating deep into the stack.
When laying compost, moisten the layers and sprinkle them with lime. The ripening of compost is accelerated by watering with slurry, but waterlogging and drying out are equally harmful to the compost.
To ensure heating to 55-70° C, the compost pile must have sufficient big sizes- 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 m.

If the above conditions are met, the compost will mature in 5-7 months, during which it must be shoveled several times so that the process proceeds evenly, and in winter the pile must be covered with dry leaves. When the compost is ready, sift it. Use everything that is not sufficiently decomposed to lay the next pile, and add the fine fraction to the seedling soil mixture.

If you want to further verify whether the compost is ready for use, carry out the following test: prepare shallow containers, fill one of them with sand and the other with compost, moisten them and evenly distribute the watercress seeds over the surface, then place them in transparent plastic bags. When the seeds begin to germinate, compare their number and root length in both containers. If the result of seeds germinated on compost is worse, this means that it is not yet ripe.

The composition of the soil for sowing seeds for seedlings may also include peat. It is usually sold in specialized stores, but you can also check its quality. Do the same test as for compost, but replace the watercress with radishes.

If for some reason you have not prepared soil for seedlings, you can buy soil at the store. Such mixtures can be wet or dry. The latter are more profitable, since you yourself are able to add to them required amount water to get 6 liters of soil from a dry briquette weighing 750 g. There are mixtures specifically designed for individual crops - sweet peppers, eggplants, tomatoes (the difference is in the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), and universal ones. You can sow seeds in them and pick up seedlings. However, gardeners, especially beginners, should be careful. Recently, unflattering reviews about the quality of purchased soil mixtures have been found in the literature. They write that often from just open package smells like mold or ammonia (the first means that the pound is contaminated with mushrooms, and the second means what is in it a large number of undecomposed organic matter), that often the soil contains harmful microorganisms, or even represents depleted soil thrown out of greenhouses. In this regard, it is recommended to purchase soil from famous manufacturers with a good reputation.

Ideal soil for sowing seeds for seedlings

No matter what kind of primer you plan to use, there are General requirements which must be taken into account:

The non-toxicity of the components of the soil mixture is the main condition, and do not be fooled by the black color of the soil (in our minds there is a strong connection between black soil and fertility).
The components of an ideal soil for seedlings should be free from pathogenic microorganisms and fungi, since seedlings are highly sensitive to them, which is why seedlings often suffer from blackleg, root rot, etc. In this regard, soil from the garden or vegetable garden poses the greatest danger. did not pass the required pre-treatment(for example, steaming in a water bath), and compost obtained without heating.
If included soil soil for seedlings, materials of organic origin are included; they should not quickly decompose, significantly raising the soil temperature, because at 30 ° C the roots of seedlings die off. With a small volume of soil, this is, of course, unlikely, but it is impossible not to provide for the active absorption of nitrogen that occurs during this process.
It is equally important that the components form a mixture that will not harden and form a soil crust, which is typical when it contains clay.
The rule, which has no exceptions, states that if the main component of the soil for seedlings of vegetable crops has been sterilized, it must be supplemented with a bioadditive with beneficial microflora, in particular vermicompost (a product of processing organic waste by the red Californian worm). Of course, it is more common to add manure or bird droppings, but believe me, this will not work for seedlings best choice. Dietary supplements are distinguished by the fact that they are not contaminated with pathogens, fungal spores, helminth eggs and harmful insects, and also do not contain weed seeds. In addition, their potential as fertilizers is immeasurably higher. For example, vermicompost is 10-20 times more effective than manure. Don't confuse the amount of nutrients in the right soil for seedlings with a complex of beneficial microorganisms. Dietary supplements act indirectly. They do not increase the nutritional value of the pound, but increase soil fertility. When adding them to the seedling soil mixture, you enrich it with beneficial microflora - an antagonist of mortise microorganisms, which means you take care of the health of seedlings and seedlings.

Tilling the soil before planting seedlings with your own hands

If you are going to prepare seedlings for your own use, then mixtures based on various types soils (turf, compost, leaf, etc.) are quite suitable. When growing seedlings for sale, when the number of boxes is not 10, but several hundred, when there is a need to rearrange or rotate the boxes, the weight of the soil mixture turns into tens of kilograms, and you want to find a recipe for such a mixture so that it is as light as possible and does not harm health gardener, but at the same time retained all the qualities necessary for plants. One such option is a substrate based sawdust(it was tested more than 10 years ago and received quite a high rating). It is advisable to use rotted sawdust, but if you cannot find any, you can use fresh ones, but they will have to be pre-treated in a special way.

When cultivating soil for seedlings, dissolve 200 g of this in 10 liters of water. ammonium nitrate, pour sawdust into it (this amount is enough for 3 buckets), mix, cover the container with black plastic film and leave at a temperature of at least 20° C (especially good if you have a greenhouse). Sawdust is considered ready for use when it darkens and loses its specific odor.

The process described above is called fermentation. Before preparing the soil for seedlings, it must be done, because if you use fresh sawdust, the nitrogen that will be added to the mixture as part of the nitrogen or complex fertilizer, will be spent on sorting out the sawdust. Consequently, your plants will be left without necessary nutrition, which will naturally affect the quality of the seedlings.

When the season for growing seedlings approaches, combine the sawdust substrate with mineral fertilizers - superphosphate and potassium sulfate (15 g per bucket), scatter it into boxes in a layer of about 6 cm, add soil mixture for seedlings on top, then pour in biofertilizer and cover with plastic wrap. If you strictly followed all the recommendations on how to make soil for seedlings, after 1 week the substrate will be ready for use. The seedlings feel great in it and develop well, and the boxes weigh almost nothing.

Preparing soil for seedlings: how to make high-quality soil

You can also make soil for seedlings based on sawdust, as described below.

Combine fermented sawdust with coarse grain river sand in a ratio of 3: 1. Add 30 g of lime and 15 g of complex fertilizer (for example, nitroammophosphate) to 1 bucket of the mixture. Mineral fertilizer will successfully replace 10% water solution mullein - fresh cattle manure.

The next stage of the operation, called “Preparing soil for seedlings with our own hands,” is filling planting boxes or individual containers with the resulting soil mixture. Don’t forget to add drainage to the bottom, the role of which will be played well by crushed eggshell, small expanded clay or perlite (volcanic glass in the form of small balls), if possible. Next comes watering. When preparing the soil for seedlings, it is necessary to adhere to a certain technique. Do not pour in a large amount of water at once. Do this gradually, in small portions, making sure to mix the soil with your hands so that the moisture is evenly distributed throughout the entire volume. There should be no dry areas left, since then moisture will flow around them, and watering will not be uniform, as a result of which the plants will suffer. In addition, it is more convenient to sow seeds and plant seedlings in a wet pound.

The optimal moisture content of the mixture when preparing the soil for seedlings is 75-85%. To check if you did everything correctly, take a handful of soil and squeeze. Is water not dripping? Then open your palm.
Didn't the lump of soil crumble or crack? This means you did everything as it should.

After tilling the soil before planting the seedlings, level the surface of the soil and be sure to check the corners to ensure they are also filled. Remove excess soil by running a regular slat along the sides of the box. To allow the soil to settle a little, carefully moisten it. Now everything is ready to sow the seeds.

How to prepare the soil for seedlings if you plan to grow seedlings different varieties same culture? In this case, care must be taken not to confuse them. The following method is often used: the boxes are numbered, and the numbers are applied to all their sides oil paint, which allows, without disturbing the plants and without turning the container, to know exactly what type of crop is sown or picked in it, since at the same time a diary is kept in which it is recorded what is in which box. In addition, during the season, it records data on when sowing began, when picking took place, which varieties turned out to be the best and which did not live up to expectations, etc. These records can be used in subsequent years, which is very convenient. This technique is recommended primarily for those who grow a large number of seedlings for their further sale.

Why is it important to know how to make soil for seedlings?

It may seem unnecessary to a novice gardener to attach such importance to soil mixtures for seedlings. Why is this so important to know? It would seem that what could be easier than pouring garden soil into boxes (you can also add fertilizer to it), after all, vegetables grow in it, and often not at all bad! Isn’t this unnecessary fuss, isn’t this a far-fetched problem designed to create additional difficulties and discourage the desire to garden? Everything said above should have convinced you that growing seedlings is a technology that must be followed if you want to get not just what will work, but plants that will give bountiful harvest. Therefore, the formation of a soil mixture is far from being an idle matter, but rather a pressing issue.

Regarding garden land, the following must be said. Of course, you can increase the fertility of such soil by amending it accordingly, but changing it physical characteristics it won’t work, and this is precisely what is most important when growing seedlings. Typically, garden soil is poor in humus and in most cases does not have a water-resistant structure, which looks like this: when watering, water is not absorbed immediately, but remains on the surface for some time and only then slowly penetrates inside. As a result, an unsatisfactory air regime in the soil occurs; a crust forms on its surface, which further impedes soil aeration. In addition, garden soil is usually contaminated with pathogens, fungal spores and contains weed seeds. And if we add to the above that the seedlings are grown in a residential area, then what plants can withstand the onslaught of so many negative factors!

All of the above together leads to the conclusion that it is undesirable to use garden land for the purpose of obtaining high-quality seedlings.

How to prepare the soil for seedlings: improving the soil

Since circumstances may be different, and therefore sometimes you have to use garden soil, you should know about some ways to improve its health.

The negative side of sterilizing soil when preparing soil for seedlings is that along with pathogenic microorganisms, beneficial microorganisms that help grow plants are also destroyed. Moreover, the soil does not remain completely clean for long after this, since, for example, fungal spores can be in the air. To reduce the risk of this happening, transfer the treated soil into bags and tie them tightly, and when the time comes to scatter it into boxes and moisten it, add vermicompost or supercompost.

With the arrival of spring, the summer season opens and soil work can begin. The soil is the basis of the crop, so you definitely need to devote time to its pre-planting preparation.

Preparing the soil for seedlings

Any gardener can make so-called “turf soil” on his plot during one season, which in the spring will become the basis for any vegetable and flower gardens. soil mixtures. Raw materials for turf land are harvested throughout the warm period on old pastures and meadows.

The turf is cut in layers and stacked. The height of the stack must be at least a meter.
To speed up decomposition, when laying the turf in a pile, it is layered with fresh manure or spilled with slurry.
In hot weather, the stack is watered; it should never dry out.
After a few months, the pile is shoveled and large, undecomposed rhizomes are sifted out.
The resulting soil is stored until spring in buckets and bags in unheated indoor areas.

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, physalis, cabbage, celery, lettuce are sown in a 1:2:1 mixture of turf soil with humus and sand. For 10 liters of the mixture, pour two glasses of ash, and if you plan to sow cabbage, then also a glass of fluff. In addition, for each liter of the mixture add a teaspoon of superphosphate and a pinch of any potash fertilizer. For those who prefer organic farming, fats can be replaced with an additional glass of ash per 10 liters of mixture.

Crops that prefer nutritious, but at the same time neutral soil and do not like lime (these are all pumpkins, sunflowers, chard, lettuces, carnations, bells) are sown in a 1:1 mixture of turf soil and old humus, adding a glass of ash to a bucket of soil.

To prepare the mixture, only fresh ingredients are taken that have not yet been used to grow seedlings. In this case, soil preparation in the spring is reduced to a minimum. This mixture does not require disinfection; it can be sown immediately.

Preparing the soil in the greenhouse

Properly prepared greenhouse soil will be the key good harvest. In industrial greenhouses, the soil is completely changed after 3-5 years. In a country greenhouse you don’t have to do this if you alternate crops annually and replenish the reserve in the soil nutrients.

During the season, the surface of the beds is mulched with compost several times, and if necessary, the leaves are sprayed with microelements - this is enough to obtain a good and environmentally friendly harvest.

Preparing the soil for sowing

Preparing the soil for planting begins in the fall - at this time the site is dug up. In the spring, all that remains is to walk along it with a rake and form beds. If there was no autumn digging, you will have to do it in the spring.

Spring tillage of the soil in the garden begins after it reaches ripeness, that is, a state in which during digging it does not form lumps, does not stick to the shovel and breaks down well into small lumps.

To check whether the soil has reached ripeness, you need to take a little soil in the palm of your hand and squeeze it tightly, then drop it. If the lump falls into pieces, then you can dig up the soil; if not, you need to wait.

When digging, weed rhizomes and harmful beetle larvae are removed, manure, compost and humus are added. In the area reserved for root crops, manure and humus are not applied, but mineral fertilizers are scattered over the surface of the ground immediately before digging.

Immediately after digging, the soil must be covered with a rake. This operation cannot be postponed, since after some time the blocks will dry out and become difficult to break.

After a week, you can already begin to fight annual weeds. To do this, a rake is passed through the area again. Weed seedlings located in top layer soil, turn to the surface and die. Usually, several such treatments are carried out at intervals of 3-4 days - this greatly reduces the contamination of the area.

Preparing the soil for sowing and planting begins with the formation of beds. This is a good time to make nitrogen fertilizers: urea, ammonium nitrate. In spring, the soil lacks nitrogen, and such fertilizing will be very useful. The fertilizers are scattered on the ground, adhering to the standards specified by the manufacturer, and buried deep into the beds with a rake. Then the surface is carefully leveled and you can begin planting seedlings or sowing.