The presence of loose, fertile soil on a plot is one of the main conditions for obtaining a rich harvest. It is important to understand that “loose” soil is well-structured, porous soil. To have such qualities, you should not always rely on natural processes; it is better to use some fairly simple techniques from experienced gardeners. With these little tricks, the soil in the garden will always be loose.
Soil structure
Soil structure is its ability to break down into small pieces. Well-structured soil easily breaks down into small grains measuring 0.25-10 mm. The same definition applies to the concept of “loose soil”.
Soil structure includes 4 main components:
- mineral base (50−60%);
- organic matter (10%);
- air (15−25%);
- water (25−35%).
Loose soil is porous, it allows moisture and air to pass through well, so plants take root and develop better. Light loamy soils have almost ideal performance.
To check the condition of the soil in your area, it is enough to conduct a small test: take a small lump of dry earth in a shovel, toss it, catch it again with a shovel, and then examine the size of the parts into which the soil has crumbled. If they are more than 10-15 mm, then most likely the site has heavy, poorly structured clay soil, which requires some correction of the composition by the gardener.
Lineup changes
To transform clay soil into loose soil, you will need river sand, which must be evenly distributed over the surface. For 1 m² you will need 24 kg (about 15 l) of sand. After this, the soil should be dug up to a depth of 20–25 cm.
It would be useful to attract “helpers” to the site - earthworms, which in the process of their life activities loosen the soil well. In order for these invertebrates to settle on the site, it is enough to place a small compost heap on the territory or mulch the plants with organic materials (for example, rotted compost or dried mowed grass). You can also prepare a special infusion:
- place the roots, stems and leaves of dandelions with a total weight of 1 kg into a container;
- fill them with 10 liters of water;
- leave to infuse for 10-14 days;
- strain;
- dilute with water in a ratio of 1:10.
Apricot Alyosha
This infusion should be watered over the soil, avoiding beds with beets and cabbage.
Manure and humus are not only excellent fertilizers, but also soil loosening agents. Fresh manure should be applied 6 months before planting. For example, this can be done in the fall after digging, distributing fertilizers over empty areas. The rotted product can be applied in the spring.
Fertilizer rate per 1 m²:
- cow - fresh 4−5 kg, rotted 2−2.5 kg;
- horse - fresh 5−6 kg, rotted 2.5−3 kg.
Humus, consisting of peat and rotted manure, can be further enriched with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. This will significantly increase the effectiveness of humus both as a top dressing and as a leavening agent.
Humus needs to be distributed over the surface (20 kg will be needed per 1 m²). Then clay soil should be dug up, going 15-20 cm deep, and sandy soil, going 30 cm deep.
Another effective and at the same time safe method is mulching the soil with mowed grass. Mulching will retain moisture in the soil and protect it from the formation of compactions and crusts after watering and precipitation.
You should start mulching heavy clay soil in June, when it warms up well. The cut grass needs to be dried a little and then laid out in a layer of 7-8 cm. In the fall, the mulch should be dug up along with the soil, which will lead to the formation of humus.
You can also make fertilizer from grass clippings. Other plant material is also suitable for this purpose - leaves, flowers, weeds, tops. To prepare fertilizer, you need:
- fill 2/3 of the barrel with chopped plant material;
- fill with water (to the top of the barrel);
- cover the barrel with film, making several holes in it for gas exchange;
- leave to infuse for 7-10 days, stirring daily.
Pros and cons of high-yielding Khabarovsk apricot
The resulting mixture must be filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. After this, you can water the beds. The solution will quickly be absorbed by plants, protect their roots from pests and diseases, and also reduce the acidity of the soil and make the soil softer.
The yield of vegetables largely depends on the condition of the soil and its physical properties.
The soil on our site is heavy loam. In spring it seems loose and porous, there are earthworms there. But in the summer, after rains or watering, it cakes heavily, becomes like a stone and cannot be corrected by any loosening. How to make such soil airy, loose and fertile?
Beneficial microflora develops in loose soil, and more powerful plant roots grow. At the same time, in compacted, oxygen-deprived soil, beneficial microorganisms die, acidification occurs, and favorable conditions appear for the development of pathogenic fungi, which can lead to various plant diseases.
Also, in soil with high density, roots have difficulty penetrating deep; they suffocate from lack of oxygen. With frequent digging of the soil, porosity is disrupted, compaction occurs, and the humus content decreases.
Frequent and deep loosening of the soil will not make it loose and airy. You should try to preserve humus and improve soil fertility by replenishing the soil with organic matter every year in the fall. To do this, add compost, humus, manure or organo-mineral fertilizers.
The minimum norm to maintain fertility is 1 kg per 1 sq. m, and to restore fertility you will need 3–5 times more organic fertilizers.
Distribute all fertilizers evenly over the loosened soil, then mix with a cultivator.
Good helpers in increasing soil fertility are green manure crops. The roots of green manure are able to penetrate to great depths; as a result of their decomposition, deep layers of soil are loosened and their structure is improved.
They can be sown both in early spring before planting the main crops, and in the fall, after harvesting. When covering the green mass of green manure, add microbiological preparations to the soil that accelerate the decomposition process and suppress pathogens.
Green manure crops include white mustard, lupine, oilseed radish, broad beans, peas, clover, winter rye, oats, and phacelia. Recently, special green manure mixtures have appeared and are available in gardening stores.
Mulching the surface after sowing or planting vegetable crops helps maintain the looseness and structure of the soil. You can mulch with humus, hay, straw, compost, sawdust, shavings, as well as non-woven material or plastic film.
This measure saves the soil surface from compaction, overheating, weathering and leaching of nutrients. Loosening the soil without turning over the soil using a cultivator or flat cutter also, to some extent, preserves humus and soil structure.
A useful measure is to cover the soil on the paths between the beds with any available opaque material (roofing felt, etc.). This prevents weeds from germinating, retains moisture, and an additional volume of soil becomes available for the roots. It is also convenient to use plastic, wood or metal fencing for raised beds. In addition to the neat appearance of the garden, this has considerable benefits - soil compaction is prevented, the cultivated area is reduced, which makes it easier to care for the plants.
This perennial plant can be grown as an annual crop; it improves the structure of the soil, enriches it with nutrients, prevents erosion, and is also a good food for animals and an excellent honey plant.
ONE OF THE CONDITIONS good health of plants, and therefore a high yield of vegetables - fertile soil. And if the land on the site is poor, it must certainly be made rich. It just takes more than one year.
However, using old and modern methods, you can quickly create ideal soil: loose, well-retaining water, saturated with nutrients, many beneficial organisms, not clogged with weeds and plant debris.
THE OLDEST WAY improve the balance of moisture and air, as well as replenish the supply of nitrogen and biologically active substances in the soil - add rotted manure, peat or compost. But the shortage and high price of traditional organics hinder its widespread use. In addition, manure, especially fresh manure, is a source of pathogens and weeds, and peat must be neutralized with lime and thoroughly mixed with the soil: delicate roots react poorly to excess acidity and, with insufficient watering, die, crushed by lumps of peat. Therefore, manure, peat and compost are usually added to holes or furrows before planting seedlings or sowing seeds, only locally improving the fertility of the area.
FERTILITY OF THE WHOLE BED or a vegetable garden can be increased with the help of green manure - plants specially sown for embedding into the soil. Cold-resistant crops - rye (cut after 25-35 days at a plant height of 15-20 cm), oats, rapeseed, mustard, oilseed radish, rapeseed, pelyushka (after 1.5-2 months, at the time of mass flowering), winter vetch and The spring crop is sown as soon as the soil has ripened after the snow melts, or in mid-August - in the beds vacated after harvesting. Amaranth, seradella, annual lupine, and calendula are placed in the garden bed when the soil warms up to 10°. Green manure is planted into the soil to a depth of a maximum of 15 cm.
To increase the thickness of the root layer in the garden bed, I recommend alternating the sowing of dicotyledonous (with a tap root) and monocotyledonous (with superficial, fibrous roots) plants over time: the roots form a capillary network through which moisture can pass deep and accumulate in the soil.
SAVE mulch helps to retain moisture in the soil without compacting it and protecting it from erosion, overheating or hypothermia, a layer of plant material 3-5 cm thick. Mown grass, cut stems of lupine, sweet clover, nettle, hay, straw, flax fire, weathered sawdust, buckwheat and sunflower seed husks, remains of corn stalks and cobs, fallen leaves, paper shavings, shredded bark. However, these materials are mainly composed of cellulose, and the bacteria that feed on it steal nitrogen from the plants. In addition, harmful microorganisms overwinter on mulching plant debris. Mulch also prevents the soil from warming up in the spring, the uniform sowing of seeds, especially small ones, and the uniform emergence of not only weeds, but also cultivated plants. That is why it is recommended to remove mulch from the beds in the spring. The peasants, since they did not have modern technology, staged fires - they set fire to the stubble. Today this technique is prohibited, since it has been established that fire not only threatens rural houses, but also reduces the content of available nitrogen and destroys beneficial microflora and fauna in a 5-centimeter layer of soil.
MORE EFFECTIVE treating the surface of the beds with a biodestructor - a preparation that contains a complex of soil cellulose- and lignin-destroying, nitrogen-fixing, lactic acid and other beneficial microorganisms. The biodestructor accelerates the decomposition of plant residues, making the soil looser. Beneficial microflora accumulates nitrogen in the soil, converts poorly digestible soil phosphorus and potassium into accessible compounds, and enhances the formation of active humus. They suppress the development of pathogenic fungi, bacteria, nematodes, stimulate the development of beneficial soil microflora, plant growth and their resistance to stress, protecting the garden from infections. The addition of humates to the biodestructor will enhance the effect of creating “healthy soil”.
Although biodestructors make it possible to reduce the dose of fertilizers, without the latter it will still not be possible to make the soil fertile.
We add large doses (6-9 g/sq. m) of the missing nutrients in the fall (for the main treatment of the area). In the spring, we need starting doses of fertilizers, which we apply simultaneously with loosening the soil. I advise you to give preference to granular and soluble fertilizers, including those with microelements. You won’t be able to cover them evenly with a shovel, and the work is hard. In a small garden bed, I recommend using a hand-held loosening tool. If an area of more than one hundred square meters is being cultivated, electric and gasoline cultivators will provide high-quality processing.
BY COMBINING THE ABOVE, YOU CAN RETURN FERTILITY TO THE BEDS IN “FIVE STEPS.”
1 . In the spring, we fill the “bare” beds with starter fertilizer and fill them with green manure, and water the mulched ones with a biodestructor.2 . At the appropriate time, we cover the plant mass while simultaneously cultivating the soil.
3 . After a week, we water it with a biodestructor, fill the furrows and holes with humus or compost and sow the seeds.
4 . When the shoots sprout, we loosen the row spacing, apply the microbiological preparation again, and mulch the beds.
5 . After harvesting, we sow or loosen green manure, apply basic fertilizer, cover the beds with mulch and water with biodestructor and humates.
Even if your plot is in an extremely unfavorable location, you can still get an excellent harvest every year. And not alone!
Doesn't that sound like a dream? There is no need to loosen or dig the soil, no manure or compost. But each hundred square meters produces a couple of tons of potatoes, cabbage, 5 carrot crops, and berry crops become super-fertile.
How to get such a yield without violating the soil? Two simple tips.
1. choose the most suitable varieties for the site
2. implement a natural garden system.
Narrow beds
Mark the dimensions of the stationary beds, about 80 cm wide, between which leave a passage of about 1 m. In June, trample down the grass that has grown in this place, put a thick layer of plant organic matter on top, and pour a layer of earth 3-5 cm high on top of it. Until the end of summer, the “bed” rots and does not let out weeds – a haven for worms!
In August, sow mustard and radish - cold-resistant green manures, and in the spring, peas, beans and beans to additionally fertilize the land and start the fruiting season.
Know weed
The special beauty of these beds is that all you need for maintenance is a flat cutter. Weeds do not survive or are very invisible in a place where something from the number of dense crops, thick green manure or mulch is constantly growing!
crops
If you need to protect crops from morning dew, install film screens over the beds. Heat rays will be sent to the garden bed, there will be no dew, and the plants will remain healthy.
Don't waste your energy preparing mulch
If you cut the dense greenery of cold-resistant green manure before frost, you will get a decent layer of mulch. In spring it becomes about 3 times thinner, because... melted and compacted. Make furrows in the layer and plant and sow plants. The new green mass will cover the entire soil.
There is also another way to get good mulch that will protect you from cold and wind - uncut green manure freezes over the winter and becomes brittle with straw.
Mulch – clean plants
You can grow watermelons or potatoes in such beds. The algorithm is simple - tubers are laid out on the finished bed, covered with a layer of loose organic matter, another layer of organic matter is placed on top of the sprouts that have appeared.
New tubers remain clean and undamaged. All kinds of beetles that love to feast on the fruits of your garden are not found in mulch.
Mulching has its own rules. Cover the soil earlier in the fall so that it does not freeze longer. In spring, the coarse mulch is removed to
