When is the best time to bring soil to the site? Raise a plot of land with soil and sand in the Moscow region. Types of land plots

Now that suburban construction is rapidly developing, the acquisition of land for the construction of a summer house or cottage is becoming especially relevant. However, it often turns out that if the terrain is not carefully studied, the owner ends up with a plot on two levels, which leads to problems both in the construction of structures on it and in the development of the territory. To imagine how to deal with this, let's look at the most common ways to solve the problem.

Types of land plots

Land plots differ significantly in their topography and geological features. Among them are:

• Land areas above sea level. Their peculiarity is their location in mountainous or elevated areas. This usually leads to more precipitation in such an area and a lower average annual temperature. The soils here are predominantly podzolic, clayey or sandy, but sometimes carbonate or podzolic chernozems are found. The relief of a land plot located above sea level can be both flat and hilly. In the latter case, it is impossible to do without raising the level, that is, without eliminating the most noticeable depressions.

• Land areas below sea level. They are often characterized by significant swampy soils, sometimes the formation of salt marshes, but fertile silty soils are also common. Therefore, you should not immediately refuse such an acquisition, but it is advisable to definitely raise the level of the site in order to avoid future flooding of the foundations of buildings and create optimal conditions for growing garden and vegetable crops.

• Land plots below ground level. Here, raising the level on the site is mandatory, since its territory appears to be in a lowland and water will flow onto it from neighboring sites, a nearby highway, etc., leading to soil washout and a decrease in the service life of structures. The typical for such territories can have a particularly destructive impact. high level groundwater.
• Land plots above ground level. At first glance, they are practically free of drawbacks, but the uneven terrain creates additional difficulties in cultivating the garden, caring for the garden, and simply moving around the area, where it is very easy to trip. However, raising the level of the site, which is necessary here to smooth out unevenness, allows you to quickly solve this problem.

Why raise the land?

If, at first glance, the difference in levels on the site is not too obvious, many people have a desire to save money and improve the territory without the hassle of raising the level of zones located in the lowlands compared to the rest. But there are several cases when experts recommend strongly considering this operation:

• Groundwater flows too close to the soil surface, which can cause waterlogging and erosion of the upper, most fertile layer of soil.

• The site has several pronounced hills and depressions. This makes it difficult not only to build a house, but also to improve the surrounding area: for example, lanterns installed in lowlands will do a poor job of illuminating the area, and flowers planted on a hill or vegetable crops will take root poorly due to the gradual sliding of the soil.

• Neighboring areas are located much higher than this area. And this automatically means that during heavy rains or flooding, there will be constant and regular water in the area around the house.

Methods for raising a plot of land

In practice, there are not so many ways to increase the level of a land plot, but all of them have proven themselves quite well. They differ depending on the height to which the site area needs to be raised:

• If this figure does not exceed 30 cm, soil is usually used (imported or taken from the hills of the site). Additionally, it is compacted with a vibrating plate and laid on top of the previously removed fertile soil layer.

• If the difference in levels between zones local area reaches 30 cm or more, they do it differently: they take so-called “planning” mixtures, in which sand is combined with gravel. They are laid in layers, between which it is recommended to place layers of fertilizers, and on top of them - the top fertile soil layer, without which planting any plants will be impossible.

Particular attention is required when it is necessary to raise the level of the area where it is planned to create a lawn. In this case, they usually resort to one of three options:

• If water regularly stands on the lawn, flooding it, then before raising the level of the area, you should make sure that there is no clay layer inside the soil. Otherwise, this operation will not achieve anything in terms of drainage, even if the groundwater flows deep. After confirming the presence of clay, it should be completely removed and replaced with a layer of sand, on top of which black soil is laid. Then the water will drain much better.
• If there is a road above the area where the lawn is located, and this leads to water flowing onto the area, it is best to raise its level using porous soil. Usually they use river sand. To prevent such soil from eroding, it is advisable to fence the lawn with a concrete fence with a height of 3-4 cm, but the depth of its installation in the soil should be at least 20 cm.
• When it is precisely established that the depth of groundwater is really no more than a meter or two, then, in addition to pouring an earthen or sand layer on the lawn area, it is necessary to take care additional installation drainage system.

Preparatory work for raising the land plot

In order for landscaping of a personal plot to be effective, before raising the level of the plot, it is necessary to carry out a series of preparatory work. For this:

• They carefully study the topography of the territory, determine the type of soil and the depth of groundwater flow, as well as the proximity of water bodies.
• It will always be useful to observe the neighboring areas, where they may be digging pits for laying the foundation of a house, holes for fence posts, or laying a drainage system from the territory. This will allow you to visually determine the depth at which the water is in the well, find out in which direction the water flows from the site, and where this is generally impossible and the area partially resembles a swamp, especially at certain times of the year. Also, this kind of “spying” on neighbors makes it possible to determine, without expensive geological exploration, whether the soil is sandy, clay or peat.
• After preliminary orientation on the area, it is necessary to clean the area: remove old tree roots, debris, stumps, and weeds. Next, it is advisable to give the soil time to settle for a week, but provided that the weather is dry.

• During the settling period, you should begin creating along the entire perimeter of the site strip foundation. Its height is chosen so that the foundation rises above the soil level in neighboring areas. To achieve this, the perimeter is surrounded by a trench, the depth of which must be at least 20 cm. Wooden formwork is installed in it. For the manufacture of formwork they take wooden board with a thickness of approximately 30-40 mm, which is fixed with stakes installed at a distance of 50-100 cm from each other. Cement-crushed stone or cement-gravel mortar is poured into the middle of the formwork. The ratio of the components in it should be as follows: for one part of cement there are 3 parts of sand and 5 parts of gravel. If the air temperature is 15-20 degrees, the strip foundation will acquire 70% of its safety margin within a week. This will allow us to proceed to the next stage of work.

Land raising technology

When raising the level of the site we will need:

• Shovels.
• Cord.
• Hose.
• Rake.
• Buckets.
• Sand.
• Crushed stone.
• Water.
• Gravel.
• Cement.
• Vibrating plate.
• Hydrostatic level.
• Yardstick.
• Concrete mixer.

To different levels area turned into a flat surface with slight slope(about 3 cm per meter of length) to improve soil drainage, the following operations must be performed:

• Carefully remove the fertile layer of soil 10-20 cm thick. It is stored in a separate place until the final stage of work.
• If you intend to level the ground level on a site on a local scale, it is advisable to place small wooden pegs across this area and along the perimeter of the strip foundation at a distance of approximately 2 meters from each other and stretch a cord between them. This will allow you to adjust the soil level by removing or adding it between the pegs until the level of the above cord is reached. To ensure that the required height of the area is uniform, it should be controlled using a hydrostatic level.

• Correctly distribute the areas where soil will be added. Thus, the level of the area in which the beds or lawn will be located is usually increased by adding sand. If the place is not intended for growing plants and paths pass through it or there are utility rooms, the level is raised by adding sandy loam or clay. If there is a very large difference between the levels, it is permissible to place even construction waste at a depth.

Further actions depend on the thickness of the layer that needs to be added to raise the level of the area:

• If the soil level needs to be raised to a height not exceeding 30 cm, we bring soil to the site and lay it in layers, the thickness of which is 5-10 cm. After laying one layer, it should be compacted with vibrating plates, filled with water and left for a day. Only after this is it allowed to proceed to the next layer. We repeat the procedure until the desired height is reached. In this case, be sure to take into account the thickness of the previously removed fertile soil layer, which is returned to its place, placed on top of all well-compacted layers.
• If the terrain of the area is far from a perfectly flat surface, and the difference between the levels exceeds 30 cm, the algorithm of actions is almost the same, but instead of earth they take a sand-gravel mixture. It is laid in layers 5 cm thick. It is recommended to place a layer of fertilizer, usually a peat pad, in the middle of each of them. Each layer of the “planning” mixture of sand and gravel must be compacted well and left to settle for a day before pouring the next layer.
• On final stage the height of the laid layers of earth or sand-gravel mixture should be slightly higher than the required level, since the soil with a kind of filler inside shrinks. Its duration depends on the volume of precipitation, the thickness of the laid layers and other factors.

All of the above is valid only for plots small area. If the territory that will have to be leveled occupies several hectares, use special equipment as follows:

• First, the fertile soil layer is removed using a special bulldozer. It is equipped with a hinged knife, which allows you to cut and move soil to other places. After the fertile layer is deposited in safe place A bulldozer is used to cut off high mounds and fill the depressions with this earth. At the same time, the advantage of a bulldozer is that it is able to perform its functions not only on a relatively flat surface, but also in areas with complex terrain, where there are hills, ravines, dried up stream beds, etc.

• Then the area is plowed twice: in the transverse and longitudinal directions, and after that it is treated - also twice - with a cultivator. The next stage is compaction of the top layer. A barrel filled with water is often used for this operation.
• The final stage is sowing the seeds lawn grass, which are sprinkled with earth or sand. Then the surface is rolled with a barrel again.

Very good results gives a rise in the level of the land, if it is accompanied by the arrangement of a drainage system that prevents flooding of the site. To do this, trenches are dug along the perimeter of the territory, the slope of which should not be less than 3-4 cm per meter.

Let's consider a common example - the construction is finished, all that remains is to get the land and improve the site.

Before you bring land onto the site, immediately think about the drainage of the site (to remove waste water, remember how the snow melts in the spring, where stagnant water is located - this will help in the future to zone the site) and drainage wells.

Use our section Landscape design.

If everything is taken into account, the required volume of soil for the site is calculated, we begin the process.

Now let’s turn to our experience and make the soil as fertile as possible!

In different regions there will always be companies or individual truck drivers who sell soil in large volumes. No matter how they assure you of the sale of fertile soil - DO NOT BELIEVE IT! Such soil was taken either from agricultural land or simply brought from the forest (and never buy soil from construction sites - it is usually impregnated with fuel oil, paint or something similar).

The soil from the fields is properly depleted and contains a high concentration of chemical fertilizers, fungal and bacterial diseases and pests are also possible.

So, we bring soil by truck, maybe peat, maybe " good land"(with the calculated volume) and pour it out on the site (immediately think about the location). Then we bring a car of sand. And mix it (of course, not with our hands, but with special equipment).

Now we need to get rid of diseases and pests - we treat them comprehensively (Alirin, Gamair, Trichocin, Glyokladin, or Prestige). We calculate the application rates according to our volume.

Next step - mulch. We contribute Agrovermiculite, Expanded perlite, Mulching mixtures, in general, what can be obtained in your area.

Only after this can the soil be spread around the site.

Next you need to enrich the soil. Fill it with micro and macro elements. It is enough to apply according to the instructions (where application rates are prescribed) complex universal fertilizer. Add organic GUM fertilizers. And fill it with beneficial bacteria, which will accelerate the process of formation of fertile soil - they are contained, for example, in Baykam EM.

And leave the soil to overwinter for one season.

Why is this being done? The earth will settle a little (you can immediately fill up the areas where it settles). Bacteria and fertilizers will completely dissolve and create the most fertile layer. All pests and diseases will be eliminated. And you will once again calmly and thoughtfully plan the site.

That’s basically all the wisdom when filling a site with new soil.

If you decide to purchase summer cottage You should think first about the soil. Soil is the basis for everything, your guarantee of a good harvest. It would seem that the task is easy - soil is sold on every corner in the spring, and everything is completely black soil. But it's not that simple.

Let's figure it out.

1. Buy soil only from trusted specialized companies. There are many such companies now; they can be easily found by searching on the Internet. On the company's websites you can get acquainted with the company's products and the composition of the soil. When buying soil from a company, there is less chance of buying bad soil and being deceived. In practice, chernozem from single sellers is a processed substrate from greenhouses or a layer cut off during the expansion of roads or abandoned collective farm fields. It is difficult to test such soil without laboratory analysis, and the license is unlikely to be a genuine document.
2. It is necessary to determine the composition of the soil and calculate the volume. Experts do not recommend using more than 30% peat. Soil with a high peat content settles quickly and the soil must be purchased in reserve. If the composition is more than half peat, such soil is mixed with the soil of the allotment, thin layer peat mulches the plants.
3. The cost of soil from different suppliers may differ, but each company has both economical options with more poor soil, and the soil is more saturated at a higher price. If it is difficult for you to calculate how much soil and what composition to purchase, companies often provide a service with which they can help you calculate the cost based on your requests and the site.

Most often used:

• Humus and peat;
• Manure and peat;
• Chernozem;
• Sand for leveling.

Chernozem is recognized as the most fertile soil. However, summer residents claim that during transportation it loses its properties. Many gardeners are happy with a more economical option - manure and peat or humus and peat.

How to determine good soil by eye?

Without expertise, this is difficult, but there are factors that, if you take a closer look at, reduce the chance of buying bad soil.

• Pay attention to the uniformity of the soil, the soil is well mixed, there are no foreign elements (stones, fragments of boards, glass, lumps of clay)
• The soil is loose, the clods are small

What to do with the brought soil?

The ground on the site must first be dug up and leveled, and the brought soil must be poured on top. If necessary, mix with soil.

All the soil is rarely used at once; you need to know how to store it. Keep the soil in a dry area in the corner of the plot where there is no watering. Store the soil 2-3 meters from tree trunks, cover it with film to keep it dry.

We hope the tips will help you do right choice. We wish you a rich harvest!

My garden is located in a swampy area and regularly gets heavily flooded in the spring. This has the most negative effect on the quality of the soil - nutrients are gradually washed out of it, it becomes very compacted and does not dry out until the end of May. When purchasing soil for a plot, I had to go through almost every possible rake, so in this article I decided to look at the main mistakes that gardeners make when purchasing soil for a plot.

Choosing the wrong soil composition

When choosing the composition of the purchased soil mixture, two factors need to be taken into account: initial soil condition on the site (its level of fertility + mechanical composition) and kinds cultivated plants that you plan to cultivate on your land (some vegetable and ornamental crops may have diametrically opposed requirements not only for the structure of the soil, but also for the quantity and ratio of the basic nutrients contained in it).

For example, to improve heavy soil containing a large percentage of clay, a mixture consisting of high-quality bottom peat, coarse sand and floodplain soil in a ratio of 3:4:2 is best suited. Of course, most often the choice of soil mixtures on the market is limited and comes down to two or three options:

1. Peat mixtures, which are a mixture of fertile soil and peat in different proportions. They are usually purchased for a lawn and for site planning.
2. Chernozems are used mainly as a nutrient additive to the main soil mixture (usually no more than 10% of its volume).
3. Soil mixtures, which may include, in addition to peat and plant soil, humus, mineral fertilizers, sand and even compost. Such mixtures are usually offered by large specialized companies and are not cheap. But they usually do not contain debris, have optimal moisture and air capacity and undergo strict environmental control.

The general rule is - choose a soil in which the amount of peat does not exceed 30%.

Purchasing from unreliable suppliers

If you are not sure of the seller’s integrity, then it is better to play it safe and purchase soil from large, well-known companies that value their reputation in the market and will not give you a pig in a poke.

By purchasing soil from private owners at a low price, if a successful combination of circumstances occurs, you will receive waste soil from industrial greenhouses, on which even ordinary parsley will not grow. And in the worst case, you will get land from sedimentation tanks, “rich” in compounds of mercury, lead, cadmium, copper and even arsenic. You can pay for such savings with your health and that of your loved ones.

I had the experience of purchasing such soil: they brought us the top layer of virgin soil cut from a meadow. The soil was used to fill the foundation from the demolished country house and to raise the ground level in a small area elsewhere. Already the next spring we realized what a mistake we had made - the entire area was covered with perennial weeds, which we had to fight throughout the next season.

But if you still decide to buy soil from a machine, then at least carry out a minimal check:

1. Use a wooden stake with a pointed end to poke the soil in different places. Can the stick easily pierce the soil mixture? This means there is almost no clay in it. If you cannot push the stick even 10 centimeters, then there is a lot of clay or sand in the land offered to you.
2. Conduct a soil acidity test using the OKP soil control kit (you can buy it at any gardening store).
3. Do a simple soil texture test described in.
4. Take an empty liter jar, fill it with soil, pour it in clean water and stir thoroughly. Wait until the soil settles into a sediment consisting of a layer of clay and sand. If we conventionally take the height of the resulting column as 100%, you can easily estimate how much sand is in the soil mixture and how much of the other components.

And here chemical composition purchased soil and its environmental safety can only be determined in a specialized laboratory.

Purchasing black soil

Purchasing black soil to improve the quality of the soil on the site is an expensive and pointless exercise. And that's why.

Firstly, in our climate, chernozem very quickly loses all its positive characteristics for which it was bought. And the whole point is that chernozem is formed only if the moisture coefficient in a given area does not exceed one, that is, the earth evaporates more moisture than is poured onto it along with precipitation. In most of the territory of Russia, this coefficient is above one, so after just a few heavy rains, black soil loses all its advantages, becomes compacted and becomes overgrown with a hard crust.

Secondly, REAL black soil cannot be cheap if the nearest black soil zone is located hundreds of kilometers away from your site. The cost of such soil consists not only of the price of its loading and unloading, it also includes all kinds of transport and overhead costs, including gasoline costs.

Third, often under the guise of chernozem they sell a mixture of bottom peat and sapropel. This mixture looks like black soil, but it is less fertile and also tends to acidify the soil on the site.

Buying too little land

This is also one of the most common mistakes made when purchasing land for a site.

For example, if your goal is to increase the soil level in a plot of six acres with medium loamy soil by only 4 - 5 centimeters, then you will need at least 30 cubic meters of soil, that is, you will need to bring to the site at least 2-3 (!) truckloads of soil(capacity truck varies from 10 to 15 cubic meters of soil). In our area, one car of fertile land (note that it is land of untested quality, and not humus or, especially, black soil) costs from 5,000 rubles. And if you take a better one, and even with all the “paperwork,” you will have to fork out the entire 10,000 rubles.

It seems to me that the best way out of this situation is to equip the garden with stationary beds and fill them with high-quality soil mixture purchased from large companies with a good reputation. As an option, you can also purchase sapropel, sand, horse (cow humus) and peat and make the mixture yourself (if you have the time and knowledge).

Thus, the order of your actions when purchasing soil for a site should be as follows:

1. Determine the mechanical and nutritional composition of the soil on your site, and also think in advance what crops you are going to grow on it.
2. Choose a major supplier who is willing to provide you with full list certificates and analyzes of the soil mixtures sold by them.
3. Calculate how many cubic meters of soil you need for your purposes (improving fertility or raising the ground level).

By the way, about how to ennoble clay soil, you can read it.

I also recommend watching a short video on the same topic.