Original ways to improve soil fertility. Ways to improve soil fertility on the site. Mixed plantings - the secret of a fruitful bed
Gardener 24
Many summer residents are faced with such a problem as reducing the harvest from their site. The decline in yield from season to season is explained quite simply, the soil is depleted.
Soil depletion directly affects the decrease in fertility and nutrients, to a sharp increase in acidity and natural compaction of the soil. And all this in general, not in the best way affects cultivated plants. Which, when the soil is depleted, become weak, as well as easy prey for pests and diseases.
To improve soil fertility, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort, but you can’t do without it. Only by long painstaking work, it is possible to return large volumes of the crop. There are some rules and actions, thanks to which, you can significantly revive, and even increase, the former fertility. Let's try to consider some of them:
- Crop rotation.
The implementation of the correct crop rotation contributes to the restoration of the land. In each new season, planting sites should be changed. Annual plants can be planted in the old place, no earlier than after 4-5 years. - Restorative plants.
In places with depleted soil, you can temporarily plant plants that will restore the soil. Such plants include wormwood, garlic, nettle. - side plantings.
There are a number of plants (green manure) that are able to replenish the earth with nitrogen, protein, starch. They are sown in the fall, when the entire crop is harvested. Before frost, the plants are mowed down and left on the ground until spring. In spring, the earth is dug up with them. Such plants include mustard, rapeseed, rye, oilseed radish, oats. - Heat treatment.
This method is used to "treat" the land in greenhouses and greenhouses. Exposing the soil heat treatment, you can get rid of a huge number of fruits of life harmful insects and a number of pathogenic organisms. - worm population.
It is not a secret for anyone from gardeners that earthworms, digesting organic matter, greatly contribute to the fertility and oxygenation of the soil. Californian red worms are considered the most useful. In addition, they live long, and willingly breed in our conditions. - Fertilizers.
The most proven method is the application of fertilizers to the ground. It is best to use organic fertilizers. Manure, compost, ash, bird droppings are well suited. - mixed landings.
With this method, an "assistant" plant is planted next to the main plant, which will contribute to better development first plant. Rosemary, thyme, chamomile are often used as "helpers" in the garden. Such “neighborhoods” contribute to an increase in productivity, and even to an improvement in the taste of fruits. - Seasonal vacation.
If possible, any piece of land should be allowed to rest for one year. That is, apply all the required fertilizers, process, but do not plant.
By following these rules, you can significantly increase the fertility of the land. The main thing is not to lose heart, and then everything will definitely work out.
Take a look at the plots of those gardeners who approach soil cultivation not traditionally, like most modern summer residents - sowed, harvested, sowed, harvested - but the way our grandfathers and great-grandfathers did. They followed the rule: if you take from nature, give the same amount in order to take more later.
We observe crop rotation
How did this happen in practice? The peasants divided their entire allotment into several parts and constantly observed crop rotation: each vegetable was grown in next year on other beds, returning to the original place after 4-5 years.
The fact is that different plants absorb different amount nutrients and release their specific substances into the soil. In addition, they also attract certain pests, accumulate diseases peculiar only to them.
If, for example, potatoes are planted in the same place, then the level of potassium and calcium in the soil is significantly reduced, spores of a fungus dangerous for nightshade crops, phytophthora, accumulate, and the number of the Colorado potato beetle wintering in the soil increases tenfold.
The subsequent planting of potato tubers in this place will lead to an outbreak of phytophthora next year, to a constant struggle with the beetle and as a result - a low yield, diseased tubers and a lot of wasted time and effort.
If, for example, legumes (beans, peas) or melons (cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini) are sown in this place, then they will grow remarkably in soil loosened by potatoes, consume compounds that are useful for them and will please the gardener with a harvest.
At the same time, potatoes planted in the garden where legumes grew in the past will enjoy the abundance of nitrogen compounds left by them. There are no pests and diseases that are dangerous for nightshade, so a healthy and full-fledged potato crop will be provided.
When compiling a crop rotation, it is imperative to take into account which family the vegetables belong to in order to exclude common diseases. So, in the place where tomatoes grew, it is not recommended to place beds with potatoes, peppers, eggplants. Dill and other umbrella plants (daikon, parsley) are not sown on the former carrot plots.
Regular application of organic matter is the basis of fertility
Since we are talking about the farming traditions of our ancestors, we must definitely mention that, taking with the harvest a large number of nutrients from the soil, organic supplements were immediately added to it, such as manure, humus and compost, which made up for the lost.
It's very hard to find these days quality manure and prepare humus from it (manure that has lain in a pile for more than 2 years and has qualitatively changed its properties in better side). However, modern gardeners are quite capable of creating a factory on their site for the production of another excellent organic fertilizer - compost. It sounds intricate, but there is nothing complicated about it. In the role of such a factory will easily act compost pit or compost bins.
All organic waste from the site is stored in layers in them: weeds (without seeds), mowed lawn grass, food waste (except for meat and fish), fruit droplets, branches, newspapers, cardboard, straw, etc. As a result of the action of microorganisms and worms, this "garbage" after a year or two turns into a wonderful, concentrated top dressing that is very useful for plants. Together with her, we return to the ground what we take with the harvest.
Siderata - an alternative to manure
What if there is not enough compost? Also nothing complicated - you need to grow organic matter right in the garden. This method is called "seedling". Go to any garden center and ask if there are green manure seeds there. Surely there will be many proposals, because this method has already become widespread due to its effectiveness.
Thanks to the juicy green mass, embedded shallowly into the soil, the soil is saturated with organic material, filled with a huge amount of bacteria and earthworms that improve the structure and fertility. Both annuals and perennials. The most effective annuals are: mustard, rape, phacelia, oats. Perennials such as clover, vetch, sainfoin will fill the places allocated to them on the site for 2-3 years and form a very structured and organically enriched soil layer.
Mulch - organic soil cover
Akin to green manure, modern gardeners also consider mulching - covering the soil various materials: cut grass and weeds, paper, covering material, wood chips, sawdust, bark. This method helps to fight weeds of time and effort, and also makes it possible to retain moisture in the soil, protects it from overheating, erosion and weathering. Due to the rotting of the bottom layer organic mulch, the proportion of organic matter in the earth also increases.
A summer resident, observing how, as a result of the work of green manure crops and mulching, ordinary red clay soil begins to visibly darken in 2-3 years, take on a crumbly structure, he understands that the improvement of the earth is an objective reality, he is the creator of his crop, his land.
The reward for this hard work, it should be noted, will be a constant increase in the harvest. Rested and filled with fresh forces, the earth will willingly give full-bodied, environmentally friendly vegetables, ripe fruits and bright flowers.
How to increase soil fertility, improve its composition, structure - this is the most important questions that summer residents have to decide.
The soil is called fertile if it contains the necessary amount of nutrients for plants. If the yield of the beds is gradually decreasing, and the planted plants often get sick or do not look quite right, the reason is most likely a decrease in soil fertility. What can be done?
Method number 1: give the earth a rest
Can be given the opportunity various sites land just to rest. This means that for a whole year they will not be planted there. cultivated plants. But the weeds, which will immediately grow, must be removed in a timely manner, without giving them the opportunity to grow and produce seeds. By winter, you should dig up the ground in a rested area, turning over upper layer way down.
Method number 2: dig up the weeds
Most cheap way improving the fertility of the land is to mow weeds that have not yet formed seeds from the surface of an unsown bed. If the weeds have become tall, they must be crushed and scattered over the surface of the bed (the layer can reach 10-15 cm), and then they are dug up to a depth of 20-25 cm. Under the soil layer, the weeds will rot and provide the soil with many important nutrients. The soil structure will also improve.
Method number 3: Sow the beds with winter rye
It is possible in the fall, having removed the entire crop and dug the ground shallowly, sow the beds with winter rye. In the spring, overwintered rye should be dug deep along with the weeds that will be there by this time. And after two weeks you can already sow.
Method number 4: plant lupine
An excellent tool for enriching the earth is lupine. He has developed root system contributing to the loosening of the earth. As a plant of the legume family, lupine enriches the earth with nitrogen. Usually it is sown somewhere at the end of April, the ground has barely thawed. Lupine grows quickly, and as soon as the peduncle appears, the bed is urgently dug deep, crushing the lupine with a shovel. Then the lupine should be re-sown. He will have time to grow before the cold weather, the buds will appear again. They dig it up again (or you can leave it to winter). After three times, the fertility of the soil will increase greatly.
Method number 5: we plant peas, mustard and other herbs
Peas are also used to improve fertility. Moreover, in this case, the gardener has the opportunity to harvest, but it is important not to miss here: you need to dig up the tops while the plants are still green, they have not begun to fade, they have not withered. Next, it is recommended to sow mustard, which will die after the first frost. She is immediately dug up.
Here are the herbs that can be planted with further digging: vetch, lupine, beans, alfalfa, rapeseed, sweet clover, clover, buckwheat. These plants improve the soil and suppress weeds.
Method number 6: collect autumn leaves
Every autumn, nature gives us a huge amount of leaves. But it is also an excellent source of improving soil fertility. The leaves are collected. If there are not enough of them, they bring them from the forest. Put in a pile, sprinkled with earth. Leaves will rot, rot, away high temperature fungal spores and larvae die. By spring, fertilizer is ready, which can be applied to the soil.
If you don't want to pile up, lay directly on the beds (15 cm high). In this case, be sure to water strong mortar potassium permanganate and dig.
Method number 7: we plant medicinal plants
Sometimes the soil, like us humans, needs medicine to repair itself. In these cases, plant medicinal plants: calendula, marigold, garlic, etc.
Method number 8: we populate Californian worms
A very effective, but not yet popular enough remedy is the use of Californian worms, which, unlike ordinary ones, are very prolific and live long.
Method number 9: use fertilizers
And, of course, they improve productivity very well. land plot organic fertilizers. But we must remember that this is not fresh manure, which is very aggressive, as it destroys plants by burning them. Only after overheating, manure turns into organic fertilizer. Significantly more time will be needed for the overheating of bird droppings and pig manure. And here is the cow horse dung overheats faster.
As opposed to traditional agricultural technology in the garden and vegetable garden naturalists (adherents of natural or organic farming) achieve sustainable yields not by chemical fertilization, but by improving the soil environment and combining plants. Let's see what are the ways to improve the quality of the crop in the garden and vegetable garden, how to increase soil fertility on suburban area without the use of chemicals.
Simple ways to increase soil fertility in a summer cottage without chemistry
Weed infusions
Tinctures are good for foliar feeding, and for fertilizers under the root. In addition to nutrition, infusions of weeds, as well as garlic and onion husks, when sprayed, perfectly help protect plants from leaf-eating insects and codling moths.
It is unlikely that an insect will want to experiment and lay eggs in an unfamiliar environment with alien odors. But the effect of such treatments is short-lived, natural essential oils plants decompose quickly.
For top dressing, weed infusions are good with the addition of nettle. It is full of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the tincture is already foaming in the tank where the ferment is carried out. Tinctures with the addition of nettle are best poured under the lid, and, if possible, mix daily. Depending on the temperature, the tincture is prepared from 7 to 10 days. After the release of gas has ceased, it can be used, diluted 10 times for top dressing under the root, and 20 times for spraying.
It is useful to add wood lice and dandelion to herbal infusions - they contain silicon that is easily digestible for plants. Silicon is a real protector of immunity, it activates the growth functions in plants, prevents their aging. It can be safely called the elixir of youth.
Natural top dressings do not have phytotoxicity, they are safe for soil inhabitants and beneficial insects. Whereas pesticides and fertilizers accumulate in the soil and disrupt the mineral balance of the environment. But it must be borne in mind that a garden and a vegetable garden without the use of chemistry will not amaze with super-large "exhibition" fruits, no matter what natural top dressing you use. The harvest will be normalized both in size and quantity - as they say, nothing more.
Combination of plants in the garden
It has been noticed that when planting beans on potato beds, it is much less Colorado beetles. Beans have many useful properties, it perfectly protects and feeds the soil.
After harvesting, the roots of the plants are not removed, but left in the ground. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria accumulate on its roots, they perfectly improve the soil environment. When the beans are combined with tomatoes, the roots of the tomatoes actively grow towards the beans - excellent example positive allelopathy - plants help each other.
Most a prime example combining plants in the garden - planting carrots and onions. Onions with their phytoncides protect carrots from carrot flies, and carrots from onions. Moreover, carrots more accurately fulfill the duties assigned to it than onions. Or the onion fly is more sensitive, but the fact remains - onion fly there are practically none on the beds, while carrots are still present in small quantities.
Excellent results are obtained by replanting marigolds on strawberry beds. Strawberries are highly susceptible to damage by root and stem nematodes. Marigold phytoncides block the reproduction of these microscopic worms, they become an order of magnitude smaller. The roots of marigolds also do not need to be torn out of the garden, let them rot in the soil.
Soil microbes, as well as fungi, amoeba, woodlice and earthworms- all together are usually called "biota", - they feed on plant debris and help plants "get" useful material not only from degradable mulch, but also from the subsoil. Under the organics, tubules are created, where atmospheric moisture flows, condensing on the walls of dead roots and saturated with organic acids. In the presence of such acids, the minerals needed by plants are converted into chelated forms and become readily available. In addition, useful microbes, consuming fiber, fix nitrogen in the air - the soil on the site becomes fertile.
More important point- in the presence of rich "dynamic" fertility created by the cycle of organic matter, both growth stimulants and useful natural antibiotics are created that protect plants from diseases. In one coprolite of the worm there is everything for nutrition, growth, fruiting and protection from stress. But you need to understand that all this "kitchen" is easy to ruin with a simple digging - traditional farming technique with the turnover of the reservoir leads to the depletion of even rich chernozem.
Of course, increasing the fertility of the soil is not a task of one day, but the constant concern of the gardener. And what mistakes summer residents make in their gardens are perfectly described by Nikolai Ivanovich Kurdyumov in this video (you can increase the speed by clicking on the gear at the bottom right and setting 1.5 - the quality of information perception will not be lost, and the time will be reduced significantly):
As you can see, he is a very thoughtful agronomist and a wonderful author. His books are as easy to read as detectives. The only difference is that you need to return to them from time to time, there is always something new in the read text, some sort of hints, which he himself has not yet reached, but he has already picked up experience and is ready to perceive the “next level”. It is now published in in electronic format, and one of his new works is called - FERTILITY OR FERTILIZER?
High biological activity of the soil is the best prerequisite for the health and development of plants in the garden. The more plant and food residues are returned to the garden, the better the soil structure and microbiological environment becomes. By improving the top layer of the soil, you activate its microenvironment, which means you contribute to the dissolution of nutrients bound in the soil, which, after going through the cycle of natural decomposition, become available to plants.
In the theory of professor of St. Petersburg State University A.I. Popova modern understanding fertility is determined by:
a) nutrient cycling in the soil - all, primarily including carbon, i.e. organic,
b) symbiosis higher plants and soil microorganisms
c) the relationship of microbes and fungi with each other.
Not immediately, but over time, a garden and a vegetable garden without chemistry will begin to protect itself from both pests and diseases. Just first you need to help balance the environment on the site by performing simple measures to improve the soil:
- the use of infusions from weeds;
- combination of plants in the garden;
- composting in garden beds and tree trunks.
Fundamental soil improvement
Those who are radically ready to improve the soil for planting can be recommended to bring in fertile soil, and then maintain its fertility using the methods described above. For Muscovites, for example, fertility problems are easier to deal with - there are reliable company"EkoTorf" offering for sale different kinds soil, river and quarry sand, crushed stone of various fractions with delivery in Moscow and the Moscow region. You can get acquainted with their products on the website http://ecomostorf.ru/
Of course, before that, it is better to border the beds, and bring fertile soil only into them. Although many and the entire area are able to cover with imported black soil, you can’t forbid living beautifully. We also bought black soil for arranging our high beds, we are satisfied with the result.
Collect high yield or grow blooming garden impossible without doing improvement of soil fertility. Soil fertility is provided by living beings, which in huge quantities are in healthy soil, and soil fertility is improved by creating more comfortable conditions for the existence of these microorganisms.
The vital activity of these living beings is provided organic matter, air and water. The organic substances processed by these microorganisms combine with the mineral constituents of the soil and become nutrients for plants.
If synthetic mineral fertilizers were applied to the soil for a long time, then almost all soil life dies in it, the microflora, and with it the earth, becomes dead.
Just as a newborn child grown on artificial milk often has health problems, so plants grown on artificial fertility often lose their protective reactions to pathogens and pests.
When soil fertility needs to be improved.
The soil is oversaturated mineral fertilizers and therefore contains little soil microflora.
The soil is heavy with a low content of organic matter and soil microflora.
Sandy soil, poor in nutrients and organic matter and not able to prevent the evaporation of water.
Waterlogged soil, which is usually nutrient deficient, acidic and wet.
Compacted soil that has become so after construction.
Before improving soil fertility, you need to find out what type it belongs to. To do this, you need to take a shovel and check if there are earthworms in the ground, which are indicators that the ground is “alive”. If you take a lump of soil in your palm and squeeze it, then the sand will pass between your fingers, the loam is easily squeezed and crumbled, and the clay will turn into a sausage.
In any case, soil fertility can be improved if organic matter is used to improve soil quality and natural minerals. To increase the air permeability of the soil, it is very important to loosen it regularly.
Moist soil is very difficult to loosen, it is difficult to mix it with means to improve soil fertility. When processing wet soil in the garden, there is a danger of closing the pores through which water and air pass into the soil. Such work should be carried out when the soil is dry.
A good way to improve soil fertility is a mixture of mowed grass and chopped leaves, which is obtained in the fall in the lawn mower's grass collector. With this mixture late autumn you can cover the beds or just add to the soil.
Means for improving soil fertility.
Compost - improves the condition of the soil and revitalizes the soil microflora.
Sand - loosens loamy and clay soils improves water permeability.
Peat - improves water absorption in all types of soils, loosens heavy soils.
Composted manure - contains a large amount of nitrogen, increases the permeability of the soil.
Carbonated lime, shell rock - revitalizes the microflora, helps the absorption of nutrients.
Leaf compost - makes the soil fertile and crumbly, contains a lot of potassium and nitrogen.
Activated Mineral Powder (commercially available) - improves the ability of sandy soils to retain moisture.
Soil fertility improvement new garden.
A few days before creating a new bed, the soil needs to be watered. This should be done for uncultivated and heavy soils.
Treat the soil with a cultivator cutter, making even furrows.
Over the entire area of the cultivated area, it is necessary to evenly distribute funds to improve soil fertility.
With the help of a cultivator cutter, you need to mix with the soil the means to improve soil fertility.
The surface of the bed is leveled with a rake and watered abundantly so that the soil sags. After a couple of weeks, you can start planting.
Increases soil microflora and creates good conditions for plant growth.
Video - improving soil fertility.