Prepare The Sled In The Summer And The Soil For The Greenhouse In The Fall

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Greenhouse construction is a laborious and expensive business. And so that the efforts do not go down the drain, it is very important not only to make a high-quality frame, but also to ensure that the beds are filled with nutritious soil. And you need to start harvesting land for the greenhouse already in the autumn months

On the requirements for the properties of soil mixtures for greenhouses

Structural quality soil that will absorb moisture well and produce air exchange can be obtained from well-decomposed organic-mineral compost. Compost can be replaced with a mixture of humus and turf soil. This substrate is filled with superphosphate, ammonium sulfate, potassium salt. You can also use wood ash for fertilization.

For the preparation of a soil mixture, such natural materials as sand, peat are very useful. In addition to sand, small wood shavings and straw chippings are perfect for loosening heavy earth.

Disinfection of soil for greenhouses and greenhouses

When soil is used to prepare the substrate, it is advisable to disinfect it before entering the greenhouse, so as not to bring pest larvae and weed seeds along with it. For example, the soil can be steamed or calcined. However, when the volume of land is large, it is not very convenient to do it at home. This technique is more suitable for decontamination of soil intended for the preparation of cubes and pots for seedlings.

What to do? You can pour boiling water over the ground right on the street. After this treatment, it should be covered with a tarp. In this way, you can disinfect the soil that has already been used in the greenhouse this season. However, experts do not recommend this to be abused and from time to time it is better to replace the spent substrate in protected ground with a new one.

Recipes for composing nutrient mixtures

There is no single recipe for the preparation of soil mixtures for greenhouses. Each gardener chooses the one that suits him best based on the capabilities and crops cultivated in the greenhouse. The indicative compositions will be:

• land, peat, manure, sawdust in a ratio of 4: 4: 1: 1;

• land, rotted manure (1: 3);

• land, peat, rotted manure (2: 5: 3);

• earth, manure, sand (3: 6: 1);

• earth, humus (1: 1).

Those who use sawdust or straw instead of sand to loosen the soil mixture should take into account that these components must be treated with urea before use. This is because a lot of nitrogen is required to decompose these materials. For this, 2 tables are diluted in 3 liters of water. l. fertilizers. The resulting composition is poured into 10 kg of wood chips. After 2 hours, the sawdust is poured into a plastic bag and left in a warm place. Ammonium nitrate can also be used instead of urea.

Straw mats instead of substrates

If there are greenhouses on your site, then straw mats were probably in use. But this is such a shelter, which eventually falls into disrepair. However, even after that it can be used with benefit - used in the spring as a substrate for growing early vegetables in the greenhouse.

In place of the ridges, a trench is dug about 25 cm deep, 60 cm wide is made. This depression is filled with cut mats. The material should rise about 10 cm above the trench. After that, for every 10 kg of straw, 200 g of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate are added, and 100 g of potassium salt is also needed. After that, the "beds" are watered - 15 liters per 10 kg of raw materials. After three days, the procedure with fertilizers and watering is repeated. For a week, the strawy mass will warm up well. When it starts to cool, it needs to be covered with a layer of sifted soil. Now you can sow or plant seedlings.

By the way, other plant residues can be used instead of straw. Even weeds will do. However, make sure they have been cut before seed formation.