The gardening season is ending. And soon the time will come to take care of the next harvest. One of these concerns will be preparing land for spring seedlings. The boom in purchased soil has passed. All gardeners realized that the beautiful, but incomprehensible substrate sold in bags is not capable of giving young plants the energy necessary for development. Therefore, preparing your own soil in compliance with a few simple rules will guarantee a future harvest.
Rule 1
The time for harvesting land is after the onset of cool weather, the first light frosts. By this time, earthworms and insects will have gone to the lower layers of the soil and there will be no uninvited guests in the seedling boxes. At a later time, the earth will be frozen, lumpy and it will be difficult to prepare the mixture.
Rule 2
The ideal harvesting location is away from your own garden. This is a meadow, a forest, a field in which no vegetables were grown. The soil that will be taken there will not contain pathogens of vegetable crops. Bringing a couple of buckets of such soil means getting a chance to prepare the perfect seedling mixture.
Rule 3
If it is possible to prepare soil only from your own garden, then it cannot be taken from greenhouses! The concentration of pests and pathogens there is too high.
Rule 4
The soil in the garden should be taken from the ridges where legumes grew. It is enriched with nitrogen, which will be a very good aid in seedling development.If there are no such ridges, then at least observe crop rotation, that is, use the soil after the onions for tomato seedlings, and so on.
Rule 5
Humus is needed. Well-rotted plant residues will add breathability and lightness to the planting soil, and delicate seeds will feel comfortable. In the case where there is no humus, rotted sawdust or a little purchased soil will do.
Rule 6
It is not recommended to calcinate the soil, because along with harmful organisms, beneficial organisms also die, and the soil becomes “dead”
Rule 7
It is better to prepare the soil mixture in the fall. To do this, spread a film on a ridge on a sunny day and pour soil and humus in a ratio of 1 to 1. Add a glass of sifted ash to a bucket of soil. If it is necessary to loosen the future seedling substrate, add peat, or rotted sawdust, or sphagnum moss. First dry the moss and then grind it. Mix everything and pour into boxes.
Rule 8
Boxes with soil mixture overwinter in the cold - in a barn, in the yard, or simply in the garden under cover. This way they are disinfected in the most natural way. And such cryogenic treatment will make the earth healthy and useful.
And in the spring, shortly before planting the seedlings, the boxes need to be kept warm. There, all the beneficial microorganisms will awaken, and the soil will be ready to accept the seeds of the new harvest.
These are the basic principles of preparing soil mixture for seedlings. It's free, plant-friendly, and made with care and love. Plants, like living beings, should appreciate this attitude and reward the summer resident with a magnificent harvest by next autumn.
