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The guarantee of a good harvest of tomatoes, cabbage, pepper and eggplant from its summer cottage will be properly grown seedlings. Therefore, first of all you need to take care of the soil in which the seeds will germinate. Soil mixture for seedlings must meet certain characteristics. It should have good porosity, looseness and not too acidic medium. Achieve such indicators can be provided that the soil is properly prepared for seedlings.
We select components for soil
A typical mistake for beginners is the sowing of seeds in ordinary soil, taken from their garden. Therefore, many people fail to grow vegetable seedlings at home and prefer to buy plants ready for planting. The secret of obtaining good seedlings is to properly prepare the soil for seedlings. Therefore, we will prepare it ourselves, especially as there is nothing complicated in this process.
Soil for seedlings of tomatoes, pepper, cabbage, aubergine and cucumbers should consist of the following components:
- Humus. It is obtained from overgrown manure or plants, which makes this soil the most nutritious and fertile of all the existing types of soil.
- Peat. An integral component of any soil mixture for seedlings. It provides the necessary amount of moisture to the plant. It also helps to create a good looseness of the soil.
- Baking Powders. In addition to peat good porosity, the soil under the seedlings acquires after the addition of coarse-grained river sand. It is this component that creates the best conditions for the cultivation of garden plants in seedlings. River sand and peat can replace sawdust, but before they are used they must be treated with boiling water.
- Leaf Land. A distinctive feature of this type of soil is its high looseness, but the low nutrient content does not allow it to be used as the main soil soil for seedlings. Therefore, its use is possible only after combining with other types of soil. Leafy land is most often collected in a forest belt, where deciduous trees grow. Vegetables do not recommend the use of land recruited under a willow, oak or chestnut tree, since to prepare the soil for seedlings of good quality from it will not work: it is too saturated with tannic substances.
Mixing the ingredients
Preparing the soil for seedlings is not too difficult process, but all the same, from the vegetable grower requires some effort and free time. Therefore, many prefer not to bother and buy a ready-made soil mixture. However, not all manufacturers of such products are conscientious, and there is a likelihood of purchasing peat land with an acidic environment. Even if to add to it mineral fertilizers of good germination of seeds and strong seedlings can not be obtained.
For this reason, the soil for seedlings of tomatoes, cabbage, pepper and eggplant is prepared by experienced summer dwellers. It is best to deal with this process in the fall, and by spring the soil soil for the seedlings will be settled and seated. If you leave it for storage in a barn, then it also gets burned out badly, which will only benefit him.
The preparation of soil for seedlings begins with the process of mixing the land. To do this, spread polyethylene on the ground and pour out each component in the required proportions.
Experienced vegetable growers are advised to make the soil composition for seedlings for different crops separately, as each vegetable has its own individual needs and preferences.
Soil for seedlings of tomatoes, pepper and eggplant should have the following compositions:
- Add 1 part peat and river sand to one part of the sod land. The resulting composition is thoroughly mixed, after which it is well watered with a nutrient solution consisting of 25-30 grams of superphosphate, potassium sulfate and 10 grams of carbamide per 10 liters of water.
- In equal proportions mixed sod land, peat and humus. On the bucket of the resulting mixture, you can add a couple of matchboxes of superphosphate and, liter of ash cans.
To prepare the soil for seedling cabbage you will need:
- Mix the humus (compost), the leaf earth and river sand 1. On the bucket of the mixture is not superfluous will be 1 glass (200 grams) of ash a glass of lime - pushers, 1 matchbox of potassium sulfate and 3 matchbox superphosphate. If there is no possibility to use mineral fertilizers, then they can be replaced with ash in the amount of 3 glasses.
Soil for seedlings of cucumbers, pumpkin, melon, watermelon is prepared in the following composition:
- One bucket of leaf earth mixed with the same amount of humus. 1 cup (200 g) of ash, up to 10 g of potassium sulfate, and about 20 g of superphosphate are poured into the resulting mixture. Everything is thoroughly mixed.
I would like to warn the vegetable grower against excessive fertilizer use when preparing the soil for vegetable seedlings, if the main soil used is nutritious in itself. This is due to the fact that at the initial stage of seed germination, the plant does not require many trace elements. The need for them arises only when the first real leaves appear. Therefore, supplementary feeding is usually made through liquid fertilizers a few weeks after emergence.
Soil disinfection
This process is necessary to remove pathogens from the soil. You can decontaminate soil mixture for domestic seedlings in various ways, one of which is its dampening. But, if this is not possible, then you can use watering with disinfectants or steam treatment.
- Method one. Prepared fertile mixture well watered with a solution of potassium permanganate (3 g per 10 liters of water), after which additional treatment with antifungal agents.
- Method two. The earth for seedlings is placed in a tissue bag or in a perforated container and set to be steamed for 45 minutes. You can certainly burn the earth in the oven, but along with the pathogenic microbes, the necessary nutrients also disappear.
After carrying out the disinfection process, the seed material can be placed in the ground nutrient mixture. Prepared soil for seedling by all the rules will guarantee a high and stable harvest in your summer cottage. Have a good season!
