Growing plants on the same soil every year, we gradually deplete it, because we harvest the crop, which consumes nutrients from the soil, and most often we take out and throw away plant residues from the site, which may contain wintering stages of pests or diseases. If we leave them on the site or embed them in the ground, then, most likely, cultivated plants on it will not only grow poorly, but also hurt.
How do you know if the soil is depleted?
Usually, it is possible to understand that the soil is depleted by plants - they develop worse, a variety of signs of a lack of certain elements in plants appear, which affects the appearance and shape of fruits, leaf blades, and stems. Plants on depleted soil often get sick, are actively damaged by pests and often die, seemingly for no apparent reason.
What can you do so that the soil is not depleted to such an extent?
First of all, this is the basics of any soil management, observe crop rotation... If it is built correctly and observed annually, then one reason that the soil is depleted will be less. The task of crop rotation is as simple as the crop rotation itself - using it, we plant crops on the same plot of soil that consume different substances in different proportions. That is, say, some consume more nitrogen, but less potassium and phosphorus, others, on the contrary, but still others - such as the well-known legumes for all of us, ways to also enrich the soil with nitrogen available to plants, they do not deplete the soil, but, on the contrary, they improve its structure - they enrich the soil. Ideally, it is desirable to grow some other crop in the same place every year.
Planting medicinal plants - another significant aid to the earth. For example, such well-known crops as nettles, marigolds, garlic, wormwood and shepherd's purse, which are well known to all of us, help the soil very well, rid it of pathogenic microflora, improve its composition, structure, air and water permeability. Therefore, after a year, it is advisable to give the soil a rest and allow one or more similar crops to grow on it, and in the autumn time to embed them entirely into the soil by digging, thereby increasing the organic component of the soil.
California worms - the method is quite expensive and rarely used by anyone, but it can really improve the structure of the soil. It is well known that the earth rich in worms is more moisture and water permeable, it is more suitable for the growth and full development of the root system of cultivated plants. California worms are now sold freely, they are inexpensive and are a subspecies of earthworms we all know, which improve soil structure more actively than earthworms we are used to. Such worms are maximally fertile and, among other things, are able to quickly digest a wide variety of organic residues, making the soil as nutritious as possible for plants.
Cm. Earthworms: Waste Revenue?
There are, of course, radical methods for improving the structure of the soil, when, for example, the site is heavily infected with microorganisms, pests, and it can be difficult to get rid of them. In this case, resort to heat treatment of land... The land is simply treated with hot steam, this relieves the soil from infection, and at the same time from weeds and weed seeds, because everyone knows that weeds deplete the soil quite strongly and are the first competitors to cultivated plants. Of course, with the help of heat treatment you will not save the garden from diseases and will not kill the weeds and their seeds, such a procedure is usually carried out in greenhouses, where, for some reason, replacing the soil, even partial, in the current season is banally impossible.
A much more gentle method is application of organic fertilizers... As organic matter, humus, well-rotted manure, bird droppings, wood ash or infusion of green fertilizers are usually used. Humus, like well-rotted manure, bird droppings and wood ash, is best applied in the autumn for digging the soil, embedding it to the depth of a shovel bayonet. At the same time, the use of poultry manure is somewhat risky, it must be diluted 12-15 times before being introduced into the soil, because it is an active fertilizer, and it can negatively affect the plants that will grow in this area in the future. As for green fertilizer, it is usually prepared in advance - various plants are pushed into a 200-liter barrel about half, but without seeds, filled with water, covered with a lid and mixed well once a week. Then they filter, dilute 10 times with water and water the previously loosened soil, consuming 5 liters of solution per square meter of soil - such a simple fertilizer, however, very well improves the composition of the soil and returns its former structure.
Cm. Ash application: fertilizer and pest control
Herbal starter cultures for plant nutrition
It is very effective in combating soil depletion and mixed planting of various cultivated plants... The so-called companion plants, which are planted next to the main plant and neutralize its negative impact on the soil. Companion plants allow both the soil to become better, and the main cultivated plant to develop more efficiently, give a larger yield, increase immunity, and therefore be less sick and less exposed to pests. Even the palatability of the fruits of cultivated plants may well be improved by companion plants. Rosemary, basil, chamomile and, of course, marigolds have been used as satellite plants for quite a long time. These wonderful plants are planted exactly between the rows of the main cultivated plants, as well as along the borders of garden paths, which is also beautiful. Companion plants also look good as border plants, here for sure - both beauty and protection. But that's not all, satellite plants will attract hundreds, if not tens of hundreds of bees to your site, thereby significantly increasing pollination, reducing the dropping of ovaries, which means, in addition to improving the soil, they will also increase the yield.
Siderata... Planting them is the holy of holies for improving the soil. In fact, there are many species of siderata, but in the home area, we do not recommend using siderates with a powerful stem or strong root system - in general, those crops that rot for a long period of time in the soil. Of course, they will also improve its structure, but the process will be delayed. Usually, the vast majority of green manure plants are planted on the site immediately after harvesting the main crop and mowed almost before the very frosts, and then buried in the soil with a turnover of the layer. In the spring, the process of digging the soil will have to be repeated - that's all, the soil structure has been improved. Be sure that green manure plants will accurately supply your soil with all the important elements, and in a form accessible to cultivated plants, they will enrich the soil with protein, starch and various microelements. In the home area, we advise sowing green manures as easy to handle as possible, such as oats, rye, sunflowers and, of course, mustard. But keep in mind that many people are allergic to mustard, so you need to ask an allergist about this, and if there really is a reaction to mustard, then it is better not to plant it.
Cm. "Green manure"
Sowing these crops is best done when it is still hot day and night, that is, at the very end of August or at the beginning of the first month of autumn. As soon as the green manure plants bloom - mow them, well, then proceed according to the scheme described above - dig up with a turnover of the layer, and in the fall repeat the digging.
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EM drugs is a fairly new understanding of improving soil structure. This is also fertilizer, but completely environmentally friendly and clean for nature, plants, insects, and humans. Such fertilizers contain active microorganisms that begin to multiply, getting into the soil and putting it in order, thereby significantly increasing its fertility and improving its structure. EO fertilizer can contain different microorganisms, but they are not hostile, but are in symbiosis like nodule bacteria on the roots of legumes. The most famous and widespread EM drugs are Baikal and Vozrozhdenie. They must be used in accordance with the instructions on the packaging, the main thing is to beware of counterfeits and buy drugs only from manufacturers shortly before using them.
Cm. Influence of EM biologics
Organic fertilizers and agricultural technologies "Ecostyle"
And finally - black steam, a kind of spa for the soil. Black steam, when the earth just rests, and practically nothing is done to it, this is also an element that allows you to avoid depletion of the soil. Usually one year is enough to give the soil a rest, but you should not start it, it is advisable to remove weeds, ideally by hand weeding after watering or rain, mulch the soil after watering or rain with humus, a layer of a couple of centimeters and, of course, apply fertilizers. Fertilizers can be applied twice per season - in the fall, scatter well-rotted manure over the surface in the amount of buckets per square meter and dig up the soil well, and in the spring add a tablespoon of nitroammophoska to the same area, also digging the soil well. And try, during the autumn digging, so that the top layer of the soil is at the bottom, and the bottom at the top, that is, dig up the soil with a turnover of the layer.
Here, perhaps, are all the simple measures that will not allow the depletion of the soil on your site. The main thing in this business is regularity.
