How to disinfect the soil for seedlings. How to properly prepare the soil for seedlings

Since early spring, gardeners and gardeners are beginning their stormy activities related to sowing and sprouting seedlings. It is not so easy to get healthy and strong shoots, which easily adapt in the open ground and later will be pleased with a good harvest. The main condition for their growth, and therefore the basis for the future harvest, is properly selected or prepared land independently.

Soil for seedlings: we prepare by our own hands

Some beginning vegetable growers do not think about how to properly prepare the soil for growing seedlings, but simply take the land from the garden and sow seeds in it. What is their disappointment when long-awaited shoots never appear or grow slowly. And by the time of transplantation into the open ground, they are still fragile and weak. Such plants, most likely, will not bear the stress associated with planting on the beds, and die within a few days.

Before you start an active action, you need to take a responsible approach to the question of how to prepare the earth for seedlings with your own hands.

It is necessary to start preparing the soil not in the spring, but also from August-September. Garden land in its pure form is not suitable, but it can become the basis for a nutrient mix, in which the seeds will be sown. Do not ignore such a stage of preparation, as decontamination of soil for seedlings, if you take it from the garden or from the garden.

What danger is hidden in the garden land

Why can not you just type in the earth from the garden and grow seedlings in it? Some will say that this will be the right decision, because it is in such a land that seedlings will grow after transplantation. Partly true: it is good if the soil for seedlings is prepared from vegetable garden and is similar in composition to it. In this case, young plants are more adaptable when planting on beds. But if you take the garden land in its pure form, without additional fertilizing and loosening components, then it will not be an ideal option for sowing seedlings. Because it is very dense and does not contain the necessary amount of useful substances.

The second disadvantage of garden or garden land is the presence of a large number of small pests capable of destroying seeds and weak roots of young shoots.

Composition and structure of soil for seedlings

Selecting and combining the components of the soil mixture, you must adhere to certain rules. Primary requirements:

• Porous (air) structure. It is necessary to minimize the clay, which clogs the pores and leads to the formation of lumps.
• The presence of a sufficient number of useful components (organic and mineral fertilizers). But in this case you should not cross the line. Excessive maintenance of mineral fertilizers slows down the process of germination of seeds and can lead to diseases of seedlings.
• Absence of pests, larvae, eggs of insects. The soil should be decontaminated, but not completely sterile. In any soil mixes, the presence of a beneficial microflora is mandatory.

To destroy and prevent pests, it is necessary to study the issue of how to decontaminate the soil for seedlings, and to take the necessary measures for disinfecting the soil. But its structure and composition directly depend on the correct selection of components and their proportions.

The most popular universal soil composition for seedlings is prepared on the basis of garden land (2 parts), peat (1 part), humus (1 part). The baking powder may be pure, large river sand or sawdust. Mineral fertilizer will be ash or charcoal. All these components are carefully sieved and connected. With this task, even a novice, who previously did not know how to prepare the soil, will cope. Soil for seedlings, made in this way, can be suitable for indoor plants.

What is our next step? What do we do after we have prepared the land? We disinfect the soil for seedlings, this will avoid all the troubles associated with diseases and pests of young growth.

Soil disinfection as an important element of preparation

Even the most correct soil composition for seedlings can be useless if it has not undergone the disinfection procedure. In such a case, the soil may contain pathogenic flora, eggs and larvae of pests, spores of weeds and mold. All of the above starts to develop quickly and manifest itself as soon as a favorable environment for sprouting seedlings is created. This can cause irreversible damage to the shoots. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to know how to disinfect the soil for seedlings.

There is an erroneous opinion that the land from the packages does not need to be decontaminated and is completely ready for use. In fact, it can contain exactly the same number of hazards as in the garden, as, in fact, it is a waste ground from greenhouses and greenhouses, mechanically cleaned and enriched.

Methods of soil disinfection for seedlings

How to disinfect the soil for seedlings? This is a simple matter, because there are a lot of ways to sterilize the soil. Experienced gardeners themselves sometimes invent new methods or improve existing ones.

Mechanical methods of decontamination: calcination and freezing of soil

Calcination of soil is one of the most popular methods of soil disinfection. It is based on heat treatment. It can be produced in many ways.

Firstly, the ground can be roasted in the oven, spreading it on the brazier. The temperature should be 180 ° C, and the time - about 40 minutes. The method is very affordable and simple, but not suitable for a large volume of land.

Secondly, it is possible to calcinate the soil in the microwave. In this case, the moist substrate is placed in a glass dish and left in a microwave for 10 minutes at maximum power.

Thirdly, for a thermal treatment of the soil, a water bath is suitable. The method is efficient, but, as in the previous cases, it is designed for small volumes.

If you have prepared the soil for seedlings since the fall, then you can decontaminate a large amount of soil without much effort, simply leaving it in an unheated room or on the balcony during frosts. Winter cold will help you destroy almost all harmful microorganisms in the ground.

Biological disinfection of soil mixtures

The whole point of biological decontamination is to populate the soil for seedling with useful microorganisms that will displace harmful ones.

The most popular biological agents today are "Fitosporin", "Phytop", "Barrier", "Barrier", "Trichodermin". When using biological preparations for decontamination, it is important to carefully follow the instructions, clearly observe the dosage and shelf life.

With the correct use of biological agents, they not only destroy the pathogenic flora, but also accelerate the growth of seedlings.

Chemical decontamination of soil

Decontamination of soil for seedlings by chemical means is best used only in exceptional cases. As in the situation with biological products, it is important not to violate the instructions. Some of these drugs not only destroy the pathogenic flora, pathogenic bacteria and fungi, but also inhibit the growth of plants.

The most harmless, but also ineffective way of chemical disinfection is considered to be manganese. It eventually turns into potassium fertilizer.

By disinfecting the soil for seedlings by mechanical or chemical means, we deprive it of not only pathogenic flora, but also beneficial bacteria. They can be restored by injecting bacterial fertilizer ("Rizotorfin", "Azotobacterin", "Phosphorobacterin") into the soil. Some gardeners use conventional yeast for this purpose.

The purchased soil mixture. How to improve the quality of the finished land

It should be noted that all the above procedures for the preparation and disinfection of land for seedlings will not be suitable for "lazy" gardeners. Self-preparation of the substrate takes time and effort. It is much easier and quicker to buy a ready-made compound for sowing seedlings. Those who choose this option should remember the existing pitfalls.

Unfortunately, not always manufacturers honesty write the truthful information on the packaging. It happens that by choosing the package with the best composition, you get a poor primer based on peat. When planting seeds in such a composition, there is a great risk of remaining a disappointed result. Seedlings or not at all, or even if the sprouts will appear, it is unlikely they will meet expectations. Therefore, you should not be too economical in this matter, but choose the products of well-known firms.

Even if you have such a poor-quality mixture based on peat, try to correct the situation yourself. For this, it is necessary to mix it with garden ground, previously disinfected. How to disinfect the soil for seedlings, we considered earlier in our article. Further, we must check the obtained substrate for acidity, and if it is higher than normal, we also correct this problem. The acidity of the soil is reduced by the addition of chalk or dolomite flour. Since such a soil mixture does not have its own nutrients, additional mineral fertilizers must be added.

Approaching the issue of preparing the land for seedlings is very serious and scrupulous. Experienced horticulturists know that the correct soil composition is 80% success when growing seedlings.