How to improve soil fertility at your dacha. How to restore soil fertility How to make garden soil healthy

Today we will deal with the question of how to properly care for the soil in order to restore fertility and obtain consistently high yields without the use of mineral fertilizers and any other chemicals.

How to use organic matter to restore fertility

In the “pre-chemical” era (until the end of the nineteenth century), vegetables and fruits were grown without the use of mineral fertilizers and various pesticides, but now farmers have practically forgotten how this was once done by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. The use of mineral fertilizers greatly facilitated the work of the peasant and increased yields, however, at the same time, it entailed quite serious negative consequences that affected the health of mankind.

Already at the beginning of the twentieth century, it became clear that the use of mineral fertilizers has a negative impact on the environment, disrupts the ecological balance and has a detrimental effect on human health. At this time, scientists considered the founders of organic farming (Albert Howard, Rudolf Steiner, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer) began to sound the alarm, calling for abandoning the use of chemistry and using the centuries-old experience of their ancestors in using organic matter to restore fertility.

Today, as an alternative to mineral ones, regenerative agriculture uses various organic fertilizers that do not disturb the life of soil and ground inhabitants and help increase the humus layer of the earth. Organic fertilizers are everything that can rot, that is, the bodies of plants and animals, as well as the bodies of microbes that decompose all this. Biological farming uses various organic fertilizers, the main ones being:

• humus
• manure
• compost
• green manure
• bacterial fertilizers

Humus

Humus (humus) is a fertile layer of soil. Humus contains humic and crenic acids, which are important for soil fertility. It is humus that contains the basic nutrients necessary for the full growth and development of the plant. Under natural conditions, various soil inhabitants (worms, bacteria and other microorganisms) are involved in the “preparation” of humus.

Before turning into useful fertilizer, plant and animal residues undergo a number of changes. First, microbes and fungi work on them, the result of their activity is the appearance of humus. But after the worms work on the humus, the soil is enriched with a substance indispensable for plant life - vermicompost. Organic farming has developed a whole system of actions that makes it possible to influence the population of earthworms in summer cottages and vegetable gardens.

Manure

Any gardener probably knows what manure is. This organic fertilizer contains nitrogen and most of the other elements that crops need for full growth and development. The application of manure allows you to improve the structure of the earth, its water and air regimes and chemical properties. Manure contains calcium and magnesium, which reduce the acidity of the soil, and beneficial microorganisms increase its biological activity. Manure is one of the main sources of carbon dioxide, which is so necessary for plants.

The effect of manure applied to the ground continues for several years. However, it is important to note that this fertilizer cannot be used directly, as fresh manure contains many pathogens. Manure is best used as one of the ingredients for preparing such valuable organic fertilizer as compost.

Preparing compost correctly

When preparing this fertilizer, it is important to remember that compost is a community of microorganisms, worms and insects that work conscientiously to prepare food for plants. And you need to be able to communicate with these “culinarians”, understand their needs and life processes.

For normal existence of microbes, worms and insects, three main conditions must be provided. They need food, moisture and oxygen. As a rule, most people have no problems with food and moisture, but without oxygen, compost can simply turn sour.

The process of preparing this fertilizer should be thoughtful and leisurely. You can only use high-quality compost that is not prepared correctly; not only will it not help, but it can simply kill the plants.

So, let's figure out what materials can be used and how they should be processed in order to obtain high-quality useful fertilizer. I would like to immediately note that under no circumstances should fats, lard, bones or various synthetic materials be placed on compost heaps or in compost pits.

Other dairy and meat waste is not contraindicated, but it can attract dangerous animals such as rats, and the odors from such a pile will be, to put it mildly, unpleasant. If you use meat and dairy waste, you need to put it as deep as possible and in small quantities.

All other materials used in composting are divided into green, that is, rich in nitrogen, and brown, which is poor in nitrogen, but rich in fiber. Brown and green materials behave differently in compost and perform different functions. Green ones rot quickly and with heating - this is the so-called stove for a compost heap or pit. Browns rot slowly but provide porosity, trapping air and moisture in the compost.

Green materials include: manure, bird droppings, feces, various kitchen waste, hay, green leaves, grass clippings and tops of various crops, weeds.

The best manure for farming is horse manure, the worst is pork manure, as it is too liquid and contains a lot of acid. Pig manure and poultry manure can make good compost if you cover it with sawdust or dry straw and let it sit until it is completely ripe.

Before adding such compost to the soil, it must be lightly limed. Feces, any manure and kitchen waste should be layered with brown materials when placed on compost heaps.

Hay is an excellent component for making compost, but when laying it, it must be layered with ready-made humus or watered with an infusion of rotten grass to speed up the decay process. Fresh grass and other greenery require pre-drying before being placed on a pile.

Otherwise, it will become compacted and remain without oxygen, which will lead not to rotting, but to souring (the result is toxic silage). If there is no time to dry, and this is what often happens, then fresh greens need to be transferred to something dry from the category of brown materials.

Brown materials include dry leaves and straw, dry corn cobs, seed husks, paper, bark, and sawdust. These components, as a rule, are used to sandwich green materials, and on their own they rot slowly and absorb nitrogen, which is an important nutrient. If you compost only brown materials, then these materials are moistened with a urea solution at the rate of 2 kg per cubic meter - this procedure accelerates the ripening process and enriches the compost with nitrogen.

The compost preparation method can be cold or hot. The essence of the cold, that is, slow, method is that the gardener just needs to constantly put the various materials mentioned above on the pile. It will be enough to move such a pile once a season, changing the layers in places.

By autumn, the compost will be almost ready for use; it can be laid out on the beds and covered with film for the winter. If you transfer the pile twice or three times over the summer, then the fertilizer will be prepared much earlier, and if you mix it every week, then composting will end in 1.5–2 months - this is called the hot method. However, not every person has enough time and energy to do this. Therefore, the cold cooking method is most popular.

It is best to compost organic matter in piles rather than in pits, as some suggest. Water constantly accumulates in the pits, making the mixing process and oxygen access difficult - rotting proceeds slowly.

Compost heaps are organized as follows. Three walls are made from any solid material, up to a meter high. Ideally, the floor should be made of lattice - this promotes good penetration of oxygen from below, which accelerates ripening. But if this is not possible, you can build a pile on concrete, or even just on the ground. It is best to make two compartments at once, so that there is somewhere to transfer the ripened organic matter in the future.

The minimum volume of the pile should be one cubic meter, otherwise the compost will dry out quickly. For the same reason, it is necessary to place the compost heap in a shaded place. If the place for preparing fertilizer is in the sun, then it needs to be covered (in the summer with something opaque and allowing air penetration, and in cold times with polyethylene, which will contribute to rapid rotting).

It is impossible to overheat the compost - microorganisms may die, but it is also not recommended to cover it at all, since beneficial nutrients are eroded and washed away by rain.

Compost is the main fertilizer for all gardeners who adhere to the principles of organic farming. When it matures, the content of nutrients necessary for plants (potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus and others) increases in organic matter.

Adding ready-made compost to the beds improves the structure and fertility of the soil; such beds retain moisture better. Ready-made, high-quality compost perfectly protects crops from many diseases and contributes to obtaining a high-quality, environmentally friendly harvest.

We grow fertilizers in the beds

Compost, without a doubt, is an excellent fertilizer, but to prepare it you need to have a large amount of different organic materials on the farm, which in some cases can be extremely problematic. So what should people do who don’t want to use chemicals in their gardens, but don’t have the time or opportunity to prepare compost? In such cases, organic farming advises growing fertilizers directly in the beds.

Here green manure plants (green fertilizers) will come to our aid. The use of green manures is one of the main ways to improve soil structure and fertility used in organic farming. These plants are grown specifically directly in the beds, but not for consumption, but to improve the health of the earth. The green mass of these crops is incorporated into the soil to increase its organic content, and is also used for composting and the preparation of various liquid fertilizers.

Mixtures of legumes and non-legumes are most often used as green fertilizers. Perennial legumes include alfalfa, clover, lupine, and sainfoin. Any non-legume grain except corn is suitable. Various cruciferous crops are perfect for green manure: mustard, rapeseed, radish, and rape. Many gardeners use for these purposes any seeds that, for example, have passed their expiration date.

There is nothing complicated about the growing technology itself. In the beds where it is planned to plant heat-loving crops, in early spring you can sow the seeds of any green manure. Before planting a tomato or pepper, you will be guaranteed a knee-deep green carpet that can be embedded in the soil without mowing. In this case, you can plant seedlings directly into the withering tops.

After harvesting garlic, carrots, and potatoes (that is, those crops that will no longer occupy the bed until frost), you can plant the empty areas with any green manure. To do this, just walk along the ground with a rake and a bag of seeds. After the shoots appear, if there is no danger that the greenery will outgrow and become woody, it can be left for the winter, and in the spring you will just need to loosen the bed. If the greens have risen long before the onset of cold weather, then they need to be embedded in the soil, and immediately a new portion of green fertilizer should be sown on top for the spring.

In general, green manure is a creative process; the main thing here is to follow the basic principle of organic farming - do not leave the soil bare and adhere to some simple rules:

• Green manure cannot be overgrown; the more powerful the plant, the more difficult it is to prune it;
• green fertilizers need to be sown thickly;
• It is not recommended to use rhizome crops as green manure;
• To reduce the effort and time for planting green fertilizers, you can scatter their seeds before harvesting or before spring loosening.

Green manure is an excellent way to improve and restore the fertility of a site. After green fertilizers are embedded in the ground, their root and leaf mass decompose and enrich the soil with organic matter and nitrogen. Further, under the influence of microorganisms and earthworms, plant residues are processed and converted into humus.

Green manure plants provide the soil with oxygen, help retain moisture and improve the structure of the soil. Green fertilizers create a dense cover that protects the soil from weathering and leaching of nutrients, which, during green manure, are stored in the upper fertile layers.

Bacterial fertilizers

As we have already found out, without the work of microorganisms, organic fertilizers will not work. They are involved in both the creation of humus and the ripening of compost. To increase the number of microorganisms, scientists have invented special preparations - bacterial fertilizers, affectionately called “emochki” among the people. These are not ready-made nutrients, but microorganisms in the form of spores or cells, which, under favorable conditions, begin to multiply and process organic matter.

Today, the preparations “Vostok-EM1” and “Biostim” are considered to be fairly well-known bacterial fertilizers. Vostok-EM1 contains more than 80 varieties of fungi and microorganisms, which, under the influence of Biostim, begin to actively multiply and do an excellent job of processing the excrement of various animals and birds, turning them into highly nutritious humus. The microorganisms that make up these drugs produce substances that can suppress the growth of microflora, which causes various dangerous plant diseases.

It should be noted that the production of bacterial fertilizers is still far from being studied, and this branch of agriculture is just beginning its development, but is already considered quite promising in many countries.

Nowadays, when the world is on the brink of an environmental catastrophe, the problem of abandoning the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides when growing food is especially pressing. And, as we found out, the achievements of agronomist scientists who work on the land, adhering to the principles of organic and biodynamic farming, can help in resolving it. By learning to grow green fertilizers and prepare compost, you can provide your family with environmentally friendly vegetables and fruits, which will contribute to the health of the body and the nature around you.published

If you have any questions, ask them.

Anatoly ONEGOV.

Within a year or two, potatoes will grow again in an area overgrown with all kinds of grass.

Peas rise like a green wall above the garden bed.

Clover, like lupine and beans, not only restores soil fertility, but also enriches it with nitrogen.

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Pikulnik, popovnik, horsetail - lovers of acidic soils.

Science and life // Illustrations

Science and life // Illustrations

Field bindweed grows on slightly acidic or neutral soil.

Zucchini tolerates slightly acidic soils.

Cucumbers do not tolerate acidic soils.

I remember when I became seriously interested in soil science and agronomy, I was amazed by such numbers. It turned out that at least a million different insects (that is, 95 percent of the total number of species known to scientists) are somehow connected with the soil. Some spend their entire lives in the ground, others lay eggs, in others, pupae rest in it, in others, larvae live. And each of these living creatures leaves its mark in the earth, either by helping to increase the fertility of the soil, or by making passages in it through which water and air enter, and carbon dioxide formed by living organisms is removed.

But besides insects, other animals also live in the ground, such as earthworms. Crawling out of their burrows at night, they look for last year's leaves and plant remains and drag them to themselves. Once eaten and passed through the intestines, these residues end up in the form of small dark lumps in the ground. So earthworms fertilize it, being responsible for fertility in their own way. And through their burrows, water and air enter the soil, soil drainage occurs, and often very deep.

I remember another figure: on one hectare of uncultivated land there are about 200 kilograms of microorganisms. The total mass of all living beings inhabiting this piece of earth reaches a ton. Is it a lot or a little? In order to grow a good harvest of turnips, 500 kilograms of mineral fertilizers must be applied to one hectare of land, when planting carrots - 800 kilograms, and beets - already one ton. As you can see, the mass of living creatures inhabiting the soil is greater than the mass of mineral fertilizers applied to the ground when growing turnips and carrots. But all living creatures inhabiting the earth, after the expiration of their allotted life span, die and remain in the earth, giving it accumulated organic substances. The remains of animals are decomposed by microorganisms, and the microorganisms, in turn, dying off, provide the soil with nutritious humus.

This is how a healthy, not depleted, not exhausted land lives, which until quite recently wise peasants affectionately called living.

Living soil has one amazing property: it not only gives plants the necessary nutrition, but is also capable of restoring fertility if life in it is not destroyed.

The peasant has long known that soil that has lost its strength, yielding smaller and smaller harvests from year to year, must be left alone for several years, not touched with a plow, and wait until it again protects itself with a layer of turf and organic matter accumulates in it. And all this without applying fertilizers.

Having received possession of the land for my house, I reclaimed the former meadow, which occupied a high, dry place, and successfully grew potatoes for two years in a row, practically without introducing any fertilizers into the soil - except for pouring into each hole prepared for a potato tuber, half a handful of ash, but I did it more so that the potatoes would be tastier. But in the third year in this, until recently virgin garden, I did not see a potato harvest. There was not enough manure then, so I left this place for a while. For the third year in a row it has been overgrown with grass, growing thicker and thicker every year. I don’t mow the grass or put it into the soil. The old grasses die off, and their remains are processed by microorganisms. This is how the strength of my garden is gradually restored. I think that in a year or two I will again get decent potato harvests here.

Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to conduct such an experiment on several dacha acres - every piece of land is valuable. But even on your 6-8 acres, you can quite take advantage of the ability of the living earth to restore its strength, and besides, you will help it in this.

If some garden bed stops producing crops, it would be necessary to fertilize it with organic fertilizer. If there is no such fertilizer, sow peas in early spring, preferably low-growing ones, and plant them thicker - then they will rise like a solid green wall and will not allow any weeds. When the time comes to harvest, pick the pods, cut off the tops and leave them in an even layer. By spring, almost all of the stems will rot. Then again loosen the furrows in this bed with a garden fork and spread out the pea seeds. Again, collect only the pods and leave the stems. And in the new spring, use a garden fork or shovel to embed the half-rotted pea stems into the soil and you can safely grow root crops. For cabbage or potatoes, or even cucumbers, two seasons of such natural restoration of soil fertility is not enough - these plants, as they say, take a lot of nutrients out of the ground in one summer, and radishes, lettuce, carrots and beets will do just fine.

In addition, peas, like clover and lupine, also enrich the soil with nitrogen. You can plant beans in a resting bed, but they will not be able, like peas, to resist weeds - they will not cover the entire ground with a solid green mass.

I have long adopted this method of restoring the soil with the help of peas: peas in my garden are a respected crop.

The ability of soil to self-heal, accumulate organic matter, and improve structure depends on many factors. Both climate and soil acidity have an effect. The higher the acidity, the slower the fertile layer grows. This is explained by the fact that in conditions of high acidity, the work of microorganisms that are busy processing organic residues slows down.

The yield also depends on the acidity of the soil. Of all the cultivated plants, only potatoes do well in acidic soil. Sorrel, tomatoes, zucchini, radishes, radishes, and carrots tolerate slightly acidic soils. But cabbage, beets, onions, garlic, lettuce, cucumbers and peas simply cannot tolerate acidic soil.

There are special instruments for measuring soil acidity, but even without instruments you can determine whether it is suitable for certain crops.

If the soil is acidic and unsuitable for garden plants, it is easy to find horsetail, pickleweed, speedwell, plantain, small sorrel, mint, ranunculus, popovnik near the beds. If the soil is slightly acidic or neutral, that is, suitable for all garden plants, wild plants such as field bindweed, odorless chamomile, clover, coltsfoot, wheatgrass, and thistle will grow on it.

Plants that help to immediately determine the acidity of the soil in the garden are usually called indicator weeds.

Acidic soils are usually found in low, damp places and where spring water stagnates longer. So-called natural acidification of the soil occurs. But nowadays, acidic soils can also be found in high places - acid rain “blesses” the earth with acid. Industrial soil acidification is becoming almost a national disaster in some places.

You can reduce the acidity of the soil using fluff lime (slaked lime), cement dust, chalk, and ground lime.

Stove ash will also help. Even in ancient times, peasants used ash to “remove horsetail” from their gardens. Ash is added to the soil during autumn digging: 100-150 grams per 1 m2 (up to 1.5 kilograms per 10 m2 of garden). For reference: a teaspoon of wood ash is 2 grams, a tablespoon is 6 grams, a faceted glass is 100 grams. Please also note that wood ash is an excellent mineral fertilizer; it only contains no nitrogen.

And the last thing I would like to warn you about. Plants grown in acidic soil can be hazardous to your health. They contain significantly more heavy metals (for example, lead, mercury) than similar plants grown in less acidic soils. This is explained by the fact that heavy metals contained in soil and rocks, as well as those that enter the soil along with emissions from industrial enterprises and vehicles, are not washed out with ordinary rainwater, but are washed out with acidic solutions, enter plants and accumulate in them. That is, in slightly acidic and neutral soils, heavy metals are in a bound state, and in acidic soils they are more mobile and are able to accumulate in plant tissues. This is already a sign of our industrial age.

I ask you to tell me what techniques are best used to heal disease-infected, depleted soil with a dense structure.

In my opinion, the optimal solution in your case is sowing green manure. They will help disinfect the soil, improve its structure and increase its nutrient content. Do not bury the grown green manure in the ground after mowing. It is enough to cut them off, spread them on the ground, water them with a solution of EM preparations and give the bacteria the opportunity to do their job. It is necessary to mow green manure in the budding phase, before flowering. At this time, plants accumulate the maximum amount of nutrients.

Why is green manure better?

Yes, because many of them either have the ability to draw nutrients from the deep layers of the soil with the help of long roots, or accumulate them with the help of nitrogen-fixing bacteria living in symbiosis with them (for example, plants of the legume family). Lupine and mustard are more effective than regular phosphorus fertilizer. This is due to the fact that, firstly, mineral fertilizers are often used by vegetable crops in minimal quantities due to rapid leaching into hard-to-reach soil layers, and secondly, green manure allows plants to consume the necessary nutrients in a natural, easily digestible form. The roots of green manure crops remaining in the ground are also useful: after they survive, a peculiar network of thin channels is formed in the soil, ensuring the normal supply of moisture and air.

Never grow oil radish before or after cabbage, watercress. These are plants of the same family, which means they can attract the same pests and diseases. In order to correctly choose the green manure that is most suitable for you, remember: mustard, oilseed radish, rapeseed, winter rape Turtle Dove are cruciferous; peas, lupine, sweet clover, vetch, clover - for legumes; rye, barley, ryegrass - to cereals.

If you have forgotten which families your predecessors or successors belong to, and you don’t have time to search for information, then give preference to phacelia: it is part of the water-leaved family, which does not include the garden crops we are used to. In addition, phacelia is practically not affected by pests or diseases and itself helps neighboring plants to recover thanks to the essential oils it exudes and attracting predatory insects. Its blue flowers attract bees, so it is useful to sow phacelia not only in the vegetable garden, but also in the orchard - this will help increase the yield. Phacelia blooms on average 50-60 days. In the garden they cut it off, but in the garden they let it bloom to its heart's content. A double effect can be obtained if you sow green manure not individually, but in the form of mixtures. For example, peas go well with mustard, cereals and legumes, rape goes well with cereals and legumes.

Can “rich” soil in the country produce a low yield? Of course it can! Our summer residents do not always understand the meaning of the word “rich”, thinking that this concept is equivalent to the term “fertile”. In fact, soil that is rich in nutrients is called rich. But they may be inaccessible to plants due to the poor structure of the soil layer. The roots simply won't be able to get them. And fertile soil is considered to be soil rich in substances with a good structure, thanks to which the maximum of substances and water gets to the roots.

Video about the causes of land depletion

And the task of the summer resident is not to “fill up” the lands with an abundance of fertilizers, but to make them fertile by processing and adding certain components that will improve air circulation, moisture capacity, etc.

But for this you need to know what the mechanical composition of the soil at your dacha is: clayey, loamy or sandy.

What soil is fertile?

How to determine the composition of the soil yourself

To determine the composition of the soil, take a lump of earth, wet it with water to form a mass resembling a thick dough. Then roll an elongated cord from the soil and try to twist the ends into a steering wheel. Look at the quality of bending. If you managed to make a bagel without cracking the soil, it means it is clay. Small cracks in the fold will indicate that the soil is loamy. If the ground is sandy, then you won’t even be able to twist a tourniquet.

Now that the composition of the soil is clear, let’s figure out what is useful and “not useful” for each of these types of soil, and whether there is a chance to improve it.

Clay soil easily rolls into a rope

How to “fight” clay soil

This is exactly the case when the earth is rich, but these riches do not reach a single plant. Such “greedy” land is considered infertile because it:

• heavy;
• warms up slightly;
• with poor air circulation;
• there is a lot of moisture on the surface, but it weakly penetrates into the deeper layers;
• at hot temperatures the surface becomes covered with a dense crust.

In order for the harvest to please, it is necessary to lighten the dense structure and make it looser. To do this, add sand (30 kg per m²) and peat. To increase the number of active bacteria, add manure and compost. To avoid acidification, lime.

Plowing the site should raise layers of more than 25 cm to saturate the soil with oxygen.

Planting crop seeds on clay soil has a shallower depth to make it easier for the roots to reach water and get as much air as possible. So the potatoes need a depth of 6 cm.

The seedlings are placed at an angle so that the root system is heated to the maximum by the sun.

Loamy soil: you're in luck

Loamy soil occupies a middle ground between sandy and clayey, having a large supply of useful substances. At the same time, the structure is much better than clay. All plant substances are easily obtained, so no special agricultural technology is carried out on such land. Unless, as she becomes exhausted, she will have to be fed (like everyone else!).

It is effective to spread manure or compost as mulch.

Poor soil is sandy

Sandy soil has a uniform yellow color

If the area is “pleased” with sand, then it contains few nutrients. Of course, the soil structure is good: it quickly allows moisture to pass through, warms up in a short time, and has a lot of air. In spring, sand is the first one ready for planting. But the water instantly evaporates, which negates the other advantages. Therefore, you will have to establish constant watering in the summer.

The first way to improve sandy soil is to add components to retain moisture annually, in several stages: compost, manure, peat. The largest volume of additives is applied during autumn digging (4 kg of manure or 5 kg of compost + peat are scattered per m² of area).

Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers must be done frequently, but in small quantities so that the plants have time to absorb it before it is washed out by rains.

To increase fertility, it is a good idea to sow sandy soils with green manure plants. They will compact the structure of the soil layer, connecting the particles together. By the way, these plants are also effective as raising agents on clay soils.

Seeds are sown deep into such soils (about 12 cm) so that they receive at least some of the moisture before it has time to evaporate. Hilling up, which further dries out the soil, is not recommended. One, shallow one, which is carried out after rain, is enough.

The second indicator on which soil fertility depends is acidity. If the soil is acidified, even applying additional fertilizers will not improve the yield. More detailed instructions on how to find out the acidity level of the soil at your dacha and how to change it can be read on our website in the article “Useful tips for a summer resident: is liming the soil necessary and does it make sense to fight moles?” .

Ways to increase soil fertility

Even the most fertile soil will cease to please you over the years if you only take from it without giving in return, that is, without taking any action to preserve or improve the soil. What does soil fertility depend on? Here are some ways to help the earth stay healthy:

Send the soil on vacation

After a year of work, each person has the right to vacation. The land in your dacha deserves the same right. Maybe not in a year, but in 5, but it is necessary to give her the opportunity to “breathe freely”. For this purpose, the land is not sown at all and is not planted with any crops, but spring and autumn digging is carried out, organic matter, ash and, if necessary, lime are added.

“Feed” the soil with green manure

These are annual plants that are planted to improve the microflora of the earth and enrich it with organic matter. This group includes mostly cereals and legumes. Cereals structure soils, and legumes saturate them with nitrogen. You can buy mixtures or plant monocultures.

What is good about each legume, except that it increases the amount of nitrogen:

• beans reduce acidity levels;
• peas and alfalfa are saturated with phosphorus;
• Lilyweed increases the percentage of phosphorus, potassium, magnesium in the soil;
• lupine is the most optimal green manure before planting strawberries;
• vetch-oat mixture is an excellent leavening agent, reduces the number of weeds, increases the level of phosphorus;
• mustard suppresses weeds and destroys wireworms;
• rapeseed loosens heavy soils, destroys bacteria, and saturates them with sulfur and phosphorus.

How to apply green manure correctly

It is often written that the most effective way is to plow before planting the main crop. But in this case, the root system with nodules, which contain a lot of nitrogen, turns up and collapses, becoming useless. The abundance of green mass during plowing can produce excess nitrogen, which will cause the planted crop to “burn.”

The best way is to scatter the seeds after harvesting vegetables and cover them with a rake. As soon as the green mass becomes high enough, but does not enter the flowering phase, the green manure is mowed (with a mower or walk-behind mower), leaving the entire cutting on the surface of the soil. There is no need to dig until spring. Over the winter, the root system will decompose on its own, having time to release everything useful into the soil.

If you waste time and let the green manures become seeded, then you will replenish the ranks of weeds, because in the spring a “huddle” will emerge that you will have to fight with.

In this growth phase (when flowering has not yet begun), green manure is mowed down and left to decompose until spring.

“Pamper” the earth with manure

Manure additives are effective only when the composition is rotten, because it has already killed the seeds of weeds and harmful bacteria. Fresh manure can easily “burn” the roots. Dose – 10 kg per hectare.

If possible, take into account the mechanical composition of the soil. For clay soils, it is better to purchase a sheep or horse “product”, because its decomposition process is faster. Sandy soils respond well to pig or cattle manure.

The best option is to let the manure rot in the compost.

Prepare compost

Using the old “old-fashioned” method, compost was prepared from almost everything that could be called household waste. To do this, they dug a compost pit and threw it in:

• tree trimming waste;
• fallen leaves;
• cut grass;
• waste paper;
• weeded weeds (that haven't started to bloom!);
• food waste;
• manure, bird droppings, etc.

What not to put in compost:

• strawberry rhizomes;
• cabbage “rods” with roots;
• nightshade tops (tomatoes, potatoes, etc.);
• weeds that have begun to bloom, or with seeds.

The pit is periodically watered and turned to speed up decay. As a rule, such compost is “prepared” for about 4 years. A faster method is to add California worms to the pile of accelerators that are on sale today.

If you fence a compost pit in this way, you can add more layers. In this case, all compost will be well ventilated

“Heal” the earth

There are plants that kill pathogenic microbes, thereby improving the quality of the soil. These include garlic, marigolds, and wormwood. They can be planted between rows of other crops or along the perimeter of the beds. And marigolds in the fall should be cut, finely chopped and the whole mass plowed.

Marigolds are an excellent soil healer

If you try at least a few ways to improve fertility at your dacha, the beds will thank you with an excellent harvest!

How to improve the fertility of the soil if it has become like a desert cracked by the heat does not give the desired result, and the ability to cultivate it is becoming less and less. And although our summer resident cannot be called lazy: from dawn until late at night he digs up his 6 acres, pulls out every weed, not sparing his back, runs between the beds with 15 liters of water in each hand - but the harvest is getting worse, the plants are weaker, and diseases attack for some reason - even for the most unpretentious crops, and the seeds that literally shot out of the ground 10 years ago do not germinate at all.

Four pillars of soil fertility

You give your whole soul to the garden, and instead of gratitude you get bags of rotten tomatoes and a bucket of small potatoes. Let's look around and think, where did we go wrong? What are we doing wrong? How to help the soil become fertile again and the garden to be trouble-free, joyful and productive? Let's try to fuss less and think more!

Mulching is the first step to soil fertility

Everyone, of course, knows that in the forest weeds are not pulled out and fallen leaves are not removed; no one would even think of watering birch trees or hilling mushrooms. Under a thick layer of last year's leaves, bark, and fallen twigs, the ground is cool and damp. And in the native garden on a summer afternoon, the earth becomes hot and becomes covered with cracks, no matter how much you loosen it or water it.

Here is the first answer: in the forest the soil is never bare. Last year's leaves and grass remnants cover it with a thick layer, preventing moisture from actively evaporating. This creates ideal conditions for microorganisms that process organic matter into the nutrients needed by plants. The soil remains loose, airy, alive.

Let’s try to create similar conditions in our garden.

1. In the fall, we will cover our empty beds with a thick layer of straw, fallen leaves, and shredded bark. This will prevent the soil from freezing in winter, especially in years with little snow. By spring, the organic matter will rot and become additional fertilizer.
2. Throughout the summer we will add weeded weeds without seeds, hay, and straw to the beds. Under a layer of mulch, plant roots do not suffer from overheating; during drought they practically do not need watering, since moisture evaporation is minimal. True, during prolonged rains in a humid environment, fungal diseases quickly develop, but this problem can be solved by treating the plantings with fungicides in advance.
3. Most weeds cannot germinate from under the mulch layer, which means that time that was previously spent on weeding is freed up.

Mulching the soil helps improve its structure. Gradually settling, the mulch mixes with its top layer. The soil becomes loose and allows moisture and air to pass through well. There is no need to loosen or dig it up. When it's time to plant seedlings, you can make holes with a planting cone, and then just add mulch as needed, this will replace traditional hilling.

Green manure to replace fertilizers and shovels

What else is needed to improve the structure of the soil, make it looser, enrich it with nitrogen, calcium, potassium and phosphorus, and activate beneficial microorganisms? The experts will answer you: green manure. This method of soil enrichment was known in ancient times. It originated in China and then came to Europe, where it immediately gained recognition, especially in the Mediterranean countries.

You can use mustard, alfalfa, phacelia, rye, and barley as green manure. Legumes are great for enriching the soil with nitrogen.

• Green manure can be sown when the crops are harvested from the beds, usually from the third decade of July to the beginning of August.
• Many summer residents sow them in the spring, before planting the main crops. In this case, you need to mow in May.
• Sometimes green manure is sown before winter. Then they are either left to grow until spring, or cut off and covered with mulch on top. In spring, the soil in this place will be fluffy, nutritious and will not require plowing.

Vegetable growers argue about whether to leave green manure in the garden or plow it up. Proponents of digging say that this improves the moisture capacity and permeability of the soil, and improves its structure. Opponents believe that digging has a bad effect on microorganisms and earthworms living in the soil.

It is much more useful to distribute the mowed green manure over the surface of the bed and cover it with straw to prevent it from drying out. Then, soon the green mass will turn into compost, the inhabitants of the soil will process it and turn it into a valuable fertilizer. In both cases, the roots of green manure are left in the ground. As they decompose, they become food for earthworms, the best restorers of soil fertility.

Organic fertilizers are the key to harvest and the basis of natural farming

If the soil on your site is poor and heavy, it simply needs organic matter. Manure is considered the most valuable organic fertilizer. It contains a lot of microelements that play a vital role in the growth and development of plants: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium. The carbon dioxide it produces is important for the processes of heat exchange and photosynthesis. To fertilize the garden, cow and horse manure is used, and less commonly, sheep and pork manure. Manure can be replaced with bird or rabbit droppings.

Other organic fertilizers are ash, lake silt, peat, compost, humus. They are also rich in microelements; with their help, you can adjust the acid-base balance in the beds, depending on the preferences of the crops growing there. And, of course, organic matter significantly increases the yield and taste of fruits.

Mixed plantings - the secret of a productive bed

Another great way to improve and enrich the soil structure is to use mixed plantings. Spicy and medicinal herbs, which are actively used in mixed beds, are very useful for problem soils.

Planted between vegetable crops, they improve the taste of the fruit. Tomatoes taste better next to parsley, beets with dill, and potatoes with cumin and cilantro. The main thing to remember when organizing joint plantings is the following: do not plant plants belonging to the same family next to each other, take into account the height of different crops, their need for sunlight, and the growing season.

In addition to the undoubted benefits for the soil, mixed plantings save a lot of space and always look original and very beautiful. They are great for small areas.

By choosing some of the methods, or even better, using them together, you will make the soil on your site more fertile, nutritious, warm and turn your 6 acres into a real piece of paradise.