The soil is rich in many microorganisms, including those that pose a potential threat to plants. To eliminate harmful substances and microbes from the soil, most gardeners prepare it in advance for planting seedlings. Consider what methods and means of disinfecting the land are successful and most effective.
Why disinfect the soil before planting seedlings
Every year, invisible to the eye pests, fungi and destructive microorganisms accumulate in the soil. For the germination of healthy plants and obtaining a full crop in the future, the optimal solution would be to remove the topsoil every new season and replace it with a new one. But this process would become rather laborious and costly.
Therefore, most gardeners prefer to clean the soil in certain ways. Pre-prepared and cultivated soil will provide stable vital energy to young sprouts, prevent the penetration of harmful microbes into them. Let's pay attention to several important points:
- Soil cleaning is carried out, as a rule, in the spring or in the summer - before the beginning of the summer season and after harvesting.
- The ideal soil for seedlings should be soft and loose, so that oxygen in sufficient quantities can nourish the roots of plants.
- The processed seedling base contains natural complexes of micro and macro elements, which are added in strictly established proportions.
- It is necessary to control the degree of acidity of the soil so that plants do not become sick in the future.
- When choosing a method of cleaning the soil, one should take into account the climate and weather conditions, the texture and composition of the soil, as well as those diseases to which the plantations in a particular strip are most often exposed.
When disinfecting the soil on your own, observe the established proportions!
Soil heat treatment options
In order that no harmful microbes remain in the basis for seedlings, it is subjected to processing by special methods and means. The following are the most popular tillage methods:
Type of processing | What is the point? | disadvantages |
Calcination | The procedure consists in warming the soil with high temperatures - it can be frying in a pan, baking in the oven or microwave. When calcining, the soil is poured onto a baking sheet with a layer of about 5 cm and placed in an oven preheated to 70-90 ° C for 30-40 minutes. In the process of baking the earth there is a steaming effect, which cleans the soil from any harmful microorganisms. | It should be noted that at high temperatures useful substances are destroyed, the soil can lose its useful properties and functions, become dry like dust. |
Freezing | For cold treatment, the required amount of soil in the fall is placed in a canvas bag and taken out when the air temperature drops below -15 ° C. In the cold, the substrate is kept for about a week - during this time all the larvae of harmful insects, fungi and bacteria are destroyed. Then the bag is brought into a warm room for a while, and the freezing procedure is repeated. For such an action, a large freezer is suitable. | Such an event is not suitable for all types of soil. So, during freezing, bacteria of late blight or keel can remain in the soil - diseases that can be eliminated by calcination. |
Steaming | Under this action, it is assumed that the soil is treated with hot steam or water, this method is considered the most economical. For a steaming session, put a bucket of water on the stove, bring to a boil. Place the required amount of soil in a cloth bag and place it on a wire rack or colander over boiling water. Steam has a disinfecting effect, destroying the larvae of pests. A variant is possible when the prepared soil is poured with steep boiling water and left for drying. | The steaming method is disadvantageous in that along with harmful microbes, beneficial substances are also destroyed. |
After such sessions, be sure to lay the soil on a baking sheet with a layer of 5-7 cm and let stand to cool, so that the soil is enriched with oxygen.
After any thermal treatment of the soil, it must be revitalized with nutrients so that it remains fertile as long as possible and gives a rich harvest.
You can see the process of preparing the soil for steaming as one of the methods of disinfecting the soil:
Special disinfection of soil
In addition to affecting the base for seedlings with hot and cold temperatures, there are methods for cleaning with additional substances. Purification of the soil is carried out on the basis of chemical and biological substances.
Soil disinfection chemicals they are used in the most extreme cases - when neither heat treatment nor the biological cleaning method have yielded results. Such substances include:
- Bleaching powder - destroys most of the pathogens, is introduced into the soil 6 months before transplanting in the amount of up to 200 g / 1 sq. m. But it should be noted that not all seedlings perceive this substance positively.
- Formalin struggling with germs of the disease "black leg", it must be added to the soil two weeks before planting sprouts. 200 ml of 40% of the product is dissolved in a bucket of water and poured into the ground. Funds in the specified amount will be enough for 1 square. m plot. Then the treated area is covered with oilcloth, as a shelter, you can use humus or mowed grass. After three days, the protective layer is removed and the earth is dug up.
- Chemical product TMTD in the form of a powder or suspension introduced into the base for planting seedlings immediately before planting. This substance is harmless to plants. For processing, a suspension of a concentration of 0.6% is enough to dilute in a bucket of water and pour into the soil.
- With copper sulfate disinfect the soil in the fall, after harvesting. For a bucket of water, the optimal amount would be 50 grams of the product. Processing with the specified substance is allowed once every five years.
Do not overdo it: copper sulfate in a large number is harmful to plants!
Biological substances give vitality to the soil, affect the increase in the number of beneficial bacteria, reduce toxicity. From biological additives to the soil to obtain a cleansing effect, the following can be distinguished:
- Trichodermin - in fact, an antibiotic containing biologically active substances that are produced when harmful competitor fungi appear. The action of the described agent is expressed in the allocation of beneficial fungi that inhibit the vital activity of pathogenic microbes and bacteria. The product is mixed in the proportion: 1 gram per 1 kg of soil, pre-dissolving the substance in water.
- Baikal EM-1 ideal for preventive tillage before planting seedlings and after harvesting. 150 ml of the product is added to a bucket of water, mixed. For 1 square. m of soil will optimally pour 2.5 liters of solution.
- Alirin-B - struggles with root rot. In 5 liter water, 1 tablet is diluted and the sprouts are watered.
- Fitosporin-M - the action is based on the fact that after the drug is dissolved in water, the active substances begin to act and suppress the vital activity of harmful bacteria, normalizing microflora, increasing resistance to various types of seedling diseases. For processing 1 square. m of land will be sufficient 6 grams. substances dissolved in a bucket of water.
It is strictly forbidden to mix chemical and biological products. To avoid the death of beneficial compounds, you must wait about two weeks between the use of these funds.
Soil disinfection with folk remedies
Along with the use of the described methods and means of disinfection, folk soil treatment methods are no less popular. Folk methods are considered environmentally friendly and for the most part effective:
- Potassium permanganate disinfection - It is mainly used for chernozem and sod-carbonate soils. 5 grams of manganese crystals are dissolved in 10 liters of water and watered a piece of land so that 1 square. m had 30-50 ml of solution.
- Garlic tincture destroys the larvae of small pests, and also minimizes the possibility of plant disease by spotting, late blight, rust. Pour 1 head of chopped garlic with a liter of boiling water, let it brew for a week. For spraying, it will be enough to dissolve 50 ml of garlic tincture in 10 liters of water. Antimicrobial and antifungal action has onions, from which a similar infusion is prepared.
- Infusions of medicinal herbs - calendula, celandine, nettle, marigold have a disinfecting effect and contribute to strengthening the immunity of plants. So, to prepare a solution of nettle, 700 grams of a plant, pour 5 liters of boiling water, close the lid and leave it warm until the fermentation process begins. After 5 days, when the solution has fermented well, it should be filtered and applied as intended, namely: 1 liter of extract is added to 10 liters of water, and is used as top dressing for plants.
- Ash-based alkali treatment - kills harmful microorganisms. 0.5 kg of ash is poured with 3 liters of water, mixed thoroughly, brought to a boil over high heat and left for some time. The top layer of the solution is the ash base, which is removed, diluted in water in a ratio of 1: 2 and watered the soil for seedlings two weeks before planting in open ground.
The option of preparing the soil for planting seedlings using biologically active additives is suitable for those gardeners who do not use soil heat treatment:
All of these methods give their positive results. It is important to consider the type of cultivated soil, the type of seedlings that will grow in it. In any case, it is important to prepare the land for planting in order to further avoid protracted soil diseases and loss of fertility.