How to improve the land at your dacha in a simple way. How to improve soil structure and increase its fertility

Before improving the clay soil on the site, which is so heavy that it makes digging difficult by sticking to the shovel, it is recommended to add crushed brick. Finely crushed brick is sifted through a large sieve, scattered on the ground in a layer of 2-3 inches and then, together with fertilizer, embedded in the soil.

By repeating this operation for several years in a row, you can improve the properties of the soil beyond recognition, and the results are better the deeper you dig. Crushed or powdered bricks can, of course, be easily obtained where there are brick factories nearby. So, there are not enough bricks, there is clay soil on the site, it is not clear how to improve it, since all methods have been tried. In the absence of a brick, you can replace it by burning various weeds and earthy substances: to do this, make a fire from brushwood, light it, and then throw weeds with roots and earth adhering to them, all plant waste: spoiled straw, turf, etc. , and all the time they maintain the fire so that it smolders inside the fire. When in this way a sufficient amount of ash substances is obtained from the burnt earth, it is used instead of crushed brick. You can get even better results and improve soil quality if you have peat on hand to burn. It is used in the same way as crushed brick. How to improve loamy soil using simple farming practices?

The benefits of hoeing the soil. Before you improve soil fertility, you need to know that hoeing should not be mixed with digging the soil. You can dig only at a time when the soil is not occupied by plants, but hoe - during the entire time until the sown or planted plants have not yet completely occupied the ridges. Digging is loosening the soil to a relatively large depth (from 4 to 6 and even 7 tops); hoeing - loosening the soil by 1-1.5 inches, and sometimes even less. Hoeing is extremely useful for the successful development of plants: it facilitates air access to the roots, without which proper growth of the above-ground parts of the plant is completely impossible. Every gardener knows how to improve heavy soil with regular loosening.

Especially on clay soils, after heavy rains, a crust forms on the soil surface, and air access to the roots is completely stopped; If this crust is not broken with a hoe, plant growth will be significantly inhibited.

Secondary soil salinization is a pressing problem when using mineral fertilizers. What needs to be done to improve saline soils in gardens. It is known that the largest percentage of salt is contained in subsoil layers. In the upper layers, the percentage of salt, if there is one, is in most cases very insignificant, allowing the cultivation of many plants that do not send roots far into the depths. But if soils that have a saline subsoil are handled ineptly, soil salinization occurs; they can be reduced to the level of pure solonchaks, on which nothing will grow. The fact is that salt, as is known, is easily soluble in water.

Soil salinization during irrigation is the most pressing problem in regions with arid climates. When we water, or when it rains, or snow melts, water, seeping from the upper layers of the soil to the lower ones, carries the salt in the soil with it to the lower layers of the earth or, as scientists say, the salt is leached. With the onset of drought, water from the lower layers of the soil rises through capillary vessels to the upper ones, from where, under the influence of great heat, it evaporates into the air. Rising from the lower layers, it also raises the salt dissolved in it. Salt cannot evaporate into the air like water, and it also cannot go back down without water, and the longer the period of drought and the more salt in the soil water, the more and more it accumulates in the upper, once fertile soil. layer. Thus, soil salinization occurs. There are other causes of soil salinity, some of which are related to inappropriate use of fertilizers. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to prevent the water from rising back up in such places. This is achieved by shading the soil with a living or dead cover.

For large crops, such as garden plantings, large, even undecomposed manure or sowing of forage grasses can be successfully used; for small crops - fine humus. It is better to water the site an extra time or two during droughts and, in order to avoid the harmful effects of the accumulation of groundwater, make drainage ditches in low areas of the site, which, although associated with unnecessary costs, makes it possible to radically change even the fertility of the site, and not just avoid it salinity. The fight against soil salinity must be constant and include all necessary measures.

How to make site drainage on clay soils with your own hands

Do-it-yourself site drainage on clay soils is often the only effective drainage method. Read about how to drain a site on clay soil using simple materials.

Drainage removes water harmful to plants and lowers the groundwater level.
Drainage increases soil fertility.
Drained soil is more accessible for spring work.
Drainage increases the growing season.
Drained soil is easier to cultivate - cheaper.
Drained soils respond better to mineral fertilizers.

How to sift the soil. When arranging flower beds, you should not sift the soil: when the sifted soil subsequently settles, it becomes so compacted that the access of air to the roots of the plants becomes too difficult, and the plants slow down their development or completely stop growing. However, sometimes it is necessary to sift the earth containing too many stones, crushed stone, chips, etc. A wooden frame is installed about 2.5 arshins in height and 1.5 in width; the bottom of this frame is nailed down with boards to a height of 1 arshin, the rest of the frame space is covered with 1/4-1 inch square. A finer mesh is not suitable for sifting soil. This mesh is installed at an angle of 50° and fixed motionless. A wheelbarrow is placed close to the net, on its outer side; the sides of the wheelbarrow are beveled so that it can be moved close to the part of the frame boarded up with boards. The worker throws the sifted soil onto the mesh with a shovel, and smaller parts fall through the mesh, while stones, roots, etc. remain on the outside of the mesh and fall into the wheelbarrow. Thus, the screenings do not have to be piled into the wheelbarrow a second time: they immediately fall into it and can be immediately taken away.

Using green fertilizer for soil is very useful, but it is important to know how to do it correctly. The greatest mistake is made by those who apply fertilizer too deep into the soil. The more superficially the fertilizer is applied, the better, the faster and more accurate the effect. The best thing is to dig in the fertilizer to the depth of one shovel. If the fertilizer is applied into the soil to a depth of 40 to 50 centimeters or more, as is unfortunately very often done when planting trees, then oxygen does not have sufficient access, and therefore the fertilizer cannot decompose properly and produce the proper effect on the tree . Practice, for its part, has often proven to us that fertilizer applied too deeply, after several years, was found in the soil in the same form as when it was applied to the soil, and, therefore, absolutely no benefit came from it.

The importance of green fertilizer for the garden. The usual material for fertilizing a garden is manure, while experiments prove that organic green fertilizer is an excellent way to fertilize the soil and bring it into a better cultural condition. It is useful to use green fertilizer: grain plants (rye, wheat, etc.), cruciferous plants (all types of cabbage, mustard, etc.) extract nitrogen from nitrate salts contained in the soil; in other words, their yields depend on applied fertilizers containing nitrogen in one form or another.

Butterfly plants have the ability to absorb nitrogen from the air, as a result of which these plants enrich the soil with nitrogen and develop well themselves, even on soils where the normal development of any other plants would require the introduction of significant quantities of fertilizers. In addition, as experiments have proven, cultivating plants with green fertilizer promotes the formation of dew, i.e., moistening the soil, warming and loosening it, increasing the supply of nitrogen, accelerating the process of decomposition of mineral substances in the soil and increasing humus. In general, cultivating plants using green fertilizer imparts ripeness to the soil, which is an important factor in terms of increasing productivity. Compared to manure, green mass even has some advantages: it decomposes faster than manure straw, produces excellent humus, and the nitrogen contained in it has higher fertilizing qualities than manure nitrogen.

The nitrogenous compounds of green fertilizer are easily soluble, which explains the strong effect of plowed green mass. In gardens, especially northern ones, it is difficult to fully use green fertilizer: to do this, this area would have to be left free of garden crops for the summer and sown with lupins or some other plants used as green fertilizer. In the fall, the green mass would be plowed, and garden plants in this area could only be sown the next year. Therefore, it is necessary to apply green fertilizer in a special way: sow lupins in the area closest to the garden, mow them and transport them to the fertilized area, where they can be plowed. In this case, lupins bring only partial benefit: part of the stems, no matter how low the plants are mowed, remains at the planting site, and most importantly, the roots also remain there, loosening the deeper layers of the soil and making them accessible to the plants.

Making compost from cow manure and bird droppings

Compost heaps and goose droppings. Preparation of compost from manure requires preparation: compost heaps are in all cases arranged in shaded areas not exposed to the sun. The base of the heap is a platform (bedding) 2-3 square meters, raised above the soil surface by 1/2 arshin, made of turf plates or from soil taken out of old ditches and well-aged. In both cases, the soil must contain a significant amount of humus, which is necessary to retain moisture, ammonia and solutions of other nutrients. A layer of 1-1.5 inches of goose droppings mixed with soil is poured onto the surface of the site, sprinkled with a small amount (2-3 handfuls) of freshly slaked lime, and covered with a layer of manure (cow or horse) of 3-4 inches. A second layer of goose droppings is poured onto the manure layer, but with a thickness equal to the first, and also mixed with lime and soil, which is again immediately covered with a layer of 3-4 inches of manure, etc. The final layer of manure should be thick! 5-6 vershoks; individual heaps can reach up to 3 arshins in height.

Each newly laid layer of goose droppings and manure is immediately, before laying it, thoroughly watered with slurry, water from washing clothes (soapy), slops or even plain water. Both unfinished heaps, due to a lack of compost from bird droppings, and completed heaps are watered every 3-4 days so abundantly that the heaps are moistened each time to their full thickness. During the summer, depending on the degree of decomposition of goose droppings, the heaps are transferred 2-3 times from one turf area to another, for which the mass of the heap is cut along a vertical line, along one of the side walls, and across the entire width into layers 3-3 4 inches. Each cut layer is thoroughly mixed with shovels or forks, and then laid in an even horizontal layer on another turf area.

The same is done with all subsequent layers, as well as with each transfer of heaps. When the heap is transferred to another base, it is thoroughly watered with slurry, etc., and then its surface is covered separately with a layer of manure and earth, each 2-3 inches thick.

With the described care of a heap of compost from bird droppings, as easily decomposing, after 7-8 months it will be completely ready for use and as a strong, fairly complete fertilizer, suitable for all types of plants that require strong nitrogen fertilizer, for fertilizing the earth when planting trees , or fertilizing the trunk circles of already planted mature trees.

For a corresponding agricultural plant, up to 3,000 poods per tithe is required; for cabbage - 1-2 handfuls for each plant during hilling; for beets - spread a layer of 1/2 inch between the rows and tuck; For cucumbers, apply compost from cow manure into the furrows (in rows) before sowing in a mixture with an equal amount of soil, in a layer of 1.5-2 inches; The seeds are covered with the same mixture; for fruit trees: when planting - 1 pood per planting soil; when fertilizing planted trees, before digging the trunk circles, scatter 1-2 pounds over the surface of the circle; for berry bushes - 1/2 pood for each specimen.

Improving soil and its structure, fertility, properties, quality and composition

Soil improvement should be carried out without stopping on an ongoing basis. If a trial digging of the ground and test pits for planting trees show that the soil is too unsuitable for planting trees and generally for setting up a garden, and the subsoil seems such that trees cannot develop at all, it is necessary to improve the soil and prepare soil for pouring into landing holes. With a small garden, this work cannot be too expensive; Without fulfilling them, you absolutely cannot count on the normal development of the garden.

For people living in the village, improving the soil fertility for an ornamental garden cannot present any difficulties at all, since this work is done casually and, mainly, in free time from more necessary activities. In this case, we mean improving the quality of the soil purely mechanically in order to make it more suitable for the development of plants. When improving the structure of the soil, we mean improving it in the sense of increasing its nutritional value by introducing substances rich in nitrogen, phosphoric acid or potassium; when improving the soil, it is also sometimes necessary to introduce various substances, but not in the sense of enhancing its nutritional qualities, but for the sake of changing the mechanical structure. Thus, it is necessary to compact soils that are too loose, loosen soils that are too dense, drain damp ones, etc.

Chernozem and generally humus soils often need to improve the properties of the soil by adding clay and lime: clay will make these soils more cohesive, will promote better retention of absorbed moisture, and lime will help plants absorb nutrients faster. In addition, lime helps improve the composition of the soil by binding its smallest particles.

Improvement of heavy clay and acidic soil

Peat and swamp soils must be drained with ditches, closed or open, depending on the means of planting the garden: closed ditches will cost much more. After draining, they immediately begin plowing the area being improved, which also helps decompose the soil layer and remove harmful acids contained in excess in these soils. Next, a radical means of improving clay soil will be the addition of clay and lime: clay will enrich the peat soil with potassium and bind it, eliminating excessive looseness; lime paralyzes the harmful effects of acids contained in excess in peat soils and makes nitrogenous substances more digestible.

Marly and especially calcareous soils require grading if the lime content is too high. Such soils are not very fertile (especially calcareous ones), but they are warm, loose, and allow excess moisture to pass through well, retaining it in an amount quite sufficient for plants. Improving heavy soil helps correct one inconvenience of such soils: the applied fertilizer (manure, humus) is so quickly decomposed and used by plants that already in the second year after application there is almost no trace left.

But if the lime content in such soils is too high (more than 50% by weight), it is necessary to improve them, and then an excellent soil is obtained on which almost all cultivated plants develop successfully. To improve calcareous soil, you should first of all add clay, the amount of which should be greater, the higher the percentage of lime in the soil. It is impossible to indicate the exact amount of clay required to improve the soil: the clay may be damper, drier, and it is impossible to determine the amount of clay by weight, but you have to use your eye. In addition to clay, calcareous soils also need humus, as a result of which manure is added at the same time as the clay.

Clay to improve acidic soil is applied in this way: directly from the cart, it is scattered over the site, and large clods are broken with a shovel; After spreading the clay, they try to plow it or dig it up with the top layer of soil as soon as possible, while the clay has not yet dried. With further processing, the lumps of clay will disintegrate on their own and mix with the soil. If heaps of accumulated clay can be protected from freezing, it is, of course, more profitable to take the clay out along a sled track and immediately scatter it across the field; Clay frozen over the winter is easier to crumble and seal in the spring.

Improving sandy soil in the garden

Peat or bog black soil is extremely useful for improving sandy soil. Peat changes the color of such soils, enriches them with nitrogenous substances and, most importantly, promotes better rooting of plants and better development of the root system.

To improve the soil in the garden, clay, manure or humus and, if possible, peat are also added; as with the improvement of marl and calcareous soils, here it is necessary to change the color of the soil to a darker one, strengthen the water-holding capacity of sandy soil and enrich it with humus, which, together with clay, will give cohesion.

Too dense clay soils can be improved with a wide variety of materials suitable for loosening. Sand, marl, lime, ash, crushed stone from brick buildings, old plaster, straw horse manure are transported to such sites - in short, everything that is at hand and the delivery of which will cost less. If such an area is covered with grass, it is raised with plows or dug up in the fall; In the spring, this work is repeated and, perhaps better, the lumps of clay are broken up. Pieces of undecomposed turf, after the earth has been drained from them, are collected in heaps and, when dry, burned. All work in such areas should be carried out, if possible, in dry weather, otherwise the clay will be smeared and then shrink into lumps that are difficult to break.

When choosing a place for a garden - if, of course, there is a choice - it is necessary to pay attention to the subsoil of this area. The soil layer, as we have already seen, can be corrected, although this will involve expense; It is almost impossible to correct the subsoil, unless by constructing ditches we can drain excess water if we are dealing with a damp area. It often happens that sandy soil is located on a clay subsoil; Thus, sometimes deep rayol plowing or deep digging is enough to achieve a significant improvement of the soil, mixing the topsoil with the subsoil; clay soil may lie on sandy or calcareous subsoil - and then improving the soil again will not present much difficulty. If simple digging does not give any indication as to the properties of the subsoil, then it is useful to dig test holes up to 1 -1 1/4 arshins deep to determine the subsoil; and only if they are finally convinced that the subsoil cannot be used to improve the soil layer, do they begin to transport the necessary materials from outside.

In general, special attention should be paid to improving the soil layer. If holes are dug for planting trees and bushes, into which specially prepared soil can be poured that meets the requirements of the plants, then the soil layer is used to create lawns, and, depending on the properties of this latter, the lawn develops. Without a lawn, and a beautiful lawn, it is impossible to imagine a garden: only on the emerald velvety green of the lawn do all flowering plants benefit in beauty.

As opposed to traditional agricultural technology in the garden, naturalists (adherents of natural or organic farming) achieve sustainable yields not through chemical fertilizing, but by improving the soil environment and combining plants. Let's figure out what ways there are to improve the quality of the harvest in the garden and vegetable garden, how to increase the fertility of the soil in a summer cottage without the use of chemicals.

Simple ways to increase soil fertility in your summer cottage without chemicals

Weed infusions

Tinctures are good for both foliar feeding and root fertilizer. In addition to nutrition, infusions of weeds, as well as garlic and onion peels, when sprayed, perfectly help protect plants from leaf-eating insects and codling moths.

It is unlikely that an insect will want to experiment and lay eggs in an unfamiliar environment with foreign odors. But the effect of such treatments is short-lived; natural essential oils of plants quickly decompose.

For feeding, weed infusions are good with the addition of nettle. It is full of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the tincture already foams in the tank where the ferment is carried out. It is better to pour tinctures with the addition of nettle under the lid, and, if possible, stir daily. Depending on the temperature, the tincture is prepared from 7 to 10 days. After gas emission stops, it can be used, diluted 10 times for root feeding, and 20 times for spraying.

It is useful to add woodlice and dandelion to herbal infusions - they contain silicon that is easily absorbed by plants. Silicon is a true protector of the immune system; it activates growth functions in plants and prevents their aging. It can safely be called the elixir of youth.

Natural fertilizers are not phytotoxic and are safe for soil inhabitants and beneficial insects. While pesticides and fertilizers accumulate in the soil and disrupt the mineral balance of the environment. But we must take into account that a garden without the use of chemicals will not amaze with super-large “exhibition” fruits, no matter what natural fertilizers you use. The harvest will be normalized both in size and quantity - as they say, nothing extra.

Combining plants in the garden

It has been noticed that when replanting beans, there are much fewer Colorado potato beetles in potato beds. Beans have many beneficial properties; they perfectly protect and nourish the soil.

After harvesting, the roots of the plants are not removed, but left in the ground. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria accumulate on its roots; they perfectly improve the soil environment. When beans are combined with tomatoes, the roots of the tomatoes actively grow towards the beans - an excellent example of positive allelopathy - the plants help each other.

The most striking example of combining plants in a garden bed is planting carrots and onions. Onions, with their phytoncides, protect carrots from carrot flies, and carrots from onion flies. Moreover, carrots more accurately fulfill their duties than onions. Or the onion fly is more sensitive, but the fact remains that there is practically no onion fly in the beds, while the carrot fly is still present in small quantities.

Replanting marigolds in strawberry beds gives excellent results. Strawberries are highly susceptible to damage by root and stem nematodes. Marigold phytoncides block the reproduction of these microscopic worms, and there are an order of magnitude fewer of them. The roots of marigolds also do not need to be torn out of the garden bed; let them rot in the soil.

Soil microbes, as well as fungi, amoebas, woodlice, and earthworms—commonly referred to as “biota”—feed on plant debris and help plants extract nutrients not only from decomposing mulch, but also from the subsoil. Under the organic matter, channels are created into which atmospheric moisture flows, condensing on the walls of dead roots and becoming saturated with organic acids. In the presence of such acids, minerals needed by plants are converted into chelate forms and become readily available. In addition, beneficial microbes, consuming fiber, fix air nitrogen - the soil on the site becomes fertile.

Another important point is that in the presence of rich “dynamic” fertility created by the organic cycle, growth stimulants and useful natural antibiotics are created that protect plants from diseases. One worm coprolite contains everything for nutrition, growth, fruiting and protection from stress. But you need to understand that this entire “kitchen” can easily be ruined by simple digging - traditional agricultural technology with soil turnover leads to the depletion of even rich black soil.

Of course, increasing soil fertility is not a one-day task, but a constant concern of the gardener. And Nikolai Ivanovich Kurdyumov perfectly describes what mistakes gardeners make in their gardens in this video (you can increase the speed by clicking on the gear at the bottom right and setting it to 1.5 - the quality of information perception will not be lost, and the time will be reduced significantly):

As you can see, he is a very thoughtful agronomist and a wonderful author. His books are as easy to read as detective stories. With only one difference - you need to return to them periodically, there is always something new in the text you read, some kind of hints that you haven’t yet reached, but you’ve already gained experience and are ready to take on the “next level.” Now he is published in electronic form, and one of his new works is called - FERTILITY OR FERTILIZER?

High biological activity of the soil is the best prerequisite for the health and development of plants in the garden. The more plant and food residues returned to the garden, the better the soil structure and microbiological environment becomes. By improving the top layer of soil, you activate its microenvironment, which means you contribute to the dissolution of nutrients bound in the soil, which, after going through a cycle of natural decomposition, become available to plants.

In the theory of St. Petersburg State University professor A.I. Popov, the modern understanding of fertility is determined by:

a) the cycle of nutrients in the soil - all of them, primarily including carbon, i.e. organics,

b) symbiosis of higher plants and soil microorganisms,

c) the relationship of microbes and fungi with each other.

Not immediately, but over time, the garden and vegetable garden without chemicals will begin to protect itself from pests and diseases. You just need to first help balance the environment on the site by performing simple measures to improve the soil:

the use of weed infusions;
combining plants in the garden bed;
composting in beds and tree trunks.

Drastic soil improvement

Those who are radically ready to improve the soil for planting can be recommended to bring in fertile soil, and then maintain its fertility using the methods described above. For Muscovites, for example, it is easier to deal with fertility problems - there is a reliable company on the market, EcoTorf, which offers for sale various types of soil, river and quarry sand, crushed stone of various fractions with delivery throughout Moscow and the Moscow region. You can get acquainted with their products on the website http://ecomostorf.ru/

Of course, before this it is better to border the beds and add fertile soil only to them. Although many are able to cover the entire plot with imported black soil, living beautifully cannot be prohibited. We also purchased black soil for arranging our raised beds, and we are pleased with the results.

Have you decided to improve your land? First, find out its current condition. By and large, there are only two options:

there is no fertile layer at all, which often happens immediately after construction;
there is a semblance of a fertile layer (do weeds grow?)

If the fertile layer is removed during construction, soil will have to be imported and its quality will be maintained in the future. If there is a certain fertile layer, you must first understand what it is.

On personal plots, natural soil is quite rare. More often you come across various variants of agricultural soils left over from the times when the site was part of farmland. In this case, you have a mixed fertile layer, consisting partly of agricultural or forest soils, partly of soil and soil-like materials introduced by humans (such as peat, compost, sand), as well as the inevitable construction and household waste.

You can determine the main physical characteristics of the soil on the site yourself, “by eye”. But for a serious analysis, of course, you will need laboratory research and the conclusion of a specialist agronomist or soil scientist.

The most obvious characteristic of soil is the depth of the fertile layer. Geologists say that the top fertile layer of soil is, on average, 18-20 cm. Agronomists believe that a fertile layer 15-17 cm deep is enough for a lawn. Trees, depending on the size and species, will need a layer 25-30 cm deep at a distance of 2-3 meters from the trunk. For shrubs - 15-20 cm at a distance of about 1 m from the trunk. Perennial herbaceous plants require a fertile layer depth of 10-15 cm.

An important characteristic that is often ignored is mechanical composition soil (the ratio of mineral and organic particles of various sizes). Moreover, the amount of organic matter in the most fertile soils rarely exceeds 10%. The rest of the mass is the mineral part, which plays a huge role in the formation of soil fertility. Particularly important are mineral soil particles less than 0.01 mm in size - physical clay, which determines the ability of the soil to retain moisture and mineral nutrients, as well as the soil structure. By mechanical composition distinguished: sand, sandy loam, light, medium and heavy

Every person wants to make the most of their garden or personal plot: plant vegetables, sow herbs, and create a flowering bed. However, the soil tends to become depleted. That’s why it’s worth finding out in advance how to improve the soil, enriching its composition to increase fertility.

How to effectively improve the soil structure in your own garden needs to be thoroughly understood. It is easy to determine whether the substrate needs fertilizing - to do this, carefully examine the soil composition. If it takes on a pale tint, it means the soil is lacking nutrients. Brown soil is direct evidence that the amount of humus in the substrate is too small. When you need to take this issue more seriously, submit a soil sample for laboratory analysis.

It is believed that when the soil in the garden turns whitish, it means that it is saturated with too much carbonates. You can verify this as follows: apply a few drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid to a lump of soil. If a reaction occurs and the liquid begins to fizz, your doubts have been confirmed.

In the process of identifying signs of depleted soil composition, it is very important to pay attention to the type of soil. Take a small handful of soil in your hand, form it into a ball and then see if it crumbles. If it has disintegrated, it means that the soil in your garden is sandy. Otherwise clayey.

However, we should not forget about intermediate options: loamy and sandy loam soils. It must be remembered that when the substrate is sandy, it absorbs moisture well and quite quickly, but also loses it instantly. In this case, it is simply necessary to improve the soil structure.

Video “How to improve the quality of the soil on the site”

In this video, an expert will talk about what needs to be done to increase soil fertility.

Changing the soil structure

Experienced gardeners know how to quickly improve soil fertility in their own garden plot. The first rule is reasonable and well-thought-out agricultural technology, especially when it comes to cultivating plants over large areas. However, even in this case, over time, mineral salts, nutrients and trace elements gradually disappear from the soil. In this case, the salt composition of the substrate is significantly disrupted. This is an important signal that it is time to change the structure of the soil. This procedure is carried out in different ways, and the specifics of its implementation depend on the type of soil.

If the soil in your garden is heavy, loamy, you need to dilute it with sand and fine expanded clay. When you have to cultivate greens and vegetables on poor sandy loam, it is recommended to include clay and humus in the soil. In both cases, one should not forget about organic matter, which saturates any substrate with nutritional components.

We sow green manure

Those who want to quickly and effectively enrich the soil composition should definitely adopt plants that improve the soil. Green manure includes annual crops that are planted in the garden, cultivated, and then mowed and buried in the ground. Most often, it is recommended to sow such herbs after harvesting potatoes. In this case, by the onset of winter cold, you will be able to grow green manure and process it in such a way as to saturate the substrate. The use of these nutritious herbs is notable primarily because with their help you will replenish the soil with organic matter and at the same time thoroughly loosen it.

If the soil in your garden is really poor, you can sow perennial clover. In this case, you will give the soil a few seasons to rest, and during this time the grass will saturate the substrate with nutrients. After three years, the garden will need to be dug up (plowing is good for cultivated plants), and then feel free to plant any vegetables or other cultivated plants.

Mulching

How to improve clay or sandy soil needs to be explored in detail. It is not necessary to prefer one option if you can approach the problem in a comprehensive manner. For example, adding mulch is considered a good way to increase soil fertility. To do this, in the autumn, the treated and fertilized soil must be covered with a layer of natural mulch.

The best option is sawdust, straw, bark, grass or some kind of covering material. Moreover, you can resort to such a procedure not only at the end of the growing season, but also in its midst. There are many benefits of mulching:

prevents evaporation of moisture from the soil;
protects plant rhizomes from overheating or freezing;
allows you to achieve the optimal level of acidity in the substrate;
enriches the earth;
prevent weed growth;
protects vegetables and herbs from overgrowing by weeds.

You can also increase the fertility of clay or sandy soil by mulching.

We apply fertilizers

The structure of garden soil can be easily diversified by applying fertilizers. Combine them or add alternately organic and mineral compounds. Among the most popular organic nutrient mixtures, it is worth highlighting manure. It includes a large number of microelements (cobalt, copper, boron, manganese), as well as microorganisms that help decompose and absorb organic matter much faster.

Bird droppings are considered even more nutritious. That is why it is recommended to use it in diluted form, since the content of useful components in it is concentrated.

If you add bird droppings undiluted with water or other ingredients, you can cause a burn to the root system of your greens.

Take care of the plants in your own area, apply high-quality fertilizers and be sure to alternate them. If desired, use other methods of enriching the soil composition (sowing green manure and plowing, mulching), and you will extend the life of your garden.

Sooner or later, every gardener begins to notice that time-tested and family-loved vegetable and fruit crops, carefully grown in the garden, produce less yield. It seems that the seeds are still the same, and the correct care has been developed over the years...

The fact is that, just like all of us, he has a habit of getting tired, due to which he loses his former fertility. And if it is enough for a person to soak in a warm bath and get a good night’s sleep, then increasing the fertility of tired soil is a much longer and more labor-intensive process, and the application of organic mineral fertilizers alone cannot be done. A decrease in soil fertility is manifested not only in a decrease in its yield. Plants lose their natural resistance to diseases and become more vulnerable to pathogens of various diseases, which often leads to the death of the plants themselves. So what measures are being taken to restore soil fertility? Here are just a few of them.

1. Organization of crop rotation

Properly organized crop rotation plays a major role in increasing soil fertility. Its essence is that annual and biennial crops should be planted in their original place no earlier than after 5 years. Therefore, it is recommended to change the plant sowing location every year.

2. Sowing medicinal plants

Another way to restore soil fertility is to sow medicinal plants for the soil. Marigolds, nettles, wormwood, garlic, calendula, and shepherd's purse have a healing effect. These plants heal the soil.

3. Use of California worms

A less common, but effective and increasingly popular method is to restore soil fertility using California worms. This is a subspecies of well-known earthworms, famous for performing their useful functions (probably every gardener knows that soil rich in earthworms is fertile). The advantage of red Californian worms is their longevity and increased fertility, in addition, these worms have the ability to digest all types of organic matter.

4. Carrying out thermal soil treatment

One of the radical methods of soil improvement is its heat treatment, as a result of which a large number of all kinds of pests and weed seeds are destroyed. The main disadvantage of steaming the soil is that it cannot be done over large areas. Therefore, thermal soil treatment is used mainly in greenhouses and greenhouses.

5. Application of organic fertilizers

Don't forget about good old organic fertilizers. Adding ash, manure and compost is one of the most proven ways to restore soil fertility.

6. Mixed planting

Mixed planting is also widely used, the essence of which is that a so-called satellite plant is planted next to the main plant. As a result of proper proximity, improved plant condition, reduced disease incidence, and improved fruit taste are achieved. Using this method, you can avoid soil depletion in a certain area. For example, basil, rosemary, thyme, marigold, and chamomile are used as neighbors. These plants are planted between beds or along the border. In addition to all these benefits, they also attract bees, which increases the pollination of the main plant and leads to an increase in its yield.

7. Rest for the soil

It is necessary to give the soil a rest. That is, do not sow it with any crops during the year, while at the same time not stopping processing: fertilizing, weeding, etc. In the fall, the resting area is dug up so that the top layer of soil is at the bottom.

8. Sowing green manure

A very effective way to increase soil fertility is considered to be sowing so-called green manure - plants rich in nitrogen, starch, and protein. Green manure includes rye, oats, mustard, sunflower, etc. The correct sowing of green manure is done at the end of August - in September, when the main harvest is harvested. Green manure plants are grown before flowering and mowed down, leaving them on the soil surface for the winter.

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