What kind of soil should there be for seedlings? How to prepare the soil for seedlings - advice from experienced summer residents. Ready-made soil - pros and cons

And from your summer cottage there will be properly grown seedlings. Therefore, first of all, you need to take care of the soil in which the seeds will germinate. The soil mixture for seedlings must meet certain characteristics. It should have good porosity, friability and not too acidic environment. Such indicators can be achieved provided proper preparation soil for seedlings.

Selecting components for the soil

A typical mistake made by beginning gardeners is to sow seeds in regular soil taken from their garden. Therefore, many fail in growing vegetable seedlings at home and prefer to buy plants that are ready for planting. The secret to getting good seedlings is proper preparation soil for seedlings. Therefore, we will prepare it ourselves, especially since there is nothing complicated in this process.

The soil for seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, eggplant and cucumbers should consist of the following components:

Humus. It is obtained from rotted manure or plants, which makes this soil the most nutritious and fertile of all. existing species soil.
Peat. An integral component of any soil mixture for seedlings. It ensures the flow required quantity humidity to the plant. It also helps create good soil looseness.
Leavening agents. In addition to peat, the soil for seedlings acquires good porosity after adding coarse river sand. It is this component that creates Better conditions for growing garden plants seedling method. River sand and peat can replace sawdust, but before using them they must be treated with boiling water.
Leaf ground. Distinctive feature This type of soil is characterized by its high looseness, but its low nutrient content does not allow it to be used as the main soil for seedlings. Therefore, its use is possible only after combining with other types of soil. Leaf soil is most often collected in the forest belt where they grow deciduous trees. Vegetable growers do not recommend using soil collected under willow, oak or chestnut to prepare the soil for seedlings good quality it won't work: it's too rich in tannins.

Mixing the ingredients

Preparing the soil for seedlings is not too complex process, but still, it requires some effort and free time from the vegetable grower. Therefore, many people prefer not to bother and purchase a ready-made soil mixture. However, not all manufacturers of such products are conscientious, and there is a possibility of purchasing with acidic environment. Even if mineral fertilizers are added to it, good seed germination and strong seedlings may not be obtained.

For this reason, experienced summer residents prepare the soil for seedlings of tomatoes, cabbage, peppers and eggplants with their own hands. It is best to start this process in the fall, and by spring the soil for seedlings will settle and settle. If you leave it for storage in a barn, then it will also freeze well, which will only benefit it.

Preparing the soil for seedlings begins with the process of mixing the soil. To do this, spread the polyethylene on the ground and pour out each component in the required proportions.

Experienced vegetable growers advise making soil composition for seedlings for different cultures separately, since each vegetable has its own individual needs and preferences.

The soil for seedlings of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants should have the following composition:

To one part of turf soil add 1 part of peat and river sand. The resulting composition is thoroughly mixed, after which it is well watered with a nutrient solution consisting of 25-30 grams of superphosphate, potassium sulfate and 10 grams of urea per 10 liters of water.
IN equal proportions mix turf soil and humus. You can add steam to the bucket of the resulting mixture matchboxes superphosphate and 0.5 liters of ash.

To prepare the soil for cabbage seedlings you will need:

Mix humus (compost), leaf soil and river sand 1:2:1. For a bucket of the mixture, 1 cup (200 g) of ash, 0.5 cups of fluff lime, 1 matchbox of potassium sulfate and 3 matchboxes of superphosphate would not be superfluous. If it is not possible to use mineral fertilizers, then they can be replaced with ash in the amount of 3 cups.

The soil for seedlings of cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, and watermelons is prepared in the following composition:

Mix one bucket of leaf soil with the same amount of humus. 1 glass (200 g) of ash is poured into the resulting mixture, up to 10 g of potassium sulfate, and about 20 g of superphosphate is added. Everything is thoroughly mixed.

I would like to warn vegetable growers against excessive use of fertilizers when preparing the soil for vegetable seedlings, if the base soil used is nutritious in itself. This is due to the fact that on initial stage For seed germination, the plant does not require many microelements. The need for them arises only when the first true leaves appear. Therefore, additional nutrition is usually applied through liquid fertilizers a few weeks after germination.

Soil disinfection

This process is necessary to remove pathogens from the soil. You can disinfect soil mixture for home seedlings different ways, one of which is its freezing. But, if this is not possible, then you can use watering disinfectants or steam treatment.

Method one. Pour the prepared fertile mixture well with a solution of potassium permanganate (3 g per 10 liters of water), and then additional processing antifungal drugs.
Method two. The soil for seedlings is placed in fabric bag or into a perforated container and leave to steam for 45 minutes. You can, of course, heat the soil in the oven, but along with the pathogenic microbes, the necessary nutrients also disappear.

After the disinfection process has been completed, seed material can be added to the soil nutrient mixture. Prepared soil for seedlings according to all the rules will guarantee a high and stable harvest on your summer cottage. Have a great season!

The topic of today's article is ideal soil for peppers: for seedlings and for planting mature seedlings. Do-it-yourself soil preparation for pepper seedlings.

Correct soil

Good planting land should:

be loose, light, with a porous structure, provide free access to air and water;
contain life-giving microflora, organics;
keep in optimal proportions for seedlings potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc;
correspond in composition to the soil in which it will be;
be water-permeable, retain moisture for a long time without forming a surface crust;
have a neutral pH value adequate for peppers pH ~ 5-7. This acidity protects peppers from black stems and clubroot.

Good land should not:

be infested with weeds, larvae, pest eggs, worms, fungal spores, toxic substances, pathogens, rotting organic matter;
have an admixture of clay.

The ideal soil composition for pepper seedlings contains phosphorus and potassium oxides, sulfur, boron, molybdenum, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium, and calcium in correctly maintained proportions.

On a note! Pepper seedlings develop well in the removed surface layer of soil from under the acacia trees.

Seedling mixtures

How to prepare soil for pepper seedlings:

One part at a time: sand, peat, humus, earth.
Sod, garden soil, compost, sand - in equal parts. Season with wood ash at the rate of a glass per 10 kg of compound.
Equal parts lowland peat and humus. Enrich with potassium sulfate and superphosphate.
One measure of compost (peat), sand (perlite), two turf.
To one part of sawdust and sand mixed equally, add three parts of turf soil.
Equal parts of leaf and turf soil, the same amount of humus, a little sand, vermiculite, perlite to choose from.
Earth, humus, sand, wood ash.
Mix turf soil, river sand, peat in equal proportions, pour a bucket of water with superphosphate, potassium sulfate (30 g) and urea (10 g).
Earth, humus, peat in the same volume, half a liter wood ash, 2 matchbox superphosphate.

On a note! If you buy ready-made soil, carefully study the composition. Often it is 100% peat. In such an environment, pepper seedlings do not develop.

More information about the components of the mixtures

Peat

Used as a leavening agent. Most soil mixtures require peat additives. There are three types:

lowland: not sour, rich in nutritional components;
transition;
surface, requiring enrichment with lime or ash. The application of phosphate and magnesium fertilizers is encouraged.

Coarse sand

Provides proper drainage, promoting the formation of the supporting part of the bush. Makes the soil porous and light.

Turf

To saturate the soil mixture and improve the structure, in the summer-autumn period the top soil layer is removed along with the grass. Placed in boxes. Warm up before use.

Sphagnum mosses

Increases moisture capacity. Possessing bactericidal properties, prevent rotting of the root system of seedlings.

Sawdust

Additives from wood waste lighten the soil, increase its permeability.

Compost

Contains much needed humus successful development seedlings. Increases fertility, ventilation.

Perlite

When growing seedlings in mixtures containing a substance of volcanic origin, the risk of fungal diseases and rotting of seedlings is reduced. Protects against the formation of lumps, caking, compacting, and temperature changes.

Vermiculite

Crushed layered mineral saves from drying out.

Ash

Experienced gardeners prefer birch.

On a note! To facilitate seedling soil cocktails, add: seed husks, grain husks, expanded clay, hydrogels, foam granules, rotted leaves that do not contain tannins (oak, willow, chestnut leaves), ground eggshells. To remove acidification, add lime fluff, chalk and dolomite flour.

Preparing the land for pepper seedlings

At the end of summer and autumn, store available components for storage: soil, turf, peat, moss, sawdust, compost. You can keep the workpieces in plastic bags, bags, boxes, buckets, at sub-zero temperatures. It is advisable that they freeze well.

On a note! Earth with garden plot may contain seeds of unwanted plants, harmful insects and their larvae, pathogens. Do not use without disinfection, or replace with a store-bought one.

Do not add to seedling mixtures fresh manure, fresh compost, untreated turf.

You can improve the soil for seedlings in the following ways:

To lower pH levels, neutralize unwanted chemicals, treat with preparations like Flora-S.
Treat with fungicides, insecticides. This procedure is reliable and works long time. We must keep in mind the dangers of such drugs to health and follow all safety precautions.
Leave for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. Store steamed soil in sterilized containers in a cool, unlit place. With this treatment, harmful bacteria, fungus, insect larvae and eggs die, but the necessary trace elements and minerals are preserved.
To improve microflora treat with a solution such as “Baikal”, “Gumi” in accordance with the instructions.
Heat for half an hour in the oven at a temperature of +40-50°. The disadvantage of this method is that along with undesirable factors, necessary beneficial substances are destroyed.
Freeze. 30-40 days before planting, warm it up, mix it with the other ingredients, and freeze it again.
Disinfect with a solution of potassium permanganate. Additionally, apply an antifungal agent.

On a note! Don't overdo it. With correctly selected components, the soil mixture turns out to be quite fertile. Experienced vegetable growers advise applying liquid fertilizers after two true leaves appear on the seedlings.

Start mixing the warmed components 2-3 weeks before the start of sowing. Sift the soil, turf, peat, humus. Select plant remains, pebbles, and foreign objects.

Place the selected ingredients in a suitable container. Knead the lumps. Mix thoroughly until smooth. Add sand, perlite. They will combine all the ingredients into one whole, mix again.

A week before, fill the seedling containers with the prepared mixture. Spray with a light manganese solution. Add ash and fertilizer.

On a note! Modern technologies allow you to grow pepper seedlings on soilless substrates: a mixture of sawdust and sand, coconut tablets, peat cushion. It is possible to grow seedlings simply on paper. The advantage of this unusual method is the sterility of the material.

Is it possible to add soil to pepper seedlings?

Pepper seedlings do not require additional land.

But, if such a need arises, sprinkle the seedlings without covering the first cotyledon leaves with the soil mixture remaining from planting, or sprinkle with a mixture of cultivated soil with used tea leaves. Add in several stages.

After lignification of the lower part of the stem, stop adding seedlings, otherwise the formation of the root system will slow down and rotting may begin.

Preparing soil for pepper seedlings

How to prepare the ground for pepper seedlings? In order not to destroy carefully grown seedlings, you should prepare the soil at the pepper’s permanent place of residence:

Arrange the beds in advance, apply a complex of fertilizers appropriate to the type of soil.
A few days before produce abundant.
Make holes, depth equal to the capacity of the finished seedlings, fill with settled water room temperature.
Plant peppers.

The more carefully the soil is prepared in compliance with all agrotechnical rules, the stronger and more resilient the seedlings will grow. Depends on soil fertility

Our future harvest of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other crops largely depends on the quality of the soil for seedlings, which we prepare ourselves or buy in the store.

Each vegetable has its own requirements for the composition of the soil, but the main components of proper seedling soil have been and remain soil, peat and sand. Depending on the crop being grown, additional components are added in certain proportions: mullein, ash, sawdust, lime, chalk, mineral fertilizers.

We bring to your attention a reference table “How to properly prepare soil for seedlings of the main garden crops”.

Fertility: The soil for seedlings must contain all the nutrients the plant needs.
Balance: all soil components must be in optimal proportion. Too high or, conversely, too low a concentration of a particular mineral substance can adversely affect the quality of seedlings.
High air and moisture permeability: the soil mixture should be loose, light and porous without plant residues.
Absence of pathogenic microbes, weed seeds, fungal spores, larvae, worms, etc., which can destroy young plants.
Purity, that is, non-contamination with heavy metals, waste hazardous industries etc.

Reference table with options for preparing soil for seedlings of garden crops

Culture	Soil options for seedlings
Tomato (tomato)	Option 1: 4 parts peat, 1 part turf soil and 1/4 part mullein or 3 parts peat, 1 part sawdust, 1/2 part mullein. For 10 kg. 3 kg of this mixture is added. river sand, 10 grams of ammonium nitrate, 2-3 grams of superphosphate, 1-1.5 grams of potassium chloride. Option 2: 1 part humus, 1 part peat, 1 part turf soil, 1 part rotted sawdust Brown. To a bucket of this mixture add 1.5 cups of wood ash, 3 tablespoons of superphosphate, 1 tablespoon of potassium sulfate, 1 teaspoon of urea.
Sweet pepper	Option 1: 1 part turf soil and 2 parts manure humus. Option 2: 2 parts peat and 2 parts humus. Option 3: 3 parts humus and 2 parts turf soil; Option 4: 2 parts peat nutrient mixture and 1 part turf soil. Option 5: 4 parts peat, 2 parts turf soil, 1 part humus and 1 part brown sawdust.
Cucumber	Option 1: 2 parts peat, 2 parts humus, 1 part rotted sawdust. To a bucket of this mixture add 1 cup of wood ash and 1 teaspoon each of urea, superphosphate and potassium sulfate. Option 2: 1 part turf soil, 1 part compost or humus. To a bucket of this mixture add 1 glass of ash, 10 grams of potassium sulfate and 20 grams of superphosphate. Option 3: 6 parts peat, 1 part humus, 1 part sawdust, 1 part sand, 1 part mullein. Option 4: 1 part turf soil, 1 part peat, 1 part humus and 1 part old sawdust.
Eggplant	Option 1: 2 parts compost or manure humus, 1 part peat and 1/2 part old sawdust. Option 2: Garden soil from cabbage or cucumbers. Half a glass of ash, 1 tablespoon of crushed superphosphate and 1 teaspoon each of urea and potassium sulfate are added to a bucket of earth.
Cabbage	Option 1: 1 part turf soil, 1 part humus and 1 part peat. Option 2: 5 parts turf soil, 1 part ash, 1/4 part lime, 1/4 part sand. Option 3: 3 parts peat, 1 part turf soil, 1/4 part sand.
Celery	6-7 parts of peat, 2 parts of humus, 1 part of turf soil and 1 part of mullein.
Salad	3 parts peat, 1 part turf soil, 3 parts humus, 1 part sand.
Strawberries	Option 1: 3 parts garden soil, 3 parts humus or compost, 1/2 part wood ash. Option 2: 4 parts vermiculite, 3 parts peat, 3 parts sand.
Basil	Option 1: 2 parts coconut fiber, 1 part humus or vermicompost. Option 2: 2 parts peat, 1 part humus. This mixture should be poured with a solution mineral fertilizers: for 1 liter of water, 1/8 teaspoon of urea, potassium sulfate or potassium chloride and superphosphate.

After preparing the soil mixture, store it in a cool place: in a garage, cellar or shed - let it better soil will freeze than it will dry out in the apartment.

It is also necessary to remember that before planting seeds for seedlings, it is recommended to disinfect the soil - to get rid of possible pathogens, larvae and spores. Usually it is recommended to steam the soil for this. How it's done? The soil is laid out on a fine mesh and kept over boiling water for 35-40 minutes, after which it cools and is placed in pots for seedlings. A labor-intensive process, isn't it? But effective.

But if you don’t want to steam the soil for seedlings, the soil mixture can be cleaned of unnecessary microflora and fauna by freezing. In this case, the soil is kept in conditions negative temperature(for example, on open balcony) for a week, and then added to warm room for thawing for 3-4 days.

There is another option for the lazy - to water the soil before planting with a hot raspberry solution of potassium permanganate. Then all you have to do is wait until the soil dries, and you can safely plant the seeds for seedlings.

We wish you success and great harvests!