What to do after working with the soil. Autumn work in the greenhouse: an overview of a set of measures for seasonal care
Maintaining soil fertility is a top priority for every farmer. It is impossible to get a constantly good harvest of vegetables without observing crop rotation on the site. Dead plant residues of one plant species, accumulating in the soil from year to year, form toxic compounds over time. These toxins disrupt the metabolism in plants, change them chemical composition. Remember: the same thing happens in the human body, if he leads the wrong way of life.
“But what about perennial grasses?” - you say. They grow for years in the same place and do not get any worse. But in such conditions, only grass and weeds can grow well. Yes, and the land under meadow grasses has a coarse-grained structure, which will have to be improved for more than one year. Vegetable crops, on the other hand, require much more nutrients for normal growth, and, moreover, their composition must be balanced.
Ways to improve soil fertility
We will return to this topic more than once, and today we will only briefly describe the ways in which soil fertility can be restored or increased.
Soil rest
It is advisable to give the land a rest from time to time, not occupying the plot with vegetable crops for one season. Earlier in agriculture the practice of "pure fallow" was often used, when the land was left free of any crops. But now, green manure sowing is most often used to improve the composition of the soil.
Crop rotation
The correct one is to return the same vegetable crops to their original place no earlier than after 5 years. During this time, the soil should make up for the lack of elements used during the previous planting. Unfortunately, this is difficult to achieve in a small area. But still possible. This, for example, is evidenced by the scheme of planting vegetables and crop rotation according to Mittlider.
Application of organic and mineral fertilizers
Organic fertilizers play a major role in this tandem. After all, the introduction into the soil mineral fertilizers gives a short-term effect, and the next season will have to be repeated all over again. And organic matter decomposes for more than one year, enriching the soil with useful elements and at the same time improving its structure.
Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers has another disadvantage: these compounds inhibit the development of soil microflora and impoverish its composition.
Lime and gypsum nie
Most vegetable crops develop normally if the soil has a slightly acidic or normal acidity. To bring the soil reaction to this level of acidity, various methods are used.
If the soil in the area is acidic, then you need to carry out. For these purposes, during digging or plowing, lime, chalk, and dolomite are periodically added.
Soils with an alkaline structure are mainly solonetzes, limestone soils. In such areas, most vegetable crops grow very poorly. Used to improve alkaline soils plastering.
Sowing green manure
Green manures - plants containing an increased amount of nitrogen, proteins, microelements - have a very good effect on the composition of the soil. Their branched roots improve the structure of the soil, increase its saturation with oxygen. Rye, lupine, mustard, buckwheat, phacelia, etc. are used as siderates. They are sown after the main crops or are specially included in the crop rotation scheme.
Soil mulching
As mulch, you can use mowed grass, hay, straw, dry leaves. A layer of mulch not only protects the soil from drying out, but also serves as a natural top dressing. Various microorganisms, earthworms and other inhabitants of the upper soil layer are very actively developing under a layer of mulch. In a very short time, with their help, the soil structure can improve markedly. Mulching in combination with periodic watering gives a particularly noticeable effect.
Shallow loosening
Instead of the usual plowing and digging, it is better to cultivate the land with a manual or mechanical flat cutter to a depth of 10-15 cm. At the same time, the beneficial microflora is not destroyed and moisture is much better retained in the ground.
I'll add from my own experience.
We have a large lot, 25 acres. Every year they plowed the land, tried both spring plowing and fall. organic fertilizers in last years were almost not introduced, so soil fertility gradually began to decline, and the structure of the soil deteriorated.
A year ago, we decided to give up plowing. In the spring, as soon as the earth dried up a little, the site was treated with a cultivator. That is, the arable layer was not turned over, but only deep loosening of the soil was carried out. For planting all, without exception, vegetable crops, such a depth is quite enough.
And now for the second year we have been observing a constant improvement in the structure of the soil, which cannot but rejoice 🙂 So far, we are increasing fertility with the most accessible ways(nitroammophoska, agrolife - fertilizer based on bird droppings).
Restoring soil fertility is a lengthy process that requires considerable effort from the gardener. But over time, the soil will surely thank everyone who takes care of it with love and patience.
1 step. Remove plant debris
The beds must be cleared of large weeds, dry tops, fruits and other debris. It is best to start autumn tillage at the same time as harvesting or as soon as possible after it. Do not put off for a long time: spores of pathogenic fungi ripen on rotting plant debris, infecting the soil and preparing for a successful wintering. This is facilitated by rains, and in clear weather - fog and night dew.
In popular articles on gardening, it is often written that tomato tops and other plant waste with signs of infection should not be composted, but burned. But this is not necessary: there is no compost in the thickness suitable conditions for the development of pathogens, matured compost is safe for garden plants.
2 step. Loosen the top layer of soil
Immediately after harvesting plant residues, loosen the beds as early as possible to a depth of 3-4 cm to destroy the soil crust. This must be done before a stable cold snap. Loosening provokes the germination of weed seeds. The more they have time to ascend by autumn, the better. After the autumn digging of the soil, the seedlings will die, this will reduce the work of weeding in the next season.
3 step. dig up the soil
Autumn digging is the main stage of tillage in the fall. Digging and applying organic fertilizers significantly improve the properties of heavy clay soils. Have time to complete the digging before the onset of prolonged rains: when the earth gets wet to a depth of 10 cm or more, it is no longer possible to dig it, as this will trample the soil, and this will disrupt its structure. As a rule, experienced gardeners try to be in time with digging by the beginning of October.
Dig the beds to a depth of about 15-20 cm, turning the clods over if possible so that the weed shoots are at the bottom. It is not necessary to carefully break up lumps and level the bed: snow and water will accumulate better on an uneven surface.
Why is it necessary to dig the soil in the fall?
Autumn digging is not useful for all types of soil. On sandy crumbly soil, it does not give a positive effect, but for heavy clay soil it is extremely useful.
- Digging improves the structure of clay soil. It forms pores, air voids, where oxygen penetrates. It is very important for the respiration of the roots and the absorption of nutrients by plants. With a lack of oxygen, the nutrients pass into a form inaccessible to plants, and plant productivity decreases.
- Autumn digging of the soil reduces the infection of the garden with pests and diseases. It destroys the passages and nests of pests, opens access to them to cold air. The lumps turned out to the surface freeze better, this contributes to their partial disinfection.
- Reduced number of annual weeds. Small shoots of weeds are easily killed after digging, which will make it easier for you to weed next season.
- Snow moisture is rationally used. On the hilly surface of the beds, after digging, more snow accumulates. At the same time, when the snow melts, the water does not flow down the sides, but enters the pores formed after digging, wells and is absorbed deep into the soil. Thus, in the spring, garden vegetables can use the reserves of biologically active snow moisture for growth.
What can be applied to the soil in autumn?
Fresh manure. If you have nowhere to store and compost a large amount of manure, you can buy it in the fall and immediately add some to greenhouses and beds, and lay some in a pile for maturation. It is allowed to introduce fresh manure in the fall for planting cucumbers and other pumpkin crops (zucchini, pumpkins, melons), as well as dill, celery, and late cabbage. If there is a lot of straw or sawdust in the manure, in the first year after its introduction, nitrogen supplements are required for vegetables, since coarse organic materials will bind nitrogen when overheated. You will get the maximum return on the introduction of fresh manure in a season, when you can plant the same pumpkin crops, cabbage, greens, beets, and radishes on manure-fertilized places. Manure usually contains a lot of weed seeds. Therefore, it is convenient to apply it not in spring, but in advance, from autumn: most of the weeds will have time to sprout during this time, and you can destroy them by loosening even before planting the main crop. In addition, during the winter, the manure is saturated with moisture, gradually begins to rot and mixes well with the soil.
Compost and manure. Ripe manure and compost can be applied to the soil both in spring and autumn. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. When applied in autumn, part of the nutrients is washed out by melt water, but organic materials reach optimal moisture content and then easily mix with the soil. Therefore, choose the method that is more convenient. Usually for raspberries, currants, strawberries, apple trees and other perennials fruit crops rotted manure and compost are introduced during loosening after harvest. Perennial flowers are also fertilized with decomposed organic fertilizers in the fall. At the same time, fertilizers can not be mixed with the soil, but laid out like mulch - in winter it will play the role of a heater. It is more convenient to dig garden beds in the fall only to roughly dig them up without breaking lumps, and to add humus or compost in the spring for planting vegetables. In order to save money, you can limit yourself to filling the holes for planting seedlings and furrows when sowing seeds with organic fertilizers.
Peat. It contains few nutrients, but is good as a soil amendment. Lowland peat loosens heavy clay soil and increases the water capacity of sandy soil. Dry peat is poorly wetted and soaked with water very slowly, which makes it sometimes difficult to evenly distribute it in the soil. It is convenient, if there is time, to make peat in the fall. If you have poorly cultivated, very heavy soil in your garden, this advice will come in handy: add 4-5 liters (half a bucket) of peat per 1 m 2 with autumn digging, then in the spring - the same amount of peat or humus and dig again. This will make it easier to evenly mix the organic material with the soil, it will be easier to rake large lumps of clay.
Lime, chalk, ash, dolomite flour and other lime additives. Fluffy lime is applied to the soil only in autumn, as it slows down the absorption of phosphorus. To avoid harm to plants, it is necessary that several months pass from application to the start of active vegetation. Now, to reduce the acidity of the soil, it is more often not lime that is used, but dolomite or limestone flour, chalk, and ash. All these additives can be applied to the soil at any time. Often this is done in the spring: during careful loosening and leveling of the ridges, it is easier to distribute a small amount of lime material in the soil. It is advisable to apply ash only in spring - it contains water-soluble nutrients that are lost when washed out by melt water. 
mineral fertilizers. For a more rational consumption of mineral fertilizers in the garden, it is better to apply them in the spring, immediately before sowing or planting vegetables. Under perennial crops, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers in the fall. Contrary to popular belief, autumn fertilizers should include not only phosphorus and potassium, but also necessarily nitrogen (although in a different proportion compared to summer fertilizers). After leaf fall, the metabolism of perennial crops slows down, but does not stop completely. Many plants continue to consume nitrogen and store it for intensive growth in the spring. The assimilation of nitrogen in cold soil is very slow, and the need for it in spring, especially in fruit trees, is very high, and spring fertilization cannot cover it.
In autumn, nitrogen, phosphorus and potash fertilizers can be applied separately, but it is more convenient to use balanced autumn mineral complexes - almost every fertilizer manufacturer has them in stock.
How to improve soil with sapropel?
Sapropel - bottom sediments of relict stagnant reservoirs - is successfully used to restore the fertility of garden soil. It has a complex beneficial effect:
■■ improves soil structure and water-air regime;
■■ contributes to the accumulation of humus;
■■ activates the activity of beneficial microorganisms;
■■ contains useful substances in a form available to plants.
The composition of sapropel includes humic and fulvic acids, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, boron, bromine, molybdenum, manganese. Vitamins and amino acids contained in sapropel provide complete plant nutrition and have a positive effect on the taste and nutritional properties of the crop. The effect of the introduction of sapropel lasts up to 5 years, and it is noticeable on all
soil types, including clay and sandy. On clay soils, sapropel is applied at the rate of 2-3 liters per 1 m 2 and dug up to a depth of 10 cm. With this application, sapropel actively works for 3-5 years and by the first spring loosens the soil, normalizes its acidity and structure.
Sandy and sandy soils have high water permeability, nutrients are easily washed out of them. Sapropel should be applied on such soils at the rate of 3-4 liters per 1 m 2 at a digging depth of not more than 10 cm. Sapropel is a moisture-intensive material, it is washed out extremely slowly and works on sandy soils for 2-3 years.
How to fertilize the garden in autumn? Mineral fertilizers
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"Garden. Autumn", "Fertika" |
SOTKA Autumn, Rusagrohim |
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Agricola sticks, Technoexport |
"Autumn Fertilizer", "Fasco" |
Photo to the material: Anna Bershadskaya, Iosif Kaurov, archives of the press services, Shutterstock/TASS
Having harvested the crop, you must immediately put the garden in order. Autumn tillage increases its fertility, helps to fight pests, diseases, weeds and reduces labor costs.
So, what needs to be done in the garden and in the garden in the fall?
What should be done with the soil in autumn?
1 step. Remove plant debris
The beds must be cleared of large weeds, dry tops, fruits and other debris. It is best to start autumn tillage at the same time as harvesting or as soon as possible after it. Do not put off for a long time: spores of pathogenic fungi ripen on rotting plant debris, infecting the soil and preparing for a successful wintering. This is facilitated by rains, and in clear weather - fog and night dew.
In popular articles on gardening, it is often written that tomato tops and other plant waste with signs of infection should not be composted, but burned. But this is not necessary: there are no suitable conditions for the development of pathogens in the thickness of the compost, matured compost is safe for garden plants.
2 step. Loosen the top layer of soil
Immediately after harvesting plant debris, loosen the beds as early as possible to a depth of 3–4 cm to break up the soil crust. This must be done before a stable cold snap. Loosening provokes the germination of weed seeds. The more they have time to ascend by autumn, the better. After the autumn digging of the soil, the seedlings will die, this will reduce the work of weeding in the next season.
3 step. dig up the soil
Autumn digging is the main stage of tillage in the fall. Digging and applying organic fertilizers significantly improve the properties of heavy clay soils. Have time to complete the digging before the onset of prolonged rains: when the earth gets wet to a depth of 10 cm or more, it is no longer possible to dig it, as this will trample the soil, and this will disrupt its structure. As a rule, experienced gardeners try to be in time with digging by the beginning of October.
Dig the beds to a depth of about 15-20 cm, turning the clods over if possible so that the weed shoots are at the bottom. It is not necessary to carefully break up lumps and level the bed: snow and water will accumulate better on an uneven surface.
Why is it necessary to dig the soil in the fall?
Autumn digging is not useful for all types of soil. On sandy crumbly soil, it does not give a positive effect, but for heavy clay soil it is extremely useful.
- Digging improves the structure of clay soil. It forms pores, air voids, where oxygen penetrates. It is very important for the respiration of the roots and the absorption of nutrients by plants. With a lack of oxygen, the nutrients pass into a form inaccessible to plants, and plant productivity decreases.
- Autumn digging of the soil reduces the infection of the garden with pests and diseases. It destroys the passages and nests of pests, opens access to them to cold air. The lumps turned out to the surface freeze better, this contributes to their partial disinfection.
- Reduced number of annual weeds. Small shoots of weeds are easily killed after digging, which will make it easier for you to weed next season.
— Snow moisture is rationally used. On the hilly surface of the beds, after digging, more snow accumulates. At the same time, when the snow melts, the water does not flow down the sides, but enters the pores formed after digging, wells and is absorbed deep into the soil. Thus, in the spring, garden vegetables can use the reserves of biologically active snow moisture for growth.
What can be applied to the soil in autumn?
Fresh manure. If you have nowhere to store and compost a large amount of manure, you can buy it in the fall and immediately add some to greenhouses and beds, and lay some in a pile for maturation. It is allowed to introduce fresh manure in the fall for planting cucumbers and other pumpkin crops (zucchini, pumpkins, melons), as well as dill, celery, and late cabbage. If there is a lot of straw or sawdust in the manure, in the first year after its introduction, nitrogen supplements are required for vegetables, since coarse organic materials will bind nitrogen when overheated. You will get the maximum return on the introduction of fresh manure in a season, when you can plant the same pumpkin crops, cabbage, greens, beets, and radishes on manure-fertilized places. Manure usually contains a lot of weed seeds. Therefore, it is convenient to apply it not in spring, but in advance, from autumn: most of the weeds will have time to sprout during this time, and you can destroy them by loosening even before planting the main crop. In addition, during the winter, the manure is saturated with moisture, gradually begins to rot and mixes well with the soil.
Compost and manure. Ripe manure and compost can be applied to the soil both in spring and autumn. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. When applied in autumn, part of the nutrients is washed out by melt water, but organic materials reach optimal moisture content and then easily mix with the soil. Therefore, choose the method that is more convenient. Usually, under raspberries, currants, strawberries, apple trees and other perennial fruit crops, rotted manure and compost are applied during loosening after harvesting. Perennial flowers are also fertilized with decomposed organic fertilizers in the fall. At the same time, fertilizers can not be mixed with the soil, but laid out like mulch - in winter it will play the role of a heater. It is more convenient to dig garden beds in the fall only to roughly dig them up without breaking lumps, and to add humus or compost in the spring for planting vegetables. In order to save money, you can limit yourself to filling the holes for planting seedlings and furrows when sowing seeds with organic fertilizers.
Peat. It contains few nutrients, but is good as a soil amendment. Lowland peat loosens heavy clay soil and increases the water capacity of sandy soil. Dry peat is poorly wetted and soaked with water very slowly, which makes it sometimes difficult to evenly distribute it in the soil. It is convenient, if there is time, to make peat in the fall. If you have poorly cultivated, very heavy soil in your garden, this advice will come in handy: add 4–5 liters (half a bucket) of peat per 1 m 2 with autumn digging, then in the spring - the same amount of peat or humus and dig again. This will make it easier to evenly mix the organic material with the soil, it will be easier to rake large lumps of clay.
Lime, chalk, ash, dolomite flour and other lime additives. Fluffy lime is applied to the soil only in autumn, as it slows down the absorption of phosphorus. To avoid harm to plants, it is necessary that several months pass from application to the start of active vegetation. Now, to reduce the acidity of the soil, it is more often not lime that is used, but dolomite or limestone flour, chalk, and ash. All these additives can be applied to the soil at any time. Often this is done in the spring: during careful loosening and leveling of the ridges, it is easier to distribute a small amount of lime material in the soil. It is advisable to apply ash only in spring - it contains water-soluble nutrients that are lost when washed out by melt water.
mineral fertilizers. For a more rational consumption of mineral fertilizers in the garden, it is better to apply them in the spring, immediately before sowing or planting vegetables. Under perennial crops, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers in the fall. Contrary to popular belief, autumn fertilizers should include not only phosphorus and potassium, but also necessarily nitrogen (although in a different proportion compared to summer fertilizers). After leaf fall, the metabolism of perennial crops slows down, but does not stop completely. Many plants continue to consume nitrogen and store it for intensive growth in the spring. The assimilation of nitrogen in cold soil is very slow, and the need for it in spring, especially in fruit trees, is very high, and spring fertilization cannot cover it.
In autumn, nitrogen, phosphorus and potash fertilizers can be applied separately, but it is more convenient to use balanced autumn mineral complexes - almost every fertilizer manufacturer has them in stock.
How to improve soil with sapropel?
Sapropel - bottom sediments of relict stagnant reservoirs - is successfully used to restore the fertility of garden soil. It has a complex beneficial effect:
- improves soil structure and water-air regime;
- contributes to the accumulation of humus;
- activates the activity of beneficial microorganisms;
- contains useful substances in a form available to plants.
The composition of sapropel includes humic and fulvic acids, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, boron, bromine, molybdenum, manganese. Vitamins and amino acids contained in sapropel provide complete plant nutrition and have a positive effect on the taste and nutritional properties of the crop. The effect of the introduction of sapropel lasts up to 5 years, and it is noticeable on all
soil types, including clay and sandy. On clay soils, sapropel is applied at the rate of 2–3 liters per 1 m 2 and dug up to a depth of 10 cm. With this application, sapropel actively works for 3–5 years and by the first spring loosens the soil, normalizes its acidity and structure.
Sandy and sandy soils have high water permeability, nutrients are easily washed out of them. Sapropel should be applied on such soils at the rate of 3–4 liters per 1 m 2 at a digging depth of not more than 10 cm. Sapropel is a moisture-intensive material, it is washed out extremely slowly and works on sandy soils for 2–3 years.
Soil care is a labor-intensive process that allows you to get high yields of crops and at the same time increase the fertility of the land. It includes a number of activities: preparatory work, digging or loosening (depending on the type of soil and the preferences of the gardener or gardener), fertilizer and watering, without which a rare plant can do without in the dry summer months. There are many devices and methods of soil care that allow you to achieve the best results, making your work as efficient as possible.
The soil is a complex natural body, consisting of mineral, organic components, various gases, liquids and living organisms. A person with the necessary knowledge can grow all kinds of crops so that the quality of the land does not deteriorate over time.
Soil care begins with the preparation of the site, which consists in cleaning up debris, stones, uprooting old trees, stumps and shrubs, eliminating large weeds, as well as leveling the area allotted for a garden, flower bed or vegetable garden. The next step is digging the soil.
A personal plot can become a flowering corner, pleasing with its crops, if you pay enough attention to soil care
Digging is necessary, especially if the site consists of heavy clay soils that are periodically compacted, in places where it is planned to break a new bed or flower bed, as well as in areas that are heavily overgrown weeds. The digging process itself consists in taking out a certain amount of earth on the bayonet of a shovel, which is turned over and placed in the previous hole. It is important to remove weed roots and stones.
Digging is carried out most often once or twice a year, depending on the type of soil.
It is best to dig or plow in the fall, leaving large clods of earth on the site, which will be destroyed by wind and natural precipitation until spring. This will bring the greatest benefit to heavy loamy and clay soils. If the earth has had time to freeze slightly, then it should not be touched, because as a result the soil can be compacted, and its structure can be broken.
Loosening as an alternative to digging
Some owners of household plots and gardens refuse to dig up the site, because they believe that this leads to a violation of the physico-chemical composition, deterioration of the soil structure, and destruction of channels formed by underground organisms. These passages allow moisture and oxygen to pass into the depths of the soil, and the spring awakening for the inhabitants of the soil will take longer.
It is also believed that the mixing of the upper nutrient and lower poorer layers of the earth reduces the overall fertility. Therefore, they manage with only minimal processing: a layer of peat, compost or manure is formed on the soil surface. Seeds are sown in this nutrient medium. It is advisable to cover the soil from above with mulch.
Loosening with a pitchfork can replace digging in some cases
This method can be effectively used for those plants whose root system does not grow deep into the soil. In other cases, a thorough turning of the earth is indispensable. If the soil is not very clayey and rather crumbly, then you can dig it up every 3 years, and the rest of the time it will be enough just to loosen the soil and fertilize. It is important to consider that this event will bring maximum benefit if it is carried out in advance before planting seedlings and sowing seeds, then earthworms will learn a new layer of earth.
The process of loosening and watering options for plants
Soil care includes loosening the earth. This measure makes the soil surface more structured, improves the penetration of liquid into the depth and reduces moisture loss. During the loosening of the earth, all ascended weeds are simultaneously removed. Loosening the soil is much easier than digging. For this process, you can use a pitchfork, sticking them into the ground every 10 cm and swaying them from side to side. Then a cultivator, a hoe with a powerful rounded tooth or a grubber is used. The result is a very loose layer of soil suitable for planting.
Further care of the soil is actually reduced to timely fertilizer, top dressing and watering. Moisture is essential during the dry summer months and enters the ground most different ways. Watering can be drip, subsoil, surface and sprinkling. It is advisable to lay irrigation networks immediately during the development of the site. The choice of a particular irrigation method depends on the equipment available, climatic conditions, and terrain.
The drip irrigation system is good because the required amount of moisture enters directly into the root development zone.
With a drip irrigation system, the liquid flows directly to the zone of development of the root system. Subsoil irrigation is carried out through pipes with holes that are laid in the ground. For surface water supply, open channels are arranged; for sprinkler installations, a closed pipeline is made where sprinklers are installed.
Types of fertilizers and the benefits of mulching
Fertilizers should be applied after autumn digging. Allocate organic, mineral products. In addition, soil quality can be improved by planting certain plants (colza, turnip, mustard, rapeseed, etc.), called orgomineral fertilizers. Organic means can be animal or plant origin. The first include bird droppings and manure, and the second - peat and compost.
With mineral fertilizers, you must be extremely careful, follow the instructions. Most often, potassium, nitrogen, lime, manganese and other preparations are used. As necessary, grown crops are fed with both diluted organic and mineral fertilizers.
Mulching can help maintain plant health as well as improve soil quality. In summer, it helps to fight weeds, prevents the land from drying out. In the fall, mulching is good for protecting soil, especially soil that is not dug up for the winter. First, you can dig in the compost and cover it with a layer of foliage and sawdust on top.
Mulch is used to control weeds and prevent the soil from drying out in summer.
Important to remember. Dense mulching materials may attract mice. The benefit of this event is that the soil in winter period it will freeze and clog less, and in the spring underground organisms will wake up there earlier. For those areas where there are a lot of slugs, it is better not to mulch.
Caring for the soil is not easy, but it gives a positive effect. With the proper implementation of a set of these measures, it is possible to improve the condition of the soil, its structure, and increase the amount of substances important for plant growth.
After harvesting on a personal plot and placing it in storage, gardeners cannot yet rest. The thing is, their work doesn't end there. Experienced gardeners know that the basis of the future harvest is not only the observance of all agrotechnical rules when growing crops, but also the correct cultivation of the land in the fall. If this work is carried out correctly, then optimal conditions for the existence of plants will be created in the soil. As a result, the air and hydro regime will improve, heat will be maintained, thickets of harmful weeds will decrease, and the percentage of pests and many diseases will decrease.
general information
To begin with, all weed plants must be removed, and in such a way that no seeds are left of them. All remnants of garden crops are also removed. If the stems of the plants are already dry, then they can simply be burned on a non-rainy day. Experienced gardeners use even the resulting ash. They add it to the ground as fertilizer while digging the garden, or they fall asleep in the compost heap.
Removing weeds, as well as burning roots, tops and stems, helps to destroy pathogens of various diseases and those pests that remain on the plant. If the culture has obvious signs of infection, then it should be burned away from the garden, and the ashes should not be used, but destroyed by burying them in a hole outside the site.
Where to begin
Autumn tillage should begin with light loosening of the top layer with a rake. This process should be carried out on each bed separately after all fruit-bearing crops have already been removed from it. It should be borne in mind that after about a week, weed shoots may appear in this place. They also need to be destroyed. For this purpose, experienced gardeners use Fokin's flat cutter, which grinds their stems and roots, while simultaneously loosening the ground. In general, there is an opinion that weed shoots that appear after the removal of plant residues are not dangerous at all, since they usually die from winter frosts, and those that survive can be removed already by loosening the soil in spring. However, many gardeners remove them. Such preparation for winter leads to rapid self-healing of the soil. In addition, chopped green weeds can serve as a very valuable natural top dressing.
Why do you need to dig the earth
The main task facing gardeners is the correct implementation of this stage of soil cultivation in the fall. For digging, you will definitely need a shovel. Plow the land should be at a depth of thirty to thirty-five centimeters. If there is a small layer of humus in the soil, then twenty cm will be enough.
Autumn tillage should be carried out as early as possible - even before the onset of stable cold days and before prolonged rains. The fact is that otherwise, instead of loosening the earth, it will be trampled down and compacted, especially in clay areas. Moreover, it is the latter that need measures aimed at increasing their fertility.
To this end, experts recommend digging such soil at a depth of about sixteen centimeters, and increasing it every year. It is very important to simultaneously introduce sand and organic matter in order to reduce the layer of the clay barren part and increase the percentage of the fertile part.
For heavy loamy soil, digging the soil in autumn should take place at a greater depth. In this case, you need to make peat, sand, organic matter, which contribute to aeration and improve the structure. As a result, the "breathing" of the roots of crops will be facilitated.
Processing light soils in autumn
Such soil does not need to be dug too often. Since structural spraying occurs in it, and as a result it becomes more loose, the work becomes more complicated. If the top layer is fertilized too deeply, then beneficial microorganisms die, and pathogenic pests begin to multiply in their place. In addition, abundant watering in dry weather leads to a rapid leaching of most of the minerals that are necessary to maintain the density of the soil structure, and this primarily concerns calcium. As a result, worsening physical properties soil. Therefore, in order not to abuse it, it is still better to carry out only autumn tillage.
fertilizers
Many gardeners on their site make their own organic top dressing. To do this, they create compost heaps or pits in which they put uninfected plants and substandard fruits, waste generated after cleaning vegetables or fruits, onion husks, droppings, fallen spruce needles, ashes. Fertilizers that have rotted over time are used during site preparation before digging.
In the process of plowing the soil, it is also recommended to apply other organic fertilizers, for example, manure or compost. In this case, you should not go deep into the ground, otherwise the top dressing will decompose less and be poorly absorbed by plants.
During the autumn digging, experienced gardeners introduce all the organic, phosphorus and potash fertilizers necessary for the future harvest, and, if necessary, clay and sand are also added. It must be borne in mind that manure must be used carefully. It is better to close up this organic fertilizer at a shallow depth, so that during the winter it has time to decompose and serve as a habitat for many beneficial microorganisms. Whereas in dense low soil layers, it practically does not change the structure. It is recommended to use rotted cow or horse manure in the fall, so that by spring it will completely rot in the soil due to looseness, moisture and the correct temperature of the earth.
During digging, humus and compost should be applied precisely to those areas where the gardener plans to grow gourds, cabbage, celery, and lettuce next season. will be needed where radishes, beets and carrots are to be sown. Manure for these crops in the fall is not recommended to be added. Fresh droppings of birds or animals also cannot be brought in during digging; it is better to compost them first.
In the case when only a small layer of humus is present on the site, that is, the land is completely “poor”, it is better to “feed” it in the fall. To do this, during digging, it is recommended to increase the dose of mineral fertilizers and organic matter, which is laid a little deeper. After that, the earth is carefully harrowed with a metal rake so that the top dressing mixes well with the soil.
Liming
Earth with a high level of acidity requires proper autumn processing. This indicator, as you know, negatively affects not only the yield, but also the growth of garden crops. The fact is that vegetables require a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Therefore, the high level of soil acidity must be reduced in the fall. To do this, once every five years, a liming procedure is carried out. Calcium oxide can not only deoxidize the earth, but also increase its fertility, improve air permeability, hygroscopicity, optimizing the structure due to the calcium content.
For liming, you can use chalk or slaked lime, cement dust, as well as dolomite flour and ash - peat or wood. Their dose will depend on the degree of acidity of the soil, its structure and the amount of calcium content. Liming will result from the fact that the clay soil will be much looser, easier to work with, and the moisture capacity increases in sandy soil and it will become viscous. As a result, the most favorable conditions are created for the development of beneficial microorganisms and improving fertility.
Overfatigue of the soil and green manure
Autumn has come, gardeners have already harvested vegetables and began to think about how to restore the fertility of the land on the site. Few people know that overfatigue of the soil also leads to the occurrence of many diseases in plants. Signs of this problem are as follows: disturbed soil structure, when it resembles dust, as well as cracking crust after watering or rain. In this case, comprehensive measures are needed for self-healing of the soil, since tillage in the fall against diseases is not a sufficient measure. In this case, siderates come to the rescue. These are plants that are grown on the site not for the purpose of obtaining a crop from them, but to enrich the soil with organic and mineral substances, as well as to improve its structure.
Vetch, rapeseed, lupine, vetch, clover, peas, mustard are often used as green manure. For fertilizing the soil in the fall, the latter is best suited. Moreover, mustard is able to accumulate nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and many other trace elements that enter the soil. Green manures are also excellent fertilizer. Plus, they increase the aeration and hygroscopicity of the earth, loosening it thanks to branched roots. It is better to plant them in the fall, so that the green mass is formed before frost, but they will grow for a few more weeks in the spring. If the weather is warm until mid-October, then they can grow and even start buds. In this case, the ovaries should be cut off.
Pest control
In addition, siderates emit substances that serve as excellent insecticides. Today, tillage from pests in the fall with the help of mustard is very common. It perfectly repels wireworms, bears and cockchafer larvae thanks to its root secretions. Insecticides are best sown immediately after the beds have been cleared of fertile crops. Experienced gardeners always monitor the condition of the soil in order to decontaminate it in time. Otherwise, after the plant is affected by the disease, it will be very difficult to get rid of it. There are several ways to deal with this problem. First, you need to know what. Most often, gardeners use chemicals, for example, a solution of vitriol. Moreover, the composition should not be too concentrated. To obtain the desired result, a one or two percent solution is sufficient. Another way is biological disinfection, when special preparations are introduced into the soil fifteen days before the first frost. For those who do not know how to treat the soil from phytophthora, in the fall, experienced gardeners recommend digging the soil well, and then adding a solution of copper sulphate to it.
What to sow after potatoes to improve the soil
For the next season, one unspoken rule must be observed: do not plant nightshade in the same place. After harvesting potatoes, strawberries or tomatoes, they cannot be sown in the same soil for at least three years. In cases where the site is small enough, the task of gardeners becomes more complicated. They have to solve the problem of what to sow after the potatoes. To improve the soil, you can plant green manure plants: phacelia, mustard, oats, lupins, etc. Legumes help enrich the earth with nutrients and nitrogen. Mustard is a reliable barrier for a wireworm that loves to feast on potato tubers. To obtain the maximum effect, the planting of green manure can be combined with the application of organic fertilizers.
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