After harvesting on the plot and putting it in storage, gardeners still can not rest. The fact is that their work does not end there. Experienced gardeners know that the basis of the future harvest is not only compliance with all agrotechnical rules when growing crops, but also properly conducted land cultivation in the fall. If this work is carried out competently, then optimal conditions for the existence of plants will be created in the soil. As a result, the air and hydro modes will improve, heat will remain, the overgrowth of harmful weeds will decrease, the percentage of damage by pests and many diseases will decrease.
general information
Autumn tillage consists of several very important steps. All of them are necessary for preserving fertility, for enriching it with a sufficient amount of micronutrients, etc. And if our ancestors cultivated land in the fall, immediately after harvesting, was reduced to digging, and sometimes scattering the manure site, then today agriculture has advanced far enough. Experienced gardeners have learned not only to take into account the type of soil and the level of its acidity, but also know how to deal with the pests living in it - in a word, do everything that our grandfathers and grandmothers did not even suspect. And so that preparation for the winter would bring maximum benefits on the site, this work needs to be done according to all the canons. It is imperative to dig the earth, improve its structure, introduce fertilizers, etc. How to cultivate the soil in the fall, how to carry out this process, what stages this work consists of - all this will be considered in this article.
After harvest
When the last fruits and vegetables from the site are collected and sent for storage, the last final phase of work begins at the gardeners. Autumn soil preparation and cultivation are carried out immediately. You can start work both during the harvest and immediately after. You should not postpone these manipulations for a long time, because even for a short period a wide variety of pathogenic microorganisms - parasites that will infect the entire soil - can occupy the remains of organics. Fog and autumn rains will also contribute to their spread .
To begin with, all weed plants must be removed, and in such a way that no seeds are left from them. All residual garden crops are also removed. If the stems of the plants are already dry, then you can just burn them on a rainy day. Experienced gardeners use even the resulting ash. They add it to the ground as fertilizer during the digging of the garden or fall asleep in a 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 must be burned away from the garden, and the ash should not be used, but destroyed by burying it in a pit outside the site.
Where to begin
Autumn tillage should begin with a slight loosening of the upper 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 seedlings may appear at this place. They also need to be destroyed. For this purpose, experienced gardeners use the Fokin plane cutter, which shreds their stems and roots, while simultaneously loosening the ground. In general, there is an opinion that emergence of weeds that appear after removal of plant debris is not dangerous at all, since they usually die from winter frosts, and those that survive can be removed already when the soil is loosened in spring. Nevertheless, many gardeners remove them. Such preparation for winter leads to rapid self-healing of the soil. In addition, chopped weed greens can serve as a very valuable natural top dressing.
Why dig a land
The main task facing gardeners is the correct conduct of this stage of soil cultivation in the fall. For digging, you will definitely need a shovel. Plowing 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 - 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 introduce sand and organics along the way in order to reduce the clay barren part and increase the percentage of the fertile part.
For heavy loamy soil, digging in the autumn should take place at a greater depth. In this case, peat, sand, and organic matter should be added, which contribute to aeration and improvement of the structure. As a result, the “breathing” of the roots of crops will be facilitated.
Light soil treatment 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 is complicated. If the top layer is fertilized too deep, then beneficial microorganisms die, and pathogenic pests begin to multiply in their place. In addition, abundant watering in dry weather leads to the rapid leaching of most of the minerals that are necessary to maintain the density of the soil structure, and this is especially true for calcium. As a result, the physical properties of the soil deteriorate. Therefore, in order not to abuse, it is better to carry out only autumn tillage.
Fertilizers
Many gardeners at their site independently produce organic top dressing. To do this, they create compost heaps or pits into which uninfected plants and substandard fruits are stacked, waste generated after peeling vegetables or fruits, onion husks, droppings, spruce fallen needles, ash. Over-matured fertilizers are used during site preparation before digging.
In the process of plowing the soil, it is also recommended to make other organic fertilizers, for example, manure or compost. In this case, you should not go deep into the ground, otherwise the fertilizing will be less decomposed and poorly absorbed by the plants.
Experienced gardeners during the autumn digging introduce all the organic, phosphate and potash fertilizers necessary for the future harvest, and clay and sand are added if necessary. It should be borne in mind that it is necessary to use manure carefully. It is better to close up this organic fertilizer at a shallow depth, so that during the winter it can decompose and serve as a living environment for many beneficial microorganisms. Whereas in dense low layers of soil it practically does not change the structure. It is recommended to use rotten cow or horse manure in the fall, so that by spring it will completely rot in the soil due to friability, moisture and the correct temperature of the earth.
Make humus and compost during digging should be on those areas where in the next season the gardener plans to grow gourds, cabbage, celery, salad. Mineral fertilizers will be needed where you have to plant radish, beets and carrots. Manure under these crops in the autumn is not recommended to be added. Fresh droppings of birds or animals should not be introduced during digging, it is better to pre-compost them.
In the case when there is only a small layer of humus 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 organics, which is laid a little deeper. After that, the earth is carefully harrowed with a metal rake so that the fertilizing is well mixed with the soil.
Liming
High acidity land requires proper autumn cultivation. This indicator, as you know, negatively affects not only crop yields, but also the growth of garden crops. The fact is that vegetables require a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Therefore, a high level of soil acidity must be reduced in the fall. For this, once every five years, a liming procedure is performed. 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 soil acidity, its structure and the amount of calcium content. Liming will be the result of the fact that clay soil will be much looser, easier to process, and moisture content in sandy soil will increase and it will gain viscosity. As a result, the most favorable conditions are created for the development of beneficial microorganisms and improve fertility.
Overwork of the soil and siderata
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 the overwork of the soil leads to the emergence of many diseases in plants. Symptoms 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 necessary for self-restoration of the soil, since soil cultivation in the autumn from 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 for enriching the soil with organic and mineral substances, as well as for improving its structure.
As siderata, vetch, rape, lupine, vetch, clover, pea, mustard are often used. For fertilizing the soil in autumn, the latter is best suited. Moreover, mustard is able to accumulate nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and many other trace elements that enter the soil. Siderata is also an excellent fertilizer. In addition, they increase the aeration and hygroscopicity of the earth, loosening it thanks to branched roots. It is better to plant them precisely in the fall, so that the green mass forms before frosts, however, 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.
Pest control
In addition, siderates secrete substances that serve as excellent insecticides. Today, soil treatment from pests in the fall with the help of mustard is very common. It perfectly repels the wireworm, the bear and the larvae of the May beetle due to its root secretions. Insecticides are best sown immediately after cleansing the beds from prolific crops. Experienced gardeners always monitor the condition of the soil in order to disinfect it in time. Otherwise, after the defeat of the plant by the disease, getting rid of it will be very difficult. There are several ways to deal with this problem. First, you need to know how to treat the soil from late blight in the fall. 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 quite enough. Another way is biological disinfection, when special preparations are applied to the soil fifteen days before the first frost. For those who do not know how to treat the soil from late blight, in the fall, experienced gardeners recommend digging the soil well, and then adding copper sulfate solution 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 picking potatoes, strawberries or tomatoes, they should not be sown in the same soil for at least three years. In those cases when the plot is small enough, the task of gardeners is complicated. They have to solve the problem of sowing after potatoes. To improve the soil, you can plant siderata plants: phacelia, mustard, oats, lupins, etc. Legumes help enrich the earth with nutrients and nitrogen. Mustard is a reliable barrier for a wireworm who loves to feast on potato tubers. For maximum effect, the planting of siderates can be combined with the introduction of organic fertilizers.