To get a good harvest, it is not enough to sow the grain and provide him with decent care. Earth is the bosom in which the seed will develop, feed and grow. And the crops will depend on how fertile and well-groomed it is. Often, many gardeners believe that it is enough to periodically apply fertilizer to the soil, and then it will be sufficiently nutritious and will certainly give an excellent crop. But this is not always enough. Experienced gardeners and summer residents use another refinement method - deoxidation of the soil. In spring or autumn, they add some additives to the ground that make the soil pH more neutral and at the same time saturate it with the necessary natural trace elements. Why, when and how to do it right, we will tell you today. Let us dwell on five simple methods that will be affordable and easy to use.
What is it for?
First you need to know that not all plants love acidic and alkaline soil. So, for example, sorrel and blackcurrant love acidic land, but tomatoes, cucumbers and cabbage will grow poorly on it. One suburban area can have both the same acidity over the entire area, and completely different. Therefore, before deciding to deoxidize the soil in spring, you should determine what pH level in each part of your garden or garden, and what you plan to grow there.
Sour land is a paradise for fungi and pathogenic bacteria, plants simply do not have enough vitality to overcome this scourge, and therefore they often get sick, but there are few useful microorganisms in it. A lot of weeds grow on land with high acidity , and cultivated varieties take root poorly, their root system weakly develops , and they often die for an incomprehensible reason for the host. A high pH indicates that the earth contains a lot of hydrogen ions. When the owner of the plot tries to fertilize the soil and introduces additional mineral (or any other) fertilizers, hydrogen reacts with them, because of which they are transformed, and the plant simply cannot use them for its own purposes. Deoxidation of the soil in spring or autumn will help reduce the level of aluminum and manganese, but other elements: magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, molybdenum and nitrogen - will be present in the required amount and will be perfectly absorbed.
How to determine the acidity of the earth?
Of course, absolutely accurate results can only be obtained in the laboratory. This is a good way, but not practical. Therefore, experienced gardeners have found for themselves several simple options for recognizing acidity.
One of the easiest
Take two transparent containers and pour a teaspoon of earth into each. Add a little 9% vinegar and stir. If the solution foams - the soil is alkaline, foams very little - neutral, air bubbles did not appear at all - acid.
Read on plants
The acidity of beet beds can be recognized very easily. The plant will have green leaves, petioles - red, as well as a poorly developed root system, if the earth is alkaline. On the green leaves, red streaks are slightly acidic. But if the leaves have a rich beetroot hue, the beets grow large, well-developed - the soil is acidic.
Weeds will finally be useful. Where wheat grass grows - the scourge of many summer residents, the earth is weakly acidic. Mokritsa loves sour, but bindweed and most vegetables - alkaline earth.
Deoxidation of the soil in spring should be carried out, starting from the acidity of the earth: the higher it is, the more it will be necessary to introduce deoxidants. It is important not to overdo it and observe the dosage, because an excess of alkali will harm the earth even more than excessive acidity.
Lime or fluff?
Most often deoxidation of soil is carried out in spring by lime. This is one of the easiest and cheapest options. Hydrated lime is used, for this, a little water is added to the usual and stirred. It should become loose by reacting with water. She is often called the "fluff". Lime has the most pronounced neutralizing effect and is ideal for very acidic soils.
If you plan to deoxidize the soil in spring, the norms for introducing the finished “fluff” will be in the range of 50-150 grams per square meter of area. The degree of acidification of the earth should be taken into account. After lime has been introduced into the soil, it should be mixed with the top layer of the earth (depth 15-20 cm).
Dolomite flour
Soil deoxidation is also carried out in the spring with dolomite flour. Such material will be more expensive than ordinary lime, but if possible, then why not? Dolomite flour is also called calcareous (CaCO 3 ). It, like the fluff, is undesirable to be introduced into the soil simultaneously with nitrate, superphosphate, urea or manure. Therefore, try to focus on one thing. It is useful to introduce dolomite flour immediately before planting crops, unlike “fluff”, it does not burn the plant. It can be added to the earth at any time of the year, but usually it is autumn or spring.
It is introduced at such a rate (per square meter):
- slightly acidic - 300-400 g;
- medium acid - 400-500 g;
- sour - 500-600 g.
Dolomite flour is not used for soils on which gooseberries, sorrel, blueberries and cranberries grow. Processing with such a deoxidizer should be carried out every three years.
a piece of chalk
Deoxidation of the soil in spring with chalk will be useful. Such an additive is more neutral and well suited for land with low acidity. Chalk particles should be small, not more than 1-2 mm.
They deoxidize the earth from such calculations (per square meter):
- acidic - 300 g;
- medium acid - 200 g;
- slightly acidic - 100 g.
The ground is sprinkled with chalk, and then the topsoil is mixed.
Ash
Ash is an excellent fertilizer, it loosens well, and even deoxidizes the soil. The only thing that can cause inconvenience - it will need three times more than, for example, lime flour. It has poorly expressed properties. So, per square meter of alkalized land will need 1-1.5 kg of ash. It is introduced during spring digging in a dry, crushed form. If you have a large area, and the land is acidic, lime will be the rational solution.
Phacelia
Another easy way, and most importantly - completely natural, and even beautiful! This plant is planted throughout the site, after mowing and distributing it on the ground. This can be repeated several times, phacelia grows very quickly - in 20 days.
Every experienced gardener knows that eggshells should not be thrown away. It is collected, dried, crushed and added to the soil. So the earth receives a lot of useful trace elements, and at the same time its acidity decreases.
Here are some simple and useful tips for those who love and practice growing tasty and healthy products on their site. All these examples are quite simple and will not take much time. It is enough to carry out such an improvement once every 3-4 years. The land will certainly thank you for your efforts - it will give an excellent and rich harvest.