To get a good crop in a garden or garden, just sowing seeds and planting seedlings or seedlings is not enough. Both plantations and the soil beneath them must be provided with proper care. Experienced gardeners and gardeners use various chemicals along with other agents to fertilize the soil or to control pests. One of the most popular is lime fluff. In the garden, there are many factors that determine the need for the use of this tool.
What is fluff lime? How can it be useful to ensure the normal growth of garden crops? What are the features of its application? Let's try to figure this out in the article.
What is fluff lime?
For the garden, in which the owners practice subsistence farming, calcium lime (a substance of organic origin) is suitable, which is divided into two types:
- (CaO) quicklime;
- (Ca (OH) 2) slaked lime.
Both species are safe for humans and plants (subject to standards of use and reasonable handling).
Calcium lime is used as an additive in the food industry (marking E-529). It is a product of the processing of chalk, limestone and other minerals of the carbonate group. Externally, it is a white powder that dissolves in water. The main rock-forming elements are dolomite and calcite.
Lime fluff: application
These substances are well known as effective agents for feeding garden and horticultural crops. They are widely used in large-scale (field) agriculture and in private farms.
Both independently and as constituents of lime, they are used to treat plants in order to protect them from pests and fight diseases, as well as to improve soil quality.
What does "slaking lime" mean?
A fluff is a slaked lime that can be easily obtained at home from a regular quicklime.
The quenching process is a reaction of the interaction of lime powder and water, the duration of which is only a few minutes. In the course of the interaction of these components, a kind of “melting” of lime occurs - its processing into a form that is more convenient for use and safe for the processed plants. In this case, one nuance should be taken into account: when preparing slaked lime, hot water cannot be used, since the high temperature of the liquid helps to neutralize the beneficial properties of the product.
On the features of the use and benefits of lime for the garden
According to the classification of Vishnyakova, lime contains substances such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. The form of potassium is an oxide that is easily absorbed by plants. A large proportion of limestone is calcium.
It is known that many plants do not tolerate an excess of calcium. Nevertheless, it is indispensable in important life processes occurring in plant organisms. The presence of calcium in the soil is necessary: it retains hydrogen ions, contributing to a favorable level of reaction of the medium.
Calcium Functions:
- protects crops from diseases, strengthens their immunity;
- activates the activity of nodule bacteria that trap nitrogen in the soil entering the roots from the air during cultivation, which improves the nutritional quality of plants and increases their resistance to various harmful factors;
- helps to improve the transport of carbohydrates in tissues;
- favors better dissolution of elements in water;
- contributes to a better and more active development of the root system.
The constituent components of lime are vital for plant nutrition.
In this regard, fluff lime is indispensable, the application in the garden of which is described in the article, when compost is formed. Calcium is a catalyst that activates the activity of beneficial microorganisms that release nitrogen from organic matter and mineralize it. In addition, it helps to accelerate the decomposition of organics and the formation of humus.
The ability to reduce soil acidity is one of the most beneficial properties that fluff lime has. Its use in the garden and vegetable garden contributes not only to the normalization of the reaction of the upper soil layer, but also to the improvement of its chemical composition. It neutralizes the effects of toxic metals - manganese, iron and aluminum.
Lime fluff, the use in the garden, as well as in the garden for which to normalize the chemical composition of the soil is known to all gardeners, positively affects the structure of the soil, makes it more lumpy and less loose.
How often is liming performed?
Lime is actively used in agriculture for various purposes. The most relevant of them is the neutralization of soil acidity. Lime fluff is used for this procedure. Application in the garden (application rate is given below) occurs in compliance with the following terms:
- usually liming is carried out once every 4-5 years;
- on soil subjected to intensive use - once every 3 years.
How to determine the increased acidity of the soil?
To determine the degree of “acidification” of beds (increased soil acidity), it is worth paying attention to some external signs with which the earth “signals” about changes in its chemical composition:
- the appearance of green moss on the edges of the earth;
- the growth of horsetail and wormwood, clover, ledum, heather, sorrel, whitebird, creeping buttercup.
The presence on the land of these uninvited guests is a sign that fluff lime is needed here, the use in the garden of which is carried out according to the established dosage.
In addition, a characteristic sign of acidity are:
- whitish, as if an ashy layer lying on the surface;
- poor growth of beets, wheat.
You can determine the increased acidity using paper indicators, which are sold in specialized stores.
Why fight the high acidity of the soil?
Sour land is a paradise for pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Useful microorganisms in acidic soil are not represented in sufficient quantities.
A lot of weeds usually grow on acidic ground. Cultivars do not take root well in such an environment. Their root system weakly develops, which often leads to the death of plants.
A high pH indicates an increased level of hydrogen ions in the earth. When fertilizers are introduced, a reaction begins with hydrogen, which converts their composition, making them useless for plants. Carrying out deoxidation of the soil in autumn or spring helps to reduce the level of manganese and aluminum. Magnesium, nitrogen, molybdenum, phosphorus, calcium will be presented in the required quantity.
Standards for applying lime to the soil
To increase productivity, fluff lime should be applied correctly. Application in the garden, dosage should comply with the following application standards:
- heavy clay soils: 450-800 g / sq. m;
- light soils, loams, alumina: 350-600 g / sq. m;
- lightest, sandy soils: 250-500 g / sq. m
Exceeding the application rate is harmful to plants. Too alkaline soil reduces the absorption by plants of most of the essential trace elements, in particular calcium. On the other hand, poor quality of liming can be caused by the introduction of lime into the soil simultaneously with manure. In this case, the formation of insoluble compounds, which for plants are useless. Vegetables begin to experience a shortage of essential nutrients and do not give a good harvest.
How is lime added to the soil?
Quicklime is recommended to be extinguished. To do this, it is ground into powder and moistened with water. Powdered slaked lime is mixed with the ground.
When to liming?
In autumn, fluff lime (application in the garden is described in the article) is introduced into the soil during digging with the aim of its full liming.
Autumn digging (plowing) of the soil is preferable, especially when preparing for sowing early vegetables. It should begin immediately after harvesting and removing residual roots and tops. Fertilizers are spread evenly on the plot. The soil layers should be turned with a shovel so that the more atomized upper layer is lower, and the lower structural one is on the surface. In autumn, it is not recommended to break up clods and level the surface - so moisture in the earth is better preserved.
The main processing is carried out to a depth of 22-30 cm, for perennial vegetable crops - 35-40 cm.
Areas with a shallow arable layer require digging of the subsoil with the simultaneous application of lime and organic fertilizers:
- when digging, the fertile layer is removed, and the podzol (subsoil soil) is loosened to a depth of 1-2 cm;
- lime is added there (150 g / sq. m);
- the loosened layer is mixed with fertile soil;
- organic fertilizers are applied (8-10 kg / sq. m);
- the furrow is covered with the top layer of the earth.
The annual loosening and fertilizing of the soil contributes to an increase in the arable fertile layer.
Knowledgeable owners appreciate lime fluff. Application in the garden in spring is also possible. It is introduced into the soil in a small amount for easy digging, mainly for those crops that are especially sensitive to the increased acidity of the soil: onions and garlic, lettuce, mustard, turnips, radishes, cabbage. The procedure is carried out a week before transplanting seedlings and sowing seeds.
In spring, it is very important to maintain soil moisture. They begin processing when the ground is still damp, but no longer sticks to the shovel, but is capable of crumbling into small lumps.
About the use of lime with fertilizers
Lime fluff can be applied together with organic fertilizers. But you should observe some restrictions:
- It is not recommended to mix chalk, cement dust, lime, marl, calcareous tuff, dolomite;
- with natural fertilizers it is allowed to mix exclusively calcium organics (ground limestone).
Weed control
Effective protection against weeds is fluff lime. Application in the garden from weeds is advisable if the site is too acidic soil. An indicator grass such as wood lice usually grows on it. It is very tenacious, so it is quite difficult to fight it using mechanical methods (tearing out). An effective way to combat woodlice is to create intolerable conditions for the weed. To do this, when digging in the fall, chalk, ash or lime should be added to the soil. With a decrease in soil acidity, woodworm will disappear.
The use of lime (200 g / sq. M) is detrimental to many weeds, including wheatgrass and horsetail.
On the fight against wireworms
The wireworm (the larva of the nutcracker beetle) is the most dangerous pest in the garden. The fight against it requires a mandatory combination of various methods in combination with preventive measures. Getting rid of this unpleasant guest will significantly improve the quality of root crops: beets, carrots, radishes, potatoes. Ignoring his presence on the site can lead to a complete loss of crop.
A favorable condition for the reproduction of wireworm larvae is the increased acidity of the soil. Reducing acidity leads to the fact that females cease to lay eggs in such an environment, and in the future this will relieve the site of the pest.
An effective remedy for this is fluff lime. Application in the garden from the wireworm involves the introduction of a small amount (0.5 kg / sq. M) into the soil, watering, re-digging after a few days and re-moistening. Ash is also added (one handful to each well).
Garden application
Fluffy is indispensable in gardening. It is used both as a deoxidizing agent for liming the soil, and for whitewashing trees and shrubs.
Whitewashing is an effective and inexpensive way to protect trees from pests.
Spring whitewash protects trunks from scorching sunlight, as well as from awakening wintering insects in the ground. Trees that are regularly treated with lime every spring are not carriers of pests.
Many gardeners whiten trees in the winter. Autumn clay coating and whitewashing help protect the tree trunk from sharp temperature fluctuations. The effect of precipitation (rain, snow) makes the whitewash layer insufficient to protect against insects and solar overheating, especially dangerous for young seedlings. Therefore, whitewashing trees is recommended still in the spring.
Before whitewashing, it is necessary to prepare the trunk - remove the upper dead layer of the bark, in the sinuses of which larvae and adult pests can take refuge. The bark should be burned. After that, the tree is treated with a prepared solution.
How to breed lime for whitewashing?
The components are thoroughly mixed:
- clay (300 g);
- dry mullein (1 kg);
- copper sulfate (200 g);
- lime (1 kg);
- water (10 l).
The solution is left to swell. You can start processing trees in 2-3 hours. A guarantee of a positive effect is possible only with the exact observance of the recipe.
The use of lime pushonki for liming the soil, as well as for pest and weed control contributes to a high-quality and rich crop.