Rules for preparing soil for seedlings at home with your own hands

Seedlings for growing vegetable crops can be purchased on the market, but some gardeners prefer to grow their own plants. The main requirement for obtaining quality seedlings is proper preparation of the soil for growing seedlings. Otherwise, the seedlings grow weak, often get sick after being transplanted into open ground, and it will not be possible to reap a rich harvest from such plants.

Components that improve the quality of the soil mixture

When the time comes to sow seeds for seedlings, some owners of their garden plots go to gardening stores and purchase ready-made soil or take soil from their garden.

Both options do not guarantee the production of strong and healthy seedlings. Nutrient components of both organic and mineral origin must be added to the soil for sowing material.

Organic

The soil for sowing seeds is improved with the following components:

• rotted leaf litter of any trees;
• turf soil;
• peat;
• sphagnum moss;
• humus;
• wood ash;
• dried and crushed shells of fresh eggs;
• sunflower husk.

Inorganic

The quality of the soil mixture for growing seedlings is also improved by:

1. Perlite - this environmentally friendly material is added to increase the breathability and looseness of the soil. Thanks to this component, the formation of a crust on the surface of the earth is prevented and optimal soil moisture is maintained.
2. River sand (pre-washed), which promotes the formation of skeletal parts of crops and also loosens the soil.
3. Vermiculite is also characterized by breathability and contains small amounts of components such as magnesium, potassium and calcium.

If the soil is infertile, a number of mineral fertilizers are added to it - superphosphate, potassium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, lime.

Various variations for individual species

Before you start preparing the soil for sowing seeds, you should familiarize yourself with examples of soil mixture compositions for different crops.

Eggplant

To prepare the soil for sowing eggplant seeds, use one of the following options:

1. Take a bucket of soil from the area in which cabbage was previously grown, and add to it a tablespoon of crushed superphosphate fertilizer granules, half a glass of wood ash, a teaspoon of potassium sulfate and the same amount of urea, mix thoroughly.
2. To 2 parts of compost humus add 0.5 parts of rotted sawdust and 1 part of peat.

Which recipe to choose depends on the gardener’s availability of the necessary components.

Cabbage

The composition of the soil for growing cabbage seedlings is as follows:

1. To 5 parts of turf land add ¼ part of washed river sand and lime and 1 part of wood ash.
2. The following components are mixed in equal proportions: peat, humus and turf soil.
3. To 3 liters of peat add 400 ml of river sand and 1 liter of turf soil, harvested in the fall.

cucumbers

To make a soil mixture for sowing cucumber seeds with your own hands, take half a bucket of humus and turf soil, add to them 20 grams of crushed superphosphate granules, a glass of wood ash and 10 grams of potassium sulfate, mix everything thoroughly.

There is another recipe for preparing soil for cucumbers, according to which peat, turf soil, rotted sawdust and humus are mixed in equal proportions.

Pepper

For those gardeners who independently grow bell pepper seedlings at home, the following soil mixture options are suitable:

1. For 4 kg of peat add 1 kg of humus, 2 kg of turf soil and 1 kg of rotted sawdust.
2. Mix 2 parts of manure humus with 1 part of turf soil.
3. Humus and peat are mixed in equal proportions.

Tomato

The proportions of soil for growing tomato seedlings are as follows:

1. Peat, humus, rotted sawdust and turf soil are mixed in equal parts.For one bucket of this mixture add a tablespoon of potassium sulfate, one and a half cups of wood ash, a teaspoon of urea and 3 tablespoons of crushed superphosphate granules.
2. Use 4 parts of peat and add to them 0.5 parts of mullein and one each of sawdust and turf soil. To 10 kg of this composition add 3 kg of washed river sand, 2 grams of superphosphate and potassium chloride and 10 grams of ammonium nitrate.

Instructions for preparing the soil mixture

Since the soil taken from the garden or purchased in the store may contain pathogens that are dangerous for crops, the soil must be prepared (disinfected) before sowing the seeds. Several methods are used for this.

Disinfection procedure

You can prepare soil for sowing seeds by disinfecting the soil with copper sulfate. This drug destroys pathogens of fungal diseases that often infect plants of the Solanaceae family. 100 grams of dry matter are dissolved in a small amount of hot water, after which cold water is added to a volume of 10 liters. Before spilling the soil, filter the solution. Also for these purposes, a drug such as Iprodione is used.

Freezing

The essence of this method of soil disinfection is exposure to low temperatures, as a result of which pathogens die. In order for the method to bring the expected effect, a temperature of 15 to 20 degrees below zero is required.

The procedure is carried out according to the following algorithm:

1. The prepared soil is placed in a linen bag or wrapped in a piece of cotton fabric.
2. If the weather outside is suitable, then leave the soil mixture on the balcony for 5 days, otherwise use the freezer of the refrigerator.
3. After some time, the soil is brought into the house and watered with a small amount of warm water.
4. After a week, the soil is again sent to the cold, but is already kept for 7 days at sub-zero temperatures.
5. Repeat the procedure 3 times.

The disadvantage of this method is that if there is no frost outside, you will get a small amount of soil mixture to freeze in the refrigerator.

Steaming

Soil preparation using this method is carried out according to the following instructions:

1. Fill the pan halfway with water and put it on the fire, wait until it boils.
2. As soon as the water begins to boil, reduce the heat slightly and place a colander on the pan, which is lined with a cloth.
3. Place the soil on the cloth and keep it over steam for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally, so that the soil warms up evenly.

Calcination

The calcination procedure is carried out strictly according to the instructions, otherwise, along with pathogenic microorganisms, the beneficial bacteria necessary for the full development of seedlings will also die.

The disinfection procedure consists of the following steps:

1. Turn on the oven and heat it to 80 degrees.
2. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the soil mixture onto it; It is important that the layer is no more than 1.5 cm.
3. Using a sprayer, moisten the soil evenly.
4. Place the baking sheet in the prepared oven for half an hour.
5. After this, they are taken out and allowed to cool to room temperature, then poured into containers where they plan to grow seedlings.

Etching

The use of fungicidal preparations is considered the fastest and simplest method that gardeners use to disinfect soil for seedlings. Chemicals such as Planriz, Fitosporin-M or Glyokladin are suitable. Prepare a working solution for watering the soil mixture, focusing on the instructions that are attached to each preparation by the manufacturer.

Disinfection

Since after the disinfection procedure is carried out using heat treatment, most beneficial bacteria also die, it is necessary to populate the soil with microflora, which is responsible for the development of seedlings. A few weeks before the start of sowing, the soil is watered with biofungicidal preparations; for example, Trichodermin received good reviews from gardeners.

Possible mistakes

Novice gardeners make mistakes when preparing soil for seedlings, which lead to the appearance of weak and sickly seedlings. The most common ones include lack of soil disinfection and incorrect selection of soil mixture composition.