How to take care of the soil on the site. Acidic soil: signs
The quality of the agricultural background
However, it is useful to think about what efforts to transform and maintain the land allotment in order will have to be made to achieve a suburban idyll. Practice shows that often a considerable proportion of these efforts will be associated with the improvement, and sometimes complete replacement of the soil cover that has developed on the garden plot.
Any of us is familiar with soils in one way or another, and at the same time, not everyone is familiar with them enough to assess the quality of the agricultural background on the site and take measures to improve the soil.
Unfortunately, not all garden plots are dominated by the “king of soils” - the famous Ukrainian black soil, and many gardeners are forced to be content with more modest soils.
Among them, completely unimportant varieties of land can come across: depleted, stony, acidic, saline or swampy. In order to adapt to a particular situation with the soils on the site, and even more so to correct it, you need to at least understand them a little.
Biological factors
In addition to the peculiarities of the climate and terrain, the hydrology of the site and the specifics of the underlying rocks, soils are influenced by biological factors, among which the most important is nature of the vegetation.
Under the influence of plants, the chemical properties of the soil, the composition and amount of organic matter contained in it, the participation of soil fauna and microorganisms, which ensure the processing of organic matter and maintain the potential of soil fertility, change.
If a forest grows on the site, then, depending on the type and composition of the forest plantation, its impact can either improve the soil or worsen its properties.
The first is noted, for example, in a sparse deciduous forest with a developed grass cover, on the other hand, under a dense spruce forest, soils usually become more acidic and depleted in nutrients.
Focusing on the area
Take a closer look at the trees on the site or in the neighboring forest: pine often settles on light soils, spruce prefers heavier, loamy ones; willow and alder forests are common in waterlogged areas, while linden, elm, ash, oak and maple usually grow on rich soils.
The composition of herbaceous vegetation will also tell something. On acidic soils, horsetail, buttercup, small and horse sorrel, plantain and oxalis are often found. Field bindweed, coltsfoot, odorless chamomile and some meadow grasses testify to a neutral reaction.
An indicator of soils rich in organic matter and nitrogen are touchy, nettle, gout and woodruff, and on swampy soil, for example, sedges, cotton grass, sphagnum mosses, marigold, cattail and reeds are often common.
Soil composition
Among the most important soil properties, along with its structure, density, acidity, nitrogen and ash content, it should also be noted its grading, reflecting the ratio of particles of different fractions in the soil: sand, clay and silt.
The composition of the soil can be roughly determined by rolling up a thin sausage from the moistened earth. If it folds into a ring without cracking, then the soil is clayey, if the ring cracks, it is medium loam, if it does not fold at all, it is sandy loam, and if it crumbles before it rolls into a sausage, then it is the lightest - sandy.
READ ALSO Soil: how to determine acidity?
Soil types
In Ukraine, the following types of soils are most common.
Soddy-podzolic soils distributed mainly in Polissya. They form under mixed forests, have a dark humus horizon, an acidic reaction, and a lumpy structure. The content of nutrients and organic matter in them is low and they are not fertile enough.
gray forest soils distributed in the forest-steppe zone, on the Right Bank and the south of Polissya. They develop under broad-leaved forests and occupy an intermediate position between soddy-podzolic and chernozem soils. Usually they are slightly acidic, well structured and very fertile.
Chernozems are formed under conditions of insufficient moisture in the steppe and forest-steppe zones. These are soils rich in nutrients and humus, which have a neutral reaction. The high content of humus and the granular lumpy structure make them the most fertile. These soils cover almost ⅔ of the territory of Ukraine.
Burozems, or brown forest soils, are common in the mountain forests of the Crimea and the Carpathians, on the plains of Transcarpathia and the Carpathians. They form in a mild, humid climate under mixed and deciduous forests. Burozems have a brown color due to the accumulation of clay minerals. These are slightly acidic soils with good structure.
In the south of the flat part of the steppe there are chestnut soils, which differ less than in the case of chernozems in the development of biomass and the accumulation of humus, and on the southern coast of Crimea - characteristic of the Mediterranean climate brown soil.
In addition to the main fertile soil types in the flat part of Ukraine, in Polesie there are meadow, marsh and marshy soils, which occupy low areas or sections of watersheds, underlain by heavy water-resistant clays. They come in many varieties such as peat-bog or meadow-bog. Most often they have an acidic reaction, unfavorable water and air conditions.
In addition, in the forest-steppe and steppe, infertile salt licks, and in the southern steppes - infertile solonchaks, having, respectively, a significant and high salt content.
Site preparation
Whatever the soil on your site turns out to be, with the help of various activities it can be improved.
Preparation begins with cleaning and removal from the site of household and construction waste, as well as stones.
Necessary remove dead, damaged trees, uproot stumps.
During the initial planning of the surface of the site, it is necessary level holes, ditches and trenches.
To do this, you can use the soil released when cutting embankments and when digging holes for planting, but you should avoid leveling the area with clay from the pit.
Where the surface is occupied by weeds, remove the upper 3-5 cm layer of sod and expose the upper mineral horizon of the soil. Sod is removed outside the site or processed by composting into sod land.
This method allows you to largely get rid of weeds on the site. If the top mineral soil layer has a dense build and heavy composition, to prepare it for planting dig to the depth of the bayonet. Light and loose soil can be processed with a motor cultivator.
tillage
If the soil on the site turns out to be infertile, of unfavorable composition and composition (podzolic, gleyed), then apply fertile soil to the cultivated area with a layer of at least 10 cm. If necessary, lime and complex mineral fertilizers are added.
Clay soils that are heavy in composition are usually potentially fertile, but are characterized by low water permeability and slowly warm up in spring. The structure and properties of such soils are improved when coarse-grained sand, as well as peat and other organic fertilizers, are introduced for digging.
Light and warmer sandy soils due to high water permeability are usually poor in nutrients and often dry out. The cultivation of such soils by adding a clay substrate, peat and mineral fertilizers leads to an increase in their moisture capacity and soil fertility.
Soils of excessive moisture, especially peat, require drainage. Peatlands respond well to the introduction of loam and sand, as well as mineral fertilizers with a predominance of phosphorus and potassium. Acidic soils with an acidity index (pH) below 5.0-5.5 need liming, while the deoxidation dose is higher, the more acidic the soil and the heavier its composition. The average deoxidation rate is 300-500 g of lime per 1 m².
How often, in search of the unusual, people embark on distant wanderings, looking for life on other planets and not noticing what literally lies under their feet! Here, in the soil, lives an amazing beast, consisting of countless microorganisms, earthworms and insects. We often do not even realize what an important job he is doing. Meanwhile, academician Vernandsky calculated that if the activity of soil organisms suddenly stops, in three years all life on Earth will disappear ...
Let's try to get acquainted with the soil animal living on our site.
Let's take a piece of land from our garden in our hands. What do we see? Living soil, unlike a dead mixture of clay, sand and humus, has a unique structure that cannot be reproduced by any artificial methods. All of it is permeated with many channels, which are the passages of earthworms and dead roots of plants. In the hand, such soil breaks up into dense porous lumps of various sizes. These channels and pores conduct air into the soil and do not allow rainwater to stagnate on the surface. At the same time, the capillary connection with the subsoil is preserved, and in drought the water accumulated there flows to the plants.
In the soil pores, each microorganism finds the best place for itself to live. For example, there are aerobic bacteria that breathe oxygen, and anaerobic bacteria that are harmful to oxygen. Both are important, moreover, the secretions of some serve as food for others. Nature has found a wonderful way out - part of the soil pores communicates with the atmosphere, and close pores are located nearby. Thus, the soil structure is the skeleton of the soil animal, which he himself creates. In order for it to build such a skeleton, at least 2% humus must be present in the soil.
Humus is also a product of the vital activity of the soil animal. This is both a supply of food for plants, and "cement" for creating a skeleton. A 20-cm layer of black soil contains a supply of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other plant nutrients for decades to come. Structured soil containing enough humus, like a sponge, absorbs water and then gradually releases it to plants. In addition, humus blocks heavy metals, radioactive substances, pesticide residues in the soil, preventing them from getting into plants and, therefore, our food.
Healthy soil contains hundreds of different soil organisms. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria absorb nitrogen from the air, depending on the conditions and type of soil, they can accumulate it in a year from 40 to 500 kilograms per hectare. Stone-eating bacteria extract the missing nutrients from soil minerals, cellulose-destroying bacteria turn grass and wood that have fallen into the soil into humus, which is so necessary for the soil and plants ...
Earthworms not only loosen the soil, but also enrich it with their secretions - coprolites, drag organic matter that has fallen to the surface deep into, and regulate the acidity of the soil. The intestines of earthworms contain a substance not yet identified by science that suppresses pathogenic bacteria and promotes the development of healthy soil microflora.
The total weight of bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, earthworms and insects living in living soil reaches several tons per hectare, tens of kilograms per hundred square meters. And all these soil inhabitants work as a single powerful organism!
Living soil is the best for plants. Only in such soil can plants themselves regulate when and what nutrients they need. And the soil animal gives them this nutrition in the most balanced form, because this is exactly how Nature intended. And plants also feed the soil living creatures with their root secretions, in their root area - the rhizosphere - life is literally in full swing. Everyone knows about nodule bacteria, but it turns out that nitrogen-fixing bacteria can also settle on the roots of non-legume plants, though in smaller quantities. The roots of many plants, surrounded by microorganisms that have settled on them, penetrate to a depth of several meters and extract almost unlimited reserves of the nutrients contained there to the surface.
By the way, most of all plants require (except water) carbon. They take carbon from carbon dioxide, but there is little of it in the air, only 0.03%. There is ten times more carbon dioxide in soil pores; it is released during the respiration of soil living creatures and immediately enters the plants.
Plants grown on living soil not only give high yields - their fruits are amazingly tasty. Anyone who has tried them at least once will definitely want to grow only such. In addition, such plants themselves are able to successfully resist pests, and the crop is well stored.
Of course, there are microorganisms in unstructured soil. But in this case, the most important thing is missing - the symbiosis between the multitude of species of organisms that live there. And "when there is no agreement among the comrades, their business will not go well." Soil living creatures, not finding a suitable place for themselves, begin to slowly die out. The composition of soil microflora is changing. And if you add mineral fertilizers and pesticides? Few people can withstand such a chemical attack. The first to die are earthworms, these orderlies and soil rippers. Many microorganisms change their diet in order to survive. For example, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, instead of absorbing nitrogen from the air, begin to decompose nitrates to free nitrogen and release it into the atmosphere. And in place of useful organisms, pests appear - Nature does not tolerate emptiness. This is exactly what happens in our plowed and littered with all sorts of "chemistry" fields and garden plots!
But before we start talking about the methods of Creative Agriculture, let's remember that Nature is our mother, and we are all her children. And just as a mother wishes only good for her children, so the laws of Nature work for our benefit. It is only necessary to understand these laws and take a step towards Nature. But how can this be done in practice?
To dig or not to dig?
Fortunately, Nature took care of everything herself - you just need to help her a little. The most important thing is to preserve the soil structure. This structure consists of countless channels and pores made by earthworms, plant roots and other soil living creatures. Once it is destroyed, it will take from 3 to 10 years for the restoration of the soil animal. But how then to dig or plow?
Let's explore this important issue from the perspective of Creative Earth. When digging or plowing, there is an increased decomposition of the humus reserves in the soil. Part of the decomposition products goes to feed the plants (which is why we are taught that everything grows better on plowed soil). But what happens next? All coordinated work of soil organisms is disrupted. Plowed soil does not breathe, does not absorb nitrogen from the air, and is easily attacked by pathogenic microorganisms.
That is why plowed virgin or fallow land gives the highest yield in the first year - two! And if; the soil does not receive a large amount of organic matter; in subsequent years, yields decline rapidly.
Mineral fertilizers also enhance the decomposition of humus, being a dope for the soil. Therefore, an attempt to get a high yield with the help of mineral fertilizers leads to the need to increase their doses from year to year. Plants grown on "mineral water" have a weakened immune system. Suffice it to say that their cell tissues are 10% looser than those of plants grown on living soil. And as a result - a massive attack of diseases and pests and the need for the use of pesticides. The vicious circle closes...
I always remember a fairy tale about how one peasant had a goose that lays golden eggs. The peasant sold these eggs and fed on them. However, this seemed to him not enough, and he decided to immediately get rich. He took and slaughtered a chicken. And there was no one to lay golden eggs.
Creative Earthwork is based on the commonwealth of man with Nature. The first thing a farmer should remember is that the bulk of soil organisms are concentrated in a thin layer of earth from 5 to 15 cm. It was this layer of "living matter" 10 cm thick, according to the definition of Academician Vernadsky, that created the soil on Earth. And the first rule of the farmer - the soil can only be cultivated to a depth of 5 centimeters. Such a layer is a kind of skin of a soil animal. In Nature, its purpose is to cover the soil from drying out and other adverse effects, this layer must be kept constantly loose. Simultaneously with loosening, weeds are cut.
For such work, there are now many kinds of weeds on sale. There are even devices that allow you to manually process one hectare per day - this is for those who want to earn money. And for a small area, Fokin's flat cutter is convenient. Not everyone knows how to work with it yet, so it is very important to purchase V. Fokin’s brochure “To the Earth with Science” (it is sold complete with a “branded” flat cutter).
And if the soil is very dense, clay? You can additionally loosen it with a pitchfork, simply sticking them into the ground and swinging. Or use other tools for deep loosening of the soil without turnover of the earth layer.
With such processing, the soil structure is not disturbed and the soil animal can safely do its job. Under a layer of loose earth, he needs both moisture and air.
But when is it possible to dig? In medicine, there is such a term - resuscitation. This is when a dying person is beaten with electric discharges, they are poured into him with medicines that no healthy person can withstand. So, if your soil is sorely lacking in organic matter and life is barely glimmering, you can try to quickly revive it. To do this, in the fall, add a large amount of organic matter to the soil: half-rotted sawdust, manure, chopped straw - at least 1-2 tons per hundred square meters. Be careful with peat - it can greatly acidify the soil. And combine this with the treatment with microbiological fertilizers, which we will talk about later. And after that, move on to shallow (up to 5 cm) tillage.
Or maybe you don’t need to touch the ground at all? You can learn this too. Thus, Masanobu Fukuoka, who laid the foundation for natural farming, plants cultivated plants on the cover of white clover. At the same time, clover serves as a living mulch that inhibits the growth of weeds, covers the soil from drying out and enriches it with nitrogen and organic matter. And in general, a stable community of living organisms is being created, which includes cultivated plants, weeds, many animals and insects, and, of course, our soil animal. And the soil beast lives well - this is evidenced by the harvest no less, if not more, than in neighboring, cultivated and fertilized fields. For those who want to experiment, I will say that M. Fukuoka's method includes a number of "little tricks" that need to be adapted to local conditions. So read his book One Straw Revolution and go!
To some, all of the above may seem too simple. “Everything would have done so long ago,” he can say. That's just the point, it's not easy. Creative Earthwork replaces manual and machine labor with the power of human thought. And this means that the work is greatly facilitated, but everything that you do on earth must be done on time and with an understanding of the meaning of what has been done. Otherwise, there will be little use. And of course, you just need to love your Earth and everyone who lives on it!
Fertilizer? No - feeding!
What do our plants need to please us with large and tasty fruits? Not only nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. For normal development, a plant needs more than 50 elements of the periodic table, and some elements need more at the beginning of growth, others - during drought, third - to resist frost, fourth - to form taste, color or smell ...At the same time, one should not forget the fundamental law of the minimum by J. Liebig - the yield limit is determined by the element that is contained in the soil in a minimal amount relative to others. These difficulties can make the head spin not only for a simple farmer, but also for any scientist. So how do we fertilize our plants?
I will say right away that all modern science has not yet learned how to make a full-fledged "menu" for plants. But this is not required if you follow the laws of Nature! Few farmers know that all soils, with a few exceptions, contain in the composition of soil minerals all the nutrients necessary for plants for many years to come, while there is literally an ocean of nitrogen around us. Only the plants themselves cannot obtain these reserves. This is where an unusual soil beast will help them, consisting of bacteria living in the soil, fungi, actinomycetes, earthworms.
In Nature, everything is interconnected and no living being can live without many connections with other beings. Plants supply the soil animal with the concentrated energy of the Sun in the form of root secretions and dead parts, and bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes dissolve soil minerals, absorb nitrogen from the air and generously share all this with plants. At the same time, plants receive their nutrition in the most balanced form and can themselves regulate when and what they need, because this is how Nature intended. And earthworms, among other things, also mix the soil to a depth of several meters, involving in circulation almost unlimited reserves of food from the subsoil.
That is why there is no traditional concept of fertilizers in Delia's Creative Earth - not to fertilize the soil, but to feed the countless workers living in the soil! Feed, create conditions for work, and the soil animal itself will provide your plants with everything they need.
Almost everything that can rot in the ground is suitable for feeding: tops (from healthy plants), weeds, dry leaves, grass, straw, peat, sawdust, compost. In general, everything that grew on the ground - return to the ground. Return where you want to get the maximum fertility of the soil, in the beds, for example.
It is important to understand more and how to feed? Soil organisms work most actively in spring and autumn, when the soil is constantly wet. At the same time, as studies have shown, the organic matter introduced since autumn goes to a greater extent to create soil humus, i.e. to increase the potential fertility of the soil, and introduced in the spring - directly for plant nutrition. Both are important, but it should also be noted that during the autumn introduction, the ratio of various nutrients has time to optimize.
Soil microorganisms themselves extract the substances they lack (nitrogen from the air, the rest from soil minerals). The conclusion from this is this: in the fall, you can add unrotted or semi-rotted organic matter (leaves, straw, sawdust), and add compost in the spring.
All organic matter introduced is mixed with the top five-centimeter layer of soil (remember the last conversation). Earthworms themselves will drag it all deeper, and before that, a layer of earth mixed with organic matter will serve as mulch - it will help to accumulate and retain moisture, in winter the covered soil will freeze less and in spring the soil beast will start working earlier.
Compost is better to make "addressed" - in the planting holes and furrows, so as not to feed the weeds (be careful, do not burn the roots!). But fresh manure cannot be brought into the ground - the composition of the soil microflora will be disturbed, and in addition to benefits, harm will also result. It is necessary to add manure to the compost - 20-30% of the total amount of compost.
It is very important to use green manure (green manure). It is not necessary to occupy a plot with them for a whole year - you can plant fast-growing plants before planting and after harvesting the main crop. At the same time, many goals are achieved: a significant part of the organic matter necessary for the beds grows right "on the spot", the energy of the Sun falling on the site is used to the maximum. The roots of many crops used for green manure penetrate deep into the subsoil, extracting minerals from there, and legumes provide shelter for nodule bacteria.
In addition, the skillful use of green manure allows you to clean the soil from weeds and pests, as well as to grow one crop (for example, potatoes) in one place for a longer time without crop rotation.
In addition to food, the soil animal needs water and air. Here, mulch from a mixture of organic matter with the ground will also help us - during rain and irrigation, water will easily seep into the depths, while no crust will form on the ground. And in a drought, water will rise from the subsoil (after all, we have retained a capillary connection with it!) And evaporate less.
With such soil care, an active process of soil formation begins. Earthworms multiply rapidly. Rising to the surface in search of food and dragging organic matter lying on the surface into their burrows, they literally penetrate the entire soil with passages, loosening it. Excretions of earthworms - coprolites - are not only ready-made humus, but also enrich the soil with beneficial microflora contained in their intestines. The carbon dioxide released during the respiration of microorganisms, breaking through the pores to the surface, additionally loosens the soil lumps.
Thanks to the joint activity of microorganisms, earthworms and plant roots, the soil acquires a structure that cannot be reproduced by any artificial means. This structure will not be completely formed on your site immediately, but within a few years. In order for it to be preserved, all plants (including potatoes) must be grown on permanent beds, you should not walk on them.
And I also want to recall the words of V. Fokin:
“The main task of the Land Dealer is to Make the Land!”. And the earth itself will thank a hundredfold.
When they talk about organic farming, most people for some reason associate with a mountain of manure that needs to be bought somewhere, brought, transported to the beds. And if there is no money, no physical strength, no time, and the manure from farms is far from the best quality? And the hand itself reaches for a bag of mineral fertilizers. But don't rush. In the matter of creating a living earth, we have faithful and reliable assistants.
Who is this?
Yes, the plants! As studies by T.S. Maltsev and other scientists have shown, a plant creates more organic matter than it consumes for its growth. Indeed, otherwise there would be no soil in Nature at all! And green fertilizer will help us create living fertile land on our site.
It may seem that there is simply no place for green manure in a small garden. However, look carefully: in the spring, before planting crops and in the fall, after harvesting, your beds are bare. The sun dries them, it rains. True, we now know that they can be protected from these effects by mulching, but this mulch is best grown right on the spot! And the roots of crops used for green manure will also help to loosen our soil.
In general, the rule of Creative Earth never leave beds without plants, making the most of the solar energy falling on the site.
Before planting late crops: tomatoes, late cabbage, green manure can be planted in early spring, as soon as the ground thaws (or before winter). In about a month, a sufficiently large leaf mass should grow, it must be cut off under the root with a flat cutter and left to lie on the ground.
In late summer or early autumn, immediately after harvesting early crops - onions, early cabbage and others, both spring and winter crops can be used for green fertilizer. Spring crops die off in winter under the influence of frost, but serve to retain snow and reduce soil freezing, in spring they are slightly buried in the ground (remember - up to 5 centimeters, not deeper). Winter crops continue to grow in spring, which allows increasing the maximum green mass. Before planting crops, it is also cut off and left to lie on the ground, the excess can be used for compost.
An important caveat should be made here. When a large mass of green plants is planted in the soil, substances are released that slow down the germination of seeds, and the ratio of nutrients for plants is not immediately optimized. Therefore, if you planted green plants in the soil, you need to wait 2-3 weeks to plant seeds and seedlings. But the cut plants left on the surface of the earth will not have such a negative impact - although their effect, like fertilizers, will be somewhat slow. Spring crops, planted in autumn and frozen in winter, can be safely planted in the soil and seeds can be sown immediately.
In order to prevent green manure from becoming a weed, it is better to use those plants that do not grow back from the roots. You need to cut them off before the seeds form, and even better - before the stem becomes stiff, otherwise you will have to tinker with pruning.
So, in spring and autumn, we will plant our beds with green manure. It is immediately clear that fast-growing and cold-resistant plants need to be planted - then they will have time to grow enough green mass. Now let's slowly think about what we want to get from green manure. Of course, this is food for our soil animal. What else?
It turns out that properly selected and planted plants can do a lot. Are you being pestered by a wireworm? Plant white mustard on green fertilizer, and thicker - next year there will be much less wireworm, and the weeds will decrease.
Is the earth infested with nematodes? Plant an oil radish, and in the summer let two or three good marigold bushes bloom on each bed. You will enjoy its sunflowers all summer and forget about the nematode, and this is an additional 30-40% of the crop. At the same time, the calendula will scare away the Colorado potato beetle.
Of course, legumes will help to accumulate more nitrogen in the soil - various types of beans and peas, annual lupine, winter and spring vetch. White clover can be planted for the whole summer between large plants - cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini. True, then you have to make sure that the plants are sufficiently provided with moisture.
Red clover and alfalfa are good groundcovers in an orchard. Buckwheat will help to accumulate potassium in the soil and loosen heavy soil, rye suppresses weeds and has a general healing effect on the soil, phacelia is an excellent honey plant and will attract pollinating insects to your site.
It is difficult to even list all the useful properties of green fertilizer, so I just advise you to read the book by N. Zhirmunskaya "Garden without chemistry."
With such helper plants, you can do without manure. But we have other helpers too!
Here you need to make a small digression. When scientists tell us about the removal of nutrients from the soil with the harvest, they somehow forget that everything that we took from the earth does not disappear into nowhere. The remains of food, wood, paper and more after use often just poison the world in which we live, so it would be more correct to call it environmental pollution. Nature acts wisely - everything that lived on earth returns to the earth and serves to continue a new life. So let's learn from Nature!
Now there is EM technology that allows you to process all food waste into excellent fertilizer at home. Our little friends, microorganisms, help to do this. It is even better to leave such processing to earthworms. Of course, keeping worms at home is an amateur, but abroad, the basements of many high-rise buildings have long been turned into earthworm cultivators, and biohumus obtained from worms can even be sold for foreign currency. (Where are you entrepreneurs?)
Let's once again take a closer look at the Nature around us.
She herself offers us help in any of our business.
You just need to be able to see it!
With the development of chemistry, people have a strange delusion that it is enough to spray the fields with one or another chemical to protect them from the invasion of insects. Then “suddenly” it turned out that all this is not harmless for humans either. And then the "pests" began to adapt to any poison. Still - it's easy for them to do this, laying hundreds of eggs and giving several generations over the summer! So they will always survive. But will we survive?
It's time to stop this senseless and dangerous war from which only chemical firms benefit! But how to do that?
Let's explore this issue from the point of view of Creative Earth. Take, for example, the Colorado potato beetle. Why is he eating our potatoes? Just because he wants to eat, like any living creature. It is strange on the basis of this to rank him among his enemies. But he eats it impudently and can leave us nothing! Why, before the Colorado potato beetle switched to a potato diet, did it eat wild nightshade and did not cause much harm to nightshade? And in general, in Nature, there is very rarely a mass reproduction of any insects or diseases that cause significant harm to wild plants. There's something wrong here!
Let's try to learn from Nature. Let's look carefully. In Nature, we will never meet any large area occupied by plants of one species, there is always a whole community of plants. What does it give? As a rule, insect pests feed on plants of one or a few species, so it is immediately difficult for them to find food. In addition, some plants have strong (for insects) odors that completely confuse them. But insects - predators are not so picky, they eat almost everyone in a row. Birds, hedgehogs, frogs, toads, lizards, shrews find favorable places to live. This is what allows you to maintain natural balance.
By planting a monoculture on our site, we ourselves create conditions for the avalanche-like reproduction of diseases and pests. And by treating the site with poisons, we first of all kill our friends, because predatory insects, unlike herbivores, do not hide in secluded places. And, having destroyed natural ties, we are left face to face with an army of pests!
Another important factor is that plants grown on living land themselves successfully resist pests and diseases. We have already said that plants grown on mineral fertilizers have loose cell tissue. To us, such vegetables will seem watery and tasteless, but for pests - the most relish!
But this is far from exhausting the relationship between plants and the insects that feed on them. Science is only just approaching this mystery of Nature, and we will simply turn to the rich practical experience of biodynamic farmers. They have long known that plants grown on properly groomed land will never be attacked by pests, even if neighboring fields are completely destroyed. Marvelous? Well - "there are many things in the world that the wise did not even dream of."
What do we do? To begin with, to understand that in Nature we simply do not have enemies, but there are various types of living beings that are part of the natural community - the biocenosis. And start building your relationship with Nature according to new principles. By creating certain conditions on your plot of land, you can regulate the number of certain species of living beings, but you need to do this very reasonably, foreseeing all the consequences of your actions in advance.
In Nature, there are many plants that attract beneficial insects, first of all, these are nectar-bearing plants. Top dressing with nectar is necessary for both pollinating insects and predatory insects. At the same time, it should be remembered that if we prefer large bright flowers, then insects are more fond of small flowers that are “in size” for them. These are navel, mint, clover, cumin, dill, tansy, buckwheat, carrots, sweet clover and many others. Everyone can choose flowers to their liking and plant them along the edges of the site.
There are also plants that repel pests. By the way, it doesn't have to be herbs. For example, onions repel carrot flies, and carrots repel onion flies. It is enough to plant onions and carrots on the same bed. Lettuce will scare away the cruciferous flea, and borage will scare away snails. They are well planted with radishes and cabbage. True, it should be said that the effect of scaring plants is not always manifested to the same degree, so you will have to experiment before you find the combination of crops that is most suitable for your conditions.
We should not forget about attracting birds, frogs, lizards and other useful animals to the site.
Of course, all pests cannot be destroyed in this way, but this is not required. It’s just that the number of the remaining ones will be so insignificant that they simply won’t be able to cause any noticeable damage to your landings.
It must be said that it is unlikely that it will be possible to create living land on your site and learn how to regulate the number of insects in one year. Therefore, you can use a safety net in the form of biological pest control products that meet the principle of "do no harm". Fortunately, we have such means. This is, firstly, EM technology. Once a week, all plants are sprayed with an EM preparation, as a result, the natural immunity of plants increases and they become “tasteless” for pests. For humans and beneficial insects, the drug is absolutely harmless. We have already talked about the use of the drug "Biostim". It simply knocks down the "biological clock" of pests wintering in the soil, they wake up and die from starvation.
If you are late with the treatment with these drugs, you can use preparations based on pyrethrum (chamomile) or the microbiological preparation bitoxibacillin. Do not forget about folk remedies.
What to do with weeds? It should immediately be said that weed to weed is different. Many herbs, such as chamomile, nettle, valerian, yarrow, planted in small quantities in the beds, heal the soil and improve the taste of grown vegetables. These are the so-called biodynamic plants. We have already talked about how low-growing legumes can grow under the cover of tall crops and enrich the soil.
So in the Creative Land of Delia, the task of completely destroying weeds is not set, it is only necessary to regulate their numbers. This is easy to do with regular pruning with a flat cutter or weeder. In small areas, it is convenient to mulch the soil between the rows. So, a layer of straw 8-15 cm thick completely suppresses the growth of weeds. You can use cut grass, rotted sawdust and other materials for mulching.
It should be remembered that under a thick layer of mulch, the earth warms up more slowly in spring, so the mulch should be laid out when the soil has already warmed up.
Nature has a lot to teach us. And the mass reproduction of pests only points us to our mistakes. But the day will come when we will calmly look at our garden crawling along the path, as at the old and slightly annoying "Professor of Nature", who dropped in to see us:
“Are you doing everything right?”
How can we make sure that our children inherit after us the clear Sun and blue sky, mighty forests and green groves, blue lakes and clear rivers? So that their feet would walk on soft grass, and the gentle wind would breathe in their faces with all the scents of flowers?
Let's just try to take a closer look at our eternally young and beautiful Mother Nature. Before a person with an open heart and pure thoughts, it is revealed as a book written by the One Creator God even before the appearance of man on Earth. (Let me remind atheists that Nature is at least wiser than us, since it was Nature that created man, and not vice versa.)
From this extraordinary book, you can learn that the Nature of the Earth is a single organism that receives energy from the Cosmos, primarily from the Solar System. Any biological species in Nature is part of a single organism and can exist only in interaction with other species, forming stable communities of living organisms - biogeocenoses. Each biogeocenosis, in turn, depends on the state of the entire planet and itself affects it.
Man is also one of the biological species. He is connected by innumerable connections with the whole Nature of the Earth and the Cosmos. When these connections are broken, a person ceases to be a Man, turning into a kind of machine.
The existence and sustainable development of Mankind is possible only in harmony with the biosphere of the Earth and the Cosmos surrounding the Earth.
Nature is forever young. The pledge of this eternal youth is in continuous renewal and development. A grand cycle of substances and energies constantly takes place in Nature. Various forms of life and matter pass one into another, and even when dying, plants and animals only serve to continue a new life.
The key to the prosperity of Mankind is to join the great cycle of Nature and wisely support it.
Violation of the cycle of Nature and an attempt to replace it with artificial technologies is the path to death.
Nature is our mother, sometimes harsh, but always fair. As a mother takes care of her children, so Nature herself provides us with everything necessary for a happy life, you just need to be able to see it. And it helps us in all good undertakings - try it, and you yourself will feel it!
In our conversations, I tried to talk a little about how to turn your piece of land into a sustainable community of living organisms, each of which works in its place for the common good and for the good of man. But the main participant in this community remains a person endowed with reason and love. And in the end, it depends on our attitude and love for our piece of land whether or not our Earth is a wonderful garden for us and our descendants.
How to store cabbage
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Soil salinization is a process of accumulation of salts harmful to plants in the soil, mainly sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. Many summer residents are aware that an excess of salts in the soil slowly kills living soil, at the same time, destroying the basis of its fertility - humus, significantly changes its physical properties, making it barren over time. Wishing to safely solve such an existing problem, the owners of their summer cottages cover them with a thick layer of fertile soil. However, salts, all the same, appear on the surface, making the soil unsuitable, and the efforts and funds spent are completely useless. In addition, the formation of salt marshes is also facilitated by watering with poor-quality water, which contains an excessive amount of salts. Summer residents should remember that both excessive and stingy surface watering of their own land is quite harmful to the soil. As a rule, proper watering is carried out with soil wetting within 50-60 centimeters, and in areas with a high level of groundwater - much less. Watering must be rare, moderately plentiful, with the obligatory subsequent loosening of the soil. In addition to proper watering, saline areas require the annual application of organic fertilizers, such as humus, compost, and manure. This contributes to the effective restoration of the function of soil fertility. At the same time, one of the most important and effective measures to purposefully combat soil salinity is the introduction of natural gypsum for autumn digging at the rate of 30 kilograms per 1 hundred square meters. Green manure plants such as mustard, wheat, and barley successfully help in the fight against soil salinization. After growing such plants on the site, a whole network of underground tubules remains in the places of their decayed roots, through which salts are washed into the deeper layers of the soil. As a kind of prophylaxis that prevents soil salinization, it is recommended to leave part of the beds without watering during the season and grow drought-resistant plants on them. Beetroot also has an excellent ability to extract and accumulate unnecessary mineral elements from the soil, so it is often used to cleanse the soil of excess salts.
How can you improve the composition of the soil in your summer cottage? Any organic fine, over time, becomes an excellent base that improves the structure of the soil in a summer cottage. By spreading it in a thick layer on the site, then cutting down the emerging weeds with a hoe, adding leaves that have fallen from the trees in the fall, releasing chickens to roam to destroy pests that have hidden for the winter, you can also significantly improve the soil structure. Earthworms breeding in such a favorable environment, at the same time, produce fertile humus, which has a positive effect on lifeless soil.
Summer residents working in the areas must be aware of some tricks. If the plants are well fed, they require much less watering. All plants grown in well-fertilized areas use much less water. For example, late-ripening varieties of cabbage, carrots and beets require the most nutrients, tomatoes and onions - the average consumption, but radishes and cucumbers - the most minimal. Early fruiting of cucumbers and tomatoes depends on their availability of phosphorus during germination. Cabbage plants will need nitrogen fertilizers at the beginning of growth, and phosphate-potassium fertilizers during the head formation period. Do not forget that the yield of raspberries largely depends on abundant watering. Flowering and fruiting plants also need water especially. If you want to reliably protect trees from harmful insects, then plant pyrethrum chamomile around their trunks. She is gentle and very beautiful, but at the same time, she is a great danger to all kinds of insects. It contains a substance called pyrethrin, which is a nerve agent. Growing on the beds of calendula resists pathogens of sulfuric rot. If you plant calendula near peppers and eggplant, potatoes and cucumbers, then it will be an effective tool in the fight against ticks, aphids and the Colorado potato beetle.
Among the variety of plants found in the garden, there are those that can serve the gardener well. So, to determine approximately, acidic or not very acidic soil on the site, it is possible by growing weeds.
A classic example is horsetail and small sorrel. If they grow in abundance on the site, then the soil is excessively acidic, requiring prior liming. On the contrary, with an excess of clover, horticultural crops will feel better. On soils with an alkaline reaction, the flower of the lungwort becomes purple and azure-blue, on acid soils it becomes pink. The lush development of goutweed is evidence of the high fertility of the soil.
And now let's move on to the main thing: how easy and affordable it is to determine the acid-base characteristics of your site. Ordinary ... weeds can help us with this. So, the acidity of the soil can be approximately estimated by what herbage prevails on it (that is, by the prevailing weeds). But do not forget at the same time that in different parts of the site, the acidity of the soil can also be different. In addition, it must, of course, be taken into account that the prevailing herbage is also affected by soil moisture, its aeration, fertility, and illumination.
Therefore, we will stipulate once again: focusing on the weeds prevailing on the site, please note that the list below gives only qualitative indicators, that is, it indicates which soil (what acidity) these plants prefer.
So, on acidic soil grow: tricolor violet, sorrel, horsetail, creeping ranunculus, oak veronica, plantain, toriza, rough mountaineer. That is, if these are the ones that prevail on the site from the whole variety of weeds, then the soil needs to be limed.
On neutral and slightly acidic soils grow: creeping wheatgrass, odorless chamomile, coltsfoot, field bindweed, meadow and creeping clover, sweet clover, sow thistle.
On alkaline soil, poppy, field bindweed, and white drowsiness predominate.
On nitrogenous and fertile soils grow: nettle, wood lice, shepherd's purse, quinoa.
On clay and moist soils grow: coltsfoot, horsetail, tenacious bedstraw, wild mint.
On light sandy soils grow: climbing mountaineer, black velcro, field blizzard.
On dry soils grow: wormwood, amaranth upturned, velcro blackberry.
On saline soils, Russian saltwort predominates.
With a lack of nitrogen, peas develop slowly, and with a lack of calcium, the leaves of this plant turn brown and wither. Tomatoes can tell that there is not enough phosphorus in the soil: the underside of their leaves becomes reddish-purple in color.
Interestingly, the distribution of celandine in the garden is associated with the settlement of the site by ants. Ants love the seeds of celandine and, dragging them into the anthill, thereby fulfill the role of sowers.
By the way, it is a pity that our gardeners rarely plant elms. This tree is considered the best air filter. If elms grow around the garden, it means that you breathe environmentally friendly air.
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Feeding a goat is easy. In summer there are no problems with food. If there is a pasture, then the issue of feeding, in general, disappears. The edge of the forest, an abandoned field, an ownerless flower bed - nothing special is required for a goat. Sedge, acacia and any grass goes to the goat for food. In nature, goats pluck the mountain slopes, which are very poor (in terms of food). With the stall content of goats, the issue of nutrition is more complex, but completely solvable. How and what to feed goats in winter and summer, we will tell in this article.
Many gardeners traditionally carry out early spring spraying on still dormant plants. But the second half of autumn is quite suitable for this. In addition, autumn cold weather is more comfortable for gardening. And in many regions, you need to remember that spring can come quickly, and the right moment in the turmoil of gardening will be missed. So, late autumn, but before the onset of frost, is perhaps the most successful period for eradicating treatments in the garden.
I cook blackberry jam with lemon in early September, when the fruits of aronia chokeberry ripen, which many mistakenly consider mountain ash. There is an outward resemblance to mountain ash, but chokeberry and mountain ash are distant relatives, this is not the same thing. Aronia fruits are medicinal raw materials, they contain B vitamins, vitamin C, many useful microelements. Chokeberry goes well with citruses and apples, in this recipe - with lemon, if desired, you can also add an orange to the lemon.
We moved to the Kuban. We bought a house with a plot on the edge of the forest. We need to bring life. We have a dog and a cat, we brought them with us. We don't need a cow, we need 3 liters of milk a week. A goat does not fit these parameters either. Rabbits are still possible, they are soft and fluffy, they eat only grass and vegetables, but they multiply very quickly - what to do with them later? The hand on them, soft and fluffy, will not rise, and the prospect of an Australian rabbit tragedy is frightening. The bees remain.
The arrival of autumn does not bring as much trouble in the garden as spring, but there are activities that will help relieve the hot spring period and lay the foundations for a future abundant harvest. And first of all, you need to take care of the soil. In this article I will tell you what kind of autumn work I spend in the garden, ornamental and orchard. Perhaps something from my list of mandatory autumn jobs will come as a surprise to you and bring great practical benefits.
The fiery beauty of the column is becoming more and more popular. This plant has good greenery, but the fire of flowering, embracing flexible shoots, is the true goal of growing exotics familiar to everyone. Columnea is one of the most difficult plants. Its signals are not always obvious, and violations in growth or development do not appear immediately. But if you try to follow the plant and go from the opposite - to avoid misses, a bright spectacle of abundant flowering is quite achievable.
Pickled cucumbers under a plastic lid are the easiest way to harvest cucumbers for the winter. Pickling is one of the oldest methods of preserving vegetables by lactic acid fermentation. This ancient method of preserving seasonal stocks is still used today. The lactic acid formed during the fermentation process preserves vegetables with salt - it gives the products a specific smell and taste, and prevents the growth of extraneous bacteria. Cucumbers are sharp and very tasty.
The arrival of autumn does not mean that the brightly colored plants in the garden have to disappear along with the last hot days. By carefully choosing perennials for flower beds, you can keep the presence of fresh flowers on your site until almost the start of winter. If you want to freshen up your flower beds for the beginning of autumn, then these plants will surely arouse your interest. Some of them are already well known to flower growers, and some are among the new products that are gaining popularity.
Rosehip is an unpretentious close relative of the rose. It grows well in the wild, and its terry member can often be found as an ornamental plant in parks or private gardens. Recently, the plant has become increasingly popular among gardeners due to its rich vitamin and mineral composition. In this article I will talk about the benefits of rose hips, how and when to collect, dry, store and brew tea properly.
Creamy pumpkin soup with chickpeas is suitable for a vegetarian and lean menu. I also advise supporters of a healthy lifestyle to include this soup in their diet. It has all the necessary nutrients - vitamins, trace elements and vegetable protein, which is easily absorbed by our body. On a cold autumn day, a bowl of thick cream soup will warm you up, restore your strength, and give you energy. This soup "with a spark", a burning note is given to it by ginger root and chili pepper.
For houseplants, the transitional seasons are among the most critical periods in growing. And if spring changes are usually for the better, autumn is a period of great risk. Reducing daylight hours and lighting quality, temperature fluctuations, the beginning of the heating season require a special correction of the care program. The basis for the success of the autumn care of indoor plants is the constant monitoring of their condition and the rate of growth slowdown.
Apple pancakes with cottage cheese are juicy and tender, they are prepared in 15 minutes. This dish can be quickly made for breakfast and served with sour cream - hearty and delicious, or served as a dessert at lunch, for dinner with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Who said that potato pancakes are made only from potatoes? Apple pancakes are even tastier, and that's a completely different story! From personal experience - you do not need a lot of flour, apples feel great without it.
Autumn is a great time for planting and transplanting perennial flowers, especially if it's time to divide them - they have grown so much that they began to lose their decorative effect. Another reason to divide perennials in a flower garden is to get several plants instead of one. And autumn reproduction by division has a significant advantage over spring - seated divisions adapt to a new place of residence even before winter, and in spring they actively start growing and bloom in the first season.
Tomato and pepper satsebeli - a thick Georgian sauce. This seasoning is from the "dumpling" category. Translated from the Georgian "satsebeli" - sauce, in the meaning of the word - "dunk", hence the version that any sauce in Georgia is called satsebeli. You can eat the sauce with anything, it will suit both meat and fish. For making homemade tortillas with filling (lavash, pita and other goodies), this is an ideal addition to barbecue, of course, you can’t imagine anything better!
