Usually summer residents will answer in general terms what kind of land they have in their dacha: clay, loam, sand, black soil. You will be surprised: almost always their definitions will be wrong. After all, sand is only on the beach or in the desert, black soil is not found in the Moscow region, they begin in the Tula region and go south. Pure clay is rarely found on the surface of the soil, and nothing grows on it. So what is the land on your site near Moscow?
7 May 2015
Most likely, your site is located in the north and borders on the Tver and Yaroslavl regions (Volokolamsky, Taldomsky, Klinsky, Dmitrovsky and Sergiev Posadsky districts). This soil in the upper part is whitish, loose, infertile and has a very high acidity. Zucchini, tomatoes, turnips, radishes, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes will grow. Beets, onions, cabbage, peppers will not give a harvest.
How to improve: reduce acidity, dig up the soil with lime, preferably in the fall – 500 g per 1 m2. Do not spare organic fertilizers (manure, humus, compost), apply up to 10 kg per 1 m2, and ash – a glass per 1 m2.
The most common in the Moscow region, it is found in all districts, except for the south of the region. It is darker and more fertile soil, but still sourish. Almost all the plants of our zone grow well on it, except that beets, cabbage, radishes, onions, currants do not work very well.
How to improve: once every 10 years, apply lime, 500 g per 1 m2, fertilize with manure or compost annually – up to 3 kg per 1 m2 per year. Complex mineral fertilizers will not interfere either; their rate can be found on the package.
The introduction of fresh sawdust acidifies the soil. Place them in the compost pit first.
Most of the bog soils are in the north and east of the Moscow region, but there are small areas in many areas. Sometimes the owner simply gets a plot in the lowland, and then all his life he has to deal with waterlogging. The boggy soil looks good on the outside: dark, oily. But in fact, it is acidic, clayey, the roots of plants do not have enough oxygen in it. Plants barely survive here, the roots rot from waterlogging.
How to improve: first of all, add as much sand (25 kg per 1 m2), lime (100 g 1 m2) as possible and dig up with them. Add humus if possible, 2-3 buckets per m1. You will also need phosphate fertilizers – superphosphate (up to 2 g per 100 m1 annually).
Plots with such lands are located in the south of the region, in the Kashirsky, Zaraysky, Serpukhovsky and Lukhovitsky districts. The owners can be envied, because it is almost black soil, dark loose fertile soil, slightly acidic. Almost all plants of our zone and even many southern “guests” take root on it.
How to improve: if the ground is heavy, dig up with sand. If possible, apply manure, compost or humus, 4 kg per 1 m2, and mineral fertilizers with trace elements in the fall.