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The main mistake of novice gardeners is an attempt to grow seedlings in the land taken from their own garden. The idea of uXNUMXbuXNUMXb”stuck and forgot, sometimes watered” is very tempting, but in the case of cultivated garden plants, it will have to be abandoned. Garden soil in autumn is saturated with pathogens and poor in nutrients. Nutrients from it were “sucked out” by the plants growing on it in the summer. Pathogenic organisms that are not able to harm a mature plant may well kill young and tender seedlings.
Microorganisms can be killed by disinfection, but fertilizers will have to be applied to the ground. That is, in fact, you will need to make the land for seedlings yourself. If you still have to deal with mixing different ingredients, then it makes no sense to carry the earth from the garden.
In addition, the soil in the garden rarely meets all the requirements that apply to land for seedlings of cucumbers. Such soil is found only in the Chernozem zone of Our Country. In other cases, the soil is either strongly sandy or clayey.
It is better to buy ready-made soil or prepare the ingredients for quality soil yourself.
In any case, for the first few years, a novice gardener will either have to buy a ready-made mixture for seedlings of cucumbers, or mix purchased ingredients.
In stores, you can buy two types of soil suitable for growing seedlings: soil mixture and seedling substrate.
Soil mixture
A composition containing components of organic origin: rotted leaves, compost, humus, peat, and inorganic ingredients. For example, sand.
seedling substrate
Any material that can replace the soil: sphagnum, sawdust, coconut fibers, sand, mineral wool – soaked in nutrients.
Whatever industrial soil compositions for cucumbers are made of, they must have the following properties:
- looseness and breathability;
- acidity from 6,4 to 7,0;
- an exhaustive set of all the necessary micro and macro elements;
- good water absorption.
Land for seedlings of cucumbers can be prepared by yourself. There are many land recipes for cucumber seedlings. Experienced gardeners always have their own secrets.
The classic universal version includes only four components: two parts of garden soil and one part of lowland peat, humus or rotted compost and sand or sawdust of deciduous trees.
The acidity of lowland peat ranges from 5,5 to 7,0. If the acidity is too high, a little lime or ash should be added. At the same time, it is quite difficult to determine the exact amount of added alkali at home. Perhaps you don’t need to add anything at all if the acidity of your particular peat meets the requirements that cucumbers place on the soil.
With sawdust, too, not everything is simple. When overheated, they actively absorb nitrogen from the ground. As a result, seedlings are deprived of this important component. When preparing the earth, you need to shed sawdust with urea.
Complex fertilizer is added to the resulting land. Forty to eighty grams per bucket.
You can use a special earthen mixture for cucumbers. Experienced gardeners do not like ready-made substrates for seedlings of cucumbers, since such substrates are made on the basis of peat. If the soil dries up (they forgot to water), the peat stops absorbing water, and the seedlings dry out.
Such a disaster can be avoided if you prepare a special land for cucumber seedlings without the use of acidic components. True, you still can’t do without peat.
Four basic land recipes for seedlings
First option
Two parts of peat land and humus, plus one part of rotted sawdust from deciduous trees. There also ash and fertilizers at the rate of: a glass of ash per bucket and a teaspoon of potassium sulfate, urea and superphosphate.
The second option
Sod land and compost or humus equally. On a bucket of mixture a glass of ash, ten grams of potassium sulfate, twenty grams of superphosphate.
Third Embodiment
For six parts of peat, one part of sand, sawdust, humus and mullein.
The fourth option
Sod land, humus, peat, stale sawdust. All components are equal.
Many of these components are available for purchase. Others are relatively easy to make yourself. You can independently make all the components of the earth for seedlings of cucumbers. In order to be able to prepare the land for seedlings yourself, having made the necessary components for it, you need to figure out what all these components are made of. It is also worth understanding their qualities.
Soil components
Mullein
It’s fresh cow dung. On the one hand, it is a good fertilizer for seedlings of cucumbers. On the other hand, it is a source of pathogenic bacteria and weed seeds. In addition, fresh manure rots with the release of heat. If the soil temperature rises above fifty degrees, the plants may die.
Sawdust
Fresh or stale sawdust acts as a baking powder in the ground for seedlings. Wood-decomposing bacteria actively consume nitrogen from the soil. The rotted ones are called “woody soil” and are also used to prepare the soil. To obtain woody land, sawdust must be spent at least a year. The overheating time depends on the size of the sawdust. It will take at least three years to overheat large sawdust to the condition of the earth.
Tattered land
Sometimes referred to simply as turf, although this is incorrect. Sod – the top layer of soil held together by the roots of grasses, as well as chopped pieces of this soil. This is a preparation for obtaining sod land.
The earth is distinguished by a small amount of nitrogen, humus and organic matter. Harvest sods for her begin in the spring or late summer.
To obtain such land, a grassy area is chosen. The best option would be a meadow where clover grew. Sods are cut with a size of 25×30 cm and a thickness … as it turns out. The thickness of the turf does not depend on the person. If possible, you should choose a site with a turf thickness of six to twelve centimeters. If this is not possible, you will have to put up with it.
Chopped sods are stacked in pairs so that the grassy sides of each pair are in contact. To speed up the process of overheating, each pair is smeared with mullein or horse manure. Stacks must be laid out in a shaded area.
Humus
Fully rotted manure. Very rich in nutrients. Lightweight, fluffy. Consists of plant residues. Add to almost all mixtures. It is humus soil that is the main source of nutrients in all mixtures. Sometimes replaced with compost.
Compost
The result of the overheating of various organic substances. Gardeners use weeds or food scraps to make compost. Has a high nutritional value. Moist, loose. If the name “compost land” is found somewhere, then this is another name for compost.
Attention! The compost should be well rotted. In addition to a guarantee against the emergence of new weeds, this is insurance against infection with worms if dog, cat or pig excrement was thrown into the compost pit.
Sand
Acts as a soil conditioner or drainage material.
Peat
It is formed as a result of the decomposition of plants in the absence of oxygen and with an excess of water. In other words, in swamps. Color: from dark brown to light brown – the structure, availability of nutrients, acidity, moisture capacity depend on the conditions of formation and the age of a particular sample of peat soil.
Peat is added to the soil to improve its quality: increase nutritional value, moisture capacity, make it more breathable. But it is recommended to apply it only after mixing with manure, fresh plants, mineral fertilizers and preliminary exposure of all this mass for overheating. As you can easily see, the correct preparation of peat for use is quite laborious for the average summer resident.
Peat is low-lying, transitional and riding.
Lowland
Most suitable as a component of land intended for seedlings of cucumbers. Versatile and suitable for many plants. It is formed at the bottom of the peat massif, fed by groundwater. Seventy percent is organic. Contains a large amount of essential nutrients. Upon contact with air, it dries out, losing organic matter and minerals.
Dig up this peat with your own hands, clearly separating it from the transitional peat and not drowning in the swamp, is not a trivial task. Therefore, the only way out here can be to buy ready-made peat in the store.
Transition
The title is speaking. It occupies a middle position between lowland and highland. The acidity is already too high for cucumbers. This would require liming. Organic residues decompose more slowly than in the lowlands.
Horse
The most accessible type of peat for a summer resident. Another name is “sphagnum”, as it mainly consists of sphagnum moss. Very acidic substrate, poor in minerals. Can be used as a greenhouse filter. Not very desirable as a soil component for cucumber seedlings.
An alternative to peat and sand can be agroperlite and agrovermiculite. These are mineral substrates that, after processing, can not only act as soil disintegrators, but also maintain stable moisture in it. Whether to use these minerals on an “industrial scale” instead of sand to improve the soil on the site depends on the prices. If the sand is more expensive, then the use of agroperlite or agrovermiculite is fully justified.
Often they are used as part of the land for seedlings of cucumbers.
Agroperlite
Inert loosening additive to the ground. Improves moisture and air exchange. For seedlings, it is used in a mixture with humus. Wet agroperlite is mixed with wet humus in a ratio of one to one. Fill containers for seedlings, sow the seeds of cucumbers and sprinkle with soddy soil on top.
Agrovermiculitis
Expanded mica capable of retaining water and gradually releasing it. If the soil contains a large amount of peat, agrovermiculite is indispensable. With the addition of 25-75 percent vermiculite, the soil retains moisture even during drought, which is especially important for cucumbers. At the same time, vermiculite does not allow waterlogging of the earth, absorbing moisture. It does not allow vermiculite to “shock” seedlings with a large amount of fertilizer, as it quickly absorbs mineral salts and gradually gives them back, prolonging the effect of fertilizers. Thus, soil with vermiculite is almost ideal for cucumbers.