Soil preparation for pepper seedlings 

Peppers, both hot and sweet, belong to the Solanaceae family. And this means that the root system in adults, and even more so in young plants, is quite delicate and sensitive. Therefore, to obtain strong and healthy seedlings, it is often not enough to properly organized watering and timely applied fertilizers. If the seedlings fail, many begin to look for mistakes in plant care, forgetting about the most important thing – the land. After all, poor and unsuitable land can be the main cause of seedling diseases. In this article we will talk about which land is suitable for pepper, and which soil is better not to use.

Good soil – bad soil

The end of winter, smoothly flowing into the beginning of spring, is a period of revival in the life of gardeners. At this time, everyone begins to buy seeds and soil for seedlings. But in the store, picking up another bag of universal soil, no one will think about whether such soil is suitable for pepper seedlings.

 Let’s look at what criteria a good soil for seedlings should have:

• the structure of the soil should be light, loose and porous so that air and water can freely flow to the roots of plants;
• it should pass water well, without forming a hard crust on the surface;
• it must contain organic matter;
• the composition of the soil for seedlings must necessarily include potassium, phosphorus, iron and nitrogen;
• the acidity level of the ground for planting peppers should be neutral, from 5 to 7 pH. High acidity of the earth will contribute to the appearance of diseases such as blackleg and keel in seedlings.

Now consider which land is considered unsuitable for growing pepper seedlings:

• soil containing larvae, fungal spores and eggs of various pests should definitely not be used when planting pepper for seedlings;
• soil containing clay should be avoided;
• a completely peat substrate will not work either.

Now many manufacturers have begun to indicate the composition of the soil and its acidity on the packaging with the earth. Therefore, buying a ready-made mixture has become easier than mixing the necessary components at home. But if the goal of planting pepper seedlings is to get strong and healthy seedlings, then it is better to prepare the soil yourself.

Soil components for seedlings

All components of the soil for seedlings are not chosen by chance. Each of them endows the land with special characteristics that improve its final composition. For seedlings of peppers, the following soil components are most often used:

• humus;
• leavening agents;
• peat;
• leafy land;
• turf.

Let’s talk more about each component.

Humus

Many gardeners and gardeners believe that humus and compost are one and the same. But in fact, these are completely different fertilizers.

Compost is an organic mass that consists of decomposed plant residues placed in boxes or compost heaps. In addition to various organic residues, properly prepared compost includes:

• peat;
• phosphorite flour;
• garden land.

Outwardly, compost is very similar to humus, but it can be used as a substitute for it only after 2 years from the date of laying. Fresh humus for seedlings of peppers or other crops should not be used.

But humus is the best organic fertilizer, which is obtained from rotted manure. At the same time, high-quality humus will never smell like manure. From it will come the smell of spring earth or forest floor. Good humus ripens within 2-5 years and is suitable for absolutely all crops, fruit trees and even flowers.

Leavening agents

Baking powders are needed in order to improve the porosity of the soil. Most often, coarse river sand is used for these purposes.

But besides it, other substances can be used, the loosening properties of which are combined with other useful qualities:

• sphagnum – due to bactericidal properties protects the root system of seedlings from rot;
• sawdust – make the soil lighter;
• perlite – reduces the likelihood of fungal diseases and helps to maintain optimal temperature conditions;
• vermiculite – retains moisture, preventing the soil from drying out.

To loosen the soil, you can choose any of the proposed substances, or you can give preference to coarse sand.

Peat

This substance is not only able to improve the structure of the soil, but also significantly enrich its composition. The soil prepared with the addition of peat will breathe well, as well as provide the plants with valuable nitrogen for them. But not every peat can be used for peppers.

There are 3 types of peat in total:

• lowland – the most nutritious;
• transition;
• superficial – having the highest acidity.

Given the characteristics of the root system of peppers, lowland and transitional peat should be chosen. If on the hands there is only surface peat, then before adding it to the soil mixture, it must be diluted with ash or lime.

Leaf Land

As the name suggests, leafy soil is formed under the trees from fallen and rotted leaves. Due to the large amount of nutrients, this earth is also called leaf humus.

There are two ways to get leaf land:

• go to the forest and dig up the earth under the trees;
• cook on your own.

Self-preparation of leafy soil practically does not differ from the preparation of compost, both in technology and in time of readiness. The leaves collected under the trees are stacked in heaps, and layers of soil are laid between them. Periodically, such leaf heaps should be watered. To speed up decomposition, you can add manure, urea and lime to them. Leaf soil can only be used after it has completely decomposed. As a rule, it takes 1-2 years.

Dern

Soddy land is the top layer of soil. It contains a large number of useful nutrients that retain their properties for many years.

Sod land is of 3 types:

• heavy, which includes clay;
• medium, containing clay and sand;
• light, almost entirely composed of sand.

For the preparation of the soil mixture, it is better to use medium and light soddy soil. It is recommended to collect it in summer or autumn directly with grass, as if cutting off the top layer of soil. Before use, it should be stored in boxes.

Soil for pepper seedlings

In order to prepare soil for peppers at home, it is necessary to prepare all the available components in the summer or autumn. To do this, they are placed in bags, bags or buckets and left to freeze for the winter.

Soil components can be mixed according to your intuition, or you can use standard recipes for pepper seedlings.

Soil recipes

The criterion for choosing a particular recipe is the presence of certain components. For seedlings of pepper, 5 recipes for soil mixtures can be distinguished:

1. Sand, humus, peat and earth in equal parts.
2. Equal parts of earth, humus, sod and sand. To the resulting mixture add a glass of ash for every 10 kg.
3. Lowland peat and humus with the addition of superphosphate.
4. Equal parts of peat and sand with the addition of two parts of turf.
5. Equal parts of humus, sod and leafy soil.

In each of the recipes discussed, instead of sand, you can use any available baking powder.

Soil Preparation

It is necessary to plant pepper for seedlings in the last decade of February or in the first decade of March. Therefore, a week before the proposed landing, you can begin to prepare the land harvested in the fall. To do this, it must be thawed and disinfected.

There are several ways to disinfect the earth:

1. Treat with fungicidal and insecticidal preparations. This method should only be used when there are real doubts about the quality of the land. Such doubts may arise when low-quality components or components taken from the forest are added to the soil mixture. When choosing this method of disinfection, one must remember the need to comply with the recommended dosage, as well as personal protective equipment.
2. Steaming. Steaming time can vary from half an hour to several hours. After such steam treatment, the soil mixture should be stored in sealed bags or containers.
3. Disinfection in the oven. In this case, the oven must be heated to 50 degrees. Some gardeners use higher temperatures, but all beneficial microorganisms will die with this exposure.
4. Treatment with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

You can visually see the process of disinfecting the earth by watching the video:

Disinfection of the earth can slightly worsen the nutritional composition of the soil, so it will be useful to additionally fertilize the earth. But even here you need to know the measure. After all, a pepper planted in a land oversaturated with fertilizers can start to hurt, or even die. Therefore, before planting seeds for seedlings or transplanting young plants, it is necessary to fertilize the ground with fertilizers based on potassium humate. Such fertilizers include Baikal and Gumi.

Land preparation in the garden

The soil for pepper seedlings is important not only during its growth at home, but also after its transplantation to a permanent place. Therefore, the land in the beds must be prepared for planting seedlings.

The first thing to do is to fertilize future beds a week before planting. Organic fertilizers are best suited for this, but mineral preparations can also be used.

It is worth making them in advance, best of all during the autumn work. Before planting peppers, ash and lime should not be brought into the ground.

After fertilizing the soil, you must wait a few days and thoroughly shed all the beds prepared for peppers. This will allow fertilizers to be evenly distributed inside the earth. Now it remains to wait a few more days and you can plant seedlings of peppers in a permanent place and wait for a bountiful harvest. After all, peppers grown in good, high-quality land simply cannot but reciprocate the gardener and give him a rich harvest.