Increasing soil fertility. How to increase soil fertility in your summer cottage. How to determine the fertility of a site and what it depends on

How to increase soil fertility, improve its composition and structure - these are the most important issues that summer residents have to solve.
The soil is called fertile if it contains the amount necessary for plants nutrients. If the yield of the beds gradually decreases, and the planted plants often get sick or don’t look quite right, most likely the reason is a decrease in soil fertility. What can you do?

Method number 1: give the earth a rest

You can give different areas of the land the opportunity to simply rest. This means that they will not be planted there for a whole year. cultivated plants. But weeds that immediately begin to grow must be removed in a timely manner, not giving them the opportunity to grow and produce seeds. By winter, you should dig up the soil in the rested area, turning the top layer down.

Method number 2: dig up the weeds

Most cheap way improving the fertility of the land is to mow weeds from the surface of an unsown bed that have not yet formed seeds. If the weeds have become tall, they must be crushed and scattered over the surface of the bed (the layer can reach 10-15 cm), and then dug them to a depth of 20-25 cm. Under the layer of soil, the weeds will rot and provide the soil with many important nutrients. The soil structure will also improve.

Method No. 3: Sowing the beds with winter rye

In the fall, after harvesting the entire crop and shallowly digging the ground, you can sow the beds with winter rye. In the spring, overwintered rye should be dug up deeply along with the weeds that will be there by this time. And in two weeks you can already sow.

Method number 4: plant lupine

Lupine is an excellent way to enrich the soil. He has a developed root system, helping to loosen the soil. As a plant of the legume family, lupine enriches the earth with nitrogen. It is usually sown around the end of April, when the ground has barely thawed. Lupine grows quickly, and as soon as a peduncle appears, the bed is urgently dug deep, crushing the lupine with a shovel. Then you should sow the lupine again. It will have time to grow just before the cold weather, and buds will appear again. They dig it up again (or you can leave it over the winter). After three times, the soil fertility will greatly increase.

Method number 5: plant peas, mustard and other herbs

Peas are also used to improve fertility. Moreover, in this case, the gardener has the opportunity to harvest, but it is important not to miss it: you need to dig up the tops while the plants are still green, have not begun to fade, and have not withered. Next, it is recommended to sow mustard, which will die after the first frost. They immediately dig it up.
Here are the herbs that can be planted with further digging: vetch, lupine, beans, alfalfa, rapeseed, sweet clover, clover, buckwheat. These plants improve the soil and suppress weeds.

Method number 6: collecting autumn leaves

Every autumn nature gives us a huge amount of leaves. But this is also an excellent source of improving soil fertility. The leaves are collected. If there are few of them, they bring them from the forest. Place them in a pile, covering them with earth. The leaves will rot, rot, from high temperature fungal spores and larvae die. By spring, the fertilizer is ready and can be applied to the soil.
If you don’t want to pile it up, place it directly on the beds (15 cm high). In this case, be sure to water it with a strong solution of potassium permanganate and dig it up.

Method number 7: planting medicinal plants

Sometimes soil, like us humans, needs medicine to restore itself. In these cases they put medicinal plants: calendula, marigolds, garlic, etc.

Method number 8: populating California worms

A very effective, but not yet very popular remedy is the use of Californian worms, which, unlike ordinary ones, are very prolific and live a long time.

Method number 9: use fertilizers

And, of course, they improve yield very well land plot organic fertilizers. But we must remember that this is not fresh manure, which is very aggressive, as it destroys plants by burning them. Only after it has been heated, the manure turns into organic fertilizer. It will take much more time to overheat bird droppings and pig manure. But the cow and horse manure overheats faster.

Soil is the basis of the harvest. The development and growth of plants depends on the quality of the soil. Therefore, you need to know everything about the soil on your site - in particular, what determines its fertility and how to increase it. So that everything garden crops grew strong and healthy, the soil must be saturated with nutrients. In this article we will tell you how to increase soil fertility using various agricultural methods.

What types of soil are there?

The soil is fertile if plants can absorb the necessary microelements and moisture from it. Poor soil contains few substances necessary for plants, and its structure is such that accessibility to them is poor.

The composition of the soil can be: sandy, sandy loam, clayey, loamy and podzolic.

Soil fertility can be increased by folk ways and chemical fertilizers

Clay soil is infertile because it has a poor structure: it takes a long time to warm up and there is not enough air in it. Water does not penetrate deep into such land; it floats and, when dried, forms a crust on the surface. The exception is clayey chernozem.
Loamy soil is a cross between sandy loam and clay. It (except for the highly podzolic one) has an excellent structure, a large supply of necessary elements and has increased fertility, therefore it is suitable for growing various crops on it.
Sandy and sandy loam soils are the poorest. They contain a lot of sand and little silt and dust. Such lands drain water well, but in their lower part all useful microelements are washed out by water. They warm up quickly, but due to lack of moisture they are not valued very highly.
Podzolic soil high humidity considered sour. Horsetail and sorrel grow well on it. It can be identified by a whitish layer that is not very deep. Useful minerals are found in the lower layers, there is almost no humus, and there are few elements for plant nutrition.

Solonetzes at shallow depths contain sodium sulfate and sodium chloride (easily soluble salts). At high humidity, salt licks become structureless and sticky, since silt particles absorb little sodium. In spring, salt licks take a long time to dry, and when completely dry, they become hard. Therefore, they are not easy to process.

Types of fertility

Before you plant a vegetable garden on your property, you need to determine how fertile the soil is. If it turns out that it does not meet the requirements for growing crops on it, then the situation can be corrected by increasing its fertility. Read also the article: → "". But what does it look like?

There are several types of soil fertility:

Natural. This fertility is characteristic of the agricultural landscape in its natural state - this is determined by the effectiveness of natural phytocenoses.
Artificial. This fertility is achieved by changes in soil structure due to human activity.
Potential. Characterized by the ability of the soil to produce crops. This opportunity is not always realized, because much depends on economic activity people and climatic conditions. High potential fertility is fully characteristic black soil, low – podzolic. However, this indicator is relative: in arid zones, chernozems show much lower productivity than podzolic soils.
Effective. This is potential fertility, which can be realized in certain conditions– agrotechnical and climatic. Effective fertility depends not only on the properties of the soil, the type of landscape, and the economic activities of people, but on the crops grown.
Economic. It is measured by the level of value of the crop.

Basically, the level of soil fertility increases due to fertilizers and fertilizing

What determines soil fertility?

To determine the composition of the soil, you should: take a handful of soil from the plowed land, add a little water, stir thoroughly, bringing it to a dough-like state; Roll the mixture into a rope and shape it into a donut. Then analyze the result:

When bent, the donut does not crack, which means the soil is clay.
When bent, the “donut” cracks - you are dealing with loam.
You can roll the mixture into a rope, but you can’t make a “donut” out of it: the soil is sandy loam.
The dough from the mixture is not kneaded at all, which means the soil is sandy.

Sometimes the soil is only suitable for growing weeds. To determine this, you need to know the conditions of its fertility:

With a fertile layer thickness of less than 10 centimeters on such land, you will not even be able to form a lawn.
If the thickness of the fertile soil is 15-17 centimeters, perennial grass crops can be sown on it.
To plant trees, the thickness of the fertile layer should be 25-30 centimeters - it is at this depth that the root system is formed.
For shrubs, the thickness of fertile soil is 15-20 centimeters. According to experts, the fertile soil layer should average 18-20 centimeters. Read also the article: → "".

How to fertilize different types of soil?

Having learned the properties of the soil on their site, gardeners understand that it needs to be improved. But large quantity Poor soil will not tolerate fertilizers. Adding peat is not the most effective way.

Clay soil: how to increase fertility

To restore fertility clay soil, you must adhere to the following instructions:

In the autumn, start adding: 3 kg/sq. m of fertilizers, 0.2-0.3 kg of ash, 0.35-0.6 kg of lime.
Plow the soil to a depth of 25 centimeters. On clay soils, heat-loving vegetables are grown in beds and ridges.
On heavy soil, seeds should be sown at a shallower depth, and seedlings should be planted at an angle so that their roots are in warmer layers.
When planting potato tubers on a flat surface, they should be at a depth of no more than 6-8 centimeters. When adding tubers to the soil, you need to add composted peat.

Tip #1. Plants must be earthed up in two stages. After the second stage, the height of the ridge should be 15-18 centimeters.

Clay soils improved by adding sand

How to Improve Sandy Soil

To increase the productivity of such soil, it is necessary to improve its structure and balance its moisture.

Fertilizers must be applied to the soil in stages and at different depths in order to activate the reproduction of microorganisms beneficial to plants, which will increase the yield.
Take the annual fertilizer rate (0.4 kg of lime, 4 kg/sq. m of manure) and divide it in half.
Apply one part into the soil to a depth of 25 centimeters in the fall, and the other part in the spring to a depth of 15 centimeters.
For better effect, ash is placed in rows and holes.
To improve the fertility of sandy soil, you need to plant lupine in it.
IN spring period mineral fertilizers added together with organic ones. A mixture of fertilizer and humus in a ratio of 1:2 is more effective.
After fertilizing sandy soil Early heat-loving plants grow well and must be grown on a flat surface.
Seeds should be sown in the soil quite deeply, and potato tubers should be sown to a depth of at least 12 centimeters.
There is no need to carry out hilling. (In rainy weather - 1 time).

Acidic soil: how to enrich the composition

To enrich the composition acidic soil, you need to add wood ash and lime, which contains calcium, which it often lacks. To get rid of acidity, add 1 kg/sq.m. to acidic soil. m of limestone. Then the soil is fed with organic and mineral fertilizers.

Solonetz soils: how to improve the soil

To increase soil fertility with a predominance of solonetzes, you must do the following:

Phosphogypsum should be added to a deeply plowed solonetz - 500 g/sq.m. m. on solonetz soils – 200 g/sq.m.
To improve solonetzes, you can also use finely ground gypsum. It can be alternated with manure: first you need to add gypsum, and next year– manure. Read also the article: → "".
On small areas solonetz soils add a layer of fertile soil 20 centimeters thick.
To increase the fertility of solonetz soil, calcium sulfate is also added to it. It will absorb calcium and remove salt from the bottom layer. After this, the soil absorbs water well and becomes structural.

To improve fertility, the soil must be prepared for fertilizing

Waterlogged soil: how to dry it

In this situation, drainage of ground and surface water is necessary.
It is necessary to prevent soil loss in certain areas. The beds are usually placed crosswise.
If the soil is located on a slight slope and is well cultivated, it absorbs much more water.

Tip #2. It is better to plant lands suffering from erosion perennial plants with a small root system.

Ways to increase soil fertility in the country

If soil fertility indicators decrease, this is reflected not only in a decrease in yield. Plants become vulnerable to various diseases, damage by insect pests. What should I do?

Organize correct crop rotation, which provides for the following: annual and biennial crops can be planted in their original place after approximately 5 years. Thus, it is advisable to change the place where crops are sown every year.
Sow on the site medicinal herbs. In particular, garlic, marigolds, nettles, shepherd's purse, wormwood, etc. have a healing effect on the soil.
Use California worms. The popularity of this method is just beginning to grow - soil rich in worms becomes much more fertile. A subspecies of common worms - Californian - help restore the soil. Long-lived red Californian worms are especially effective. Their advantages: they are very prolific and perfectly digest various organic matter.
Treat the soil thermally. This is a radical method. At heat treatment pests and weeds are destroyed. Unfortunately, this cannot be processed large areas. This method is often used in greenhouses and greenhouses.
Apply organic fertilizers - manure, ash, compost.
Give the soil a rest, as it also gets tired. Do not sow anything on it for a year. In between, you need to weed, mulch the soil, and add fertilizer to it. In the fall, such an area must be dug up so that the top layer is at the bottom.

Mulching the soil to increase productivity

Mixed planting as a way to improve soil quality

Do mixed plantings crops, when a satellite plant is planted next to the main crops - one of the methods of increasing soil fertility. At the same time, the general condition of plants improves, their incidence decreases, and the taste of the fruits increases. This method helps prevent soil depletion. You can plant them between the beds, along garden paths. In addition, they attract bees, which pollinates the main plants, which means increased productivity.

Most often, medicinal and spice plants, as well as plants with slightly branched and highly branched root systems. For example, crops that have a short growing season are placed next to those that have more long term development and growth.

Combinations of crops in mixed planting

The table below shows the most successful combinations planting crops:

Name of culture	Favorable combination
Basil	Tomatoes, kozelets, cucumbers, kohlrabi, onions
Marigold	Cabbage
Mustard
Hyssop	All garden crops
White cabbage, cauliflower	Dill
Coriander	Beets, potatoes, strawberries
Watercress	Head and leaf lettuce, radish, radish
Corn	Pumpkin, beans, cucumbers, potatoes
Kupyr	Head and leaf lettuce, radishes
Lavender	All perennial flower and all vegetable crops
Onion	Head and leaf lettuce, beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumbers, onions, beets, asparagus, dill, tomatoes, savory
Chives	Carrots, cabbage
Marjoram	Carrot
Nasturtium	Tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, zucchini, radishes
borage	Cucumbers, strawberries, cabbage, zucchini
Parsley	Radish, cabbage, potatoes
Radish	Head and leaf lettuce, spinach, dill
Rosemary	Carrot
Thyme	All garden crops
Dill	Beets, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, head and leaf lettuce

The impact of green manure on soil fertility

Sowing green manure - plants that have a high content of starch, protein, and nitrogen - is one of the ways to increase soil fertility. They are sown after the main harvest is harvested - at the end of August–September. They grow until flowering time. Then they should be mowed and left on the ground over the winter.

Another great way improving soil fertility levels - using green manure

Properties of green manure:

enrich the soil with phosphorus, potassium, calcium, nitrogen, which are formed after the decomposition of the root system;
loosen, improve soil structure;
have a beneficial effect on the water-holding capacity of the soil due to its enrichment with organic matter;
stimulate the action of beneficial microorganisms;
prevent the development of harmful microorganisms, protecting garden crops from diseases;
suppresses the development of weeds;
attracts insects that pollinate plants;
protect the soil from overheating, weathering, and erosion;
reduces soil acidity levels.

Increasing soil fertility without fertilizers in one year

Green manure can improve the composition of the soil, affecting its fertility:

Family	Nature of influence
Legumes	Saturate soils with oxygen
Cruciferous, cereals	Retain nitrogen in the soil; protect against mineralization and leaching
Hydrophilic, legumes, cruciferous, asteraceae	Protects against weeds and prevents erosion
Cruciferous vegetables (colza, rapeseed)	Activate the formation of organic substances
Cruciferous vegetables (mustard), legumes	Favors the release of poorly soluble phosphate
Cruciferous vegetables (rapeseed, oilseed radish)	Prevents leaching of minerals
Cruciferous, legumes	Improves soil structure by loosening its upper horizons with roots
Hydrophilic, leguminous, asteraceae	Protects against nematodes
Compositae, hydrophilic, cruciferous (mustard), legumes (broad beans)	Attract honey insects

Rubric “Question-answer”

Green manures - green fertilizers

Question. How can green manure be classified?

Green manures are conventionally divided into several groups:

Cruciferous vegetables: rapeseed, white mustard, oilseed radish, rapeseed;
buckwheat: buckwheat;
Compositae: sunflower;
hydrophilic: phacelia;
cereals: rye, oats, barley, wheat;
legumes: sweet clover, lentils, seradella, alfalfa, vetch, broad beans, sochevnik, beans, lupine, peas, sainfoin clover.

Among all green manures, the most great value have legumes. They significantly enrich the soil with nitrogen, as they easily absorb it from the atmosphere. Indicators of nitrogen absorption by cultivated plant species increase by 50%.

The issue of increasing soil fertility worries many summer residents. Rich, fertile land is the key to the future good harvest. How to preserve and increase soil fertility by summer cottage? I offer advice from an experienced agronomist.

Soil fertility is determined by the percentage of humus content in it, which contains almost the entire soil reserve of nitrogen, more than 60% phosphorus, about 80% sulfur and almost all microelements.

On most summer cottages the soil is squeezed out and contains only 2-2.5% humus, whereas to obtain a satisfactory harvest there should be at least 4% humus, and for a good harvest a humus content of more than 6% is needed.

Organic fertilizers restore humus. To increase the humus content from three to six percent, it is necessary to add 30-40 kg of rotted manure per square meter for several years. meter of plot. You will say that this is unthinkable. Is it really conceivable to only take without giving anything in return? These figures are impressive, but still you cannot reduce your garden to the state of waste land.

The use of fertilizers is complex system the interconnection of many factors, and both a deficiency and an excess of them in the garden is unacceptable.

Let's start with the accumulation of humus in the soil. The manure required for this purpose is now very expensive and large quantities inaccessible to many. And yet, to maintain the fertility of the site, it is necessary to apply at least 4-5 kg of manure per square meter annually. meter of area. Fresh manure is not suitable for application to the soil - it must rot in a tightly packed pile for five to six months.

--So-called green manure plants - green fertilizers that are planted with the purpose of subsequent plowing into the soil - restore humus well without losing accumulated nitrogen. With a yield of 2-2.5 kg of green mass per square meter, they replace 4-5 kg of manure. Green manure also helps control weeds, pests and diseases. The most commonly used green manures are sweet clover, mustard, trigonella, buckwheat, cereals, lupine, and peas.

A part of the plot is allocated for sowing green manure or they are sown after harvesting the early crops.

It is better to smell the plants when they become woody or damaged by frost. They are crushed before being incorporated into the soil. With shallow incorporation, the yield increases, but the humus content increases slightly; with deep incorporation, on the contrary, the effect on the yield is less, but the main task is accomplished - the accumulation of humus in the soil. If the soil is dry after planting, watering is necessary. Like manure, green manure lasts for 3-4 years.

Another good fertilizer is crushed rotten straw. You can also use fresh, but then in the first year it is necessary to add nitrogen to the soil. In terms of its effect, a ton of straw is equivalent to 4-5 tons of manure.
--Organic fertilizers with high content humus - vermicompost, super-compost "pixa", universal fertilizer, etc. these fertilizers are biologically pure, do not contain weeds and microorganisms. The dose of their application is several times lower than that of manure.

As opposed to traditional agricultural technology in the garden, naturalists (adherents of natural or organic farming) achieve sustainable yields not through chemical fertilizing, but by improving the soil environment and combining plants. Let's figure out what ways there are to improve the quality of the harvest in the garden and vegetable garden, how to increase the fertility of the soil in a summer cottage without the use of chemicals.

Simple ways to increase soil fertility in your summer cottage without chemicals

Weed infusions

Tinctures are good for both foliar feeding, and for root fertilizers. In addition to nutrition, infusions from weeds, as well as garlic and onion peels When sprayed, they perfectly help protect plants from leaf-eating insects and codling moths.

It is unlikely that an insect will want to experiment and lay eggs in an unfamiliar environment with foreign odors. But the effect of such treatments is short-lived, natural essential oils plants decompose quickly.

For feeding, weed infusions are good with the addition of nettle. It is full of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the tincture already foams in the tank where the ferment is carried out. It is better to pour tinctures with the addition of nettle under the lid, and, if possible, stir daily. Depending on the temperature, the tincture is prepared from 7 to 10 days. After gas emission stops, it can be used, diluted 10 times for root feeding, and 20 times for spraying.

It is useful to add woodlice and dandelion to herbal infusions - they contain silicon that is easily absorbed by plants. Silicon is a true protector of the immune system; it activates growth functions in plants and prevents their aging. It can safely be called the elixir of youth.

Natural fertilizers are not phytotoxic and are safe for soil inhabitants and beneficial insects. While pesticides and fertilizers accumulate in the soil and disrupt the mineral balance of the environment. But we must take into account that a garden without the use of chemicals will not amaze with super-large “exhibition” fruits, no matter what natural fertilizers you use. The harvest will be normalized both in size and quantity - as they say, nothing extra.

Combining plants in the garden

It has been noticed that when replanting beans on potato beds much less Colorado potato beetles. Beans have a lot useful properties, it perfectly protects and nourishes the soil.

After harvesting, the roots of the plants are not removed, but left in the ground. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria accumulate on its roots; they perfectly improve the soil environment. When beans are combined with tomatoes, the roots of the tomatoes actively grow towards the beans - excellent example positive allelopathy - plants help each other.

The most striking example of combining plants in a garden bed is planting carrots and onions. Onions, with their phytoncides, protect carrots from carrot flies, and carrots from onion flies. Moreover, carrots more accurately fulfill their duties than onions. Or the onion fly is more sensitive, but the fact remains - onion fly there is practically none in the beds, while carrots are still present in small quantities.

Excellent results Replanting marigolds in strawberry beds gives benefits. Strawberries are highly susceptible to damage by root and stem nematodes. Marigold phytoncides block the reproduction of these microscopic worms, and there are an order of magnitude fewer of them. The roots of marigolds also do not need to be torn out of the garden bed; let them rot in the soil.

Soil microbes, as well as fungi, amoebas, wood lice and earthworms- all together are usually called “biota”, - they feed on plant debris and help plants “extract” useful substances not only from decomposing mulch, but also from the subsoil. Under the organic matter, channels are created into which atmospheric moisture flows, condensing on the walls of dead roots and becoming saturated with organic acids. In the presence of such acids, minerals necessary for plants, pass into chelate forms and become readily available. In addition, beneficial microbes, consuming fiber, fix air nitrogen - the soil on the site becomes fertile.

More important point— in the presence of rich “dynamic” fertility created by the organic cycle, growth stimulants and useful natural antibiotics are created that protect plants from diseases. One worm coprolite contains everything for nutrition, growth, fruiting and protection from stress. But you need to understand that this entire “kitchen” can easily be ruined by simple digging - traditional agricultural technology with soil turnover leads to the depletion of even rich black soil.

Of course, increasing soil fertility is not a one-day task, but a constant concern of the gardener. And Nikolai Ivanovich Kurdyumov perfectly describes what mistakes gardeners make in their gardens in this video (you can increase the speed by clicking on the gear at the bottom right and setting it to 1.5 - the quality of information perception will not be lost, and the time will be reduced significantly):

As you can see, he is a very thoughtful agronomist and a wonderful author. His books are as easy to read as detective stories. With only one difference - you need to return to them periodically, there is always something new in the text you read, some kind of hints that you yourself have not yet reached, but have already gained experience and are ready to perceive the “next level”. It is now published in electronic form, and one of his new works is called - FERTILITY OR FERTILIZER?

High biological activity of the soil is the best prerequisite for the health and development of plants in the garden. The more plant and food residues returned to the garden, the better the soil structure and microbiological environment becomes. By improving the top layer of soil, you activate its microenvironment, which means you contribute to the dissolution of nutrients bound in the soil, which, after going through a cycle of natural decomposition, become available to plants.

In the theory of St. Petersburg State University professor A.I. Popov, the modern understanding of fertility is determined by:

a) the cycle of nutrients in the soil - all of them, primarily including carbon, i.e. organics,

b) symbiosis higher plants and soil microorganisms,

c) the relationship of microbes and fungi with each other.

Not immediately, but over time, the garden and vegetable garden without chemicals will begin to protect itself from pests and diseases. You just need to first help balance the environment on the site by performing simple measures to improve the soil:

the use of weed infusions;
combining plants in the garden bed;
composting in beds and in tree trunk circles.

Drastic soil improvement

Those who are radically ready to improve the soil for planting can be recommended to bring in fertile soil, and then maintain its fertility using the methods described above. For Muscovites, for example, it is easier to deal with fertility problems - there are reliable company"EcoPorf" offering for sale various types soils, river and quarry sand, crushed stone of various fractions with delivery throughout Moscow and the Moscow region. You can get acquainted with their products on the website http://ecomostorf.ru/

Of course, before this it is better to border the beds and add fertile soil only to them. Although many are able to cover the entire plot with imported black soil, living beautifully cannot be prohibited. We also purchased black soil for arranging our raised beds, and we are pleased with the results.

Increasing soil fertility in a summer cottage is a priority and always relevant task.

Improper exploitation and violation of crop rotation rules in vegetable gardens and orchards are often the result of the fact that the summer resident is either not interested in any special literature, or thoughtlessly follows all the unverified, dubious recommendations.

This leads to the fact that not only semi-fertile country soils, but even black soil, over time, can lose the ability to provide plants with useful substances, moisture and oxygen: a layer of humus is washed out of the fertile soil, salinization of the soil occurs, its structure is disrupted, and the soil is actually depleted.

Nature spends hundreds of years restoring one centimeter of fertile soil layer. At the same time, publications have appeared more than once that after 4-5 years of exploitation of our land by our eastern neighbors, the fertile layer is completely destroyed! We can't wait 1000 years for the earth to restore itself - it needs our help.

How to increase soil fertility in the shortest possible time?

1. Give the soil a rest - black steam Since ancient times, it was used in crop rotation once every 5-6 years to avoid soil fatigue.

During one season, the site is not sown with any crops, but is dug up several times with the addition of organic matter (manure, compost, sapropel), wood ash and loosening components.

Suitable for example:
- needles, better than pine (loosens, enriches the soil with air, retains nutrients poorly, has an acidic reaction);
- foliage, maple, linden are better (chestnut is the worst), foliage is poor in nutrients, the reaction is neutral;
- sawdust rotted or half-rotted must be applied in combination with nitrogen fertilizers;
- straw, it’s more convenient to cut it, but you can also bring in a whole one, which has been lying in a heap for at least a year;
- peat(a loosening, aerating component of garden soil, few nutrients, the reaction is weakly to strongly acidic, depending on the type of peat.

2. Next season, it is useful to sow rye, sunflower or oats in this area - the starch and nitrogen contained in these plants help restore soil fertility.

3. Nettles, wormwood, garlic, and marigolds are good at restoring fertility, healing the soil, and nourishing soil microflora and fauna.

4. Indispensable in the process of improving and restoring soil earthworms- they are capable of increasing fertility several times in just a couple of years, improving the structure of the soil, filling it with air and moisture and promoting the formation of humus.

5. Sowing green manure - sow every vacant plot with green manure during the season: the soil should not be bare - this is the law of nature. There is no bare, plowed earth in nature (stones, rocks and deserts are not considered here).

Buckwheat, phacelia, peas and other legumes, oilseed radish, rapeseed, rapeseed, other cruciferous vegetables, as well as the plants mentioned above. Clover is good in the garden, mustard grows very quickly, you can use any remaining seeds, the main thing is to protect the soil from burning under the sun and compaction after rains.

6. Mulching- a relatively new method for us (but not for nature): drag mulch from wherever you find it and into huge quantities- It seems to me that there is never too much of it. Cover all beds with it from spring to winter.

It is not necessary to carry out measures to improve the soil in the entire garden or vegetable garden at once - you can work on one or two beds every year, including black fallow or green manure in the overall crop rotation.

Increasing the soil fertility of a summer cottage will be a simple and natural matter if this process is streamlined in crop rotation - you will maintain fertility, and not treat and restore ruined lands

Nowadays, for most people, fertile soil is a utopia. A purely consumer approach to growing plants destroys the fertile layer of soil. Most agronomists think that fertile soil is soil of a certain chemical composition. This idea is fundamentally wrong, and it is precisely this that leads to the destruction of the soil.

Everyone knows that the fertile layer of the soil is relatively small and is located on the surface of the earth. If you dig a two-meter hole in the ground, you can see with the naked eye that there is no fertile soil at its bottom, although if we assume that the fertility of the soil is determined by its chemical composition, then at such a depth it should, on the contrary, be more fertile, because plants don't get here.

Everyone also knows that For normal development of plants, the soil in which they grow must be loose. Here the agronomists took us to the WRONG WHERE AGAIN and told us that for this we need to dig it up regularly. When we dig up the soil, we first make earth out of it, then sand and finally dust. And then we breathe it all.

Another mistake is that how we plant plants. Different plants consume and produce different micronutrients. If they grow mixed up in a garden bed different plants, then they work for each other and require virtually no maintenance. And if the entire garden bed is filled with plants of the same species, then they begin to fight among themselves for a place in the sun. As a result, from a lack of microelements we get sick plants. We try to cure them with chemistry, again on the advice of agronomists, and we enter a VICIOUS CIRCLE.

So, should we all go beat the agronomists for giving us false information? Of course, you can go, but this will not solve the problem. A more reasonable action is to figure out for yourself what determines soil fertility. It's worth it - if we manage to copy Nature's behavior- after all, now only it makes the soil fertile, then you will no longer need to bend your back in the garden - everything will grow there on its own. Tempting? Let's move on.

FERTILE SOIL IS A LIVING ORGANISM, not just a set chemical elements. The fact that it contains many microelements is side effect her “lifeliness”. In order to increase the fertility of the soil, it is necessary to increase its “vitality”, and in living soil the necessary microelements come on their own. Don't believe it? There is no mysticism here, but only the exact laws of Nature.

Firstly, fertile soil is not land. The earth is an integral part of it, but it is only a frame on which a fertile layer is formed.

Let's figure it out first how to make the soil loose. It's simple - need to be planted in it several times in a row annual plants with long roots. When long roots If they die off, there will be passages left, due to which the soil will be loose.

Now let's figure it out where to get microelements that plants need. There are no problems here either - you just need to avoid leaving the beds bare under the scorching rays of the sun. Partially weed out the weeds, and partially leave them, and throw the weeded weeds right there in the garden bed. Plus, plant plants mixed with each other, and not in separate beds.