All gardeners and summer residents want to get a big and healthy harvest on their summer cottages. To grow good seedlings, which is the main step, you need to prepare the right, high-quality substrate.
Light, moisture, air - this is very important for seedlings, but the scarcity of the earth will not allow them to grow and develop normally. Under such conditions, seedlings will be weak and sick and a rich harvest will never be achieved.
There is no universal soil composition that is suitable for absolutely all seedling crops. Every plant, whether eggplant, tomato, cucumber, pepper or cabbage, has its own conditions for soil components and their quantity.
A detailed description of how to prepare the land for seedlings, what rules must be followed, is discussed in this article.
Content:

General requirements

Land preparation
What specific components should be in the soil depends on what crop it is intended for. Regardless, the following requirements must be met:
- fertility
The presence of all nutrients in the soil will allow seedlings to grow and develop normally and fully.
- balance of constituent elements

The composition depends on what culture it is intended for.
The content of organic, macro- and microelements should be in such quantity as to fully satisfy the needs of a young sprout.
- lightness and friability of the structure
Good air exchange of the soil is very important for a small root system of sprouts.
- moisture capacity
The prepared soil should have good moisture absorption and retention.
- reaction neutrality
The acidity level limits should not exceed 6.5-7.0.
- the absence of everything superfluous (pathogenic microbes, weed seeds, fungal spores and other debris), which can lead to the death of a young sprout
- absolute purity
Finding impurities of heavy metals, hazardous industrial waste, etc. indicates the poor quality of the prepared mixture. This will affect the seedlings, their development and health.

Main components

Quality implies the presence of organic and inorganic components
The soil mixture is considered to be of high quality, if it consists of organic and inorganic ingredients.
Organics include:
- sod land
Preparation must be done in advance. To do this, the turf is cut in the form of square layers and placed in even rows.
- land from the garden
It is taken directly from the garden plot.
- leaf ground

sod land
Fertilizer is prepared from fallen leaves.
- humus
- compost
- lowland peat
- sphagnum moss
- sunflower husk
- crushed egg shell
- wood ash

Perlite
The inorganic is:
- river sand
- perlite
It is a clean, environmentally friendly raw material. It has a neutral level of acidity. Does not contain heavy metals.
- vermiculite
Refers to environmentally friendly materials. It has porosity. The composition contains potassium, calcium, magnesium in a small amount.
- hydrogel
Refers to polymers. Well accepts and retains moisture.
- expanded clay
- crushed foam

Undesirable constituents

Clay is a harmful indicator
The presence of clay and components in the soil, which are actively decomposed, is a harmful indicator.
Fresh manure, not rotted leaves, tea leaves, when it enters the soil, begin to rot. During this process, heat is released in the substrate and the proportion of nitrogen decreases, which harms the still immature seedlings.
Clay makes the soil denser, heavier. This affects its air exchange and moisture capacity. This can lead to illness and possible death of the sprouts.

Basic rules for do-it-yourself cooking

The composition should include only useful impurities, elements and feeding components
The soil for seedlings should not only not contain harmful impurities and elements, but also have a nourishing component. To increase the fertility of the land, peat and humus are used.
Picking a place to collect

Dernina
To prepare the soil on which they will germinate seeds vegetables and flower crops, land collected in the forest area can be used. It should form the main part. Certain areas are selected for digging, the basis of which is foliage and sod. Such a composition will allow you to get good and strong seedlings.
When choosing the soil, special attention is paid to the trees under which the digging is carried out. They should not have dried branches, trunks, as well as damage by any diseases. The land under the oak, willow has great fertility. From these and other rocks, acid is not released into the soil in large quantities.
The ground can also be taken as a basis beds. But with its use, certain rules must be observed. This is necessary for the safety of the sprouts, from any risk that can kill them after planting and germination.

The way to improve the soil
Required rules:
- garden soil disinfection
- crop rotation
The soil on which certain vegetable, fruit crops were grown, not suitable for reuse.
Compound

Sawdust will not allow excess moisture to accumulate
To get a quality result, after the crops ripen, the mixture in which the seeds will be planted must be mixed, in accordance with all standards. The composition of the collected soil is of 2 types:
- organic
- inorganic
If organic matter is not used to prepare the soil for seedlings to increase its fertility, the following components can be used as a fertilizer component:
- processed peat
- furnace ash - this will enrich the earth with microelements and reduce the high level of soil acidity
- a lot of humus - suitable only for those plants that suffer from diseases leading to blackness of the stem
- twisted moss
- sawdust of different wood - will not allow excess moisture to accumulate

Humus
The organic structure of these components is able to quickly rot. It will saturate the soil with the necessary elements, fertilize it, which will make it possible for the seeds to germinate better.
Elements with inorganic nature are also added:
- agroperlite
Controls the level of moisture in the soil.
- expanded clay
- sand
Improves soil air exchange, which will allow the small root system of seedlings to breathe well.
Cooking technology

Storage in bags
The features of preparing really good land for seedlings are:
- the season when the land is harvested
The most favorable period of the year for the preparation, collection, mixing of all components is autumn. This will give time for all the collected components to ripen, mix, form soil with good fertility.
- rules for preserving the prepared mixture
For storage, closed containers must be used. Suitable for this:
- plastic buckets
- plastic bags
- large plastic containers
Under such conditions, the substances will interact better with each other.
Don't forget about so that clay is not present in the mixture for seedlings.

Step by step cooking instructions

The cooking process requires a careful and focused approach.
The process of preparing the soil in which various crops will be grown requires great care and concentration. Only the quality of the prepared substrate will make it possible to grow strong seedlings and obtain an excellent harvest.
Soil preparation according to all the rules before planting seedlings - this is a large number of all its components. Everything must be prepared in advance, long before the time for sowing the seeds.
As mentioned above, all soil components for seedlings should be collected in early autumn. In order for the result to be of high quality, you will need to follow the following instructions:
- All soil and other components are checked. They must be dried and distributed in separate containers.
- A place is determined, a container is selected where all the prepared components will be mixed. Suitable for any large container
- Preparing the equipment that will be required for the procedure
- All components are poured into a common container in equal parts. Then mixed
- The prepared soil mixture is poured into separate containers, bags, where it will subsequently be
- Store prepared soil at low temperatures
Mineral components are not introduced at the stage of soil preparation. They must be added to the soil when the seeds are planted.
Decontamination procedure

Compliance with the rules is the key to obtaining healthy, strong seedlings
Garden, leaf soil, turf, peat, sand, humus and other components of organic origin contain harmful bacteria. When added to the seedling substrate, they can cause infection, which will harm the seeds and reduce the number of seedlings. To avoid this situation, the soil must be disinfected. Neglect of this procedure is excluded, otherwise getting strong, healthy young, and later productive plants will remain only a dream.
There are several ways in which you can disinfect the substrate from pests:
- freezing
- steaming
- calcination
- pickling
One of the first three of the above methods is perfect for processing, but for a better result, the ideal option would be to finish the disinfection with etching.
freezing

Soil freezing
The procedure is to place the bag of substrate in a place where the temperature will be maintained at a constant temperature below 00WITH. It is the most efficient way.
If it is impossible to ensure such conditions, the following actions are performed:
- Toward the end of winter, the substrate is taken out to frost and left for 7 days. It is necessary that the temperature was about -10 ... -150C
- After the allotted time, the soil is brought into a warmed place and another 7 days. is defrosted. If for the first time it was not possible to freeze all the weeds and possible insects, they will wake up warm
- The freezing procedure is repeated 2-3 times
Steaming

Soil disinfection for seedlings
The most favorable disinfection method for the substrate. The procedure disinfects the soil and saturates it with moisture.
To carry out the work, you will need a sieve with a fine mesh (the earth should not spill out). The prepared soil is poured into a sieve and placed over a container in which water boils. With constant stirring, everything is well steamed for 8 minutes.
Calcination

Baking in the oven
With this method, the soil is subjected to heat treatment. Required temperature +70…+900WITH. A lower temperature does not kill all microbes, a higher temperature disturbs the soil structure and leads to a decrease in fertility.
For sterilization, an oven or microwave is used. (with small volumes of processed material). The soil crumbles on the pallet not in a thick layer. The layer should not exceed 5 cm. Then it is sprayed with water. The oven preheats to the desired degree. The heating of the substrate should be carried out for about half an hour.
Etching

Etching is more commonly used as a supplement
This method is the simplest and is often used for insurance, when one of the methods listed above has already been carried out. For it, pickling preparations are used, which are diluted in water. The temperature of the solution (for example, potassium permanganate) depends on what procedure was carried out before. After disinfection at high temperatures, cold water is taken, after freezing - warm (about +400WITH). Next, the substrate is poured into a sieve with small cells and completely spilled with the prepared liquid. It should be bright pink.
After the disinfection procedure, the soil must be placed in a container and spilled with a mineral solution. Every culture needs its own minerals. Next, the soil is moistened and transferred to prepared containers (cups, pots, etc.). Everything is ready for sowing.

Various variations for individual species

Every culture has its preferences.
There are various options for soil suitable for the requirements of seedlings. A single culture has its own conditions for this. For example, tomatoes prefer slightly alkaline soil. It should contain organic components, nitrogen, potassium. For cabbage, the earth is mixed with lime, wood ash.
Below are the types of compositions, which prefer individual plants.
eggplant

eggplant
Humus mass, peat mass, rotted sawdust - 2:1:0,5
Recipe:
- soil from the site - 1 bucket
- ash - ½ cup
- superphosphate - 1 tbsp. l
- carbamide or potassium sulfate - 1 tsp
Cabbage

Cabbage
- Sod, humus mass, peat mass - equal proportions
- Sod, ash, lime, sand - 20:5:1:1
- Peat mass, turf, some sand - 12: 4: 1
cucumbers

cucumbers
Peat mass, humus mass, rotted sawdust - 2: 2: 1
For 10 liters of soil composition, it is necessary to add ash (1 tbsp.) And urea, superphosphate, potassium sulfate, 1 tsp each.
Sod, compost or humus mass - 1: 1
Ash (1 tbsp), potassium sulfate (10 g), superphosphate (20 g) are added to a 10-liter container of soil.
Peat mass, humus mass, sawdust, sand, mullein - 6:1:1:1:1
Sod, peat mass, humus mass, rotted sawdust - 1:1:1:1
Pepper

Pepper
- Sod, humus mass - 1: 2
- Peat mass, humus mass - 2: 2
- Humus mass, turf - 3: 2
- Nutritious peat soil, turf - 2: 1
- Peat mass, turf, humus mass, rotted sawdust - 4:2:1:1
Tomato

tomatoes
Peat mass, turf, mullein - 16:4:1
River sand (3 l), ammonium nitrate (10 g), superphosphate (20-30 g), potassium chloride (10-15 g) are added to a 10-liter volume of the prepared composition.
Peat mass, sawdust, mullein - 3: 1: 0.5
River sand (3 l), ammonium nitrate (10 g), superphosphate (20-30 g), potassium chloride (10-15 g) are added to a 10-liter volume of mixed ingredients.
Humus mass, peat mass, turf, rotted sawdust - 1:1:1:1
Ash (1.5 cups), superphosphate (3 tablespoons), potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon), urea (1 teaspoon) are added to a bucket of soil mixture.

Universal primer

Universal primer
Garden soil, humus mass or rotted compost, peat, sawdust or sand - 2:1:1:1
Additionally, fertilizers are added to the compositions. Their number is indicated based on 10 liters of prepared soil:
- Cabbage:
- ammonium nitrate or urea - 15-20 g
- superphosphate - 20-25 g
- potassium sulfate - 10 g
- dolomite flour - 25 g
- Cucumbers:
- ammonium nitrate - 8-10 g
- superphosphate - 10-15 g
- potassium sulfate - 10 g
- dolomite flour - 10 g
- Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants:
- ammonium nitrate - 8-10 g;
- superphosphate - 80 g;
- potassium sulfate - 20-30 g;

Soil preparation in the spring in the greenhouse
Even with a very strong desire, organic compounds in undiluted form are not used for sowing. These components are very rich in chemical elements. They will help the seedlings grow greenery, their appearance will be very attractive, which cannot be said about the root system. She will be weak and undeveloped. The survival rate of a young planting on the site will be poor.

If it is not possible to prepare

For the full development of seedlings, purchased options must be modified
Preparing soil is not affordable for everyone. There are ready-made, store-bought options from different manufacturers that you can buy without any problems.. The only caveat is that they are not always prepared properly and may not be suitable for specific types of seedlings.
We are talking about universal mixtures. Its main component is peat, which has a high pH level and poor ability to pass moisture. Such conditions are unfavorable for the full growth of seedlings.
To obtain a composition in which the seedlings can fully develop, without growth retardation, the purchased version is modified:
- The purchased universal mixture is mixed in equal proportions with garden soil, which was previously disinfected. In the absence of such, any available land is used. Suitable even from pots in which house flowers have disappeared
- To lower the pH, chalk or dolomite flour is added at the rate of 1-2 tbsp. l. on a bucket of soil
- Very small amounts of hydrogel crystals can be used to control moisture levels. This is very important, because when moisture gets on the crystals, they become very large. The increase is 200-300 times

coco soil

Coconut substrate in briquette
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to prepare the soil, the ideal result is not obtained. In the future, the soil becomes acidic, caked, salted, mold and pathogenic microflora appear on it.
Coconut substrate is now becoming popular. It belongs to environmentally friendly bio-soils. It is an excellent replacement for the usual earthen compositions. Recommended for growing seedlings of vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc.) and other garden and indoor plants.
Breed composition:
- coconut flakes - 30%
- coconut fiber - 70%
Sometimes peat, fertilizers are added to the composition. This information must be indicated on the packaging.

coco soil
Main advantages:
- safety
The substrate does not contain fungal and other microorganisms; disinfection is not required for planting.
- pH level - 5.6-6.8
- high moisture capacity
Can hold up to 7 times its weight in moisture. The plant gradually receives moisture, which prevents the risk of flooding it.
- does not compact
By creating an ideal environment with good air permeability, the plant develops healthy roots, making it disease resistant. Productivity increases.
- excellent thermal conductivity

Shelter with spunbond
Young plants are protected from temperature extremes.
- does not lose properties, has no expiration date
- can be used as:
- mulching material
- winter shelter in the flower garden
- loosens heavy clay soil
- a component that increases the moisture capacity of sandy substrates
- filler, which contains rodents, snails, amphibians
- hydroponic growing material
If residues remain, they can be dried and used later if necessary. The properties are saved.
- can be reused
Already used substrate must be washed, disinfected and ready to be used again.
- easily and completely recyclable

coco substrate
Coconut substrate is crushed and dug up with the ground in the beds.
Using this composition is very simple. It is sold in dry briquettes.
To make soil for seedlings, the briquette is poured with clean warm water (1: 4) and left for 10-20 minutes to absorb the liquid. Then everything gets mixed up. After that, the coconut material is ready.
When preparing a large volume of the composition, water is added in small portions, and the substrate is stirred several times. This will allow the mass to be evenly saturated with water.
Unused residues must be dried for further storage. The wet mass will sour.
Knowing how to properly compose the soil mixture, you can get to work with confidence. If all conditions are met, gardeners are guaranteed a good result.
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