Flower growers are often faced with the fact that turf land or a mixture of it with various fillers is recommended for planting. Experienced summer residents usually have a good idea of what it is, but for a beginner, such a concept may turn out to be new. Today we will analyze in detail what turf land means, where to get it, and what effect it has on the growth and development of plants. If this is your first time transplanting a plant, then sometimes it seems that it is easier to buy a ready-made substrate in the store. In fact, the soil mixture prepared at home is no different from the one that will be offered to you in a beautiful, factory-made package.
The basis of floriculture
Mixes for planting houseplants can vary greatly in composition. The main difference is which ingredient predominates in it. Knowing their properties well, you get the opportunity to take into account the individual characteristics of each potted plant and select the soil in which they will develop favorably.
Sod land is consideredbasic in floriculture. It is used in the manufacture of most soil mixtures. Plants adapt very well to it, developing intensively.
Substrate differences
Sod land is a term that refers to various garden soils. At first glance, it is enough to simply remove the top layer of soil, which contains plant humus. However, garden soil can be obtained from the decomposition of sod or other organic matter. The original substrate will influence the physical and chemical properties of the resulting soil mixture. Therefore, today we will consider several options, as well as the possibilities of their optimal combination with each other.
Sod land
It is very rich in nutrients. Moreover, the potted plant will be provided for several years ahead, without requiring additional fertilizing. It is obtained mainly from meadows and pastures, as well as fallow lands. The main selection criterion is the presence of grass-clover herbage in the places of the final collection of the substrate. However, it cannot be said that it will be the same in any case. Distinguish:
- heavy turfy substrate with lots of clay;
- medium;
- light, with the most sand.
Seasonal factor
And we continue to deal with the concept of sod land. What it is, where to get such a soil mixture, now we will tell you in detail. Harvesting is carried out in the summer. To do this, you need to choose the period of maximum herbage. At the same time, the calculation is made in such a way that the sod will have time to partially decompose before the winter cold. But it will take much more time to get the finished substrate. Initially, the turf is cut into layers, 20 cm wide and 8 cm thick. Now it is necessary to fold it in stacks, up to 1.5 meters high. To accelerate decomposition, the layers are moistened with a solution of slurry. Another task is to reduce acidity. For this, lime is added. The next summer, you need to properly shovel the stack 2-3 times. Only after two seasons will it be ready for use. In the second year, in the fall, it is recommended to pass it through a screen and put it indoors.
Meeting point
You already know what turf land is, but collected in different places, it will be very different. It is necessary to cut it on the clover, where the herbs grow especially violently and do not have a nutritional deficiency. It is easy to appreciate in appearance. All herbage should be bright green, without yellowing and spots, speckles and dry tips. If, on the meadows accessible to you, the grasses are stunted, they begin to turn yellow and dry early, then taking land here does not make any sense. It is poor in nutrients.
The location of the meadow also plays an important role. Since you can cook soddy land only directly in the meadow, choose the highest places. In swampy lowlands, the soil will be too acidic. Medium loams will be optimal in composition. Sandy loam turf is characterized by high water andbreathability, but it is poor in nutrients, for which it is used in gardening.
Foliar humus
As you can see, the preparation of sod land is not difficult, you only need access to open meadows. If there is nothing like this near you, then you can try similar mixtures, which are also perfectly perceived by house plants. Now we will discuss in detail what kind of substrate is used to replace soddy soil. First of all, it is leaf land. It is characterized by friability and lightness. On the other hand, this drawback is easily corrected by mixing different mixtures and obtaining the optimal composition. Particularly good results are given by leaf humus mixed with heavy, soddy soil. Often flower growers use leafy soil mixed with peat and sand. It turns out an analogue of the heather mixture, light and nutritious.
Blank
Even in urban areas, you can easily find a place to harvest leafy land. If you can go out of town, into the forest, then here you can find its natural deposits. Year after year, the leaves fall and rot under the trees, forming a nutrient layer. In city parks, you can collect during the period of mass leaf fall in parks and gardens. The most suitable are the leaves of linden and maple, fruit trees. But willow and oak are completely unsuitable for these purposes.
The collected leaves or forest floor are formed into piles and moistened with slurry. Remains well compactedstack and leave until next summer. Over the next warm season, it will be necessary to shovel the leaf mass well several times, moisten it with slurry and add lime. That is, you will get high-quality leafy land only by the end of the second summer.
Compost soil
This term is often used by summer residents, so we will mention it. Compost is an analogue of turf and leaf soil. Their essence is the same - it is the rotted remains of plant organic matter. The quality of compost land depends on the type of waste, that is, the material used. This is an intermediate link between soddy and humus soil.
You will need a compost pit to make this, although some gardeners use heaps or stacks. During the summer, they collect all plant and animal remains, weeds and garbage, food waste. As it accumulates, the remains are sprinkled with lime and moistened with slurry, and covered with peat on top. In the second and third years, the mass needs to be shoveled. By the end of the third year, the land is completely ready for use. Now you already know what turf and leaf soil is, how to make compost, and you can choose the basis of the substrate for your houseplants.
Preparing a mixture for plants
So, it's about to land. Usually, gardeners begin to do this by spring. The soil prepared since autumn is warmed, disinfected and an ideal substrate is prepared from it. The main features are:
- Moisture capacity. The soil should easily absorb water. Don't let yourself throughas is the case with sand, but do not delay, as clay does.
- Water and breathability. This is understandable, the substrate must be loose to ensure air access to the roots.
- Nutrition.
- Suitable pH level (most often no acidity).
- Purity, that is, the absence of toxic substances.
Optimal proportions
Most often, 1:1 soddy soil is mixed with a component such as leaf humus. This is easy to explain, since it acts as a baking powder. Some flower growers recommend adding earth from molehills in similar proportions. It is loose and nutritious, and also does not contain pest larvae. Humus is another important component. It is a black, homogeneous mass, which is obtained from well-decomposed manure. It is highly nutritious, but often contains weed seeds and pathogens, so it is essential to season the mixture before use.
Baking Powder
In order to ensure optimal air permeability of the soil, it is necessary to observe the proportions of soddy earth and sand. It is important that only coarse sand is used. Fine will only make the substrate denser. Before adding to the soil, the sand is well washed. This is necessary in order to wash out all the dust and leave the necessary small pebbles. In this form, it is added to almost all mixtures for indoor plants, providing better breathability.
Additional materials
Sand is not the onlya component that does not carry a nutritional load, but is still necessary for the growth and development of the plant.
- The composition of substrates often includes vermiculite, perlite, polystyrene, expanded clay and similar components. All of them are necessary to improve the water-air properties of the substrate.
- Moss is also a commonly used component to make a substrate that will be ideal for houseplants. Most often, sphagnum moss is used, which makes the soil loose.
- Charcoal - it is not used for all soil mixtures, but mainly for those that do not tolerate stagnant water and waterlogging.
Substrate recommendations
In the specialized literature, it is usually indicated what the soil mixture should be for a particular plant. However, you need to understand that even the soddy land that was prepared in different regions of the same region will be of different quality. Therefore, it remains only to carefully observe and change the number of components. So, when preparing substrates, you may encounter several problems:
- The earth is dense and moist, does not dry out for a long time. In this case, sand or other inert material must be added.
- The mixture is very light, water passes through it instantly. In this case, you need to increase the amount of sod land.
- The land is good, but poor in nutrition. Leaf humus will come to the rescue.
- The substrate is needed for planting seedlings. In this case, you need to increase the amount of sand.
Ready-made substrates
Today they can be found in anyspecialized store. However, do not trust everything that is written on the package. First look for information about the manufacturer, as well as reviews of gardeners and flower growers. It will not be superfluous to read the full information about what components the mixture consists of and what plants it is intended for. The nutrient content will tell little to an amateur, of all the numbers you can pay attention only to the pH level, it should not be higher than six.
