After harvesting the crop on the garden plot and placing it in storage, gardeners cannot rest yet. The thing is, their work doesn't end there. Experienced gardeners know that the basis of the future harvest is not only the observance of all agrotechnical rules when growing crops, but also the correct cultivation of the land in the fall. If this work is carried out correctly, then optimal conditions for the existence of plants will be created in the soil. As a result, the air and hydro regime will improve, heat will be maintained, thickets of harmful weeds will decrease, and the percentage of pests and many diseases will decrease.
General information
Autumn tillage consists of several very important steps. All of them are necessary to maintain fertility, to enrich it with a sufficient amount of micronutrients, etc. And if our ancestors cultivated the land in the fall,immediately after harvesting, was reduced to just digging, and sometimes spreading manure over the plot, today the culture of agriculture has advanced quite far. Experienced gardeners have learned not only to take into account the type of soil and the level of its acidity, but also know how to deal with pests living in it - in a word, to do everything that our grandparents did not even suspect. And in order for the preparation for winter to bring maximum benefit on the site, this work must be carried out according to all the canons. Be sure to dig the ground, improve its structure, apply fertilizer, etc. How to cultivate the soil in the fall, how to carry out this process, what stages this work consists of - all this will be discussed in this article.
After harvest
When the last fruits and vegetables from the site are collected and sent for storage, the last final phase of work begins at the gardeners. Autumn soil preparation and cultivation are carried out immediately. You can start work both during the harvest, and immediately after that. You should not postpone these manipulations for a long time, because even for a short period, a wide variety of pathogenic microorganisms - parasites that will infect the entire soil - can settle in the remains of organic matter. Fog and autumn rains will also contribute to their spread.
To begin with, all weed plants must be removed, and in such a way that no seeds are left of them. All remnants of garden crops are also removed. If the stems of plants are already dry, then theyyou can just burn it on a rainy day. Experienced gardeners use even the resulting ash. They add it to the ground as fertilizer while digging the garden, or they put it in the compost heap.
Removing weeds, as well as burning roots, tops and stems helps to destroy pathogens of various diseases and those pests that remain on the plant. If the culture has obvious signs of infection, then it should be burned away from the garden, and the ashes should not be used, but destroyed by burying them in a hole outside the site.
Where to start
Autumn tillage should begin with light loosening of the top layer with a rake. This process should be carried out on each bed separately after all fruit-bearing crops have already been removed from it. It should be borne in mind that after about a week, weed shoots may appear in this place. They also need to be destroyed. For this purpose, experienced gardeners use Fokin's flat cutter, which grinds their stems and roots, while simultaneously loosening the ground. In general, there is an opinion that weed shoots that appear after the removal of plant residues are not dangerous at all, since they usually die from winter frosts, and those that survive can be removed already by loosening the soil in spring. However, many gardeners remove them. Such preparation for winter leads to rapid self-healing of the soil. In addition, chopped green weeds can serve as a very valuable natural top dressing.
Why do we need to dig the earth
The main challenge facinggardeners, is the correct implementation of this stage of soil cultivation in the fall. For digging, you will definitely need a shovel. Plow the land should be at a depth of thirty to thirty-five centimeters. If there is a small layer of humus in the soil, then twenty cm will be enough.
Autumn tillage should be carried out as early as possible - even before the onset of stable cold days and before prolonged rains. The fact is that otherwise, instead of loosening the earth, it will be trampled down and compacted, especially in clay areas. Moreover, it is the latter that need measures aimed at increasing their fertility.
To this end, experts recommend digging such soil at a depth of about sixteen centimeters, and increasing it every year. It is very important to add sand and organic along the way in order to reduce the layer of the clay barren part and increase the percentage of the fertile part.
For heavy loamy soil, digging the soil in autumn should take place at a greater depth. In this case, you need to make peat, sand, organic matter, which contribute to aeration and improve the structure. As a result, the "breathing" of the roots of crops will be facilitated.
Treatment of light soils in autumn
Such soil does not need to be dug too often. Since structural spraying occurs in it, and as a result it becomes more loose, the work becomes more complicated. If the top layer is fertilized too deeply, then beneficial microorganisms die, and pathogenic pests begin to multiply in their place. In addition, abundant watering indry weather leads to a rapid leaching of most of the minerals that are necessary to maintain the density of the soil structure, and this primarily concerns calcium. As a result, the physical properties of the soil deteriorate. Therefore, in order not to abuse it, it is still better to carry out only autumn tillage.
Fertilizers
Many gardeners make their own organic fertilizers on their plot. To do this, they create compost heaps or pits in which they put uninfected plants and substandard fruits, waste generated after cleaning vegetables or fruits, onion husks, droppings, fallen spruce needles, ashes. Fertilizers that have rotted over time are used during site preparation before digging.
In the process of plowing the soil, it is also recommended to apply other organic fertilizers, such as manure or compost. In this case, you should not go deep into the ground, otherwise the top dressing will decompose less and be poorly absorbed by plants.
Experienced gardeners during the autumn digging introduce all the organic, phosphorus and potash fertilizers necessary for the future harvest, if necessary, clay and sand are also added. It must be borne in mind that manure must be used carefully. It is better to close up this organic fertilizer at a shallow depth, so that during the winter it has time to decompose and serve as a habitat for many beneficial microorganisms. Whereas in dense low soil layers, it practically does not change the structure. Recommendedin autumn, use rotted cow or horse manure so that by spring it will completely rot in the ground due to looseness, moisture and the correct temperature of the earth.
When digging, humus and compost should be applied exactly to those areas where the gardener plans to grow gourds, cabbage, celery, and lettuce next season. Mineral fertilizers will be needed where radishes, beets and carrots are to be sown. Manure for these crops in the fall is not recommended to be added. Fresh droppings of birds or animals also cannot be brought in during digging, it is better to compost them beforehand.
In the case when there is only a small layer of humus on the site, that is, the land is completely “poor”, it is better to “feed” it in the fall. To do this, during digging, it is recommended to increase the dose of mineral fertilizers and organic matter, which is laid a little deeper. After that, the earth is carefully harrowed with a metal rake so that the top dressing mixes well with the soil.
Liming
Land with a high level of acidity requires proper autumn processing. This indicator, as you know, negatively affects not only the yield, but also the growth of garden crops. The fact is that vegetables require a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Therefore, the high level of soil acidity must be reduced in the fall. To do this, once every five years, a liming procedure is carried out. Calcium oxide can not only deoxidize the earth, but also increase its fertility,improve breathability, hygroscopicity, optimizing the structure due to calcium content.
For liming, you can use chalk or slaked lime, cement dust, as well as dolomite flour and ash - peat or wood. Their dose will depend on the degree of acidity of the soil, its structure and the amount of calcium content. Liming will result from the fact that the clay soil will be much looser, easier to work with, and the moisture capacity increases in sandy soil and it will become viscous. As a result, the most favorable conditions are created for the development of beneficial microorganisms and improving fertility.
Soil fatigue and green manure
Autumn has come, gardeners have already harvested vegetables and began to think about how to restore the fertility of the land on the site. Few people know that overfatigue of the soil also leads to the occurrence of many diseases in plants. Signs of this problem are as follows: disturbed soil structure, when it resembles dust, as well as cracking crust after watering or rain. In this case, comprehensive measures are needed for self-healing of the soil, since tillage in the fall against diseases is not a sufficient measure. In this case, siderates come to the rescue. These are plants that are grown on the site not for the purpose of obtaining a crop from them, but to enrich the soil with organic and mineral substances, as well as to improve its structure.
Vetch, rapeseed, lupine, vetch, clover are often used as green manure,peas, mustard. For fertilizing the soil in the fall, the latter is best suited. Moreover, mustard is able to accumulate nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and many other trace elements that enter the soil. Green manures are also excellent fertilizer. Plus, they increase the aeration and hygroscopicity of the earth, loosening it thanks to branched roots. It is better to plant them in the fall, so that the green mass is formed before frost, but they will grow for a few more weeks in the spring. If the weather is warm until mid-October, then they can grow and even start buds. In this case, the ovaries should be cut off.
Pest control
In addition, siderates emit substances that serve as excellent insecticides. Today, tillage from pests in the fall with the help of mustard is very common. It perfectly repels wireworms, bears and cockchafer larvae thanks to its root secretions. Insecticides are best sown immediately after the beds have been cleared of fertile crops. Experienced gardeners always monitor the condition of the soil in order to decontaminate it in time. Otherwise, after the plant is affected by the disease, it will be very difficult to get rid of it. There are several ways to deal with this problem. First, you need to know how to cultivate the soil from phytophthora in the fall. Most often, gardeners use chemicals, for example, a solution of vitriol. Moreover, the composition should not be too concentrated. To obtain the desired result, a one or two percent solution is sufficient. Another way is biologicaldisinfection, when special preparations are introduced into the soil fifteen days before the first frost. For those who do not know how to treat the soil from phytophthora, in the fall, experienced gardeners recommend digging the soil well and then adding a solution of copper sulfate to it.
What to sow after potatoes to improve the soil
For the next season, one unspoken rule must be observed: do not plant nightshades in the same place. After harvesting potatoes, strawberries or tomatoes, they cannot be sown in the same soil for at least three years. In cases where the site is small enough, the task of gardeners becomes more complicated. They have to solve the problem of what to sow after the potatoes. To improve the soil, you can plant green manure plants: phacelia, mustard, oats, lupins, etc. Legumes help enrich the earth with nutrients and nitrogen. Mustard is a reliable barrier for a wireworm that loves to feast on potato tubers. To obtain the maximum effect, the planting of green manure can be combined with the application of organic fertilizers.
