A disinfected substrate is the key to strong and healthy seedlings. So, the initial point of preparation for sowing seeds. Processing can be carried out by folk methods or chemical or biological preparations can be used. To figure out which technology is right for your site, consider the most common, low-cost and effective methods.

Why is this needed?

The method consists in heating the substrate to a high temperature, which will allow it to be cleansed of pathogens. Initially, the earth mixture is poured into a basin and poured with a small amount of boiling water.

Then, when the contents in the container cool slightly, mix it well and place it on a baking sheet with a layer of up to 5 cm. After the manipulations, the soil can be sent to the oven.
At the same time, it is important not to overdo it with temperature, since too hot conditions contribute to mineralization, as a result of which it loses nutrients, and some of them acquire a form inaccessible to plant fibers. For 30 minutes, the earth must be calcined in the oven, setting the timer to 90 ° C.

Important! Regardless of the method of soil disinfection, at the end of the procedure, it must be poured into clean, chlorine-wiped containers.

Steaming

Such a technology for disinfecting the land for seedlings takes a lot of time, but is more gentle compared to radical calcination.

The soil is poured into a fine metal sieve, which is placed in a cloth bag. You can do the opposite: pour the soil into the bag and put it on the grate. They put a bucket of water on the fire, bring it to a boil and put a grate with earth on top. Make sure the water doesn't evaporate completely. Steaming must be done for 1.5 hours. At the same time, strictly follow the recommendations for organizing and conducting a water bath, do not overexpose the soil mixture on it. Otherwise, you will get not just a disinfected lump, but completely devoid of everything nutritious and healthy.

This is what summer residents often complain about, who resorted to this method of disinfection. Many, fearing a mixture that is completely sterile and unsuitable for seedlings, immediately before sowing seeds, bacterial top dressing is introduced into it.

Biological agents

If for disinfection you decide to resort to the use of purchased products, first decide how and from what you plan to cultivate the land: or potassium permanganate.

Did you know? It takes a century to form 2 cm of fertile soil.

Among the effective biological fungicides, an impeccable reputation is for, Extrasol, Planriz, and.
In addition, the listed drugs contribute to the development of beneficial microflora and relieve fatigue from greenhouse and greenhouse soils, where the same ones are cultivated annually.

After treatment with biological agents, pathogens disappear, the toxicity of iron and aluminum decreases, and the amount of necessary fluorine, nitrogen, and magnesium increases.

Agrochemists distinguish from the numerous list effective drugs. It contains fungal mycelium Trichoderma lignorum, which does not allow the development of cancerous fungi and other pathogenic microbes.

The working solution is prepared at the rate of 1 g of the substance per 1 liter of water. Spraying is carried out, observing the measures of their own safety, exclusively from a spray bottle.
Some do without the development of the agrochemical industry in the usual "grandfather" ways. They consist in sprinkling the prepared soil mixture with tincture of mustard or.

Important! Never disinfect sod-podzolic acidic soil with potassium permanganate, as the drug will contribute to even greater oxidation.

Chemical

It is recommended to resort to the use of potent chemicals only in extreme cases, when agrotechnical and biological methods are powerless.

The most popular substance from this group is potassium permanganate, which is ideal for disinfecting soddy-calcareous and chernozem soil.
The working solution is prepared at the rate of 3 g of the substance per bucket of water. They need to carry out deep watering of the prepared land. According to experts, for greenhouses and greenhouses this method is suitable only in combination with other pesticides:, "Thunder",.

It is believed that when soil is treated with potassium permanganate, pathogens die only in the surface layers, therefore, 15 days before planting seedlings, it is important to sprinkle (50 g / 10 l).

If you plan to grow crops that are sensitive to fusarium, gray rot and sclerotinia, you need to disinfect the land with Iprodion. The drug is simply mixed with the substrate or scattered over the territory.

Did you know? 27% of the world's black soil fund is located in Ukraine.

Bleach works radically, killing most pathogenic microbes. The disadvantage of the substance is that many plants react poorly to inherent chlorine. For disinfection, agronomists advise applying formalin 2 weeks before planting seedlings.

To prepare a working solution, it is necessary to dissolve 40 g of the substance in a glass of water, and then pour the mixture into a bucket of water. The substance is advised to use for crops that are vulnerable to black leg.
After processing, be sure to cover the soil with a film, and after 3 days remove it and dig it well. This is done so that formalin fumes come out and do not kill the plants.

For the disinfection of greenhouses, the chemical fungicide "TMTD" is also suitable, which can be used in dry form and in suspension.

How to change the acidity of the soil

You can create favorable conditions for seedlings by adjusting the acidity of the soil. After all, it is no secret to anyone that an acidic environment promotes the reproduction of pathogens. Consider what are the ways to lower and increase the pH reaction.

We have all heard and read many times that before sowing seeds for seedlings, the soil must be disinfected, and this can be done in several ways. One of them is calcination in.

How to ignite the earth in the oven?

In this matter, you need to choose the right temperature and processing time, since you can overdo it and, in addition to fungi and pests, destroy all beneficial microorganisms, making the soil dead and barren.

So, at what temperature and how much to ignite the earth in the oven: the optimum temperature is 70-90ºС, the time is about half an hour. After that, the soil should be given time to resume the normal balance of beneficial microflora and only then used for planting.

It is also important to know how to ignite the earth in the seedling oven: for this, you first need to sift it, moisten it a little, then pour it on a metal sheet with a layer of about 5 cm and immerse it in a preheated oven.

Soil baking is a slightly modified version of calcination. In this case, the soil is placed in a baking sleeve and then sent to the oven. At the same time, moisture is retained in the soil and the effect of steaming with boiling water additionally appears, since the moisture in the soil heats up to 90-100ºС and, acting on it, additionally cleans and disinfects.

Do I need to calcine the ground for seedlings?

Soil disinfection is almost a key moment in growing seedlings. The health of future seedlings and adult plants directly depends on competent disinfection of the soil. Properly carried out calcination kills pathogenic bacteria, dangerous nematodes, insect eggs and pupae, fungal spores. In addition, this is how we fight in advance with the “black leg” - a dangerous enemy of seedlings.

As you can see, you should not neglect this stage, so that in the future you will not treat with regret and not throw away the lovingly grown seedlings.

Before planting seedlings, you need to carefully prepare the soil, disinfect and feed the land. What is the best way to do this? Treat with a solution of potassium permanganate, phytosporin? Bake in the oven or in the microwave? Let's discuss all the known methods and find out why this or that method is good.

It's all about the soil

The healthier the soil, the stronger the seedlings that have risen on it, this is an axiom. But not everyone has the opportunity to buy ready-made soil for seedlings every year. So practitioners think how to disinfect last year's or garden soil.

Competent disinfection acts on various bacteria, on nematodes, eggs and insect pupae, on fungal spores. And protects against black leg, a common disease of young seedlings.

Before planting seedlings, the soil must be decontaminated to destroy bacteria and pest eggs.

And it is even better to carry out the processing so that the earth is also protected from pathogenic bacteria and does not harm beneficial microorganisms.

All methods can be divided into two groups. In the first folk methods, in the second - disinfection using various purchased products. Let's start with folk methods.

"Hardening" the soil with frost

The easiest processing method is freezing.

Attention! After any type of disinfection, it is necessary to fill the soil in sterile containers wiped with bleach.

For disinfection, the soil can be frozen - on the street, or, if there is not much of it, in the freezer

This method also has a drawback. Negative temperature negatively affects not only pathogenic, but also beneficial microflora. Therefore, freezing is not recommended for soils containing vermicompost.

Another disadvantage - low temperatures will not cope with carriers of diseases such as late blight. Only heat treatment will affect them.

Baking in the oven

It turns out that you can fry, steam and stew ... the earth. Various pests do not survive in heat-treated soil.

Attention! Disinfection by fire is carried out at a low temperature. Its increase leads to the mineralization of nitrogen, and to the deterioration of soil quality.

• to calcinate the earth in the oven, you need to pour the soil into a large basin and pour it with a small amount of boiling water;
• when the mixture cools down a little, mix it thoroughly;
• pour the wet mass on a baking sheet with a layer of no more than 5 cm and place in the oven;
• bake for half an hour at a temperature of 70-90 degrees.

Steaming in a water bath in a large container

It is believed that steam treatment is a more gentle method than calcination on fire. But at the same time, quite reliable.

Tip: after any heat treatment, the cooled soil should be scattered over paper or polyethylene with a layer of up to 10 cm and leveled. So it will be filled with air and become more loose.

• it is necessary to prepare a large container, for example, a tank;
• lay bricks or an iron grate at the bottom;
• pour water below the level of the bricks;
• put earth on a grate or bricks in a canvas bag or fabric bag;
• cover the tank with a lid, put on fire and steam the earth in a water bath for about two hours.

Steaming in a water bath in a colander.

• cover the colander with a cloth;
• fill a large pot with water and wait until it boils;
• reduce the heat and hang a colander filled with soil over the pot. Or install it from above so that the water does not touch the ground;
• warm up for half an hour. Steam penetrating the soil sterilizes it.

By the same principle, gardeners advise frying the earth in a pan, calcining it in microwave oven, put out in foil or in a sleeve. When processing the last two methods, the water contained in the ground is heated and additionally cleans the soil. You can also pour the earth in a shallow container with boiling water, and cover with a film.

Steaming the soil can also be done in a double boiler, in a special container

There is one caveat, during heat treatment, both pests and beneficial microflora die. This means that the above procedures must be done in advance in order to have time to restore the soil before planting.

Steaming purchased soil

Attention! Immediately after treatment, the soil is sterile. But after a couple of weeks, the microflora in it will be restored. Where is the guarantee that only useful? Experts recommend that after disinfection, pack the soil in tight sterile bags. Open just before planting and add Biohumus (one-liter jar per bucket of soil) or Supercompost (1-2 cups per bucket). So you finally secure the plants.

Some practitioners advise cultivating not only garden, but also purchased soil. To do this, a closed bag with a ready-made soil mixture must be placed in a bucket. Pour boiling water down the side of the bucket and close the lid tightly. Remove the bag only after it has completely cooled down.

Soil disinfection with special means

You can also disinfect the soil chemically:

Reducing soil acidity

Simultaneously with disinfection, it is necessary to equalize the acid-base balance of the soil. After all, even in disinfected soil, which has an acidic reaction, the sulfur leg and keel develop perfectly.

Peat soil and garden soil have an acidic reaction. For alkalization, slaked lime or dolomite flour is added to the soil. Moreover, different cultures have their own proportions.

To reduce the acidity of the soil, slaked lime or dolomite flour is used.

Soil mixtures ( substrates) for indoor plants should not contain pathogenic bacteria, and weed seeds. To ensure this condition, it is necessary to treat, or sterilize the soil.

Special soil mixtures for planting seedlings and indoor plants can now be purchased in stores, as well as made independently at home. Depending on the purpose for which the soil mixture is prepared, its composition may be different. It is necessary to prepare all the components for the manufacture of a nutrient mixture of the required composition. The main component of the soil mixture is the earth, which includes clay, fine sand, humus and nutrients.

The composition of the soil mixture

The best soil for growing indoor plants is garden soil, because it is well processed, fertilized and fed. First, it must be prepared accordingly: select the roots of weeds, earthworms, beetles. It is not recommended to use lime-treated soil, as most houseplants prefer acidic soil. To ensure a good soil structure, you can add to the mixture:

• Soddy and leafy soil;
• household compost;
• crushed tree bark;
• Peat;
• Sand.

All supplies for the future substrate must be made in the fall, put in separate bags and stored until spring in a cool place, occasionally moistened with water. From properly preserved soils in the spring, you can make the nutrient mixture necessary for plants.

tillage

Land taken from nature needs to be cultivated. At home, it can be made sterile thermal and chemical treatment.

Thermal methods of substrate disinfection include freezing and steaming. The soil can be kept in the cold all winter, and in the spring it can be thawed and plants can be planted in it. The disadvantage of this method is that the seeds of weeds are not destroyed during freezing, pests also remain in the soil.

For steaming, the wet substrate must be poured in a thin layer on a baking sheet, then heated at a temperature of 120 ° C for 1 hour. During this time, the soil must be mixed 3-4 times.

The soil can also be treated with steam in a water bath. To do this, it is poured into a metal dish, which is placed in a container of water. With this method, the soil is steamed for one and a half hours.

But heat treatment also has its drawbacks: as a result of steaming the soil, not only pests die in it, but also beneficial bacteria. Therefore, it is best to combine heat and chemical treatment of the substrate. To do this, the steamed earth must be treated before use with biological products. Preparations such as Baikal-EM-1, Gamair, Alirin, Fitosporin, Vostok-EM-1 contain beneficial bacteria and fungi, which, when they enter the soil, destroy pathogenic microbes. In addition, the preparations contain strains of bacteria necessary for plant nutrition.

If you need to process large volumes of soil, then you can use only the chemical method of disinfection. It is necessary to treat the previously prepared soil mixture with the above biological products, then add peat and the BakSib preparation before planting (to populate beneficial bacteria). Thus, from sterile substrate an enriched soil mixture is obtained, ready for planting.

In such a soil mixture, you can plant seedlings of vegetable crops, as well as any houseplants.
Video on how to choose the right substrate.

Soil disinfection for seedlings is one of the key points in the production of seedlings. Often, not only future harvest but also plant life itself. You can disinfect the soil in any way convenient for you. Amateur gardeners have invented a great variety of them.

Do not ignore safety measures - proper disinfection kills pathogenic bacteria, fungal spores, dangerous nematodes, insect eggs and pupae. In addition, it is a good prevention against the defeat of seedlings with a black leg (every gardener and flower grower has ever encountered a terrible picture of this disease).

So, amateur gardening tips

Seedling soil for disinfection can be:
- freeze
- steam,
- bake in the oven
- pour boiling water (in small portions),
- shed 1% solution of potassium permanganate (etching in potassium permanganate),
- warm up in the microwave
- fry in a frying pan
- bake in foil
- bake in a baking sleeve,
- spill the earth with Aktara's solution,
- shed with a fungicide, for example, foundationazole,
- add phytosporin to the soil,
- disinfect with boiling water and frost
- repeatedly freeze and thaw the soil.
As you can see, there is no limit to fantasy.

Repeated freezing of the soil

A bag of soil is kept outdoors in winter, then brought into a warm room for 7-10 days. During this time, weed seeds will begin to germinate, pests will awaken. The revived soil is sharply frozen again (it would be nice if the temperature outside was 15-20 degrees below zero), after a while the soil is again brought into the room and frozen again.

This is a good simple method, but you should be aware that, unfortunately, it is not able to protect plants from serious diseases such as late blight or clubroot. To cope with the spores of these diseases, heat treatment of the soil is needed.

Soil steaming

It is convenient to steam the soil in a colander lined with a cloth. It is hung over a pot of boiling water, covered with a lid, and after boiling the water is heated over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Steam passing through the soil sterilizes it. Soil pests and their eggs, spores of pathogenic fungi and bacteria die. True and useful too.

Calcining the soil in the oven

Wet earth is poured onto a metal sheet with a layer of no more than 5 cm and kept in an oven preheated to 70-90 degrees for half an hour.

Important! A higher temperature is dangerous for the soil: nitrogen is mineralized, beneficial microorganisms die, and the soil becomes barren.

Soil baking

Baking the primer in foil or in a baking sleeve ( folk way) has its rational grain: moisture is stored in the soil. In addition, with this treatment, the effect of steaming and the effect of treatment with boiling water are additionally present, since the soil water, warming up to a temperature of 90-100 degrees, acts on the soil, cleaning it.

When the earth cools down a little after heat treatment, it is poured onto paper or film and leveled with a layer of about 10 cm to saturate with air. You can thoroughly mix the soil directly in the bags. The earth enriched with air will acquire a good structure, become looser.

Disinfection of soil for seedlings loses all meaning if it is then poured into used and non-sterile containers for seedlings. They can be sterilized by treatment in a dilute bleach solution. Otherwise, the soil can be re-infected with pathogens.