With the end of February, and a short period of calm in the life of each gardener ends - it's time to plant the first seedling. The occupation is not only troublesome, but also very responsible, because the whole harvest of this year largely depends on it. And the quality of seedlings, in turn, directly depends on the quality of the soil in which it is grown. About what land is best to plant seedlings, we'll talk today.
Which land is best for seedlings?
It is difficult to say unambiguously which land is best used for seedlings - ready to purchase or homemade, but any of them must meet the following requirements:
- Have the supply of nutrients necessary for the growth and development of young plants. At the same time there should not be much fertilizer in the soil, otherwise the seedlings will quickly stretch out and pick up the green mass, but it is difficult to acclimatize when planting in the open ground.
- It is good to let in water and air, that is, be loose enough.
- Do not be infected with seeds of weeds, pathogens or pest larvae.
Proceeding from the foregoing, it becomes clear that for the seedling business, neither the land from the first cropped bed, nor the majority of prepared soil mixtures, is absolutely suitable. Ideal for this are tablets made of peat or coconut substrates, but they have a significant negative - a fairly high cost. Therefore, most often the soil mixture for seedlings is prepared independently, mixing in different proportions (depending on the plant species) sod land, sand and peat.
Which land is better to buy for seedlings?
If you do not really care about preparing the soil mixture, you can plant the seedlings in the purchased land by purchasing a package with the appropriate marking in the store. You can also use a universal soil mixture, but it will probably have to make some changes: reduce acidity , loosen or add minerals. When buying, be sure to pay attention to the composition. So, microelements (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) in the ground for seedlings should be no more than 300 mg per liter. And the acidity should not be below 5.5 pH.