We prepare the best soil for tomato seedlings

Soil composition

Soil for tomato seedlings can be purchased or made yourself. The risk of purchasing a product of poor quality forces gardeners to make it with their own hands. Independently, soil for tomato seedlings is made on the basis of humus, sawdust and sod land. It should be prepared in the fall so that the black soil is frozen in winter.

The soil for tomato seedlings should be taken from a site where no garden crops have been grown for 2-3 years, or from a forest. Be sure to remove grass, weeds and other unnecessary things, sift through a sieve so that the earthy mass is loose and soft. This will ensure the formation of a powerful and developed root system.

Vegetable growers recommend forming black soil by taking it from the place where the nettle grows. This plant does not have strong roots, does not allow the proximity of weeds, so this mass is useful for vegetables.

The ideal soil for tomato seedlings is the soil itself, humus or peat and sand in equal proportions. It is better to choose peat from the depth, since the surface peat is saturated with acids. If there is nothing else besides it, then add ash or lime. For 100 kg of peat, you need 4 kg of wood ash or lime. You will fertilize the peat significantly by adding 2% phosphate fertilizer.Be sure to form the soil for your tomato seedlings with sand. It is an important element that performs such functions: loosening the mixture, drainage and formation of seedlings. Acidity also affects the state of the tomato - if it is elevated, then dolomite flour should be added to the soil mass in the following proportion: for 1 kg of soil - 15 g of the substance. In order to improve the quality of tomato seedlings, add fertilizer with magnesium and lime to the soil mixture.

The correct composition of chernozem and the use of fertilizers with trace elements and minerals will reduce the period of growing seedlings to 2 weeks. Peat-based soil contains long fibers, the function of which is to deoxidize the fertilizer, because it has increased acidity. It is even better to fertilize with ground eggshells, potassium or nitrogen.

The preparation of the soil mass for planting tomato seedlings does not involve the use of a conventional earthen mixture taken from the garden. It is very dense, so it will be difficult for tomatoes to develop.

Some vegetable growers mix part of their own prepared chernozem with purchased one. If you are short of time or lack of experience, you can contact a specialized store. If you have decided on the purchase of ready-made mixtures, then choose the following: "Flora", "Gumimax", "Gardener", "Ogorodnik", "Krepysh". Choose a retail outlet carefully, do not take the first one you come across in order to avoid fakes.

Soil preparation

The main rule is to sift the ground. It may contain sticks, pebbles, roots or fibers that will pose a danger when diving tomatoes - injuring the roots. The finer the soil for tomato seedlings, the better they will survive when planted in open ground or when diving.

It is necessary to alternate the temperature regime for the earth mass throughout the winter: after the cold, bring the tomatoes into the heat and vice versa with an interval of 5 weeks. After such "thermotherapy" the composition should be fertilized by adding one teaspoon of urea. Before this, the soil mass must warm up. Then take half a glass of ash and 2 tsp. superphosphate. After mixing, you need to pour in the manganese solution. Then you stand for 14 days and plant the tomatoes there.

Disinfection

The process of preparing a mixture for seedlings includes an important point - the vegetable grower needs to remove pathogenic bacteria and larvae from the soil in order to get a good harvest and prevent the death of plants.

The above temperature alternation mode eliminates the problem. Treat chernozem for cultivation with a solution of potassium permanganate (3 grams per bucket of water). It is necessary to check whether the acidity level is sufficient, because slightly acidic soil mass contributes to infection with black leg and keel. To prevent diseases for seedlings add dolomite flour or lime in such quantities - 17 grams per 1 kg of soil mass.

There are several ways to determine the acid-base balance of the earth mass:

• pass for laboratory tests;
• check with special litmus paper;
• identify with wild grasses: many of them prefer a certain type of soil surface.

If everything is clear with the analyzes - you need to dig holes and place the contents in a package with a signature and coordinates, then using the third method, pay attention to indicator plants. Chernozem with high or neutral acidity is preferred by wheatgrass, heather, plantain, pickulnik, and veronica. On an alkaline surface, European euonymus, larkspur, ash and pine grow. On any mass, wild strawberries, bird buckwheat, field bindweed, white gauze, creeping buttercup will develop.

Gardeners use the folk method - moisten the lump with vinegar. With low acidity, it will make noise. Special tests are sold in stores: if the surface is acidic, the paper will turn red, and if alkaline, it will darken.

Steaming is an effective method for disinfecting the mass. Take a saucepan or other metal container, pour 1-1.5 cm of water.Using an elastic band, secure the edges of a clean, preferably natural, fabric and pour the earthy mixture into it. Put the container on low heat for 20-30 minutes, let the water boil away. In this way, the action of the heat will kill the larvae and other pathogens.

Video "How to prepare the soil for tomato seedlings"

A video on how to prepare a nutritious soil mixture for tomato seedlings at home, how to check the acidity level and how to fertilize it.