Is it possible to plant onions in peat soil? Vegetable garden on peat soil: pros and cons. Peat extract

Peat is a mixture of semi-decomposed plant remains under conditions of excess moisture. It is one of the most popular organic fertilizers, especially among beginning gardeners.

They try to purchase as much of it as possible and immediately apply it to the soil or use it for growing seedlings. But they often fail, because... plants fertilized with peat alone do not grow well enough, and seedlings grown in pots filled with peat alone often die for some reason. To avoid these failures, you need to know what type of peat can be used, where and how.

As you know, there are different types of peat - highland, lowland and transitional. You should definitely be interested in this when purchasing it. They are easy to distinguish from each other, because... they have completely different colors.

• High peat Forms on nutrient-poor elevated terrain. He light color, with an increased amount of organic matter, very acidic (pH 2.5–4.5), difficult to decompose, very moisture-intensive, with low ash content (up to 5%), with very low nitrogen content (half that of lowland peat ) and other nutrients.
• Lowland peat, as a rule, dark in color (brown and even black-brown). It has a significantly higher degree of decomposition of organic matter and ash content, its acidity is often close to neutral.
• Transitional peat in its properties it occupies an intermediate position.

Lowland peat can be used to add to the soil without composting. But before adding it to the soil, it is well crushed and “weathered” in heaps for at least six months. But this is not the most best option, since the conversion of the nitrogen contained in it into a form convenient for plants will occur slowly.

That is why the use of even lowland peat as fertilizer in pure form ineffective and sometimes harmful, since dry peat, when applied to the soil, absorbs moisture from the soil that plants need.

As can be seen from all that has been said, adding unprepared peat to the soil is of little use, because it potentially contains only nitrogen in abundance, but even in low-lying, well-decomposed peat, it is practically inaccessible to plants.

In the first years after being added to the soil, such peat only increases the absorption capacity of the soil and improves its air regime. Therefore, we must remember that if the soil in the garden is well cultivated, loose and fertile, then adding such unprepared peat to it is practically useless.

It’s another matter if there is little organic matter in the soil, especially if it is heavy, clayey, floating or, conversely, sandy or light sandy loam soil. In this case, using peat can significantly improve physical properties and the structure of clay soil, make it looser, water- and moisture-permeable, and for sandy soil, on the contrary, significantly increase its moisture capacity.

To increase the humus content on soddy-podzolic soil by 1%, you need to add 2-3 buckets of peat per 1 sq.m. In this case, it is better to scatter it over the soil surface in the fall, and in the spring, gradually mix the surface layer with peat. Since peat holds all available substances well, it can be applied to the soil even in winter directly on the snow. In addition, peat is usually relatively cheap.

Some gardeners sometimes use fresh low-lying peat with the addition of garden soil to create bulk beds for growing cucumbers and zucchini, planting seedlings in holes completely filled with good humus.

By the time the plant roots grow beyond the boundaries of such a hole, the lowland peat will have sufficiently lost its negative qualities. When constructing such beds, wood ash is added to the peat, 2 cups per bucket of peat and ordinary garden soil.

But, of course, it is much more useful to cover a pile of low-lying peat with film and keep it like that for 3-4 months, occasionally watering it with water, diluted slurry or herbal infusions. During this time, the peat will “ripen”, and it will already be “truly” useful peat.

And acidic high-moor peat in its pure form cannot be added to the soil and used for growing seedlings at all. This type of peat is mainly used for animal bedding. It needs extensive composting before being added to the soil. It is used for the preparation of peat manure, peat fecal matter, peat phosphorite, peat ash and other composts.

There are different types soils on which horticultural societies are located. Somewhere clay predominates, somewhere peat. For example, my site is located on peat bogs. For some reason, some gardeners have a negative attitude towards such soil. Although all gardeners try to buy peat and fertilize their beds with it. Such soil has its pros and cons.

Disadvantages of peat soil

The disadvantages of such soil are the following.

It is necessary to water the sown seeds frequently until the seeds germinate, since the top layer of soil (about ten centimeters) dries out very quickly, and moisture is necessary for seed germination. The moisture of morning dew is not enough for all types of seeds. Small plants, such as dill, are especially affected. For some plants, it is necessary to add sand to the beds (to retain moisture). Not all types of fruit trees grow on such soil.

Of course, you need to be careful when burning fires on peat lands. You will extinguish the fire from above, but it may ignite the lower layer of peat, and you will not immediately detect it. It is better to fill the area with gravel for this. Or you can do it as it was done on my site - they put a barbecue on a concrete slab. It can be used to cook and burn garbage.

To remove excess moisture, drainage ditches, thirty centimeters deep, run along the perimeter of our site. This is enough to remove excess moisture during rains.

Benefits of peat soil

The advantages include the following.

Peat soil is very loose, light, and working in such soil is a pleasure. You can dig any hole with your hands and hill up the plants. There is no need to loosen the beds, just weed them. There is no need to moisten the soil before weeding; all weeds are easily pulled out. Almost all plants grow by leaps and bounds. You always have soil at hand for sowing seedlings. After the seeds germinate, when the plant roots grow through the upper dry layer and enter the lower layer, you can rarely water the beds. Because the peat soil is wet inside.

On my site there is a hole dug measuring three by three meters, about two meters deep, there is always groundwater which I water my plants with. They grow beautifully all summer various types leaf salads: lettuce leaves, arugula, parsley, celery, mustard, watercress. I always reap a good harvest onions, carrots, beets, cucumbers, bell pepper, pumpkins, zucchini, cabbage, radishes, potatoes and other vegetable crops.

We added sand to the strawberry beds. Lush bushes with a lot of berries grew, resulting in a wonderful harvest. All these plants grow very well in this soil. Cuttings root well different plants due to the lightness of such soil.

Many types of flowers and ornamental shrubs. There are a lot of flowers in my area. These are dahlias, gladioli, asters, petunias, phlox, irises, lilies, primroses, lavaterra, September flowers, hosta, tulips, daffodils, decorative sunflowers, crocuses, various types of rosacea. And they all grow and expand beautifully without frequent watering or loosening. Of course, provided that the summer is not very dry. I can say that in dry summers it is necessary to water any soil frequently. Of the ornamental shrubs that grow well on my site, I can name the following - barberry, heather, juniper, thuja. Currants, honeysuckle, gooseberries, and raspberries also grow well. And they all bear fruit well.

I do not use any fertilizers on my site, because I am against any plant growth stimulants. My opinion is that what grows will grow. I collect a good harvest from my plot, and it is environmentally friendly.

From my practical experience I can say that there is no need to be afraid to acquire land on peat lands. And if now I had a choice - on what soil to buy a garden plot, I would choose peat soil. The advantages of such soil are much greater than the disadvantages.

High peat

High "red" sphagnum peat, unlike soil mixtures, is characterized by high porosity (about 95%) and excellent moisture capacity (60 - 70%). It is not microbiologically degradable for a relatively long time, which means it can be used for a long time. Thanks to its long-fiber structure, high-moor peat is able to retain mineral fertilizers added to it, while they are not washed out for a long time and are stored in a form accessible to plants.

The long-fiber substrate based on high-moor peat is light in weight. It also has good thermal insulation properties, does not cake and does not shrink when growing plants.

The root system of crops planted in such a substrate easily entwines the entire peat lump.

High peat in its natural form has an acidic reaction (pH 2.8 - 3.6) and can be used to acidify the main soil. It is especially convenient to use it for plants that prefer to grow in an acidic substrate: rhododendrons, hydrangeas, heathers, some types of violets, strawberries, potatoes, sorrel. For these crops, aerated peat is applied at a rate of 1:1 (for clay or sandy soil).

For rhododendrons, hydrangeas and azaleas, you can also add one part of pine litter.

Based on high-moor peat, you can prepare a substrate and grow seedlings of vegetable and flower crops on it, or use it as the main soil in a greenhouse. To do this, add lime or dolomite flour on average 9-10 kg/m 3 and mineral fertilizers (for complex mineral fertilizer dose 1 - 2 kg/m 3). Then measure the pH (acidity). The optimal soil acidity for most vegetable plants and flowers ranges from 5.5 to 6.5.

The prepared substrate must be kept for 1.5 - 2 weeks, stirring occasionally. Then water it and plant the plants. During the growing season, cucumbers are watered with slurry diluted with water (1:10), and the remaining plants are fed with compost and mineral fertilizers.

The advantage of this method of growing in a greenhouse is that the soil spent during the season can be replaced without special costs.

And as you know, changing the soil helps get rid of root infections that accumulate over the season.

Lowland peat

Lowland peat is mostly black. It is characterized by a high degree of decomposition, a high concentration of minerals, especially calcium, and can be neutral or slightly acidic (pH 4.2 - 4.7). Lowland peat is rich in humic acids, but absorbs large number water and does not release it well (humidity more than 70%). It is prone to caking, clumping and silting.

For ventilation, lowland peat is kept in the open air for several days. It is poured into heaps, which allows compounds harmful to plants to erode.

It is better to use lowland peat in a mixture with compost and mineral fertilizers as a source of replenishment of organic matter in mineral soil, as well as to lighten and aerate clay soils and bind and retain moisture in sandy soils.

NOTE

Peat is most often extracted directly from the surface of the earth. This method is called milling. Less commonly, peat is extracted from quarries.

Lowland or high-moor peat is distributed evenly over the surface of the earth and dug up along with the soil to a depth of 10 cm. The application rate is 20 - 30 l/m2. For new plots of land it is necessary to apply 50-60 l/m2.

When peat is added, the soil becomes optimal for plants - finely lumpy and granular (soil particles are stuck together into lumps with a diameter of several millimeters). Land with such a structure contains a lot of air necessary for the root system to breathe; it absorbs and retains water well, which creates conditions for plants to more fully and productively use atmospheric and soil moisture.

Lowland peat is perfect for mulching lawns in the spring. First, the grass is combed out and nitrogen fertilizers are applied, and then peat is spread over it in a thin layer (3 - 5 mm is enough).

Peat mulching is also useful for sandy and clay soil and for retaining moisture at the roots when watering. It is usually carried out in the spring. We pull out all the weeds, water them, and apply fertilizer if necessary. Peat is distributed in a layer of 2 - 5 cm, without pouring it close to the stems. For large plants and when using a large fraction of peat, the thickness of the mulch can be increased. In autumn, peat is incorporated into the top layer of soil.

Peat compost

Peat perfectly removes odor from compost heaps consisting of household waste. To do this, it is laid in a layer of 25 - 30 cm, household waste, slurry, etc. are poured on top, which are periodically covered with peat on top.

The width of the stack should be twice its height. For one weight part of peat, take 2-3 parts of waste (slurry) in summer, and half as much in winter. The mixture is stirred periodically. The ripening period of compost depends on the time of laying - in spring and summer 2-4 months, in autumn and winter 6-12 months. In dry, hot weather, the composted material should be moistened.

If you raise poultry, rabbits and larger animals, then you will not find a better disinfectant bedding than peat.

Vegetables, fruits and flower bulbs are also perfectly stored in dry peat.

And if you are the owner of a peat-covered swampy area, don’t be upset! Grow what others cannot: hydrangeas, rhododendrons, heathers, azaleas, varietal cranberries, blueberries, lingonberries with huge fruits and a storehouse of essential amino acids, antioxidants and vitamins.

Well, was it worth it to be afraid of this truly wonderful raw material? If you are too lazy to bother with preparing peat for use or it is not available in your region, it can be purchased in stores and from enterprises specializing in the production of peat substrates. From all of the above, choose what suits you!

NOTE

For garden toilets, the best choice is high fluffy peat, which can absorb 400% of liquid waste and at the same time absorb odors.

Any peat - highland, lowland or transitional - can be used to cover plants for the winter. Fertilized and neutralized peat can be used to cover the rhizomes of raspberries, roses, grapes, and add strawberry bushes.

It is ideal to cover rhododendrons, azaleas, and hydrangeas with high peat in its pure form, and then wrap it with agrotextile on top to protect against sunburn.

Covering with peat is very convenient because in the spring you just need to lightly scatter the top layer of peat around the plants, freeing the trunks and branches. The same substrate will also serve as additional nutrition for plants in the spring.

Peat: both mulch and fertilizer

It is often recommended to mulch seedlings with peat. But peat is also a fertilizer?

Both lowland and highland peat are a mixture of semi-decomposed plant remains. Indeed, this is an organic fertilizer. But don’t expect peat to instantly increase soil fertility. Peat has almost no effect on the saturation of the soil with nutrients. However, it greatly improves the structure of the soil - it makes it loose, so water and air penetrate to the roots faster. It is useful to add peat to sandy soil, because, unlike sand, it perfectly retains moisture and nutrients.

Pay attention to the types of peat (see table).

On low-lying peat you can grow berries and vegetable crops. High-moor peat is only suitable for growing blueberries or cranberries, or it can be added to compost and covered plants with it for the winter. Peat can be added both in spring and autumn - for digging at the rate of 35-40 kg per 1 K8.M.

It is good to add peat to the tree trunks of trees and shrubs to a height of 5-6 cm. This mulch is especially useful after prolonged rains, when a dense crust forms on the soil surface. In this case, peat also acts as a leavening agent.

NOTE: High-moor peat must be neutralized before application: add 2-3 kg of lime or 3-4 kg of ash per 100 kg of peat.

		Plants- peat formers	Peculiarities
Horse	brown	Sphagnum mosses, cotton grass, wild rosemary, marsh sedge	Contains a large amount of organic matter and few nutrients available to plants; with high acidity
Lowland	brown	Sedges, hypnum mosses, reeds, horsetail, meadowsweet, cinquefoil	Contains more nutrients and less organic matter than horse grass; acidity (pH) - from 4.7 to 6.0

Colors black thickening fabric pot plant pot container...

Quite often, many amateur gardeners wonder how and what to fertilize all their favorite plants so that it is with maximum benefit and minimal cost. They give their preference to those fertilizers that are available in their region.

Areas with many wetlands are rich in excellent fertilizer - peat. People started using peat as a fertilizer not yesterday or even the day before yesterday. People have guessed about its beneficial qualities since ancient times and, through many experiments, came to the conclusion that soil fertilized with peat becomes much more fertile, and the plants on it delight with their strength and beauty.

Article outline

This inhabitant of swamp spaces not only serves to create a highly nutritious environment for all plants. It can be used to heat homes, filter for various solutions, and provide ideal thermal insulation. But most often, soil fertilization with peat is used.

What is this wonderful substance? These are the remains of plants and animals, which over time undergo rotting, decomposition and compression. This wonderful organic substance also contains useful mineral fertilizers.

Mineral fertilizer peat is indispensable for any species of flora. It is used to fertilize the soil on which garden or vegetable plants grow. But do not forget that feeding with peat is not useful for all soils. In some cases, such feeding can cause harm.

Soil in which there is a sufficient amount of humus does not need fertilizer. But the soil, which consists mainly of clay and sand, really needs to be simply diluted with peat. If we approach this issue with all seriousness, then after feeding such soil with peat, it will be saturated with organic and other useful substances.

Peat is an organic fertilizer, which, depending on the degree of decomposition and its acidity, is divided into three types:

• High-moor peat is practically undecomposed and unpressed remains of animal and plant life.
• Lowland peat is a mass that has completely decomposed.
• Transitional – the middle link between high-moor and low-lying peat.

The first and second types of peat have too much acidity, so using it without any impurities, in its pure form, can be harmful to plants.

It is best to combine this fertilizer with other organic and mineral substances.

Thus, peat will help retain agrochemicals in the soil, saturate it with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. By the way, peat contains 50-60% carbon. And this is a sufficient amount for the plants to feel great.

Fertilizing the land with peat has a beneficial effect on its composition and quality. Thanks to this, she seems to be reborn again. Becomes water and breathable. In other words, the soil begins to breathe. In such soil, plants become comfortable and cozy. This happens if you fertilize the soil with lowland or intermediate types of peat. The top layer of peat is not suitable for such a role. This is ideally an excellent mulching material for covering the plant during the winter.

Peat consists of:

• 50-60% carbon;
• 5% from hydrogen;
• 1-3% from oxygen;
• 3% from nitrogen;
• 1% from sulfur.

ABOUT beneficial properties peat

Peat is a plant fertilizer that has some distinctive features. It is heat- and moisture-intensive, has a slightly acidic environment. There are some rules that should be followed when working with this substance:

1. Before you start using peat, it must be thoroughly ventilated. The fact is that it contains a large portion of substances that can have negative influence on plants. To prevent this from happening, just place a small amount of peat on a pile in a well-ventilated place.
2. It is necessary to carefully pay attention and control the moisture content of the peat. In no case should it fall below 50%. If you do not keep track and allow the humidity to drop, then the soil fertilized with peat will poorly retain moisture, which will negatively affect the development and growth of plants.
3. We must not forget that for fertile lands peat will not play a big role. It is useful for depleted soils, sandy and clayey.
4. You should not wait for an immediate reaction after fertilizing with peat. As a rule, it is valid for 2-3 years. The most positive effect is noticed from the second year, so don’t be upset or rush things.
5. You can fertilize the soil with fertilizers that contain peat both in the autumn and spring seasons. In both cases it will be beneficial for the plants.
6. Fertilizing slightly acidic soils with slightly acidic peat is neither correct nor prudent. First, the peat must be neutralized with lime or dolomite flour.
7. In order to enrich lowland peat with useful components, it must first be used for animal bedding. And only after that use the resulting mass for its intended purpose.

The quality of peat can be judged by doing a small experiment at home. You need to take a small amount of this material in your hand, squeeze it between your fingers and move it along a clean sheet of paper. The less moisture is squeezed out and the darker the stripe on the paper is, the greater the amount of plant and animal remains that has had time to decompose.

Good peat should be dark brown in color, with a loose structure and good moisture holding capacity. The acidity of peat is checked with ordinary litmus paper.

Methods for determining soil acidity

Peat is an excellent fertilizer for flowers. In order to extract everything useful qualities this valuable material and at the same time not to harm the flowers, peat is mixed with black soil and sand.

This mixture will help to grow wildly flowering plants rich in greenery. Flowers are usually stored in such soil in a flower shop for a long period of time, which not only does not harm them, but on the contrary promotes their good development and growth.

In many cases, peat is valued by gardeners and gardeners. This is an excellent and incomparable fertilizer for many plants. But most often peat is used as fertilizer for potatoes. Potatoes use all the beneficial substances of peat more fully than all other crops.

In order for powerful vegetative masses and healthy potato tubers to form, it is necessary to feed it not only with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, but also with other useful substances. To do this, it is also necessary to have loose soil, its correct structure with a slightly acidic environment. Soddy-podzolic soil with sand or clay is best suited for these purposes. Sand does not retain moisture well. Clay, although it retains moisture quite well, is basically airtight in its condition.

If all these indicators are mixed with peat, and even humus particles are added to this mixture, it will be difficult to find more fertile soil. It is advisable to fertilize light soil in the spring, at the same time as planting potatoes. It is better to feed heavy ones with peat and manure in the fall, after the harvest has been harvested.

If bird droppings are used instead of manure, then fertilizing is also needed purely in the autumn. On average, 10 kg of such fertilizer per 1 sq.m of land is enough.

When fertilizing in spring, peat with manure is thrown directly into the hole with planting material. This allows all the beneficial substances to get directly to the seeds, and in the future to the roots of the plant, which is especially important for achieving a rich harvest.

Where can I get peat? Trip for peat on video

Peat can be fed to both garden flowers and those growing in pots. It is used both as top dressing and as a mulching material. But every gardener should remember that this natural material for feeding plants, it begins to work well when combined with other organic and mineral components.

Not the last place in plant growing and gardening is occupied by acid peat. With its help, agricultural and flower plants can be easily grown. The use of acid peat is acceptable on a large industrial scale, but in a small area summer cottage or garden, bagged soil mixtures are prepared with its help.

For greater efficiency and without that useful material it is necessary to add other additional mineral and organic substances. The uniqueness of acid peat is manifested in its biological properties. The most acidic peat is considered to be high peat. Its formation occurs on a flat or elevated area. The degree of its decomposition is not too high. If you neutralize this type of fertilizer, it will become an indispensable assistant when growing seedlings and greenhouse crops.

Thanks to the use of acidic peat, the physical and chemical condition of the soil is greatly improved. There are positive changes in its density, breathability, nutritional value and microbiological state.

Peat, the extraction of which occurs in June-October, is usually the most valuable and nutritious. It is light, airy and absolutely non-toxic. It should not be stored for a long time. This deteriorates its quality, and some useful substances disappear.

How to prepare soil for seedlings - how to add peat in advance

Using peat in the garden

Using peat in the garden requires some knowledge. Before using it directly, the peat must be thoroughly fluffed and kept for 14 days. Ideally, it would be sifted through a special mesh with the required cell sizes. This material requires constant watering and an average temperature of 17-20 degrees.

If it is prepared correctly and also correctly placed in pots and cassettes, then the roots of the seedlings will be provided with useful substances and oxygen, and this in turn will contribute to its intensive growth.

An excellent peat fertilizer is peat compost. It is used by gardeners when manure is not available. Why is manure better than peat? Peat decomposes a little more slowly in the soil, which somewhat limits the access of useful components to plants in time.

It has already been mentioned above that peat has high acidity, so it is an excellent assistant for gardeners and gardeners only strictly after composting. If you approach this issue with full responsibility, then using peat compost you can create an excellent fertilizer for plants, in no way inferior to manure.

The right time for preparing composts is from early spring to late autumn. Excellent material that will be added to peat in the compost heap is various plant waste, fallen leaves, grass clippings and various food scraps. Most often used for peat compost:

• tops;
• weeds;
• sawdust and shavings;
• leftover food;
• and of course peat.

Do not throw plastic waste, rubber, glass or iron products into this pile.

Garden peat is a valuable product. Some people believe that only selected plants can grow on acid peat. In fact, there are simply a huge number of options for using peat in garden plots. It contains an unlimited amount of useful organic substances, it has amazing structural properties and can be of great use in the national economy.

Compost from peat can be prepared within 1-1.5 years. It is considered ready only when the compost heap has turned into a homogeneous, loose mass.

It is not worth making the compost heap very high, since in this case the decomposition processes will proceed unevenly - the maximum recommended height of a compost heap with peat is one and a half to two meters.

How peat is extracted on an industrial scale

It is widely used by many gardeners and peat has long proven itself as a fertilizer for tomatoes.

It is enough to start foliar and root feeding of tomatoes with a peat mixture once every fourteen days and the result will not take long to arrive.

It can also be added for greater effect when planting in holes along with plant seeds.

Peat has shown itself very well as a fertilizer for flowers. In airy and super-porous soil, thanks to peat, flowers quickly recover after transplantation and feel simply excellent throughout their growth.

Peonies are especially grateful for this wonderful fertilizer. They develop much faster, bloom much more profusely, and the smell of such peonies is much richer. After all, there is more than enough air in such soil. It holds as much moisture as the plant needs.

Fertilizer for cabbage

Cabbage is a rather finicky vegetable. It is too demanding on the soil and environment and prefers to grow in low acidic soil.

If you reduce the acidity of peat, make compost from it and apply this mixture when planting, then the effect of such organic fertilizing will be visible with the first harvest.

If you neutralize the acidity of peat and apply it when growing cucumbers, it will be one of the most effective fertilizers in gardening. It is important to observe certain proportions and requirements.

You can grow a large harvest by growing cucumbers directly on peat. It is enough just to produce it correctly and add the fertilizers necessary for good plant growth.

There is a type of soil that becomes crusty after rain. This becomes a big problem for plants growing in such soil, because oxygen access to the roots is practically blocked. If you periodically fertilize such soil with peat, this problem will remain a thing of the past and over time you can forget about it.

Peat is often and actively used in greenhouses. This application works great for 2-3 years. After this period, the quality of the peat deteriorates somewhat. Its mineralization (decomposition) occurs.

In order for the quality of peat to remain at the highest level, it is necessary to periodically add loosening materials to the soil with it.

This could be sawdust, sand or straw cuttings, manure or fresh peat. The mineralization of peat is stopped if you add pine bark crushed into dust.

The standard recipe for peat fertilizer for a greenhouse is as follows:

• 40% garden land;
• 40% lowland peat;
• 10% cow manure;
• 5% ash;
• 5% sawdust.

Thanks to these secrets, you can use such soil in a greenhouse for up to 6 years. After this period, it is better to completely replace the soil with a new one. One that has done its job can still serve as an excellent fertilizer for plants in the open air.