Spring preparation of the greenhouse for the new season: tillage before planting seedlings
The arrival of spring is a good reason to think about the future harvest, about growing healthy, high-quality seedlings and early vegetables in a greenhouse.
By and large, many problems can be avoided if the processing of the greenhouse and the preparation of greenhouse soil in the spring for planting seedlings is done in time and correctly. Read about how to do it thoughtfully and effectively in this article.
Content
Visual inspection of the external and internal parts of the greenhouse and repair
The preparation of the greenhouse for the new season should be started already at the end of February or the beginning of March: if possible, you should come to the dacha and inspect the greenhouse for any damage it could have received during the winter. To do this, you will first need to remove the snow both from the structure itself and lying next to it.If you notice that the tightness of the structure is broken, then you should definitely patch up all the holes. After all, the main goal of a greenhouse is to preserve heat and humidity.
Advice! Experienced summer residents and gardeners advise on an ongoing basis to periodically clean the greenhouse from snow throughout the winter period.
Video: snow removal from a polycarbonate greenhouse
Cleaning the greenhouse surface inside and outside
After you complete the first stage of greenhouse preparation, you can start spring cleaning in the greenhouse and cleaning it.
Throw away all the trash that you did not have time to clean up in the fall.
Thoroughly clean the inside and outside of the greenhouse and all its components from dust and dirt:
- The film and glass are wiped with a soap solution (using laundry soap) and a sponge, and polycarbonate plates can be washed not only with soap, but also with a light solution of potassium permanganate (preferably hot).
- To clean metal structures, use ordinary warm water with the addition of vinegar.
- It is advisable to wash wooden parts with plain water without adding anything.
Video: how to wash a greenhouse with manganese
Treatment of the greenhouse from diseases and pests before planting seedlings
So you washed all the structures and the greenhouse itself, now it's time to treat the greenhouse from diseases and pests, in other words, to disinfect it.
There are 2 ways to treat or disinfect the greenhouse itself and the soil inside:
- chemical;
- biological.
Chemical treatment (use of sulfur checker)
For the spring processing of the greenhouse before planting, it is perfectly suited to fumigate it with a sulfuric smoke bomb. But it is advisable to use such disinfection only for wooden greenhouses or for those with plastic pipes at the base of the frame.
Advice! As for the timing of processing the greenhouse with a sulfur checker, it is better to do this about a week before planting seedlings. Sulfur will definitely have time to erode, and bacteria and fungi, from which fumigation was carried out, will not have time to reappear.
To properly process the greenhouse in the spring with a sulfur stick, you need:
- Remove the plastic wrap from the checker itself, remove the ignition wick from the packaging and install it into the checker.
- It is advisable to place checkers at different ends of the greenhouse.
- It is imperative to put something under the checker (brick, stone, foam block or tin sheet), because after it lights up, the temperature will be very high.
- After setting fire, it is required to immediately leave the room and close the door, having previously closed all the transoms as well.
- In no case touching your face, wash your hands thoroughly.
- Smoke bombs burn out in about 30-90 minutes.
- After the end of burning, enter the room Absolutely forbidden. It is necessary to leave it closed for another couple of days.
- Then thoroughly ventilate by opening all doors and transoms for plowing until the sulfur smell completely disappears. This usually takes the same couple of days.
- Planting seedlings in a treated greenhouse can only be done after you do not feel the slightest smell.
Warning! According to experienced agronomists, if you carry out frequent processing of a greenhouse with a sulfur checker, which has a metal frame or is itself wooden, but it naturally contains various metal objects (for example, nails, a stove and pipes for heating it), then later All metal structures will become unusable for 2-3 years. This is due to the fact that the sulfuric acid formed will simply gradually corrode the metal, and it will begin to rust. Therefore, before fumigating the greenhouse with a sulfuric smoke bomb, all metal surfaces must be treated with any greasy and viscous lubricant (such as grease).
Video: fumigating the greenhouse with a sulfuric smoke bomb before planting seedlings in spring
It is optimal to treat metal greenhouses with a solution of copper sulfate with lime or potassium permanganate.
To prepare the solution, you will need 100 grams of copper sulfate per 1 bucket of water.Some sources advise taking an average of 0.5 kg of copper sulfate and adding 3 kg of slaked lime to it, but such a solution, for obvious reasons, will be too saturated.
Important! Greenhouse processing with copper sulfate should be carried out with rubber gloves. Remember, safety comes first!
Video: processing the inner surface of the greenhouse with copper sulfate
Land disinfection, including the use of biological products
As a soil cultivation in a greenhouse, watering it with hot water, followed by a cover with ordinary polyethylene or other covering material, is excellent. By spilling the ground with hot water in a greenhouse in spring, you will destroy up to 80-90% of pests and diseases.
Advice! Biological preparations with microorganisms that disinfect the soil should be applied a little later, when the soil in the greenhouse warms up more.
What else should you cultivate the land in the greenhouse before planting seedlings?
For example, usingFitosporin (at the rate of 1 tbsp. a spoonful of solution in 10 liters of water), you can also disinfect the soil in the greenhouse, slightly spilling the top layer. After the soil has absorbed this solution, it is recommended to dig it up slightly with a rake so that the beneficial bacteria are under the soil. At the end, cover the disinfected bed with a covering material (spunbond or film).
Video: soil preparation in a greenhouse in spring - disinfection with Fitosporin
How to prepare and cultivate the soil in a greenhouse before planting
The last stage of spring work in the greenhouse is the preparation and cultivation of the soil before planting seedlings, as well as the formation of beds.
In order to grow a rich crop of greenhouse vegetables, the soil in the greenhouse must be appropriate, in other words, it is necessary to take care of increasing its fertility.
How to prepare the land in the greenhouse for planting seedlings?
Sowing siderates
You can improve the structure and fertility of the soil in the greenhouse using spring planting of green manure... A month after their sowing, it will be necessary to dig up the soil along with slightly grown siderates and then plant seedlings.
How can this be done?
First you need to thoroughly loosen the ground. It is not necessary to dig deeply, it is enough to do this with a half-bayonet of a shovel, or even 5-8 cm, for example, with a Fokin flat cutter. Siderata Sowing is very easy: just take a handful of seeds and spread them over the ground.
Simultaneously with sowing green manure, you can apply any fertilizer to which you are accustomed. It can be organic fertilizers or mineral fertilizers (especially nitrogen, as well as potash and to a lesser extent phosphoric, they needed to be added in the fall). It is best to use high-quality compost or humus as organic matter. Adding bone meal will not be superfluous, because it is just an excellent natural substitute for phosphorus fertilizers.
After sowing green manure and fertilizing, the land should be watered with warm water. And so that the soil remains moist for a long time and warms up faster, the beds can be covered with spunbond or black film.
Interesting! Some growers leave a black film on the soil in the greenhouse until the end of the season, making cutouts for planting and further growing seedlings (a kind of mulching). In this double greenhouse environment, vegetables grow even faster. But we must make a reservation that for the normal development of plants in such conditions, it is necessary to organize a drip irrigation system, so that there is no double overheating on very hot summer days.
Without seedlings anywhere! But in order for the seedlings to be of high quality and viable, and even grow exponentially, it is necessary to carry out the correct process of preparing the greenhouse and cultivating the soil in spring to increase its fertility and protect it from pests and diseases.