Preparing the soil for pepper seedlings

Peppers, both hot and sweet, belong to the Solanaceae family. This means that the root system in adults, and even more so in young plants, is quite delicate and sensitive. Therefore, to obtain strong and healthy seedlings, properly organized watering and timely applied fertilizers are often not enough. If the seedlings are unsuccessful, many begin to look for mistakes in caring for plants, forgetting about the most important thing - the soil. After all, poor and unsuitable soil can be the main cause of seedling diseases. In this article we will talk about what soil is suitable for peppers, and what soil is better not to use.

Good soil - bad soil

The end of winter, smoothly flowing into the beginning of spring, is a period of revival in the life of gardeners. At this time, everyone begins to purchase seeds and soil for seedlings. But in the store, picking up another package of universal soil, no one will think about whether such soil is suitable for pepper seedlings.

Let's look at what criteria good soil for seedlings should have:

• the soil structure must be light, loose and porous so that air and water can freely flow to the roots of the plants;
• it should pass water well without forming a hard crust on the surface;
• it must contain organic matter;
• the soil for seedlings must contain potassium, phosphorus, iron and nitrogen;
• The acidity level of the soil for planting peppers should be neutral, from 5 to 7 pH. High acidity of the soil will contribute to the appearance of diseases such as blackleg and clubroot in seedlings.

Now let's consider which land is considered unsuitable when growing peppers for seedlings:

• soil that contains larvae, fungal spores and eggs of various pests should definitely not be used when planting pepper seedlings;
• You should avoid soil that contains clay;
• A completely peat substrate will not work either.

Now many manufacturers have begun to indicate the composition of the soil and its acidity on the packaging of the soil. Therefore, buying a ready-made mixture has become easier than mixing the necessary components at home. But if the goal of planting pepper seedlings is to obtain strong and healthy seedlings, then it is better to prepare the soil yourself.

Soil components for seedlings

All components of the soil for seedlings were not chosen by chance. Each of them endows the land with special characteristics that improve its final composition. The following soil components are most often used for pepper seedlings:

• humus;
• leavening agents;
• peat;
• leaf soil;
• turf.

Let's tell you more about each component.

Humus

Many gardeners and gardeners believe that humus and compost are the same thing.But in fact, these are completely different fertilizers.

Compost is an organic mass that consists of decomposed plant debris placed in boxes or compost heaps. In addition to various organic residues, properly prepared compost includes:

• peat;
• phosphate rock;
• garden soil.

Externally, compost is very similar to humus, but it can be used as a substitute only after 2 years from the date of laying. Fresh humus should not be used for seedlings of peppers or other crops.

But humus is the best organic fertilizer, which is obtained from rotted manure. At the same time, high-quality humus will never smell like manure. It will smell like spring earth or forest floor. Good humus ripens within 2–5 years and is suitable for absolutely all crops, fruit trees and even flowers.

Leavening agents

Disintegrants are needed to improve soil porosity. Most often, coarse river sand is used for these purposes.

But in addition to it, other substances can be used, the loosening properties of which are combined with other useful qualities:

• sphagnum – due to its bactericidal properties, it protects the root system of seedlings from rot;
• sawdust - makes the soil lighter;
• perlite – reduces the likelihood of fungal diseases and helps maintain optimal temperature conditions;
• vermiculite – retains moisture, preventing the soil from drying out.

To loosen the soil, you can choose any of the proposed substances, or you can give preference to coarse sand.

Peat

This substance can not only improve the structure of the soil, but also significantly enrich its composition. Soil prepared with the addition of peat will breathe well and also provide plants with valuable nitrogen. But not every peat can be used for peppers.

There are 3 types of peat:

• lowland - the most nutritious;
• transition;
• superficial – having the highest acidity.

Taking into account the characteristics of the root system of peppers, lowland and transitional peat should be chosen. If you only have surface peat on hand, then before adding it to the soil mixture it must be diluted with ash or lime.

Leaf ground

As the name suggests, leaf soil is formed under trees from fallen and rotted leaves. Due to the large amount of useful substances, this soil is also called leaf humus.

You can get leaf soil in two ways:

• go into the forest and dig up soil under the trees;
• cook it yourself.

Independent preparation of leaf soil is practically no different from preparing compost, both in technology and in terms of preparation time. The leaves collected under the trees are placed in heaps, and layers of soil are laid between them. Periodically, such leaf piles must be watered with water. To speed up decomposition, you can add manure, urea and lime. Leaf soil can be used only after it has completely decomposed. As a rule, this takes 1–2 years.

Turf

Turf soil is the top layer of soil. It contains a large number of useful nutrients that retain their properties for many years.

There are 3 types of turf soil:

• heavy, which includes clay;
• medium, containing clay and sand;
• light, almost entirely composed of sand.

To prepare the soil mixture, it is better to use medium and light turf soil. It is recommended to collect it in summer or autumn directly with the grass, as if cutting off the top layer of soil. It should be stored in boxes until use.

Soil for pepper seedlings

In order to prepare soil for peppers at home, you need to prepare all the available components in the summer or autumn. To do this, they are placed in bags, sacks or buckets and left to freeze for the winter.

You can mix the components for the soil according to your intuition, or you can use standard recipes for pepper seedlings.

Soil recipes

The criterion for choosing a specific recipe is the presence of certain components. There are 5 recipes for soil mixtures for pepper seedlings:

1. Sand, humus, peat and soil in equal parts.
2. Equal parts of earth, humus, turf and sand. Add a glass of ash to the resulting mixture for every 10 kg.
3. Lowland peat and humus with the addition of superphosphate.
4. Equal parts of peat and sand with the addition of two parts of turf.
5. Equal parts of humus, turf and leaf soil.

In each of the recipes discussed, you can use any available baking powder instead of sand.

Soil preparation

Pepper seedlings should be planted in the last ten days of February or the first ten days of March.Therefore, a week before the expected landing, you can begin preparations prepared from the fall of the land. To do this, you need to defrost and disinfect it.

There are several ways to disinfect the soil:

1. Treat with fungicidal and insecticidal preparations. This method should be used only when there are real doubts about the quality of the land. Such doubts may arise when low-quality components or components taken from the forest are added to the soil mixture. When choosing this disinfection method, you must remember to follow the recommended dosage, as well as personal protective equipment.
2. Steaming. Steaming time can vary from half an hour to several hours. After such steam treatment, the soil mixture should be stored in sealed bags or containers.
3. Disinfection in the oven. In this case, the oven must be preheated to 50 degrees. Some gardeners use higher temperatures, but with such exposure all beneficial microorganisms will die.
4. Treatment with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

You can clearly see the process of land disinfection by watching the video:

Disinfection of the soil may slightly deteriorate the nutritional composition of the soil, so it would be useful to additionally fertilize the soil. But even here you need to know when to stop. After all, peppers planted in soil oversaturated with fertilizers may begin to get sick, or even die. Therefore, before planting seeds for seedlings or replanting young plants, it is necessary to fertilize the soil with fertilizers based on potassium humate. Such fertilizers include “Baikal” and “Gumi”.

Preparing the soil in the garden bed

Soil for pepper seedlings is important not only during its growth at home, but also after it is transplanted to a permanent place.Therefore, the soil in the beds needs to be prepared for planting seedlings.

The first thing to do is to fertilize the future beds a week before planting. Organic fertilizers are best suited for this, but mineral preparations can also be used.

It is worth introducing them in advance, preferably during the autumn work period. Just before planting the peppers, you should not add ash and lime to the ground.

After fertilizing the soil, you need to wait a few days and thoroughly water all the beds prepared for the peppers. This will allow the fertilizer to be evenly distributed within the soil. Now all that remains is to wait a few more days and you can plant the pepper seedlings in a permanent place and wait for a bountiful harvest. After all, peppers grown in good, high-quality soil simply cannot help but reciprocate the gardener’s feelings and give him a rich harvest.

Recommended Posts

Pepper varieties for planting with photos and descriptions

Pepper varieties and hybrids

The best pepper seeds

Pepper Ali Baba

Pepper Giant yellow F1

Time for sowing pepper seedlings in Siberia

Fertilizer for tomato and pepper seedlings

How to feed peppers during fruiting

Pepper Jupiter F1