Soil disinfection: why and how to do it

For years, pests and diseases accumulate in the ground, multiplying intensively with the onset of heat. No matter what potent drugs you treat the planting, all the same, diseases and pests make themselves felt. Gardeners have to spend a lot of money, time and effort to grow high-quality and healthy fruits. However, in addition to the periodic processing of plants in the spring and summer, disinfection of the soil will not interfere, since healthy plants grow in healthy soil.

Soil disinfection: process photo

Disinfection of the soil before planting

• Divide the garden into narrow beds, fence them off. The width of the beds should not exceed one and a half meters, otherwise it will be problematic to reach the middle without stepping on the ground. Purchase in the store a preparation for soil disinfection, consisting of microorganisms that heal the soil, suppress diseases. Several types of biofugnicides belong to preparations for soil disinfection, all of them are safe for insects and humans, therefore this method of soil disinfection is most acceptable. The preparation for soil disinfection should be applied after digging in autumn and spring, when the weather becomes warm, or only in spring. The application depth should be about 10 cm. This method is ideal for greenhouses.
• If the plantings are constantly sick with something, they have to be intensively processed from early spring to late autumn, then biological products for soil disinfection will not be enough. In this case, you can use chemicals: Bordeaux mixture, copper oxychloride, copper sulfate. Solutions should be prepared in a low concentration, thoroughly spill each bed. Watering must be abundant so that the drug also affects the lower layers of the soil. You can plant plants in a treated garden after 3-4 weeks, so you should think about disinfecting the earth in advance.
• Spill the beds with potassium permanganate. Our grandmothers used this method to disinfect the soil. It is necessary to make a weak solution of potassium permanganate so that its color is only slightly pinkish. Then carefully shed every centimeter of the broken bed, and after 2 weeks dig up the garden. 3 weeks after disinfection of the soil, you can plant seedlings or sow seeds. However, it should be borne in mind that potassium permanganate increases the acidity of the soil, so this option is not suitable for acidic soil.
• In order to properly disinfect the soil in a greenhouse or cellar, it is not enough to process the soil or the floor, because the walls, ceiling, shelves also become carriers of harmful microorganisms and parasites. Sulfur fumes will help here. To disinfect the soil in the greenhouse and cellar, you need to purchase sulfur briquettes at any gardening store, spread them out and set them on fire. It is necessary to close the doors tightly so that the steam does not escape as long as possible. The next day, you can remove the remnants of the briquettes, and plant vegetation or send vegetables for storage after a couple of weeks. Sulfur vapors allow you to get rid of not only late blight, but also from rot, spider mites, and also from rodents.

It is necessary to disinfect the soil annually, otherwise diseases and pests will quickly begin to manifest themselves. Thanks to the disinfection of the soil, it will be possible to treat the grown plants less often.