Sapropel what is it and how to use

Experienced gardeners have long begun to master such a unique fertilizer as sapropel. It is not as popular as manure or compost, but recently it has begun to be actively mined for use on its site. Knowing about fertilizer is very important if you want to grow a good crop. What is sapropel? What does it look like? What does it consist of? How to get it and how to use it - we'll talk about all this in this article.

Sapropel characteristic

Sapropel is a multilayer sediment of waste products at the bottom of a reservoir. It is mined exclusively from the bottom of stagnant, freshwater lakes. Formed from the dead remains of living organisms and plants that live in this reservoir. It is a kind of humus or compost. It has been forming at the bottom of the lake for about ten years, hence its unique properties with the content of many nutrients. Many people confuse it with silt, which also forms at the bottom of water bodies, but silt is a much younger formation than sapropel. The newly extracted fertilizer looks like a sticky, black mass. They are lifted from the bottom using special equipment, which is used to clean water bodies. Especially large deposits were found in Western Siberia, Pskov and Novgorod regions. Then it is dried well, and it becomes free-flowing, like sand. It is important to dry it well, otherwise the organic matter in the sapropel can rot. For sale, it is compressed and made into tablets or granules. The composition of this fertilizer can be very different, depending on what plants grew in a given reservoir, what animals lived. The exact composition can only be found with careful chemical analysis. We can only know the main components, and it is not possible to guess the ratio. The main element of sapropel is organic matter. Its content is about half (40-50%), 1/3 of the composition is ash (20-30%). Of the other elements, potassium can be distinguished, it is contained in a ratio of about 33%, boron, zinc, copper, phosphorus.

Unique properties of sapropel

As we said above, this fertilizer contains a lot of trace elements and vitamins in its composition. But gardeners especially appreciate it for a number of other properties. For example, it contains humic acid, which, as you know, disinfects the soil, forms a stable immunity to diseases in plants and helps in growth. Fertilizer is equally beneficial for the plants themselves and for the soil.

Useful properties of sapropel for soil:

- promotes loosening of heavy clay soils

- suppresses the pathogenic environment.

- neutralizes pesticides

- promotes increased connectivity in light, sandy soils

- has a unique long-acting property. This means that the soil fertilized with sapropel will be fertile for another 3-5 years.

- helps to retain moisture in the soil

- can be used on any soil, with any acidity in the soil and, most importantly, at any time, it does not have any negative effect on either the plants or the soil.

- increases the percentage of humus in the soil.

Useful properties of sapropel for plants:

- the added sapropel helps to form a strong, stable root system

- flowers in flower beds bloom more actively, more abundantly and the flowering period increases

- fertilizer applied in the spring helps the seedlings to take root successfully to a permanent place

- strengthens the immune system and delivers useful trace elements.

- increases productivity, in general, the fruits grow better

- stimulate plant growth

- reduces the amount of applied fertilizers per season

Sapropel for soil

The results of applying this fertilizer to the soil will not leave anyone indifferent. Wonderful soil changes in your garden are guaranteed. If you are a "happy" owner of a garden with clay soil, then this procedure is necessary for you. We take sapropel 3 liters per 1 square meter and scatter it over the surface of the garden, dig up the entire plot to a depth of 10-12 cm. The effect will be the same as from replacing the soil, but much less energy is spent. If you purchased this fertilizer in specialized agricultural stores, then most likely they are compressed into tablets, they must be gutted to a powder state.

Sapropel for seedlings

Sapropel is an excellent material for soil formation, not only in the open field, but also for seedlings. It is used in a 1: 3 ratio - it is a versatile seedling mixture. Other more complex relationships are also used. For pumpkin and squash crops - 3 parts of sapropel for 6 parts of land and 4 parts of sand. For tomatoes, eggplant and peppers - 1 part of sapropel for 7 parts of soil, 2 parts of sand. For cabbage - 3 parts of sapropel for 2 parts of land and 4 parts of sand.

The producers went further and introduced sapropel into the composition of soil mixtures. So you can just take ready-made ones, it will be much faster and more efficient. Pay attention to the mixtures under the trademarks Dobry Soil, Biogrunt Ek, Oflora from Gera, Saprogrunt from SaproOrganic, Veltorf

Sapropel in the composition of soil mixtures helps to ascend up to 100% of the seeds, increases their stability during transplantation.

Sapropel in the open field

For crops that are planted directly into open ground, it is advisable to immediately take care of the composition of the soil in which you are going to sow seeds. Sapropel will provide you with irreplaceable help here, it will speed up the process of seed germination, increase immunity and resistance to different weather conditions. We add it to the ground in a ratio of 3 liters per 1 square meter of earth and dig it up. We carry out the procedure in advance. You can make it in the fall, during digging, the calculations are the same.

- For fruit and berry crops, we use this fertilizer in a different way. When planting seedlings, add sapropel to the holes in a ratio of 1 part to 4 parts of the earth. Then we plant a sprout in this soil, cover it with earth. At the first fruiting, you will immediately notice the result of this procedure: the fruits will be larger, juicier and larger in quantity. You can also use it as a top dressing for fruit and berry crops, such dressing is considered very effective. During mulching, fall asleep around a tree or bush with a layer of no more than 5 cm, loosen and water.

- When transplanting various crops that we plant by seedling (cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers), just add one glass of sapropel per plant

- When planting potatoes, we use sapropel as follows: 3-5 kg ​​per 1 sq. m. The fertilizer applied in this way will increase your potato yield by 1.5-2 times, even in adverse weather conditions, because, in addition, sapropel increases the plant's immunity.

- Before planting seeds of carrots, beets, radishes and other root crops, scatter the sapropel over the surface of the earth and hammer it into the soil with a flat cutter to a depth of 10 cm, then make grooves and sow as in the usual way.

- Sapropel is also used for growing indoor plants. We take the same ratios as for seedlings: 1 part of fertilizer to 4 parts of land. It can be used both when planting and when transplanting.

Experienced gardeners have long noticed the surprisingly positive effect of this fertilizer on their site. It is very versatile and, most importantly, maintains a fertile soil environment for many years to come. We hope our article will help you start using these qualities of sapropel in your garden.