The soil

Be sure to read the relevant chapter in the "General features of growing plants" section and try to determine what the land is in your area( according to the soil-climatic zone and external features).Try to consult a specialist if possible( there are land cadastres) - even if you have to pay a little for it;this will help you to protect yourself from many later disappointments.

Warning! If the site is near the road, flowers are almost impossible to protect from pollution by toxic substances. For the same reason, plants often grow very poorly in urban areas. Partly remove the problem can be with meliorants that can absorb( absorb) harmful substances: activated carbon, expanded clay, vermiculite, various slimes( which are allowed to use in agriculture as meliorants), sapropels, as well as large doses of manure( if the manure is notcontraindicated to the plants themselves, which you are going to grow in this place).

The plowing( digging) of the soil and its loosening become very important moments of creation of the necessary conditions for plants of open ground when growing them in the open ground.

The sites on which annuals and perennials grow that do not hibernate in the open( tuber and bulbous cultures), in autumn and especially in the spring, must be excavated: this not only improves the mechanical properties of the soil, but also serves as additional protection against weeds,their root system, and in spring the germinated weeds can be embedded in the soil as a fertilizer. Dig up the earth with shovels or hoes. In the case of strong soil contamination with harmful substances and weed seeds, an analogue of plantation plowing is possible - the mutual displacement of deep layers of soil with upper layers;This method is applied only in the autumn, the introduction of fertilizers( primarily organic) in such cases is mandatory.

Black soils are dug( plowed) to a depth of 30 cm, soils with a smaller layer of humus - to the depth of the arable layer.

Deep loosening is carried out there and then, where plowing is impossible - next to trees, where perennials grow, or when plants are already planted. Around the tree-shrubby forms, the best method of cultivating the soil is by bayonet with the help of garden forks;between grassy( in the aisles and where possible) - a deep loosening hoe. In the spring and autumn, the loosened soil is raked.

Simple loosening is carried out after heavy rains and watering so that the soil does not shove with a crust corresponding to the tool.

It should be mentioned once again about the mulching of the soil, which only rarely occurs in the care of indoor plants. Covering open-soil plants with layers of straw, compost, wood shavings and other mulch-like materials is not only a way to keep moisture and maintain soil in a friable state - mulching improves the thermal regime during the wintering of perennials, serves as one of the ways to combat

with weeds, andfactor of influence on the delay of the periods of flowering of plants. So, mulching sawdust over a densified layer of snow allows to delay the flowering of lilies, peonies, phloxes and delphiniums up to a month, which will allow to maintain the decorative appearance of the flower garden longer.