Soil is a biological ecosystem on which any living organisms depend, their growth and vital functions. The future harvest is determined by its composition and characteristics.

Fertility is the ability to grow healthy plants, providing them with the necessary nutrition, oxygen and water. On good lands, high-quality fruits ripen in significant quantities. What does it depend on?

Factors affecting yield

• Natural due to the specifics of the climatic zone.
• Availability of groundwater and its depth.
• Level of land pollution.

This is not a complete list of what soil fertility depends on. There are also artificial factors. Rational farming, agrotechnical treatment, fertilization - these are all things on which soil fertility for growing agricultural products depends.

How to improve fertility

Black soil is considered the best soil. Its formation takes several hundred years, but destruction is possible in 3-5 years. Over time, humus is washed out, the soil structure becomes clogged, most microorganisms die, and the flow of oxygen and water to plants deteriorates. How can you improve soil fertility?

The restoration process depends on the structure of the soil. Before you can improve soil fertility, you need to know what it consists of. For example, peat, lime, ash, and sawdust are added. They will make the soil looser and more permeable, suitable for farming.

For peat and chernozem soils, regular application of organic fertilizers (manure, compost, bird droppings) will be sufficient. In addition to nitrogen, they contain beneficial microorganisms that can increase fertility several times in a short time.

How can you improve soil fertility? First of all, you need to check its acid-base reaction. Taking into account the test results, take further actions. For acidic clay soils, it would be advisable to add dolomite flour in the fall before digging. Alkaline soils, on the contrary, are acidified with gypsum.

If the arable layer has become depleted as a result of long-term use, then you need to give it a break.

Holidays for the soil

The most fertile soil needs periodic rest. You cannot grow one crop in one place for several years. This leads to soil depletion.

Preservation of fertility

Natural processes are not immutable. And the natural fertility of the soil changes dynamically as a result of its use in agriculture, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing. The latter indicator is extremely undesirable, as it characterizes one of the main reasons for the decrease in the efficiency of growing products. How can you improve soil fertility?

Natural fertility is inherent in any soil because it is part of a specific ecosystem under specific conditions. But it is not enough for growing agricultural products. In addition, as a result of improper use, its structure is often damaged. Restoring soil fertility is a necessary agrotechnical technique in agriculture.

Consistent artificial improvement of arable land will make it possible to recoup costs and receive annual income from the sale of crops. The farmer’s task is not only to maintain, but also to preserve soil fertility.

Gray podzolic soils

On these lands, a wide variety of agricultural crops grown in the forest-steppe are cultivated: corn, winter and spring wheat, potatoes, flax, sugar beets, etc.

Dark gray forest soils are closest to chernozems and have a higher degree of fertility than light gray soils. Their agronomic properties are similar to gray soils and require a special approach and fertilization. Creating a thick cultivated layer and adding calcium to neutralize acidity is a common technique for all forest soils.

In light gray and gray lands, the layer of humus is small and amounts to 15-25 cm. Beneath it lies a brown illuvial horizon. It is loaded with aluminum and iron, which are toxic to plants. Therefore, plowing should be shallow, and loosening of the illuvial horizon should be done using a non-moldboard method. In this case, the underlying soils will not be brought to the surface, and fertility will not be affected. To deepen the arable layer, you can gradually (2 cm per year) plow the illuvial horizon while simultaneously introducing organic matter, mineral fertilizers and calcium compounds (lime, chalk, dolomite flour). Good results can be obtained by grass sowing.

In dark gray forest soils, the upper fertile layer reaches 40 cm. And the upper part of the illuvial layer is saturated with humus. Therefore, deep plowing with the application of manure, mineral fertilizers and calcium in the form of gypsum and lime in a 1:1 ratio would be advisable here.

Eroded soils

Weakly, moderately and heavily eroded soils require special attention from farmers. Their illuvial horizon is already involved in the upper arable layer. For such lands, it is rational to carry out deep loosening, liming, application of increased doses of mineral and organic fertilizers, and grass sowing.

In areas with eroded soils, measures are necessary to prevent further soil loss. These include: tillage terracing, cultivation across the slope, etc.

Forest-steppe chernozems

When growing crops on these lands, the main thing is to maintain soil fertility conditions. It is necessary to use their potential environmentally correctly and wisely. Processing should be carried out during the period of ripeness, with an annual alternation of deep plowing and shallow, non-moldboard loosening for various crops. This must be done to preserve the earthy-lumpy structure of chernozems and eliminate (reduce) humus losses from mineralization. For example, with no-moldboard flat-cut tillage for winter wheat, even without sufficient rainfall, it will take root well and produce decent seedlings. But for a high yield, deep moldboard plowing and simultaneous application of manure are required.

Preserving the fertility of black soils

The use of vermicompost has a high effect on agricultural yields on gray forest soils and chernozems. When using chernozems, great attention should be paid to measures for the accumulation and conservation of soil moisture.

Meadow lands

They are highly fertile, rich in humus and nutrients. Farm land use can be carried out on meadow-chernozem, meadow and meadow-bog soils. They successfully grow demanding crops.

The main disadvantage of such lands is the proximity of groundwater, which often contains salts (mineralized). Therefore, the most important factor in increasing plant productivity is the regulation of water regime.

Techniques for regulating soil fertility

Depending on the biological characteristics of plants and the nature of land use, there are techniques that allow you to obtain high yields without depleting the soil.

• Regulating the nutritional regime - applying mineral fertilizers.
• Comprehensive improvement of agrochemical, agrophysical, microbiological qualities - the use of organic fertilizers and the cultivation of herbs.
• Regulation of water-air balance - mechanical treatment.
• Monitoring agrophysical and chemical properties - the use of compounds containing calcium for liming or gypsuming of soils.

The use of any soil must ensure the reproduction of fertility necessary for the planned amount of environmentally friendly, economically profitable products per unit area.

Every person wants to make the most of their garden or personal plot: plant vegetables, sow herbs, and create a flowering bed. However, the soil tends to become depleted. That’s why it’s worth finding out in advance how to improve the soil by enriching its composition to increase fertility.

How to effectively improve the soil structure in your own garden needs to be thoroughly understood. It is easy to determine whether the substrate needs fertilizing - to do this, carefully examine the soil composition. If it takes on a pale tint, it means the soil is lacking nutrients. Brown soil is direct evidence that the amount of humus in the substrate is too small. When you need to take this issue more seriously, submit a soil sample for laboratory analysis.

It is believed that when the soil in the garden turns whitish, it means that it is saturated with too much carbonates. You can verify this as follows: apply a few drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid to a lump of soil. If a reaction occurs and the liquid begins to fizz, your doubts have been confirmed.

In the process of identifying signs of depleted soil composition, it is very important to pay attention to the type of soil. Take a small handful of soil in your hand, form it into a ball and then see if it crumbles. If it has disintegrated, it means that the soil in your garden is sandy. Otherwise clayey.

However, we should not forget about intermediate options: loamy and sandy loam soils. It must be remembered that when the substrate is sandy, it absorbs moisture well and quite quickly, but also loses it instantly. In this case, it is simply necessary to improve the soil structure.

Video “How to improve the quality of the soil on the site”

In this video, an expert will talk about what needs to be done to increase soil fertility.

Changing the soil structure

Experienced gardeners know how to quickly improve soil fertility in their own garden plot. The first rule is reasonable and well-thought-out agricultural technology, especially when it comes to cultivating plants over large areas. However, even in this case, over time, mineral salts, nutrients and trace elements gradually disappear from the soil. In this case, the salt composition of the substrate is significantly disrupted. This is an important signal that it is time to change the structure of the soil. This procedure is carried out in different ways, and the specifics of its implementation depend on the type of soil.

If you have heavy loamy soil in your garden, you need to dilute it with sand and fine expanded clay. When you have to cultivate greens and vegetables on poor sandy loam, it is recommended to include clay and humus in the soil. In both cases, one should not forget about organic matter, which saturates any substrate with nutritional components.

We sow green manure

Those who want to quickly and effectively enrich the soil composition should definitely adopt plants that improve the soil. Green manure includes annual crops that are planted in the garden, cultivated, and then mowed and buried in the ground. Most often, it is recommended to sow such herbs after harvesting potatoes. In this case, by the onset of winter cold, you will be able to grow green manure and process it in such a way as to saturate the substrate. The use of these nutritious herbs is notable primarily because with their help you will replenish the soil with organic matter and at the same time thoroughly loosen it.

If the soil in your garden is really poor, you can sow perennial clover. In this case, you will give the soil a rest for several seasons, and during this time the grass will saturate the substrate with nutrients. After three years, the garden will need to be dug up (plowing is good for cultivated plants), and then feel free to plant any vegetables or other cultivated plants.

Mulching

How to improve clay or sandy soil needs to be explored in detail. It is not necessary to prefer one option if you can approach the problem in a comprehensive manner. For example, adding mulch is considered a good way to increase soil fertility. To do this, in the autumn, the treated and fertilized soil must be covered with a layer of natural mulch.

The best option is sawdust, straw, bark, grass or some kind of covering material. Moreover, you can resort to such a procedure not only at the end of the growing season, but also in its midst. There are many benefits of mulching:

• prevents evaporation of moisture from the soil;
• protects plant rhizomes from overheating or freezing;
• allows you to achieve the optimal level of acidity in the substrate;
• enriches the earth;
• prevent weed growth;
• protects vegetables and herbs from overgrowing by weeds.

You can also increase the fertility of clay or sandy soil by mulching.

We apply fertilizers

The structure of garden soil can be easily diversified by applying fertilizers. Combine them or add alternately organic and mineral compounds. Among the most popular organic nutrient mixtures, it is worth highlighting manure. It includes a large number of microelements (cobalt, copper, boron, manganese), as well as microorganisms that help decompose and absorb organic matter much faster.

Bird droppings are considered even more nutritious. That is why it is recommended to use it in diluted form, since the content of useful components in it is concentrated.

If you add bird droppings undiluted with water or other ingredients, you can cause a burn to the root system of your greens.

Take care of the plants in your own area, apply high-quality fertilizers and be sure to alternate them. If desired, use other methods of enriching the soil composition (sowing green manure and plowing, mulching), and you will extend the life of your garden.

As opposed to traditional agricultural technology in the garden, naturalists (adherents of natural or organic farming) achieve sustainable yields not through chemical fertilizing, but by improving the soil environment and combining plants. Let's figure out what ways there are to improve the quality of the harvest in the garden and vegetable garden, how to increase the fertility of the soil in a summer cottage without the use of chemicals.

Simple ways to increase soil fertility in your summer cottage without chemicals

Weed infusions

Tinctures are good for both foliar feeding and root fertilizer. In addition to nutrition, infusions of weeds, as well as garlic and onion peels, when sprayed, perfectly help protect plants from leaf-eating insects and codling moths.

It is unlikely that an insect will want to experiment and lay eggs in an unfamiliar environment with foreign odors. But the effect of such treatments is short-lived; natural essential oils of plants quickly decompose.

For feeding weed infusions are good with the addition of nettle. It is full of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the tincture already foams in the tank where the ferment is carried out. It is better to pour tinctures with the addition of nettle under the lid, and, if possible, stir daily. Depending on the temperature, the tincture is prepared from 7 to 10 days. After gas emission stops, it can be used, diluted 10 times for root feeding, and 20 times for spraying.

It is useful to add woodlice and dandelion to herbal infusions - they contain silicon that is easily absorbed by plants. Silicon is a true protector of the immune system; it activates growth functions in plants and prevents their aging. It can safely be called the elixir of youth.

Natural fertilizers are not phytotoxic and are safe for soil inhabitants and beneficial insects. While pesticides and fertilizers accumulate in the soil and disrupt the mineral balance of the environment. But we must take into account that a garden without the use of chemicals will not amaze with super-large “exhibition” fruits, no matter what natural fertilizers you use. The harvest will be normalized both in size and quantity - as they say, nothing extra.

Combining plants in the garden

It has been noticed that when replanting beans, there are much fewer Colorado potato beetles in potato beds. Beans have many beneficial properties; they perfectly protect and nourish the soil.

After harvesting, the roots of the plants are not removed, but left in the ground. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria accumulate on its roots; they perfectly improve the soil environment. When beans are combined with tomatoes, the roots of the tomatoes actively grow towards the beans - an excellent example of positive allelopathy - the plants help each other.

The most striking example of combining plants in a garden bed is planting carrots and onions. Onions, with their phytoncides, protect carrots from carrot flies, and carrots from onion flies. Moreover, carrots more accurately fulfill their duties than onions. Or the onion fly is more sensitive, but the fact remains that there is practically no onion fly in the beds, while the carrot fly is still present in small quantities.

Replanting marigolds in strawberry beds gives excellent results. Strawberries are highly susceptible to root and stem nematodes. The phytoncides of marigolds block the reproduction of these microscopic worms, and there are an order of magnitude fewer of them. The roots of marigolds also do not need to be torn out of the garden bed; let them rot in the soil.

Soil microbes, as well as fungi, amoebas, woodlice, and earthworms—commonly referred to as “biota”—feed on plant debris and help plants extract nutrients not only from decomposing mulch, but also from the subsoil. Under the organic matter, channels are created into which atmospheric moisture flows, condensing on the walls of dead roots and becoming saturated with organic acids. In the presence of such acids, minerals needed by plants are converted into chelate forms and become readily available. In addition, beneficial microbes, consuming fiber, fix air nitrogen - the soil on the site becomes fertile.

Another important point is that in the presence of rich “dynamic” fertility created by the organic cycle, growth stimulants and useful natural antibiotics are created that protect plants from diseases. One worm coprolite contains everything for nutrition, growth, fruiting and protection from stress. But you need to understand that this entire “kitchen” can easily be ruined by simple digging - traditional agricultural technology with soil turnover leads to the depletion of even rich black soil.

Of course, increasing soil fertility is not a one-day task, but a constant concern of the gardener. And Nikolai Ivanovich Kurdyumov perfectly describes what mistakes summer residents make in their gardens in this video (you can increase the speed by clicking on the gear at the bottom right and setting it to 1.5 - the quality of information perception will not be lost, and the time will be reduced significantly):

As you can see, he is a very thoughtful agronomist and a wonderful author. His books are as easy to read as detective stories. With only one difference - you need to return to them periodically, there is always something new in the text you read, some kind of hints that you yourself have not yet reached, but have already gained experience and are ready to perceive the “next level”. Now he is published in electronic form, and one of his new works is called - FERTILITY OR FERTILIZER?

High biological activity of the soil is the best prerequisite for the health and development of plants in the garden. The more plant and food residues returned to the garden, the better the soil structure and microbiological environment becomes. By improving the top layer of soil, you activate its microenvironment, which means you contribute to the dissolution of nutrients bound in the soil, which, after going through a cycle of natural decomposition, become available to plants.

In the theory of St. Petersburg State University professor A.I. Popov, the modern understanding of fertility is determined by:

a) the cycle of nutrients in the soil - all of them, primarily including carbon, i.e. organics,

b) symbiosis of higher plants and soil microorganisms,

c) the relationship of microbes and fungi with each other.

Not immediately, but over time, the garden and vegetable garden without chemicals will begin to protect itself from pests and diseases. You just need to first help balance the environment on the site by performing simple measures to improve the soil:

• the use of weed infusions;
• combining plants in the garden bed;
• composting in beds and tree trunks.

Drastic soil improvement

Those who are radically ready to improve the soil for planting can be recommended to bring in fertile soil, and then maintain its fertility using the methods described above. For Muscovites, for example, it is easier to deal with fertility problems - there is a reliable company on the market, EcoTorf, which offers for sale various types of soil, river and quarry sand, crushed stone of various fractions with delivery throughout Moscow and the Moscow region. You can get acquainted with their products on the website http://ecomostorf.ru/

Of course, before this it is better to border the beds and add fertile soil only to them. Although many are able to cover the entire plot with imported black soil, living beautifully cannot be prohibited. We also purchased black soil for arranging our raised beds, and we are pleased with the results.

Summer residents usually do not get the best plots of land: low soil fertility, a small arable layer, which, unfortunately, is not enough to obtain high yields. What remains for us?

Yes, improve them in every possible way. And in a fundamental way. Most fruit and berry crops require a soil layer of at least half a meter. And here it is 15-25 centimeters. Is this why trees have a hard life? They are forced to form a mostly superficial root system. It is she who suffers more from drought, frost, weeds, etc.

Improving the structure by liming

Liming also improves the soil structure. In the conditions of the central zone of the Russian Federation, it is vitally necessary. All our soils are acidic to varying degrees. It's good that at least some plants put up with this. But most people still don’t like strong acidity.

Potatoes and currants are easily tolerated, but cucumbers, onions, cabbage, and beets are not respected. In addition, phosphorus is poorly absorbed from acidic soil, no matter how much superphosphate you add, there will be no benefit. Because the subsoil layer is also acidic. It is unlikely to defeat acidity forever: it is restored after 3-5 years. Therefore, liming should be carried out once every 3-5 years with a full dose of 0.5-1 kg per square meter. meter. Or you can add lime every year in small doses: 100-200 g in the fall for digging. It must be remembered that adding excess lime leads to a decrease in potassium absorption. So keep it in moderation.

Increasing the amount of humus

Fertile soil contains a lot of organic matter and humus. It is, of course, possible to have good yields using mineral fertilizers. But then the soil will gradually lose its structure (lumpy), become dusty, and compressed. Roots in such soil suffocate.

The structure, as is known, is improved by organic substances - manure, peat, grass, sawdust, waste, etc. Rotten ones are better. If the soil is very clayey, add sand; if it is too sandy, you can add clay. You shouldn’t add sand to loose soil; it immediately sinks down and is of little use (some kind of drainage).

Adding Phosphorus Fertilizers

Nutrients are removed from the soil with the harvest, so fertility must be maintained. From the atmosphere, plants receive water (in the form of rain), carbon dioxide and, possibly, some trace elements from a polluted atmosphere in the form of acid rain. Everything else must be added - nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, microelements in the form of mineral and organic fertilizers.

Only leguminous plants are able to use nitrogen from the atmosphere thanks to nodule bacteria living on their roots. The rest take it from the ground.

Fertility is affected by moisture conditions. Excess moisture leads to suffocation and rotting of roots. What a harvest there is. Unstable moisture also reduces the yield and its quality: cracking and deformity of root crops and even fruits.

Preservation of beneficial microorganisms

Microorganisms living in the soil play an important role. Beneficial ones contribute to plant nutrition, decompose organic matter to a soluble form that can be absorbed by plants, and improve soil structure. Harmful microorganisms cause disease and rot. Which group will predominate on the site depends on whether you create favorable conditions for their active life. That is, will there be food (organic matter), water, air for them?

Nowadays artificial microorganisms are often introduced (EM technology). In a certain sense, we can say that there is some sense in this. But not everyone gets the results they are looking for. For some reason, it is missed that for these microorganisms to work, they need organic substances (manure, peat, grass). If microorganisms are simply introduced into empty soil, there will be no effect.

Summer residents should be warned against attempts to disinfect the soil using pesticides, because this also kills beneficial microorganisms. There will be dead soil. Residual substances will also enter the fruits through the roots. It is better to fight the infection through crop rotation, alternating crops every year and returning them to their old place after four to five years.

How to improve the soil in your garden plot

Any more or less conscientious gardener or summer resident will at least once ask himself the question: “how to restore soil fertility” or “how to improve the soil in a garden plot, making it more suitable for cultivated plants.” Some of them consider fertilizers to be something like oil, which “will not spoil the porridge,” and when applying them, they believe that the more, the better, sometimes causing irreparable harm to the soil. But even proper application of fertilizers sometimes does not make the soil suitable for growing vegetables, flowers, garden trees and shrubs.

To improve the soil in a garden plot, all sorts of components are added to the soil, from manure and humus to sand, chalk or mineral fertilizers. Before starting work, you need to understand the concepts and goals, because “improving soil structure” and “increasing soil fertility” are not synonymous phrases. Well-structured soil will not necessarily be fertile. For example, it may lack microelements needed by plants.

Improving soil structure

Before you begin manipulating the soil, you need to study it: density, composition, and, if possible, acidity.
The ideal substrate for most plants is a substrate with a high humus content, but at the same time well aerated. Such a substrate is permeable to water, allowing water molecules to move freely between soil particles. And at the same time, water should not linger for a long time in the upper and middle layers of the soil, but should go into the deep layers of the soil. This will avoid the development of putrefactive fungi, which not only can infect plants, but also suppress the growth of soil microflora.

Improving the structure of clay soil

Heavy clay soils need to be “thinned”. For this purpose, sand, compost, and humus are used. You can also use semi-rotten plant debris, for example, rotten leaves or grass from a compost pit that has not yet completely rotted.

It is better to apply these components at the end of summer or in the autumn, long before frost. This will allow soil bacteria introduced into the soil along with compost to actively multiply. In the absence of rain, such a substrate should be watered moderately. In the spring, compost is added to the substrate again, and after a couple of days, plants can be planted in the prepared soil.

If improvement of the structure of clay soil is carried out in the spring, then plants can be planted in the ground only after 3 – 5 weeks.

Improving the structure of sandy soil

Light sandy and sandy loam soils are good because they are well aerated and have good water permeability. Water does not stagnate in them, and putrefactive processes practically do not occur. On the other hand, in these substrates, water leaves the surface layers too quickly, and the plants suffer from lack of moisture. Also, lack of water leads to weaker development of soil bacteria that form humus - the fertile layer of soil.

Another disadvantage of light sandy substrates is the lack of thermal insulation: in frosty conditions such substrates easily freeze, and with them the roots of wintering plants freeze.

The easiest and fastest way to improve the structure and increase the fertility of sandy soils is to add compost or vermicompost. It is also possible to use peat mixtures, but in this case there is a possibility that the soil may change its pH, becoming very acidic.

The introduction of manure, ash and chicken droppings into sandy soils should be done after the substrate becomes heavier. Otherwise, microelements will quickly be washed out of the upper layers of the soil.

Change in substrate acidity

For most vegetable, fruit and ornamental crops, the optimal acidity of the substrate is within the pH range of 5.5 - 7.0 - that is, from slightly acidic to neutral. At very high acidity, soil bacteria cannot develop, and microscopic fungi take their place.

To increase acidity, lime or chalk is added to the substrate. The amount of lime applied varies depending on the acidity of the soil: at pH 2 - 4, 45 - 65 kg of lime per hundred square meters are applied. Lime is spread evenly onto moist (but not wet) soil, dug up, and then moistened with water. After a week, you need to loosen the soil again, and if it is dry, then moisten it again. In the spring, the overwintered soil is dug up and compost is added to it, and then left for 1 - 2 weeks.

A number of ornamental plants grow well on acidic substrates, and they need soil fungi as symbionts that form mycorrhizae on the roots. Conifers (spruce, pine, fir, thuja, juniper, yew, cypress), rhododendrons, heather, Erica thrive at a pH of 3 - 4.5, but on neutral soils they lag behind in growth and often die.

Among berry crops, representatives of the Heather family (blueberries, lingonberries, blueberries, cranberries) grow well on strongly acidic substrates.

Improving soil fertility

To increase soil fertility, you can use several methods, but it is more rational to combine two or three methods at once.

Adding organic components such as compost or half-rotted plant debris, that is, “raw” or “unfinished” compost. When adding raw compost, you need to make sure that it does not contain putrefactive bacteria. To do this, just smell it: the smell should not be musty, rotten, musty or sour.

Application of organic fertilizers - bird droppings, urea, manure, ash and others. Organic fertilizers differ from compost in that their application must be controlled, otherwise an excess of these components can harm the plants.

Landing green manure plants . This will not only increase the fertility of the soil, enriching it with useful components, but also improve aeration. Also, some green manures block the development of pathogenic soil microflora, and at the same time are good predecessor plants.

Rest of the substrate for a year or two helps to increase soil fertility and restore its structure. In this case, you need to apply fertilizers to the ground, dig or loosen, weed and mulch. At the end of the growing season, the soil is dug up and left for the winter. The disadvantage of this method is that, as a rule, personal plots are small in area, so it is not always possible to leave a piece of land free for a long time.

Crop rotation is an alternative to long-term soil rest. The essence of this method is that annual vegetable crops are planted in a different place every year, and returned to their original place after 4 - 5 years. Plants must be planted taking into account their predecessors. For example, representatives of the Solanaceae family grow worse on substrates where vegetables from the same family were previously grown. Ideal predecessors for them would be vegetables from the Cruciferous, Legume or Pumpkin family.

The use of earthworms, which simultaneously loosen the soil, enriching it with oxygen, mix it and, passing organic residues through their intestines, enrich the substrate with organic matter. Currently, Californian worms are used to improve soil structure and increase its fertility.

Planting plants that heal the substrate, as well as sowing companion plants next to vegetable crops. Mainly medicinal plants have protective properties, many of which are also decorative - calendula, yarrow, onions (decorative and vegetable), marigolds, decorative and wild wormwood, rosemary, chamomile.

Until recently, steaming or heat treatment was used to improve soil health. But in this case, not only weed seeds and pathogenic microorganisms die, but also beneficial soil microflora (bacteria and fungi) suffer.

Work carried out in a complex to increase soil fertility, improve structure and acidity will make it more suitable for growing garden crops, and a rich harvest and highly decorative plants will more than reward you for your care and efforts.