Natural farming in the country. Organic farming in the country

Personal experience of an experienced gardener

How do most gardeners sow in the beds? Usually, “how everyone does it” and how convenient it is for the owner of the site. And it would be better to sow the way the plants need! This is the principle of organic farming - to do as in nature. It turns out it's much more efficient. Yields are getting higher and work is getting smaller! Doubt it's possible? Check it out in the new season!

Usually the process of planting (sowing) looks like this: digging the earth - leveling the surface of the beds - cutting grooves - sowing (laying) seeds in them - filling the grooves with earth from their side walls - watering.

As a result:

Too much effort is spent, since digging is a very laborious process;

Soil fertility is lost (its air-water permeability is violated, since the porous structure of the earth, created by channels and voids, formed in place of already decayed roots and worm passages, is destroyed;

Soil microorganisms perish, processing plant residues into food for plants;

The grooves cut for sowing have a variable depth, as a result of which the seeds also lie at different depths. This leads to their germination and oppression of weaker late shoots by early ones;

The rows of germinated seeds are tortuous. Because of this, the row width is different, and it is larger than that of a flat line. As a result, weeding is difficult. This is because it is impossible to cut straight narrow grooves (even with flat cutters), and also due to the displacement of seeds already in the ground when they are watered after planting;

Few gardeners know that plants grow better if the seeds (as in nature) lie on dense, naturally porous soil, and a loose, loose “blanket” (mulch) covers them from above. Then the best conditions for plant growth are provided, because in the dense underlying soil, due to the capillary effect, soil moisture is constantly supplied to the seeds (it is not in vain that the earth is compacted with rolls before sowing wheat); and from above (through the mulch) air constantly enters.

How to ensure the same conditions? You can repeat a theory a thousand times and not convince anyone. I will tell you about my experience, which I have been using for more than one year.

1. I don’t dig up the soil, but only loosen it by 5-7 cm with a Fokin flat cutter (without bending my back and with much less effort).

2. Combine this loosening of the soil with proactive weed control, as long as it is not “interfered” by the growing plants. it is known that with regular mowing (or mowing with a chopper), weeds degenerate; it is enough to mow them before planting 2-3 times, coming to the dacha once a week, so that the weeds become much smaller. At the same time, I spend no more than 10-15 minutes on such a “passage” of a ten-meter bed with a Fokin flat cutter.

3. I water the loosened bed ... before planting.

4. Then I push the grooves in wet soil with one or 2-3 slats, hammered together by crossbars. The distance between the slats is equal to the distance between the future rows of plants and slightly more than the length of the blade of a small flat cutter. This allows me in the future (before the grass) to loosen and weed the aisles with one movement of the flat cutter underground along the rows.

5. I spill the grooves with a solution of biopreparations "Siyania-2" or "Vostok EM-1" at a concentration of 1: 1000 (a tablespoon per 10 liters of water) - to restore the capillarity of the soil, increase its fertility and sanitize it from pathogens.

6. I sow the seeds into the grooves pressed through by the slats.

7. I fill them with compost - and ... I don’t water them!

At first glance, this technology takes longer. And you reread it. How much use is in this technique, and how much we did “at the same time”: they cut down the weeds with a flat cutter, and compacted the rows for sowing, and launched EM-beneficial microorganisms into the soil ...

As a result, we get what we were striving for - the seeds lie “along the line” and at the same depth, on a hard, wet bed, covered on top with “loose” compost, in which there is also plenty of nutrition! And the fight against weeds is facilitated - they are exhausted in advance. And I suppress the rest, covering them in the aisles of grown plants with a layer of 5-7 cm mulch so that light does not pass through it. As mulch - chopped grass. In addition, the grass, while decomposing, feeds the plants + it is not necessary to water it often, since the evaporation of moisture decreases + it is not necessary to loosen the soil under the mulch (a crust does not form after rains and watering).

Conclusion: less work, and higher yields. What is required!

Watch nature

Finally, I want to remind you of the wise advice: “trust, but verify!” Adapt to the conditions of your site!

On my “sand” I water the bed before pushing the grooves, and on clay soil this technique can lead to clay sticking to the rail and uneven grooves. In this case, you need to be pre-moist, but not sticky.

Use any advice ”wisely”! And even better - learn from the "smartest" - from nature! Check with her, copy her - she is wiser than any adviser!

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Deep plowing and digging reduce the activity of natural microorganisms, destroy the soil structure and reduce its fertility.

The earth needs to be loosened no deeper than five centimeters using a home-made flat cutter or Fokin flat cutter. Such loosening of the soil is quite enough to prepare the land for planting vegetables, aerate it, and reduce the number of weeds.

The composition and structure of the soil, created by previous plantings, is not destroyed, the activity of worms and microorganisms living in the earth remains the same.

The soil must be mulched

Organic mulch very well saturates the soil of the site with minerals so necessary for plant growth, and also improves its composition, promotes the reproduction of earthworms and other soil organisms.

In the mulched soil, the content of vermicompost gradually increases. Covered soil is protected from overheating in the sun, and, accordingly, from rapid evaporation of moisture, hypothermia and erosion. Straw, leaves, sawdust, hay, etc. are suitable as mulch.

Maintain crop rotation

Crop rotation or, simply speaking, alternation, change of crops, helps maintain soil fertility, significantly reduces the number of diseases and pests.

All annual crops should not grow in the same place for the second year in a row - this is the simplest crop rotation scheme.

Complex systems include ten-year rotation patterns of vegetable and fruit crops.

You can perform crop rotation according to one of two principles: alternate families or groups of crops (leaf, fruit, root) with a minimum shift plan (usually three to four years).

Make warm beds

Beds made directly on the compost heap, still warm - during the decomposition of organic matter, heat is released. The temperature of a warm bed is two to four degrees higher than the ambient temperature. This makes it possible to plant plants ahead of time. Direct composting on the beds with raw organic matter provides the following advantages:

• there is no need to spread the finished compost on the beds
• carbon dioxide is completely used by plants, while in the finished compost its share is significantly lost
• mulch function is performed
• humidity and temperature control

Note to gardener:

Siderates are divided into families: legumes, cruciferous and cereals. Legumes enrich the soil with nitrogen.

These include lupins, vetch, peas, soybeans, lentils, sweet clover, sainfoin, clover, alfalfa.

Cruciferous plants (mustard, oil radish, rape, colza) saturate it with sulfur and phosphorus.

Cereal green manures quickly sprout: wheat, rye, barley, oats, breadbasket. They enrich the soil with potassium and suppress the growth of weeds.

When sowing green manure, observe crop rotation, so you saturate the soil with various microelements.

Eco-Farming - Reader Responses (moved from comments)

In the last 3 years I have been interested in natural farming. We have a training center in Voronezh, where I go to lectures on this topic - very informative! I put a lot of knowledge into practice in my summer cottage.

Soil blanket

Our dacha is located on sandy soil with high acidity, so we have to reduce it. I bring humus, "chemistry" - the bare minimum. My natural farming started with mulching. As soon as the first grass grows in the district in April-May, I begin to create a blanket. Any grass goes into the mulch, but preferably medicinal.

Around the holiday village is full of nettles, yarrow, wormwood, tansy, celandine, dandelions, burdocks, etc. Yes, and different weeds grow in the garden. In the evening, I make "forays" on the bike for grass. I cut it with scissors, pack it in big bags, my husband and granddaughter help me. I bring it to the site, lay it out along the edges and between the rows of strawberry beds, then - along the garlic "plantation".

After a day or two, the mulch dries up and settles. I add a new layer, and so several times. As a result, the mulch layer reaches 5 cm or more. Weeding is not necessary - weeds do not grow through the mulch, moisture is retained. Then I mulch other beds with grown plantings. And so all summer. The main thing is to use herbs before they bloom.

The benefits of mulching are obvious. During the summer, the mulch layer dries up, rots and forms useful humus. There are many more worms in the earth. The soil does not dry out, does not overheat from the heat. In autumn, the remains of the mulch are embedded in the soil, preparing it for winter sowing.

Natural top dressing

I use mustard as a green manure. Especially love her potato beds. But you need to try other green manure plants. Oil radish, plants of the legume family, are highly praised. The main thing is that the earth does not remain bare! because in nature something always grows on it, which means that in the garden it needs to provide approximately the same conditions.

Spring is early today. Already on March 28, I sowed some carrots. When I was preparing the garden, I noticed that there are a lot of worms in the soil. So my land is alive!

And now a little about plant nutrition. I grind medicinal herbs (and just any weeds), stuff buckets, old flasks with it. I add humus, mullein, ash, add water, close the lids and put in a cool place for a week. The proportions are all by eye.

When the composition begins to ferment, the smell is very strong and unpleasant, so I remove the containers with top dressing away. And after a week I filter the infusion, throw the plant residues into compost. After that, I dilute the top dressing - 1 liter per 10 liters of water. I water all plantings with this solution. I do this every 2 weeks. At the first feeding, you can also add 1 tbsp. l. urea in a bucket of water for the growth of green mass. And then no artificial additives will be needed - only all natural. Effective - tested!

On high

We love the high beds. Every spring we make more of them. They are fenced with boards, slate. How to do them - a lot of information. All winter I have been preparing material for these beds. These are cardboard boxes from pizza and pies, newspapers (modern paints in printing are less poisonous than before). I have plastic trays on the radiator under the kitchen window. They dry dry coffee, tea, egg shells, onion and garlic husks, citrus peels. I ram the dried material into boxes and take it to the dacha so as not to litter the apartment. And in the spring I put it all in a compost bin or on high beds, which in the first year will also be warm (due to the active process of decay). I use these beds for planting cucumbers, green crops, Beijing cabbage, early tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.

Little tricks

She even learned to dry potato peels in the apartment in a shoe box under the kitchen radiator. In the spring, dry potato peelings are added dropwise around the currant bushes. Productivity increases markedly, and pests decrease. But cucumbers, onions and carrots are very fond of sleeping tea and coffee. I pour them into the furrow and then sow the seeds.

Very often they write that beds for spring sowing and planting have been prepared since autumn. I'm not particularly smart about this. In the fall, I scatter humus around the garden. Under the bushes, flowers and trees, I add ripe compost. And I do it as late as possible, after the onset of cold weather. I pour directly on the grown green manure. So our earth, insulated, goes into winter. And in the spring, I loosen the soil early and retain moisture. This is my natural farming.

Organic eco farming - summer residents share their experience

"Vulgar" cottager

Everyone always called my site ideal. And I was proud of it. She kept it almost sterile. Weeds, waste - all in compost. I dug up the earth both in spring and in autumn, removing everything to the lint. The beauty. And suddenly I began to notice that my land was slowly starting to resemble asphalt - after watering and rains it swam, cracked (photo 1), the harvests were not encouraging. And most of all I was surprised by the disappearance of worms: the main thing is that the neighbors have them, but I have none. And until then I was at a loss, until I fell into the hands of a book about organic farming. It was then that my eyes opened - removing all the organic matter from the site, I simply starved my worms to death. And digging the earth with maniacal persistence in spring and autumn, I also destroyed the beneficial microorganisms living in its different layers.

Dear summer residents, do not do as I do! One harm from such purity. For my own nurse-earth, I was more terrible than a fierce stepmother.

And for five years now, I've been behaving exactly the opposite. Now, from all nearby landfills, I bring to my site weeded weeds, mowed lawn grass, and vegetable waste (I don’t take only tomato and potato tops). With all this good I cover the beds and the passages between them. I periodically water them with a solution of fertilizer based on humus and a diluted tincture of fermented grass (1 liter per 1 bucket of water). These funds perform a dual function. Firstly, a good top dressing, and secondly, the process of biomass decomposition is accelerated. My vegetables really like this mulch, and the underground inhabitants are happy and full.

Since about August, I haven’t laid out anything on the beds - I won’t have time to overheat. Instead, I start filling the compost heap.

Actually, I have two of them, I use them in turn: I score one, the other, ready from last year, “unpack”. We have a large park area next to our dachas, so I put a large amount of foliage into the compost, sprinkling it with earth and vegetable waste, there are also a lot of them in landfills in the fall.

Once, a familiar summer resident, seeing me carrying this “goods”, snorted: “Fu, how vulgar!” And I want to shout: “Long live the dumps!” Well, where else can you get so much organic matter? Yours is a drop in the ocean. Don't judge me, I actually benefit from them.

organic circulation

The second remedy for my depleted soil was green manure. I am not digging up the ground now. As soon as some bed is free, I, without removing the half-ripe mulch, scatter the seeds of plants and close them with a chopper. If it's dry, I'll definitely water it - so the grass will sprout faster and grow more green mass. Once I sowed rapeseed in two plots: in the near one I watered the seeds, in the far one I was too lazy. As a result, on the first one everything was densely overgrown, on the second - barely. And if not for such a comparison, I would have already shouted that they sold me low-quality seed.

I sow a bed for garlic with mustard, and when the time comes for her neighbor to plant, she already has time to grow by 10-15 cm. Then I make holes right along it with a peg and throw garlic cloves into them, filling them with compost. With this planting, 80% of the mustard continues to grow (as can be seen in photo 2). With the onset of cold weather, I fall asleep this bed with foliage. In early spring, I leave everything in the same form: under the weight of snow, the foliage will settle, and the garlic will easily pass through it. But since the ground under the leaves does not warm up immediately, the plants sprout a little later than those of their neighbors. True, this does not affect the yield, but weed grass does not grow under such a mulch. Sometimes I water, and by the fall almost all the foliage has overgrown, and my garlic is handsome (photo 3)!

After harvesting it (in mid-July), I plant sprouted potatoes on this bed. Last year on October 19 frost hit and killed the tops. But I dug up almost a bucket of potatoes the size of a chicken egg. Such "youth" is good for planting - the variety is rejuvenated.

After harvesting the main potatoes, I cut shallow grooves and sow rye. Proboroniv rake, watering. In winter, the site leaves with a green carpet (photo 4).

Another secret: after removing the early vegetables, I sow the plots twice. First I sow fast-growing phacelia and mustard. In September, I chop their juicy greens with a shovel right on the spot, knocking them down with my foot on the ground. After that, I cut the "pancake" of the earth with chopped grass and turn it over. And after that I sow winter rapeseed or rye there and close it with a chopper. I definitely water if it's dry. And the grown greenery delays the snow.

In the spring, rapeseed and rye continue to increase their green mass. A week before planting any crop, I again chop the greens and turn over the earthen "pancake". And where the phacelia and mustard went into the winter, as soon as the snow melts, I scatter mustard over the phacelia, and phacelia over the mustard. The earth at this time is still damp, and siderates have time to grow up to the main plantings. Directly along them I cut furrows for onions, dig holes for tomatoes and peppers and pour compost and ashes into them.

Green manure and vegetables grow together until there is waste in landfills. Then I cut the green manure, leaving them in place, and fall asleep with waste. And then read on first. Here is my garden cycle. The main thing is not to pull out green manure with roots. The more dead roots left in the soil, the more porous it becomes. I even leave the root systems of tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and flowers before winter. A beard from small roots is processed by worms during the winter, and a large part is easy to pull out of the ground in spring. And now let me summarize.

Beating the buckets will not work

• Mustard. It quickly sprouts and grows, heals the soil, the wireworm does not like it, it attracts bees, but it is not necessary to sow it thickly, otherwise there will be no fluffy green mass.
• Winter rapeseed. Increases fertility no worse than manure, prevents the growth of weeds, enriches the soil with phosphorus and sulfur. You need to chop before flowering, otherwise it will become very tough.
• Rye. It loosens the soil very well, enriches it with potassium and nitrogen, and inhibits weeds. It is not worth planting in one place every year, because a wireworm can start.
• Phacelia. It is unpretentious, grows quickly and decomposes in the soil, best of all suppresses weeds, expels wireworm, withstands frosts down to -7 °. It blooms for almost a month, the aroma is honey. Bees are just crazy about her, which is important for all crops blooming in the country. When seeds begin to form, I sometimes cut it off and put it in the right place for me, where it crumbles and begins to grow again.
• Beans and peas. I also sow the surplus of these legumes as green manure. They enrich the soil with nitrogen. Peas can be sown immediately after the snow melts, and beans are thermophilic.

Here are my observations. And since I do all the work at an accelerated pace (thanks to the same landfills and the park area), I can boast. Now I have a lot of worms - large, fat, my soul rejoices, looking at them. The land has improved markedly. The top layer is grainy, even the color has become darker. And the harvests are good.

By the way, I do not agree with those who consider organic farming easy work. Not digging is only a quarter of the job.

You need a lot of mulch. We need sowing green manure, embedding them in the soil, etc. It seems to me that the one who actually does not do this speaks of lightness. I wish you all great harvests.

Organic crops

We are for organic farming, and our goal is to obtain an environmentally friendly crop. Therefore, we try to select natural fertilizers and means of protection against pests and diseases.

squash abundance

We do preventive treatments for diseases at least twice a month. We alternate different drugs. We use exclusively biological fungicides: Fitosporin, Fitop-Florz-S, Alirin, Gamair (we mix the last two after dilution according to the instructions). They contain beneficial bacteria that prevent the development of pathogenic microflora. We consume immediately, because working solutions prepared on the basis of beneficial bacteria cannot be stored. If it rains, repeat spraying. We feed the plants with a “cocktail”: add a soft humic potash fertilizer diluted according to the instructions to a solution of chicken manure (1:20) or biohumus (potassium especially needs potassium at the time of fruit pouring).

Despite all efforts, at the end of July, the initial signs of powdery mildew were noticed on a bush of a new variety of Patio Star. To prevent its further development, the plant was sprayed with the Stimul anti-stress preparation and treated with fungicides every 10 days for prevention.

Of the new products this year, I especially liked the zucchini of the Portion variety. Many people are familiar with the situation when, during cooking, large fruits of zucchini do not leave entirely and then often wither in the refrigerator. But the Portion zucchini got its name for its compact size - this is a one-time fruit. In addition, it is very productive and disease resistant. In our opinion, he still has a drawback - he shoots long lashes, but we did not pinch them.

And not only blue

We grow eggplants of different varieties and hybrids - this is much more interesting.

We feed them (usually at least twice a month) with the same “cocktail”, spray them with any anti-stress drug (Ecogel, Zircon, Narcissus, Stimulus, Eco-pin - they can be used on all crops twice a month, alternating root and foliar processing) and add Fitoverm for the prevention, because. eggplant is often damaged by spider mites. Such top dressing is especially important during the fruiting period. We regularly carry out "green" operations: we clean the stems from stepchildren, we form plants into three stems. We do not delay the harvest, because the more often the fruits are harvested, the more they will be tied. Now, at the end of August,

when the nights become cold and excessive moisture contributes to the development of fungi and bacteria, we intensify care, because if you do not take action, eggplants will start to hurt. Spraying with biological fungicides began to be done weekly, and the beds with plants were covered with white non-woven material.

Tomatoes until autumn

When tomatoes ripen en masse in a greenhouse, many summer residents lose their vigilance, because here it is, the cherished harvest, just have time to collect it. But, if you want to prolong fruiting until late autumn, continue to regularly care for the plants. Since August, we have been weekly treating bushes for diseases with any biological fungicide, alternating root and foliar treatments. Twice a month, we spray the tomatoes with an anti-stress preparation. During the ripening of the fruits, the need for potassium increases sharply. Therefore, once under the root we pour tomatoes with infusion of ash. Once a week we fertilize the plants with the already known “cocktail”, but at this time, instead of 1:20, we breed chicken manure 1:60 in order to minimize the nitrogen rate, but we give potassium according to the instructions for the preparation.

Marina RYKALINA and Vitaly DEKABREV

Transforming the earth through "organic" methods

I also want to tell you how I came to organic farming and how my land has completely changed in three years. I live in a village - a house and 27 acres of land: 24 acres next to the house (the land here is light, sod-podzolic), and 3 acres separately, 300 meters away, under a steep hill, where there is heavy loam. Previously, when they plowed with a horse, they made beds right away, and the earth did not have time to dry out. Four years ago, she asked me to plow the garden and cut the ridges for Saturday (by connecting two ridges together, we get a bed).

The owner of the tractor, due to circumstances, plowed on Tuesday. With clear weather and a temperature of 20 ° by Saturday, all the ridges turned into large hard clay blocks. How to break them? It’s a pity to break the flat cutter, the teeth of the garden pitchfork broke off. There is nothing to say about the arms and back ... It would be much easier to dig with a shovel, but - what's done is done. Remembering all the obscene words I knew, I said that the tractor would no longer visit my garden.

From the boundary through the furrow, wheatgrass, nettle, and euphorbia climb onto the beds. Harvesting them with a hand cultivator is much easier than with a flat cutter or pitchfork. I used a shovel only for tamping the edges of the ridges, and now I have stopped doing that. I will form the beds with a flat cutter, raking the earth from the furrows, and so I leave the edges loose. Somehow, while working, I didn’t notice, but climbing the hillock, I felt that my back didn’t hurt! Tired of the habit of the forearm, and even then because the earth in the first year was very dense. I immediately advertised the manual cultivator to all my friends: for a sore back, this is just a godsend! You need to bend down only for the roots of weeds, but there are fewer of them every year.

In general, I made a bed, planted everything. In August, having removed the onions, she sowed mustard and oats. And having removed the carrots, beets, radishes and cabbage, she left the whole leaf in place - so everything went under the snow. In the spring, there were some mustard straw and cabbage leaf cuttings in the garden, everything else was eaten. When I pulled out the cabbage stalks (and they are easy to get in the spring), earthworms swarm on the roots, and not one at a time, but in groups of several.

Right with the straw, I loosened the bed with a cultivator. The ground became softer, the teeth easily entered the soil without much effort, and I managed much faster than in the previous year. In the summer I sowed oats and mustard again and again left everything under the snow. And on the third spring, the earth was already so soft and loose that there was no point in loosening it! With a flat cutter, like a chopper, I slightly chopped the mustard straw, cut the weeds in the furrows - and that's it, the bed is ready.

The earth on the cut resembles a sponge, porous. I have never seen such a number of worms in the beds, except perhaps under a pile of manure. There is no crust, no swollen earth. The site dried up very quickly, although there is a swamp nearby. Manure has not been applied for more than three years, but soil fertility does not decrease - on the contrary! From a planted bucket of onions (family) grows 8-10 (!) Buckets, and carrots and beets have only one drawback - they are too large. Heads of cabbage this year did not fit into the bag, and it is rather big - from under the feed.

I confess right away: I don’t spoil my plants with special care. I never water onions, carrots, beets. Cabbage - only in the holes when planting, and on top I fall asleep with dry earth.

I only get liquid top dressing for tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse. In open ground, I water only cucumbers (the bed is covered on top of the soil with a film or black spunbond) and young apple trees. Everything else survives on its own. I cover tomatoes, zucchini with mowed grass, strawberries with newspapers, and on top with a thin layer of sawdust. By the way, this is what saved her from freezing in the snowless autumn of 2014, when frost hit to -17 °. The neighbors' strawberries are all frozen.

Compost ripening is a long process. In addition, during the winter, the contents of a box or pit freezes and thaws quite late - somewhere by mid-May. To speed things up, pour plenty of compost with warm water, but in no case with boiling water! If you urgently need to defrost the compost, sprinkle it on top with ashes and water it with hot water three times a day. Cover with cling film or burlap overnight.

Neither thick nor empty

I would also like to tell you how I grow vegetables. The bed is long, more than 30 m. After loosening with a flat cutter or cultivator, I have it even, loose. I don’t level with a rake - I draw grooves along the ridge with a flat cutter or a rail. The first one is closer to the edge, stepping back 3-4 cm. I sow carrots into it, not thickly, with a seeder, after 3-4 cm. If two seeds fall somewhere, I leave it: it will not grow so huge. Stepping back 30 cm, I draw the next groove, then two more after 25-30 cm. I pour a little ash into them and plant onions.

The distance between the bulbs is 15 cm if small, and 20-25 cm if large. I plant sevok in the extreme furrow. The bed is wide, but I weed it, loosening it with a small flat cutter on a long handle. I leave the grass in place: it dries up very quickly, single stems take root (I will remove them at the next weeding before lodging the feather). When the onion starts to turn yellow, somewhere in the first decade of June, in rainy weather, I sprinkle with salt (not thick). If the tips of the feathers turn yellow strongly, you can add a little urea to the salt - the feathers begin to grow actively.

I clean it when the neck dries up, and the sevok - when it falls. And immediately I sow mustard and oats. I make grooves with a flat cutter, scatter the seeds, level them: if you sow on top and harrow with a rake, the birds will peck out. I pre-soak the oats. Carrots and sevok remain in the garden. I throw mustard seeds between the sevka bulbs, they sprout, grow and reach a height of 15-20 cm by the time the onions are harvested. They grow more in September.

Along the furrow where the sevok grows, I sow beets with seeds. It’s also not thick: where two or three will rise, I leave it - the root crops will not be so large. I prefer varieties with small tops, such as Detroit, Pablo - they are thin-skinned, without rings, sweet, juicy. I also sow radish in the furrow - it grows better than in the garden. I plant cabbage from one end of the garden, alternating with onions in a year, and swapping carrots with onions.

Where green manure is not sown, I leave vegetable tops for the winter. Under the cabbage in the holes I put half a handful of dolomite flour, a pinch of superphosphate, a little ash. I water and plant seedlings in the mud. I sprinkle dry earth on top, and that's it - there will be no more watering. But from the cruciferous flea you have to process. And some of the chemicals: ash does not help. Countless hordes attack and instantly suck the juices from the tender leaves of the core.

Salad onion, unproblematic

This is how I plant my garden. The longest work is weeding in a row of carrots, where I choose blades of grass with my hands. I don’t get close to plants with a flat cutter so that.

I don’t process anything from carrot and onion flies, there are no wormy carrots, and onions can have several nests affected, but this is a drop in the ocean.

In addition to family onions and sevka, for several years now I have been planting seeds on March 8-12 in half-liter tall plastic containers or 0.5-liter plastic cups. I sow through 1-2 cm from each other, in the snow you can see them better, and sprinkle with earth. Before germination I put in a dark place. When loops appear, I remove the lid from the container and put it on the windowsill. I plant in the garden around May 9th. I look at the forecast so that there are no frosts in the coming days - then they are no longer terrible.

I make grooves, water abundantly and lay out the roots in the dirt. Onions, which are the size of a match head, I try not to deepen too much. If the weather is hot, I water several times. The usual care is weeding, loosening, the bed is well fertilized, so I don’t feed anything. I clean it in September, when the neck becomes soft and the feather falls.

Bulbs grow up to 600 g in weight. There is only one drawback: you need to eat everything in three months - the onion is so juicy that it is not stored for a long time. What we do not have time to eat, I distribute to friends. Even the grandson, when he was three years old, asked: “Yuba, give me yuka!” (he has not yet pronounced the letter "L"). And he ate it raw, to the horror of his mother, who does not eat onions at all.

I strongly advise all summer residents to grow Exhibition. The fly does not touch him, there is no trouble with him, only you need to spend a little more time on landing than on sets, and that's it.

Please note: the dishes for onion seedlings should not be too shallow, the depth should be at least 10-12 cm. When planting, you can trim the roots and feathers, although you can not do this, it still grows perfectly. But it is better to buy good seeds. All the years I bought Dutch: germination is excellent. But this year I somehow guarded and bought in a simple white package. It didn't grow at all! It seems to taste and look similar, but the onion itself is not so large, and the color of the integumentary scales is darker.

And now my wish to all summer residents: do not be afraid to part with a shovel! It is not necessary to transfer tons of earth for nothing, take pity on the earth, and your hands, and your back. I only use a shovel to dig planting holes for trees, and as you can see, nothing terrible has happened: crops do not decrease.

Vera KNYAZEVA, Voronezh and Nadezhda Nikolaevna Teplyakova, Tambov

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Traditionally, the farmer's job was to plow (or dig up) the land, fertilize it, and sow seeds. Then - to weed and loosen, and in the fall - to harvest. And it would seem that there is still something you can think of - it has been customary from time immemorial, this is how our ancestors did ... But modern man is inquisitive and prone to finding new ways, and therefore now there are many alternative methods of farming.

Their supporters sometimes argue to the point of hoarseness, defending the advantages of their approach - but we will not argue. Everyone is free to choose what is close to him, what seems more correct, effective, reasonable - right? Only sometimes we know too little about possible alternatives, and therefore our choice is limited.

Fortunately, this can be fixed: I hope that today's review will be part of a larger discussion; I hope to hear the opinions of those who have tested certain methods in practice and received results. Tell us what rules and principles you adhere to and why? In the meantime, let's see what options exist...

organic farming

It is also called natural - the followers of this method "peeped" many approaches to tillage from nature itself. There is even such a term - "natural agriculture", that is, the cultivation of the soil in accordance with natural, natural principles.

Today, this technique is very popular and, of course, deserves a separate discussion. But within the framework of our review, we will have to confine ourselves to a brief summary of its main essence. So...

Basic principles of organic (natural) farming

1. Do not dig the earth. The use of this technique allows only shallow (up to 5-7 cm) loosening of the soil. A shovel is not needed - it is replaced by a flat cutter.

2. Do not use mineral fertilizers. Only organic matter is used in its various types and forms: compost and other organic fertilizers; sowing green manure; construction of warm ridges and so on.

3. Avoid the use of pesticides. The priority is the prevention of plant diseases and the appearance of pests. If it was not possible to prevent the problem, only biological products and folk methods are used.

4. Take worms and beneficial microorganisms as helpers. EM preparations activate the activity of soil microorganisms. Those, in turn, accelerate the decomposition of organic matter, helping to increase soil fertility. Worms, processing organic waste, produce vermicompost - a useful and environmentally friendly fertilizer.

What is the purpose and meaning of the method

Our ancestors did not think about the ecological purity of products on their table - for us this problem has become relevant. One of the goals of organic (natural) farming is get natural vegetables and fruits, obviously free from all sorts of "chemistry".

The second goal is improve soil fertility. In principle, proponents of traditional methods of fertilizing pursue the same goal. But the ideology of organic farming is not to remake nature, but to help it, so soil fertility is restored through agricultural practices and natural means: organic mulch, green manure, biological products, and so on.

Finally, the third - important for many - goal is to make farming easier. It is no secret that the use of traditional tillage methods is associated with rather hard physical work. Not everyone can do it - and organic farming technologies can really reduce the effort and time spent on the beds.

How it looks in practice, let's see in the plot of the program Successful tips:

And if you want to delve deeper into the essence of the method, listen to what Boris Andreevich Bublik said about agriculture in harmony with nature (lecture in Ufa)

Read also about the experience and rules of natural farming:

Farming according to Mittlider

Jacob Mittlider, an American doctor of agricultural sciences, developed a crop production system known to many as "Mittleider's narrow ridges." It is difficult to describe these technologies, as well as organic farming, in a nutshell. Back in the 90s of the last century, I myself experimented a little with the Mittlider method - then the overseas method interested me very much. But let's leave the details for a separate conversation and see what the idea is based on.

Basic principles and rules of agriculture according to Mittlider

1. Landing on narrow ridges. These can be specially arranged long ridges with sides made of soil or narrow ridges-boxes. Plants are planted on them more densely than we are used to, but due to the wide passages between the ridges, their optimal illumination is ensured.

2. The principle of a balanced diet. Unlike organic farming, mineral fertilizers are actively used in this technique. From them, balanced mixtures are prepared according to special recipes. Sometimes even the soil on the ridges is replaced by a neutral substrate, into which the necessary nutrients are added.

The Mittlider method welcomes the use of mineral fertilizers

Special technologies are provided for both seed treatment and seedling cultivation. The method is used both in open ground and in greenhouses.

What is the purpose and meaning of the method

Jacob Mittlider himself is familiar with agricultural labor firsthand, and therefore his goal was make work on the ground easier, to make harvesting less time-consuming and burdensome.

The second task is increase productivity. This goal is served by the principle of balanced nutrition, which allows, in a limited area with dense planting of crops, to achieve their rapid growth, early and abundant fruiting.

The following video will show you what this method might look like in practice.

Growing on your personal plot, first of all, environmentally friendly products is the dream and goal of many gardeners. And one of the ways to achieve it was organic farming in the country, practice has proven its effectiveness and increased the ranks of adherents and advocates of this method of organizing gardening and gardening.

What it is

The ideas of organic farming are not an innovation that appeared at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Few people know that the foundations of this method of working with the land were developed at the end of the 19th century by the agronomist and breeder I. E. Osinsky. But then the turbulent 20th century, with a bias towards intensive agriculture, made his ideas irrelevant. And yet, the method proposed by the scientist was not forgotten, and now, out of a fashionable passion for a non-standard approach to growing different crops, organic farming in the country is a practice that has become familiar to many gardeners.

The terms organic and natural farming are often used interchangeably. The difference between the natural and organic methods of cultivation is determined if we are talking about the result of the farmer's activity - obtaining environmentally friendly products and selling them.

In order to position products as organic, it is necessary to obtain a certificate for compliance with the relevant standards, and not only for the vegetables or fruits themselves. The entire farm and the cultivation technologies used by it, as well as the packaging in which the products are packaged, and even the type of delivery to the consumer, must be fully certified.

Fundamentals of organic farming

The organic farming system is based on a fundamental thesis that defines the earth as a living system, an organism, by acting on which a person can completely destroy the soil ecosystem formed over the centuries. As a result, the earth will cease to bear fruit in the way it is able to do it, if not for human activity. What do we do as soon as we start working with the earth?

Of course, we pick up a shovel and set off to dig, destroy weeds, and even try to dig deeper so that not a single root of harmful plants remains in the garden. Why are we doing this? And because everyone does it, they did it before us and will do it after us! And if we knew more facts about how the soil works, how would our behavior change?

Let's give some examples. Example. “500 kg of biohumus per year or a couple of “KAMAZ trucks” of imported manure” Scientists in the course of research found that in the soil of only one hundred square meters, untreated with chemicals, there are about 200 kg of bacteria and microorganisms, about the same number of worms. And all these workers produce 500 kg of biohumus in 1 year. We appear, obsessed with the idea of ​​​​cleaning the garden, digging it under two bayonets of a shovel, with a tank for treating plants from pests at the ready.

In general, the result is clear: with this approach, we will not get even 50 kg. biohumus per year, because there will be no one to produce it. Nothing! We will bring new land, saturate it with manure and ... dig again. Example. "Upside down" All microorganisms and bacteria are distributed in the earth in separate layers. In the upper layer at a depth of no more than 10 cm, aerobic microorganisms live. They require a constant supply of oxygen to survive. Thanks to the work of these bacteria, all organic substances are converted into minerals, thanks to which the nutrition of plants is ensured.

In the lower layer with a depth of 10 to 20 cm there are anaerobic bacteria, for which oxygen and high temperature are destructive. Their task is to create humus, which is the basis of soil nutrition. And here again we appear at the dacha with a shovel. By digging and turning the earth, with pleasure cutting an inverted clod, slapping it a couple of times with this wonderful tool, wiping sweat from our foreheads, we mix the layers, and anaerobic bacteria, having got to the top, die from excess oxygen and high temperature, while aerobic bacteria suffocate in the lower layer and do not withstand the new temperature conditions for them.

For those who love sports and extreme sports, we can offer to start walking on our hands to feel the difference in sensations after changing the position of the body and get closer to understanding what happens to the earth after our impact on it.

We dug up the ground and are surprised that the weeds have not disappeared anywhere. Why? When digging, fresh weed seeds moved into the lower layers of the soil. They will be there until the next digging, and some of them will perfectly tolerate such “storage” in the cool lower soil layers. And up we raised the seeds of weeds from the lower layer, which, having gained access to light, begin to actively develop and grow. But we did a good job and were very tired!

Example. “Not a speck, not a blade of grass” Let's imagine the following picture: an ideal garden, even beds “under the string”, no weeds, rows of well-groomed cultivated plants. Well, if this is the result of manual labor and patience, and not a generous treatment with chemicals that kill any weed. And here it is - the long-awaited warmth that everyone has been waiting for. With the onset of really hot days, our plants noticeably wither, stop growing. It's okay, we will generously water them, add fertilizer!

However, when watering, we notice that the water is poorly absorbed, literally, rolling down from the garden bed, the top layer of the soil acquires light shades, and dust forms. There are cracks and cracks on the paths. And at the same time in the forest, even with prolonged heat, most of the plants continue to actively develop, there is no dust or cracks. The ground is covered with a pillow of foliage, branches, needles, and it is impossible to find a single piece of bare soil in the forest. The difference is obvious.

What to do? Continue to dig, carry manure, heroically drag it around the site, overcome difficulties, pour water and treat the back that took the hit. Or you can stop and think about how to make your life easier. If you stop digging and planting a garden for at least one year, you can see how the earth will begin to recover on its own without our help. It used to be called: leaving the land "fallow". On such soil, weeds actively grow. The earth begins to heal itself, as the weed is the cover of the top layer of soil and the future nutrient medium - after it rots in the winter.

But if there is no desire to stop gardening, you can start applying the principles of organic farming.

There are not so many of them, but if you follow them, in a couple of years you can put the state of the soil in the country in order and at the same time stop spending a huge amount of time and effort on working with the land. The principle of "DO NOT dig" To implement it, you must:

• replace the shovel with a pitchfork, since processing with such a tool does much less harm;
• purchase a flat cutter and learn how to work with it, and if you wish, you can make it yourself ();
• break the beds and, if possible, install boxes of any design;
• digging and tillage should be replaced by loosening the top layer no deeper than 5 cm.

Mulch principle Mulch is a protective layer that performs several functions:

• protection against weathering of the upper soil layer;
• maintaining the optimum temperature in the soil, its protection against overheating;
• weed control, as mulch inhibits their growth;
• formation of optimal conditions for the vital activity of soil microorganisms;
• moisture retention, which will significantly reduce the need for watering;
• when overheated, the mulch layer is recycled, turning into organic fertilizer.

As mulch, mowed grass, weeded weeds (until the formation of seeds on them), straw, processed bark, pine needle, foliage, sawdust can be used.

The principle of "Help the earth, fertilize with "green" manure fertilizers" Cultivation of green manure allows you to replace the application of manure and chemical fertilizers. They nourish the earth, heal it. These plants include: mustard, phacelia, buckwheat, oil radish, beans, lupins, vetch, oats, rye. The features of agricultural technology used in organic farming include:

• application of crop rotation principles and planting planning;
• mixed plantings, in which several types of different crops are planted on the beds, helping each other to develop, repel pests and form a crop;
• the use of non-chemical methods of combating diseases and pests;
• replacement of chemical fertilizers with organic ones.

Agriculture according to Ovsinsky

In 1899, I. E. Ovsinsky published the book "The New System of Agriculture". He analyzed the experience and results of farming with the use of deep plowing with a plow turning over an earthen clod, and provided convincing evidence of the harm from such a method of tillage. The book provides indicators of increasing yields and soil fertility in cases where interference with the soil structure is minimized. In addition, the scientist proved that the earth, if left alone for a year (without growing any crops), will recover on its own. On these principles, organic farming was later built.

Kizima method

Those who start looking for information about the basics of natural agriculture will definitely find information about Galina Aleksandrovna Kizima. At 80, she continues to run the household on her own, while calling her plot "a vegetable garden for the lazy." Of course, laziness here should be understood not as doing nothing, but as the ability to grow plants, saving one's own strength and not doing unnecessary work.

Galina Alexandrovna is a practitioner, and her proposals on the rules and technologies for growing different crops are not theorizing, but an assessment and demonstration of real results.

Its technology is built on three basic principles: do not dig, do not weed and do not water. By acting in this way, we not only save our strength, but also help the earth fulfill its purpose: to grow crops. According to Kizima's books, one can learn the principles of natural farming, or, as Galina Aleksandrovna calls it, the biodynamic method of farming, starting from the stage of preparing beds and ending with the cultivation of individual crops.

beds

The beds in organic farming are not just straight rows with beautiful borders. To properly organize them, you need to work a little. Perhaps, it is this stage of working with the land that will be the most time-consuming, but incomparable with the efforts that have to be applied for digging or plowing.

Firstly, it is necessary to mark out the plot for the beds, calculating not only the width of the planting area itself, but also making the correct paths - row spacing. They must be wide. Of course, not everyone is ready to go for such an "uneconomical" consumption of land, making paths 60-80 cm wide, and the beds themselves 45-50. But still, increasing the space between plantings to at least 50 cm will allow the gardener to provide the plants with more light, and this will positively affect the general condition of the crops at the time of the growing season and increase the yield.

Secondly, the beds must be prepared in advance: not on the eve of sowing the plant, but in the fall. To do this, you can use several methods. Way. Immediately after harvesting, it is necessary to sow the ridges with green manure and not remove them from the surface until spring. By this time, they will either completely overheat, or remain as the first layer of mulch, however, quite thin, it will have to be further increased after planting. Way. Refueling the beds with organic matter is essentially the process of forming warm beds. For this, furrows are dug at least 40 cm deep, and this is the only case when you have to pick up a shovel when arranging a garden. Next, branches, organic materials, fresh grass, soil are laid in layers, after which the bed is covered with a mulching cloth.

That's it, now you don't need to touch it until spring. In the first year of operation, we plant melons, cucumbers, tomatoes. Further use of beds using the principle of crop rotation. Such an organic bed can work effectively for 3-4 years. If organic matter is introduced in the spring, then soil is added to the planting holes so that the plants do not burn out under the influence of temperature, which increases as a result of overheating of the organic layers.

Where to begin

It is necessary to start the transition from the classical method to growing plants according to the principles of organic farming in your garden plot by studying this technology. It is important to decide whether the gardener is ready to accept such a philosophy of working with the land, or whether he strongly doubts its effectiveness.

If in doubt, you can select a small sample area to understand how it all works in practice.

That is, to carry out one or two seasons of agrotechnical work in natural ways: stop digging, cover the ground with mulch, plant green manure, refuse to use chemistry or reduce its amount at least by half. Then it remains only to compare the results and draw conclusions.

Practice

If a gardener decides to learn the basics of natural farming, it is necessary to understand that, starting from scratch, it will not be possible to immediately achieve amazing success. The earth needs to recuperate, so a tangible result will be visible in the second year of the application of organic farming. It is also important to remember that using only one of the methods will not lead to the desired result. You can stop digging, but if you do not mulch the ground, treat the plants with chemistry and do not follow the requirements for crop rotation, there will be no active positive changes. What does a farmer acquire when starting to service his garden in new ways and means:

1. Labor costs for sowing and planting plants, weeding and loosening are reduced, while saving time and effort is significant.
2. Water consumption is reduced, watering is required less often and not as plentiful as with classical agricultural technology.
3. Plants get sick less, grow stronger, increase yields, so smaller volumes can be planted.
4. The soil composition improves and even heavy clay soils become easier to work.

Minuses

Is organic farming technology ideal? Of course not. On large areas, it is difficult and financially expensive to comply with all the principles of natural farming: covering materials will have to be purchased for mulching, and replacing chemicals with biological ones will also be expensive. Within a small personal plot, these tasks are easier to perform, and, nevertheless, the gardener will also need to make certain investments in the purchase of tools, biological products, mulching materials, if it is impossible to find their natural counterparts.

The earth's ecosystem is changing, new viruses and diseases are appearing, which are sometimes impossible to fight with biological products alone. The earth does not have time to develop immunity against the new pathogenic flora. Therefore, in some cases, gardeners either completely stop growing crops susceptible to diseases that need to be treated with chemicals, or, in extreme cases, resort to the use of chemistry. The same applies to pests that appear during the migration of plants from one region to another, especially when crops appear from abroad. As a rule, there are no methods of natural struggle against them yet, in this case it is also possible to use chemistry.

Currently, the popularity of growing vegetable crops at home is growing rapidly. Many residents of large cities and metropolitan areas are beginning to buy suburban areas in order to provide themselves with healthy food with a minimum content of pesticides. Such an occupation does not require large investments and is within the power of every average person. Therefore, every year the number of gardeners and gardeners is steadily growing.

About the methodology

In order for the future lesson to bring good results, it is necessary to take care of the proper preparation of the soil composition in advance. Important, so that the soil in the selected area was breathable and loose with a high nutrient content. In this case, you will be able to grow strong and prolific crops.

If you intend to treat the soil composition with chemicals, then such an action will not only impregnate all food products with unsafe toxins, but will also begin to kill valuable microorganisms in the substrate, due to which the development of plants will not be complete.

An important condition for proper organic cultivation is comfortable lighting. For this reason, when choosing a suitable place for planting vegetables or fruits, give preference to open areas where daylight hours last at least six hours.

When preparing the garden for the upcoming lesson, it is not necessary to dig the earth. Instead, the soil must be carefully loosened using a fork. For cleaning row spacing from weeds and other unwanted plants, you can use a flat cutter.

All preparatory work includes leveling the beds and the spaces between them in the ratio 1:2:

• the optimal width of the beds is 40 centimeters;
• row spacing is 80 centimeters;

If you use the same bed, digging the soil is not necessary, because. as crops grow and develop, humus will begin to accumulate in the soil, which will give it friability and moisture.

An important feature of the processing is the mulching of row spacing. In this case, you will have to use:

• sawdust;
• humus;
• weed grass;
• peat;

Organic farming in the country should be started from a small garden bed, the size of which is constantly increasing.

Where to begin

Starting to engage in organic cultivation of vegetable and fruit crops is necessary with the choice of suitable planting material. Taking any seeds that caught your eye is highly discouraged, because you will not have any guarantees in their quality. The choice of suitable specimens should be taken with special responsibility.

Do not forget, that certain types of plants need complex care and enhanced care. In addition, they are highly exposed to all kinds of diseases and pests, which are quite difficult to get rid of. Among these plants are tomatoes.

To reduce the hassle when growing plants organically, it is necessary to give preference to those varieties of vegetable crops that can boast of strong immunity and endurance to pathogens of infections and other diseases.

You can study the morphological features of specific plants using training videos or instructions that come with a pack of seeds. In order for agriculture to be as successful as possible, it is necessary to provide the planted green spaces with a number of mandatory top dressings:

When preparing a good substrate for farming in the country, it is not necessary to use top dressing. When applying a large amount of fertilizer, there is a risk of developing many pests, which is associated with an increase in the growth rate of the crop. Slow-growing individuals independently develop strong immunity and are able to withstand many dangers without additional intervention from the summer resident.

Yields are known to decrease when a crop is grown in the same location for several years. This is not strange, because characteristic harmful microorganisms accumulate in the place of constant planting, which not only impair fruiting, but also pose a great danger to the plants themselves. To prevent such, it is enough to change the landing site on a specific bed every year.

For such purposes, you can apply a special scheme and a table that mentions the sequence of planting plants in the beds. It is known that some green spaces are subject to the same diseases, so it is impossible to plant them in one place. For understanding, eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes and peppers are vulnerable to the same problems. The same goes for watermelon, squash, cucumbers and pumpkins.

Plant care in organic farming in the country

If you intend to see the result of your work in the near future, garden crops need to be provided with quality care. Mulch is used as a good protection. In addition, this procedure effectively fights weeds and pests. It is important that the mulch layer is between 2.5-5 centimeters.

Mulch based on organic materials is especially effective, because she is degradable. It is known that weeds attract all sorts of pests which, in turn, carry various diseases and infections. Also, weed plantations reduce the content of nutrients and minerals in the soil, which negatively affects the growth and development of crops. For this reason, every gardener should know how to effectively control weeds.

An important condition for successful organic farming– balanced watering. It must be carried out taking into account some subtleties:

• watering must be regular, otherwise the plant will not be able to develop well enough;
• watering is carried out directly under the trunk of plants, because. wet leaves and other green parts strongly attract pests;
• it is impossible to carry out spraying and watering by the method of sprinkling. It is better to supply water with a hose, which is placed directly at the trunk;

In order for the flowering of the crop to be full, and the harvest to be maximum, it is necessary to provide the plants with free access to a source of oxygen. This is also done using root top dressing. For the procedure to be as successful as possible, it is better to plant plants at large distances from each other. It is not difficult to prevent the development of all kinds of fungal formations. It is enough to observe a good flow of air and regularly weed the bed.

If you plant flowering plants along the edges of the beds, they will begin to attract useful "guests" who will not only protect the crop from pests, but also become good pollinators.

Organic cultivation of vegetables and fruits will be successful when combined with the planting of marigolds, zinnias, nasturtiums, purple echinacea and other flowers. Despite a number of difficulties that may arise, you must understand that the end result justifies all the efforts spent.

Soil mulching

It is not difficult to start growing plants in the country. The main thing is to correctly follow the basic recommendations and avoid irreparable mistakes. An important principle for the successful development of planted crops is the mulching of the soil. Such an action implies the provision of reliable protection with the help of covering materials. Mulching is not allowed strong hypothermia of the soil and does not allow it to overheat under the influence of direct sunlight. In addition, it protects the soil from evaporation of moisture and the rapid growth of weeds.

Under natural conditions, the earth is always covered by growing or dried grass, leaves and other organic deposits, so it practically does not dry out in the summer, and does not succumb to intense frosts in winter. When using mulch, it is possible to provide favorable conditions similar to natural ones. In the future, the used layer rots and turns into humus, which increases soil fertility. The choice of good materials must be responsible. It is better to give preference to various natural raw materials, including fallen leaves, mowed straw, sawdust, needles, peat, sand and other devices. Only organic mulch can become humus, and the use of a small layer of sand improves soil fertility.

Do not refuse the use of green manure - special plants that have a positive effect on the soil composition and can be a good alternative to organic and mineral dressings. They are characterized by high speed growth and the ability to provide the soil with reliable protection from the harmful effects of direct sunlight and wind. In addition, such plants, as they grow, become food for beneficial living microorganisms, accumulating a number of certain substances. They also form tubules in the soil through which moisture and air enter. It is better to plant green manure in temporarily empty areas, before and after planting the main garden crops.

Being engaged in organic farming in the country from scratch, be sure to enrich the soil with microorganisms. In our latitudes, cold climatic conditions reduce the number of such inhabitants, so it is restored only in the middle of summer. With a lack of such substances in the soil, the growth of cultivated plants and yields are rapidly deteriorating. To reliably enrich the soil, it is enough to use special tools based on living microorganisms. Among them, tested by years and experience many gardeners use compost, which helps to quickly saturate the substrate with useful elements. In addition, the active substances from the composition of the compost allow plants to absorb mineral supplements more productively.

Many summer residents and gardeners are accustomed to fertilizing the land with organic top dressing. For this reason, they often use organic mulch and water plants with herbal infusions. In the process, you can leave potato tops on the beds and prepare compost from all plant waste.

If you want to do organic farming, you need to take into account such a feature as the influence of green spaces growing nearby. It is known that some types of plants coexist freely with each other, while others do not tolerate such a "neighborhood" and negatively affect the soil and their neighbors.

For successful crop management rotation must be observed. It is known that not all plants are able to bear fruit annually in the same place without a transplant.

Summing up

Everyone can grow healthy vegetable and fruit crops in their country house. To do this, you need to “roll up your sleeves” and start acting, despite any difficulties that may arise in the process.

Learn the topic in as much detail as possible, watch training videos and use the advice of professionals. This will definitely bear fruit.