When happy owners of their own country site for the first time arrive at their 5-10 acres, in most cases, they are waiting for a bad picture. Overgrown with weeds and wild growth land, with Christmas trees and honami samosejka first sight suggests that the work here Nemer. Without carrying out of melioration to expect a high yield is useless, that’s why gardeners the first thing taken for analysis of soil composition of the land, level of acidity, humidity, etc., and depending on the identified problems conduct appropriate types of land reclamation.
The contents
From the Latin melioratio translates as «improvement». This word even in the ancient world meant a system of activities whose purpose is to improve the quality and fertility of land to increase the yield. Good land valued in all ages, so the researchers-agronomists came up with different ways on how empty the soil to turn into an oasis of fertility. They bring water to dry areas, eliminate waterlogging and excess salts, adjust the composition of the soil, making different types of fertilizers. In the end, we developed four areas of land reclamation, which are now used in gardens, farms, etc.
Cultivation — the beginning of reclamation work
Kulturtechnik the type of reclamation conducts every cottager at the initial stage of development of the site. To of wasteland to get a decent ground to break up your garden beds and flower beds, should at least cut down old trees, uproot stumps, to cut bumps and fill holes, and clean the area of stones. By the way, about the most effective ways of rooting out stumps can be read in a separate article «Uprooting tree stumps». When land is cleared for the first plowing, analyzing the type of soil. On heavy clay soils hold sanding up, making from 10 to 20 cm of sand and sapacheva it in the upper soil layers. This improves air and water regime of the earth, increases the degree of heating of the soil, eliminates in the dry season, the formation of crusts.
The opposite process is panowanie. It is carried out on light sandy and poor lands. Loam spread in a layer up to 10 cm for plowing. Clay helps to hold moisture and enriches the soil with micronutrients that are lacking in the sand.
Depending on the type of soil predominant in the suburban area, add sand, clay, humus, and torfowisko and other components that help improve the Aero – and hydroponically soil
If the site were on the moor, then it is recommended to make clay and sand. The Moors tend to freeze to great depths, and making a clay-sand mixture makes the soil easier, speeds up the process of thawing of soil in spring and allows you to plant the beds in 10-12 days earlier than usual.
Irrigation and drainage works: adjust the level of humidity
Each plant has their own needs in the water, but the majority still does not tolerate excess or lack of moisture. Therefore, reclamation of soils includes areas such as hydraulic engineering. His task – with the help of a set of measures to establish in the soil the normal level of moisture affecting crop yields. Depending on the location of the site (lowland or upland, the closeness to a natural pond or hilly terrain…), determine which irrigation and drainage works are required in specific areas of the site.
Land drainage: removes excess moisture
If vacationers «lucky» to get land in the valley, where after every rain, the soil does not dry out for weeks, you’ll have to create a drainage system. Otherwise the plants will wither, and the foundations of buildings begin to wash away during snowmelt or flooding. Depending on the degree of waterlogging create an open, scatter, or closed, covering the entire site drainage system. Learn more about the technology of laying of drains can be found in the article «The system of water drainage on the site».
If the site is located in the valley, then the main problem will be the increased humidity of the soil, remove which will help the private drainage
Irrigation: helps fight drought
If the soil is light and weakly holds moisture, and in areas with a hot climate be sure to think through irrigation system section. In summer, during the growth of horticultural crops moisture is vital. Without it, plants can drop the color, to reduce the degree of formation of ovaries, and the fruits are wrinkled and small. Why gardeners are choosing one of the types of irrigation, the best in specific conditions.
So, surface irrigation method often used in large agricultural lands. Water is allowed at the soil surface using special ditches, furrows, stripes, and sometimes is used fully submerged plots.
Sprinkler irrigation is the more common method of irrigation in the backyard. Water enters the soil in the form of small drops of rain through the sprinklers installed in the right places. Plus, this irrigation is that water consumption is much lower than with surface irrigation. It does not have to dig out special grooves, and therefore the soil is used. Moisture not only nourishes the roots of the plants, but also forms an overhead pole, cleaning the leaves of dust, and speeding up the processes of photosynthesis.
Irrigation area by the method of sprinkling moisture saturated not only plant roots but also the whole aboveground part, which accelerates the process of photosynthesis
Subsurface irrigation is the most labor-intensive method of increasing soil moisture. It requires the installation of perforated pipes throughout the site and connecting them to the pumps. Injection pressure the water will run through the pipes and gradually escape through the holes into the soil, thereby raising its humidity. A type of subsurface irrigation is drip irrigation. However, today, laying pipe by this method can be applied in the soil and above it. Under drip method of irrigation consumes a minimum amount of water, not «fed» moisture weeds and each plant gets exactly the right amount «drink», how much he needs, and not the abundant doses and gradually.
In addition to drainage and irrigation, in irrigation and drainage activities may include dealing with landslides, mudflows, soil erosion etc.
Chemical reclamation: regulates PH balance
Perhaps the most popular type of soil can be called a chemical because every cottager annually makes certain fertilizers to improve the structure of soil and combats acidity. Sour land – the problem is very common because and deposits, and the excess of mineral fertilizers and improper crop rotation are destroying the PH balance, reducing the yield and quality of the earth itself. About how to deal with the acidity of the soil and improve its fertility, we already wrote (in article «Liming the soil in the garden» and «What determines the fertility of the soil»), and therefore focus on different types of chemical reclamation works.
Soil application of lime, dolomite or wood ash helps to regulate the soil acidity and improve the development of the majority of horticultural crops
The excess salts, and excess acid is harmful to plants. And if a vacationer has got the plot with the so-called salt marshes — places where the soil is concentrated a large number of natural salts, we first neutralize these areas.
The degree of salinization are different from salted to salt marshes, but struggle with a similar phenomenon in all the lands is the same. The soil was washed to bring salt from the topsoil layer. Per square meter consumes about 150 liters of water. It is clear that such flooding no culture will survive, so rinsing is carried out in a clean world. Very effective flushing in areas with a closed drainage system. Excess salt together with water will go into the pipe, and from thence off-site. So subsequent Uspaskich, the earth with depth will not be too salty.
Additional heating of the soil: insurance against frost
In cold climates, to achieve rapid heating of soil in spring to help heat reclamation work. Their goal is to increase the temperature of the surface and deep layers to during the late frosts, the roots were protected from penetration of frost through the soil. For this purpose, different types of mulching, laying in the soil layers and compost pits, compaction of soils, etc..
Mulching borehole circles of trees helps reduce the likelihood of freezing of the roots in the winter and holds in soil moisture healing
More details about the different materials for mulching you can see from the video:
Reclamation: save the earth, corrupted by man
Referring to a separate reclamation is the reclamation of land, i.e. their recovery. Often in the process of building cities, mining etc. a part of the surrounding land salakavala waste recycling, construction waste, waste dumps, etc. Subsequently, when major works are over, this place is lifeless desert, which is often distributed under plots. And new owners have to deal with the restoration of fertility and of natural landscape, if the city does not care about it themselves.
The restoration of normal balance of the soil and its relief on bad lands — process hard. It requires the involvement of large equipment for debris removal, leveling soil
Recovery work is best done after a complete analysis of land condition and the conclusion, which should be given by experts-irrigators and environmentalists.
As you can see, the reclamation operation is an important element in maintaining soil fertility. And if the country to buy not only for leisure but also for growing your own «vitamins», we first have to prepare the soil, and then planted culture.
