We all know that the greenhouse on the garden plot is indispensable for growing a variety of heat-loving crops.
So, proper care for her, and not only in the spring, when we are preparing for planting in the new season, but in the winter, and in general all year round, is a very important moment.
In this article we will talk in detail about how to care for a greenhouse in winter, how to prepare it in spring for a new season and what needs to be done with the soil inside it.
Preparation of the greenhouse in the spring for the new season
Immediately after the onset of the first warm days in the greenhouse, active work begins to grow vegetables in it. Start with a thorough wash and wall treatment inside and out. Make it warm water with the addition of detergent. Do not use chemical cleaners. If any contaminants are not removed immediately, wet them and wash them away after a while. The dirt particles will be washed off after this.
IMPORTANT! Do not use hard brushes and sponges to clean the walls, as they may damage the protective layer of polycarbonate.
After washing the wall treated with disinfecting lime mortar (500 grams per 10 liters). Disinfection is necessary not only for the walls, but also for the soil.
Her shed copper sulphate solution. You can also use garden lime, scattering 50 g per square meter. Alternatively, beds can be spilled with boiling water, then air the greenhouse and dry the soil.
As advised by experienced gardeners, better to remove a layer of soil about 7 centimeters - It accumulates a large number of fungi and pests, so you can get rid of many problems.
If it is not possible to replace the soil, it is recommended that it be treated with disinfecting biological products, which are widely available on the market recently. Such preparations, in addition to disinfection, also help to increase the fertility of the soil. They fix nitrogen in it, deactivate heavy metals, promote decomposition of pesticides remaining in soil. After treatment with biological products, the ventilation of the greenhouse is not required and you can immediately start working in it.
Spring care for the greenhouse also includes inspection of supporting structures. Wooden frame check for rotting of individual elements, metal - for the presence of areas with corrosion. All unusable items must be removed or secured.
To increase the fertility of the soil in the spring in it compost and leaf mixture is recommended. Loosening helps the introduction of peat and sand. After making these elements, the soil is dug up.
Greenhouses can be made of different materials and have different equipment. On our site you will find a lot of useful information about a variety of designs.Read all about Dutch greenhouses, Chinese vegetarians and thermos-greenhouses.
Ground care
Growing inside the greenhouse of various crops leads to its complete exhaustion during the summer season. Therefore, before you begin to grow the next batch of plants, the soil should be enriched with minerals and microorganisms.
Copes well with this task. soil humus and complex mineral fertilizers. Humus contains a lot of minerals necessary for plant development. Together with it nutrient microorganisms fall into the soil. It also makes the soil loose, breathable and air permeable.
But you should not make too much humus - the roots of the plant will begin to dry out, or the build-up of leaf mass will begin to the detriment of fruiting.
Useful for plants and turf land, containing a large number of rotting roots of herbs and trees. Such a composition helps to increase moisture absorption and saturation with nutrients.
For the preparation of turf, the upper layer is first removed, then stacked, poured with lime. Installation height 1.5 meters. Humus is poured between the sod beds. In the process of ripening turf poured slurry and periodically shift.
Is it necessary to throw snow into the greenhouse in winter?
Why throw snow in the greenhouse? An important measure to preserve the nutritional value of the soil is to preserve it from deep freezing during the period of winter frosts. The open ground is protected from freezing by snow cover, but in the winter the snow does not get into the greenhouse. So it must be placed there mechanically. Snow in the greenhouse is needed! When thawing, it will moisten the soil and prepare it for planting.
Before throwing snow into the greenhouse, it is advisable to carry out its autumn disinfecting treatment so that diseases and pests do not survive under the snow cushion.
However, the attitude to stuffing snow in the greenhouse is not unambiguous. Some experienced gardeners believe that this is not necessary, as the snow delays the warm-up time of the soil in the greenhouse.
In this video, you will see how and how much snow experienced gardeners fall asleep in a greenhouse in winter:
It is not advisable to throw snow into the room, if on your site is located close groundwater. In this case, an impassable swamp forms in the greenhouse, and for a long time you will not be able to plant plants in it.
Soil heating
The final preparatory stage of spring training is ground heating.
Seedlings can not be placed in the unheated soil, it will start to hurt and take root poorly, which will certainly affect the yield. It is good if there are warm beds in the greenhouse.
Promotes warming soil diggingso that she gets heat from the air as quickly as possible.
Also land can shed warm water. Also effective soil cover with black film. It is under these conditions that the temperature in the soil rises, and it will quickly be ready for planting.
If possible, heaters can be placed in the greenhouse for several days. This can be either infrared heaters or any other heating system. About what is a greenhouse with heating, read in this article.
In addition to watering and heating the greenhouse it is very important to choose the right equipment and its other equipment.Read useful materials about the drip irrigation system and the organization of ventilation.
Winter care
The beginning of the preparation of the greenhouse for the winter is its autumn cleaning. Everything plant residues from the greenhouse must be removed and burned. You can immediately, without waiting for the spring, remove the top layer of soil in which harmful fungi have accumulated over the summer.
Inspect the soil for the presence of insect larvae on it, finding them, collect. Clean all internal surfaces of dirt. After that, make a fumigation sulfur bombshell and ventilate the greenhouse.
IMPORTANT! In a polycarbonate greenhouse with a metal frame, you cannot use any smoke bombs - they destroy the polycarbonate layer and the metal deteriorates.
Perhaps only the use of checkers "Vist", based on tibentazola.
Well disinfects the walls of a five percent solution of formalin. It is better to spray it on the walls with a spray gun. After processing, close the room for a day.. Then open and air. Wash and disinfect all the paths in the greenhouse.
How to care for a greenhouse in winter? In order for the frame of the greenhouse in winter not to bend under the weight of snow, it must be strengthened.
It is especially important to do this if your plot is located far from your residence and you cannot clean the snow cover from the greenhouse.
The supporting elements for the frame are various supports, which distribute the weight, pressing on the surface.
The supports are placed under the logs and sides of the frame. Their number must be such that every one and a half meter will be strengthened.
IMPORTANT! You need to fix the props so that they do not jump out and do not pierce the coating.
Be sure to place a brick or stone under the bottom of the support so that it does not fall into the ground.
Close tightly all vents and vents, automated systems. View the foundation close up all the cracks. It is impossible to leave this action in the spring, because during the winter all the holes should be subject to further destruction.
In winter, you need to cover regularly clean the snow. Just do not do it with a shovel, as you can damage the coating. It is necessary to work with a broom or wooden tools. It is very convenient to work with a car snow brush with a telescopic handle.
Snow should also be moved away from the walls all the way around, because under the weight of snowdrifts it can lose its shape.
It is not recommended to keep the door to the greenhouse open in winter. Under gusts of wind, it can shift from the foundation, and even polycarbonate sheets can come off. At the same time, during the season it is necessary to regularly ventilate the room, especially during thaws.
Compliance with the rules of care for the greenhouse at all times of the year will extend its service life by tens of years.
