Planting Tips

Chapter 18 How to prevent soil compaction and alkalization

Those who plant flowers with heavy viscous soil do not want to seep water after watering, and tend to crack and harden when dry, which is not conducive to the growth and development of flowers. This is mainly because the soil particles are too fine and lack organic matter.The way to improve it is to add some coarser substrates and soil components containing a lot of humus to the pot soil, such as fermented horse manure, manure soil, peat soil, sawdust, coarse sand, etc.The improved basin soil is soft and has good air permeability and water permeability, so there will be no hardening and cracking.In many places in northern my country, the soil is alkaline, and the groundwater is also alkaline, but most flowers and plants like acidic soil and avoid alkaline soil.

Therefore, when planting flowers in the northern region, it is necessary to consider the problem of avoiding the alkalization of the basin soil, mainly from the following aspects.

(1) It is best to use acidic culture soil when potting newly planted flowers. Avoid taking soil near buildings or construction sites, and avoid taking soil from desolate and bare land where no plants grow. The soil in these places is mostly alkaline sex or lack of organic matter.

(2) Generally, salinity and alkali evaporate with the water in the pot soil, and are easy to gather on the surface of the pot soil, showing grayish white. If you regularly remove a layer of topsoil and add new soil, the alkalinity of the pot soil will be reduced.

(3) It is best to water with calcium-free water or slightly acidic water. Since the tap water in the north contains more calcium ions, the content of calcium ions can be reduced after boiling. Therefore, you can also water the flowers with cold boiled water.During the growing season, you can water as much as possible, which can play the role of rinsing saline.

(4) Applying a small amount of 500-fold dilution of ferrous sulfate regularly can improve the alkalinity of the pot soil and make the pot soil more acidic.

(5) Repotting potted flowers and replacing soil is the metabolism of the soil. Replacing the old alkalized soil and adding fresh substrate can also prevent the salinization of the potted soil.

(End of this chapter)