Various types of substrate are offered for sale. We have soil for balcony flowers, garden soil and also a seedbed.Some substrates are designed for a narrow group of plants or only one.Are such divisions really necessary? Is it not possible to use one universal substrate for all plants?
The difference in the quality of the land reveals itself quite quickly. Cheap, poor-quality substrate contains little humus and sterilizes quickly, which, of course, is not indifferent to plant development.When buying a brand-name product, we have a guarantee that it has been produced from the highest quality raw materials and that it contains the optimal dose of nutrients. But does every plant need a special substrate?
Not always, but in many cases yes. The seedlings do not tolerate, for example, standard soil for flowers, because such a substrate contains a lot of fertilizer.For seedlings, choose a fine-grained soil with little or no feed.
Rhododendrons and azaleas are excellent examples of plants that require a special substrate. These shrubs are calcium intolerant and require acidic soils. Hence, the sale includes the so-called land for rhododendrons.
The substrate for potted plants must be permeable, therefore it is sometimes mixed with substrates such as granules.Sometimes you can prepare the mixtures yourself. For example, the substrate for herbs should be slightly mixed with sand. The soil for tomatoes, in turn, must be regularly fed.
Improving additives, added to the substrate
The soil for flowers may contain various enriching admixtures whose task is to improve the quality of the substrate.The main component of the substrates is usually poorly decomposed bog peat (with optimal air and water capacity).
Almost every substrate is supplied to a greater or lesser extent, mostly with mineral (artificial) fertilizers, the basic ingredients of which are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), sometimes also with natural fertilizers, such as guano.
The fertilizer accumulated in most substrates lasts on average for 6 weeks, then the substrate, for example for flowers, needs to be supplemented.The white balls, which you can sometimes see in the pots, are perlite. This additive stores water, increases the airiness of the soil and accumulates heat.
