Contents:
- Long-acting fertilizers
- Plant spacing and yield increase
- Treatments to accelerate germination
Long-acting fertilizers
Mineral fertilizers, commonly used in the fertilization of crops, are compounds with good solubility in water.This feature is, on the one hand, very beneficial, and on the other hand, it leads to significant losses of minerals as a result of their leaching into the soil. Nowadays, more and more often you can find long-acting fertilizers that contain substances that gradually dissolve the fertilizer granules.
Scientists are also working on other ways to extend the life of fertilizers. One of them is the so-called glassy fertilizer technology.Nutrients in appropriately selected proportions are mixed with liquid glaze.
The mechanism of prolonged action consists in their gradual release into the soil by dissolving glass by humic acids present in the soil.
The advantage of long-acting fertilizers is usually a single application to a given crop.When growing vegetables on a large scale, it significantly reduces production costs, but the price of these fertilizers still leaves much to be desired .
Plant spacing and yield increase
The spacing of sown and planted plants should be adapted to their size.Carrots, parsley and spinach can be sown at a higher density than beetroot or lettuce.Greater spacing guarantees a better "living space" for vegetables, which has a decisive impact on increasing the yield.
Treatments to accelerate germination
To speed up the germination of seeds, soak the seed material for 24 hours in lukewarm water (25-30 ° C) or leave it in water until about 30% of the seeds develop small sprouts.Then gently dry the seed, season it and sow it as soon as possible.These treatments are used for vegetables with a long germination period (carrots, parsley, celery, and even onions).
In the case of asparagus, a more favorable treatment is the stratification of the seeds: the seed is soaked for 2-3 days in lukewarm water, then mixed with moist sand (1: 3) and left for 5-6 weeks at 0-5 ° C, until sprouts will form.
