Soil for violets - we make the best composition ourselves
Content:
Violet, despite the outward simplicity, the plant is difficult to care for. The flower does not tolerate drafts, cold water, improper soil. The general condition of the flower, the intensity of growth, the frequency and abundance of flowering depend on how correctly the soil for the violets is selected.
What soil do violets like?
Land for violets should meet all the needs of a delicate plant in its parameters. It is not only the presence of certain nutrients that matters, but also a number of other indicators, and one of the most important is acidity.
The correct soil is the key to the successful growth of the violet and its regular flowering
Soil for Saintpaulias must necessarily contain the following nutrients:
- potassium salts;
- iron;
- zinc;
- calcium;
- boron;
- phosphorus compounds;
- chlorine.
The content of mineral elements should be small.
What are all soil elements for?
Soil-forming elements in the soil are needed so that the roots of the flower, holding on to them, maintain an upright position.
The nutrient substrate, which includes minerals, potassium salts and phosphorus substances, is responsible for the process of photosynthesis of the plant, it nourishes and saturates the violet, being responsible for its full development.
Soil acidity
Violets love a medium pH. It should be between 5.5 and 6.5. If there is no electrolyte balance, the plant will not be able to absorb nutrients, and this will lead to its death.
2 tbsp is stirred in 1 glass of water. l. ground, after which an indicator strip is lowered into the liquid. The pH level is determined by the degree of its coloring. If it exceeds the norm, it can be reduced by adding dolomite flour to the soil. Low-lying peat is used for the increase.
The pH level is one of the main indicators in the soil for violets.
Both the excess of pH and its deficiency negatively affect the plant. If the pH level is insufficient, the plant will not be able to carry out photosynthesis, its leaves will become dull.
Choosing a land for violets
To determine what kind of land is needed for violets, you need to know the variety of the plant. One type of Saintpaulia, for example, purple, is picky about the amount of phosphorus in the ground, and pink flowers are considered the most unpretentious. They will grow well and bloom profusely even on humus.
What soils exist
The soil for violets can be prepared independently, taking into account all the necessary parameters.
Or you can purchase a universal soil suitable for many home and garden plants. When choosing which soil is best for violets, you need to focus on the pH indicator.
Ready-made professional primers
All soils have a similar composition. They necessarily contain the following components:
- acidic or lowland and rotted or high-moor peat;
- baking powder - can be presented in the form of different components, most often it is sand;
- complex of minerals.
There are many commercially available soils that meet all the needs of violets.
Common professional primers:
- Violet from GreenUp is a universal primer. It contains dolomite flour, phosphorus, rare minerals.
- Universal primer Greenworld - in the composition of perlite, the pH value can vary depending on the required limit.
- "Garden of Miracles for Saintpaulias" - contains river sand, agroperlite and vermicompost. This type of soil is used in nurseries for breeding work.
Ideal land for whimsical flowers "Aurica Gardens". In a package with soil, all the main components are stacked in layers:
- sod land;
- peat with 5% humus;
- river sand, necessary for good drainage;
- sphagnum moss - antibacterial component;
- vermiculite crumb - is the basis for the texture of the soil;
- charcoal, aspen or wood birch - antiseptic;
- trace elements.
If you take separate layers of soil, you can qualitatively update the soil in a pot with a violet.
Average prices
To compare prices, 5 liter packs of soil were taken (prices are valid for November 2019):
- coconut mixture is the most expensive, its price is about 350 rubles;
- universal soil Greenworld - 200 rubles;
- soil with peat "Violet" - 185 rubles;
- Classman TS-1 - 150 rubles;
- "Flower happiness" - 90 rubles.
How to prepare the soil yourself
If it is difficult to choose a suitable soil substrate or there is no confidence in its quality, you can prepare soil for violets with your own hands. The basis for such soil is compost, forest or garden soil.
It is not difficult to compose the soil yourself if you have the necessary ingredients at hand
Nutrient components
One of the components is selected as a nutritional basis:
- leafy earth - rotted foliage mixed with rocks and deposits in the earth's crust;
- biohumus - plant residues processed by worms;
- compost;
- sod land - a fertile soil layer with particles of perennial grasses.
It is necessary to collect land for violets in ecologically clean areas. Land from a summer cottage, rested, on which nothing has been planted for several years, is suitable for the base. It has a high concentration of macro and microelements.
Excipients
Peat for violets is the main filler. You can use plant fibers instead, which have been overheated in the absence of oxygen.
Low-moor peat is used to regulate the pH level. You can replace it with coniferous soil - a mixture of earth with coniferous rotted needles.
Baking powder
If you do the soil for violets with your own hands, you must definitely include a baking powder in the composition. Its function is performed by:
- river sand;
- foam balls;
- vermiculite;
- perlite.
Baking powder is necessary so that the soil is loose, which means that it allows a sufficient amount of oxygen to pass through.
Moisture retainers
Components such as leaf and compost soil, and high-moor peat absorb the soil well. Vermiculite can be used to retain moisture.
But sphagnum copes with the task best of all.
Proper sterilization of the earth
Picture 5 Sterilizing the soil before planting violets plays an important role
To disinfect the soil, you can use a thermal or chemical method of processing it.
Sterilization of the soil will destroy insect larvae, help disinfect the ground, which is one of the best prevention of many diseases in a plant.
The chemical method consists in treating the ground with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. Heat treatment - heating the soil for 30 minutes in a microwave or oven.
Component ratio
To make the correct, nutritious soil, you can use one of the three proposed options for the ratio of soil components:
- 2 parts of peat, 1 part of perlite, sphagnum moss and universal purchased soil. 1 tbsp is added to 1 sheet of the mixture. l. ground charcoal.
- In the soil taken from the garden, 1/6 of its volume is added moss, vermiculite (can be replaced with perlite), coal.
- 3 parts peat, 1 part each baking powder, turf or compost soil, add ½ part coal.
Major mistakes in soil preparation
Being engaged in self-preparation of the soil for violets, many gardeners, especially amateurs and beginners, forget to check the most important indicator of the soil - the pH level.
Another common mistake is the wrong amount of nutrient mix. When compiling it, you need to take into account what the plant has a watering method. If moisture gets to the flower by the wick method, the basis of the mixture should be a baking powder, preferably vermiculite.
Gardeners make such an oversight as an unbalanced distribution of fertilizers or their inappropriate choice. Sod or leafy soil needs potassium and phosphorus, fertilizers with nitrogen in the composition are suitable for peat, it needs dolomite flour.
What to do with the old land
Old soil, when replacing it with a new one, does not need to be thrown away in a hurry. It can be used again in the next transplant of violets.
To do this, the soil must be sterilized, add suitable fertilizers and nutrients, humus.
Violets are demanding on the soil. If you choose the right land for your favorite indoor plant, enrich it with mineral elements and monitor the required pH level, the flower will surely thank you for its comfortable conditions with frequent and abundant flowering.
