Preparing The Greenhouse For Winter: Advice From Summer Residents, Stages And Other Nuances

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Rules for preparing a greenhouse for winter

Surely there is a greenhouse or greenhouse on your site, because in such a device, the crop ripens faster than on open ground. Do you know how to properly care for a greenhouse, especially in autumn? We will talk about how to prepare a greenhouse for winter today.

Content

• 1 What is preparation for winter for?

• 2 Instruction: what and how to do

  • 2.1 Cleaning of plant residues in the greenhouse
  • 2.2 Reclamation of beds
  • 2.3 Disinfection of soil
• 3 Frame and greenhouse
• 4 Video: preparing greenhouses and greenhouses for winter

What is preparation for winter for?

It would seem that difficult in such cleaning and preparation? It is enough to remove plant residues and close the greenhouse for the winter. But no. Thanks to the special greenhouse conditions in this building, your plants are protected from the effects of low temperatures, frequent rains, and wind. But on the other hand, the heat and moisture that constantly reign in the greenhouse is an excellent environment for the rapid development of harmful microorganisms and pathogenic bacteria. They will easily nullify all your efforts to equip the greenhouse and hope for a future harvest.

Fruit and vegetable crops are known to affect the soil, depleting it and infecting it with various diseases. This is especially true for tomatoes: they are often struck by late blight, the spores of which are stored in the ground for several years without losing their ability to live. Therefore, it is recommended not only to carefully remove plant residues, but also to change the soil in the greenhouse.

Since pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms have properties to be stored not only in the soil, but also on any surfaces, it is necessary to disinfect.

Cover the soil in covered greenhouses with snow

Why should all the preparatory work be carried out in the fall and not in the spring? Because after the end of winter, you need to start sowing seedlings, and it is better to do this immediately, in an already fully prepared area.

Instructions: what and how to do

The preparation of a greenhouse or greenhouse consists of two types of work. First of all, you need to put in order the soil of the beds. The second stage - preventive work on the structure itself, its frame and facing materials: greenhouse film, glass or cellular polycarbonate. We will talk about each stage in detail.

Land works are as follows:

• cleaning the soil from residues of vegetation;
• reclamation of beds;
• disinfection work.

Cleaning of plant residues in the greenhouse

It is imperative to free the beds from the remnants of annual plants and conduct an audit of perennial crops, for example, strawberries or strawberries, if any. All plants must be removed from the roots. Don't forget to remove weeds as well.

Remove plant and weed debris to keep the soil as clean as possible

What to do next with these remnants of dead plants depends on their health. Stems, roots and leaves of diseased plants should be burned (the same must be done with weeds), or thrown as far away from your site as possible. If the crops were healthy at the end of the harvest season, use them to make fertilizer in the compost pit.

Reclamation of beds

This is a rather time-consuming work from the entire process of preparing the greenhouse for winter. Reclamation is the replacement of the soil layer.

If you grow mainly annual crops (bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers) or seedlings in a greenhouse, then it will be enough to remove the top layer of soil to a depth of 10-15 cm.

If the waste soil is not infected with diseases, use it in open beds or sprinkle it on the trees. Place a new layer of fertile soil on the vacant space.

There is another way of reclamation. Dig a groove 20 cm deep along the beds. Put peat or humus inside it, sprinkle with wood ash on top and cover with earth. After that, water the beds with a solution of urea at the rate of 50 g per 10 liters of water.

Reclamation of beds

If your greenhouse grows perennial crops such as strawberries, take the advice of Austrian gardeners. After the last crop is harvested, mow all the greens so that the top buds remain alive. Water the plants abundantly, loosen the soil around and add superphosphate or potash fertilizers to it. After that, sprinkle the strawberries with fertile soil so that the new growth does not dry out.

As a rule, these works are carried out at the end of August. Before the onset of cold weather, in October, carefully spud the strawberry roots and cover with peat or humus. In winter, cover the bed with plenty of snow and provide snow retention. Thanks to this, the plantings overwinter without losses.

Soil disinfection

This procedure is traditionally carried out in one of three well-proven ways:

• bleach treatment;
• sulfuric fumigation;
• spraying with special solutions.

Carry out the processing with dry bleach as follows: sprinkle the composition over the garden bed and stock it with a rake to a depth of 5 centimeters.

If the soil from the greenhouse is infected with late blight, nematodes, black leg or ticks, dig it up in the summer and use it only after a year.

For sulfur fumigation, fodder sulfur was previously used. Calculation - 50 g per 1 sq. M. greenhouses. Many gardeners still use this method: they mix sulfur with kerosene and set fire from the far corner towards the exit. Then the greenhouse is closed for 3-5 days.

You can also use special sulfur smoke bombs at the rate of 1 300 gram bombs per 20 cc space. If you find a spider mite in the greenhouse, increase the amount of sulfur to 150 g per 1 cubic meter.

The procedure for sulfur treatment:

1. Provide yourself with personal protective equipment. Wear a respirator, rubber gloves, and goggles.
2. Check the greenhouse for gaps. If you find them, get them tight. This will prevent smoke from escaping from the greenhouse earlier than expected.
3. Place metal bowls with a mixture of sulfur and kerosene or sulfur bombs along the entire length of the greenhouse or greenhouse. Set them on fire and quickly go outside.

4. Leave the greenhouse closed for up to 5 days after processing with a sulfur-kerosene mixture or up to 10 hours if using sulfur bombs.

   

   Sulfur bomb for room fumigation

It should be noted that this method can only be used in tall greenhouses. Sulfur disinfection is also not suitable for buildings with a metal frame. The emitted gas causes corrosion of the metal, which significantly reduces the life of the greenhouse. Sulfur smoke is harmless for wooden frames.

Sulfur fumigation should be carried out at an air temperature of 12-15 degrees.

If you prefer to spray the soil with special solutions, use the following formulations:

• formalin aqueous solution 2.5%, composition consumption - 1 liter per 1 sq. m. area;
• copper sulfate solution, 75 g per 10 liters of water;
• lime solution 4% (when fighting spider mites, use a 10% concentration);
• creolin solution 2%.

Soil disinfection by spraying

Some gardeners use organic compounds: tinctures of tobacco, garlic, mustard, pine extracts. Such funds will definitely not harm the soil, but you should not expect one hundred percent benefit from them.

Frame and greenhouse

If your greenhouse has a plastic cover, remove the film, wash it in soapy water, disinfect it with copper sulfate, dry it, fold it and store it until spring.

By removing the film or other covering from the greenhouse, you will provide the soil with natural moisture during the winter.

Tint the metal frames at the joints with enamel.

Greenhouses that cannot be disassembled - made of glass or polycarbonate - should be carefully cleaned outside: in winter this will ensure free snow melting. Never use chemical powders and metal brushes for this: you can scratch the surfaces, which will reduce the illumination in the greenhouse.

The advantage of a foil greenhouse is that by opening it for the winter, you provide a natural covering of the soil with snow, which means sufficient moisture in the spring. In non-collapsible greenhouses, the soil must be covered with snow manually. In addition, you will have to strengthen the frames in the fall, in case of heavy snowfalls, by substituting bars with a diameter of 30 mm or more under the arcs.

In case of heavy snowfall, reinforce the greenhouse frame additionally

After the work is completed, whitewash the frame with freshly slaked lime. Instead, you can use the remaining bleach sludge (thick mass) after spraying. You can add a little copper sulfate to the lime solution (200 g sulfate and about 2 kg of lime per bucket of water.

Video: preparing greenhouses and greenhouses for winter

If you properly process and prepare the greenhouse in the fall for winter, you will ensure a healthy microclimate and fertile soil. For many years your greenhouse will delight you with bountiful harvests. Take advantage of our advice and see for yourself. Share with us in the comments your experience of autumn greenhouse preparation. Good luck to you!