What is suitable for planting in sandy soil, and are peanuts and succulents okay?
What is suitable for planting in sandy soil? Is it suitable to plant peanuts and succulents? Among the four common major soil types - sandy soil, thin and heavy soil, low-lying saline-alkali soil, and humus soil - according to their characteristics, the medicinal herbs suitable for planting are as follows
(1) Sandy soil: generally crumbly and loose in texture, with strong aeration, but lacking organic matter, high evaporation, and low water-holding capacity. Based on these characteristics, it can be arranged for planting Radix Glehniae (bei shashen), Rui Ruo, Vaccaria seed (wangbuliuxing), and cassia seed (juemingzi).
(2) Thin and heavy soil: generally lacking organic matter, sticky and clogged, with extremely poor permeability, muddy when wet and compacted when dry. This type of soil is best not used for medicinal herb planting. After improvement, it can be considered for planting some deep-rooted tree medicinal herbs, such as Phellodendron (huangbai), Eucommia (duzhong), Magnolia officinalis (houpo), and Magnolia biondii (xinyi).
(3) Low-lying saline-alkali soil: contains more salt, with an acid-base reaction above pH 7.5. For such soil, it should be deeply plowed and sun-dried, more organic fertilizer should be applied, drainage and irrigation capacity should be increased, and the physical and chemical properties of the soil should be improved. It is mostly suitable for planting medicinal herbs such as Lycium chinense (gouqi), Ephedra (mahuang), licorice (gancao), Astragalus (huangqi), and Coix seed (yiyi).
(4) Humus soil: deep soil layer, loose texture, fertile, containing more organic matter, with good physical and chemical properties, and relatively good water and fertilizer retention. This type of soil is suitable for the growth of various plants, and can be arranged for planting many medicinal herbs such as Platycodon (jiegeng), Isatis root (banlangen), Atractylodes macrocephala (baizhu), Atractylodes lancea (cangzhu), Pinellia (banxia), Belamcanda (shegan), and Gardenia (hongzhi). It is also suitable for cultivating woody medicinal herbs.
Crops suitable for planting in sandy soil
You can plant some crops that prefer sandy soil and need little water and are drought-tolerant, such as peanuts, soybeans, fruit trees, and Chinese medicinal herbs. Or adopt measures such as soil improvement and water-saving irrigation to produce other crops.
Methods for planting peanuts in sandy soil
1. Level the land
Peanuts are an economic crop that flowers above ground and, after forming pegs, drill into the ground to bear fruit. They are suitable for planting in loose sandy soil and oil-sand soil. The plot for planting peanuts should be deeply plowed, and together with plowing, 30-40 tons of high-quality farmyard manure should be applied per hectare, then rolled 1-2 times after plowing. Where conditions permit, water can be irrigated first, then farmyard manure and chemical fertilizer mixed and applied into the furrows, ridged and rolled, ready for timely sowing. Note that peanuts like fresh ground and are not suitable for continuous cropping or back-to-back cropping. Better previous crops are corn, millet, and sorghum.
2. Cultivated varieties
For high peanut yields, good seed is the foundation. The peanut varieties suitable for planting in this region mainly include the Fuhua series and the Jifu series (commonly known as Silihong). The growth period is about 110-120 days. Select pods that are large, plump, uniform in shape, and unbroken as seed. Before shelling, sun-dry for 1-3 days; after shelling, further select seeds, choosing kernels with pure color and uniform shape as seed.
3. Scientific fertilization
Peanuts are relatively tolerant of poor soil, so fertilization should mainly be base fertilizer, applying 30 tons of farmyard manure per hectare; chemical fertilizer should mainly be phosphate fertilizer, applying 300-400 jin of diammonium phosphate per hectare. For planting peanuts in poor soil, apply an additional 200-300 jin of urea per hectare.
Layered fertilization: Fertilizer applied before sowing should be applied in two layers, base fertilizer and seed fertilizer.
Split fertilization: This mainly means that quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer should adopt a split fertilization technique combining base fertilizer, seed fertilizer, and topdressing. Quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer should mainly be base fertilizer and seed fertilizer; if fertilizer deficiency occurs during growth, timely and targeted topdressing of a certain amount of urea or other fertilizer should be done.
Deep fertilization: Base fertilizer should be applied 8-10 cm below the seed, seed fertilizer 3-5 cm below the seed, and the depth of topdressing should reach more than 10 cm.
To achieve the goal of increasing yield and income, it is recommended to use qualified peanut-specific fertilizer, and the application amount and method should follow the instructions. If mixing fertilizer yourself, per hectare you can apply 200-300 jin of urea, 300-400 jin of diammonium phosphate, and 100-150 jin of potassium sulfate.
4. Timely sowing and reasonable close planting
The suitable sowing period for peanuts in this region is early to mid-May. The specific sowing date depends on weather conditions, and the principle is: as long as the 5 cm surface soil temperature steadily passes 12°C, sowing can begin, with 3-4 seeds per hole, covering soil 3-5 cm thick, and pressing the upper grid well; the second is hole sowing after harrowing. If the bottom moisture is insufficient, the water-sitting planting method must be used. When using water-sitting sowing, be sure to wait until the water has completely infiltrated before carrying out fertilization, sowing, and covering soil.
Before sowing peanuts, soak the seeds to promote germination. Soak in warm water (two parts cold to one part boiled) for 3-4 hours, keep moist, and place at 20-25°C for sealed germination. After a day and a night, they will sprout. When sowing, sow the seeds on moist soil to prevent the sprouts from drying out. Germinated seeds should be sown at any time and should not be left overnight, to avoid overly long sprouts damaging the embryo. Peanuts are generally sparser in fertile land and denser in poor land; the suitable sowing density in this region is 150,000-200,000 plants per hectare. The suitable sowing density for each plot should be determined according to soil fertility and the density tolerance of the variety.
5. Field management of peanuts
Replanting and thinning: From late May to early June, investigate seedling conditions as early as possible. For fields with obvious missing seedlings, replant as early as possible. Replanting can use the method of germinated water-sitting sowing, and complete thinning and final spacing work.
Clearing seedlings and hardening: After peanut seedlings emerge completely, use a small hand hoe to dig a ring of soil around the seedlings about 2 cm away, then gently pull the two cotyledons out of the ground by hand. Clearing seedlings and hardening is generally done three days after the first hoeing and ridging.
Timely hoeing and ridging: Start hoeing after the seedlings emerge, and ridge for the first time three days after hoeing. After 15-20 days, hoe and ridge a second time, being careful not to press the seedlings when earthing up. At the end of the peak flowering period, finish the third hoeing and ridging. When closing the rows, ridge four-sided head ridges to help pegs penetrate the soil. At the same time, pay attention to pulling out large weeds.
6. Topdressing
During the pod-filling and full-fruit stage, according to growth conditions, targeted foliar spraying can be used to topdress fertilizers such as monopotassium phosphate (suitable concentration 0.3%) and plant growth regulators such as Lufeng 95, to promote kernel formation.
7. Pest and disease control
The common disease is wilt (also called bacterial wilt or root rot), with the main symptoms being leaf wilting and black-brown death of roots and stems; peanut diseases also include leaf spot, anthracnose, and angular leaf spot. For wilt and leaf spot, alternating control with carbendazim, thiophanate-methyl, or mancozeb can effectively control them, and spraying with 200 times 70% barium polysulfide wettable powder is also possible.
Peanut pests include red spiders, aphids, and underground pests. For red spiders and aphids, the preferred pesticide is 150-200 times 70% barium polysulfide wettable powder; dimethoate, imidacloprid, and pyrethroid pesticides (such as Laifuling) can also be used for timely control, and the specific application method should strictly follow the instructions. For underground pests, use 1 kg of 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate plus 50 kg of water, mix evenly with 300 kg of dry soil, and apply 15 kg of poisoned soil per mu when sowing.
8. Harvest at the right time
When the peanut leaves turn yellow and some stems and leaves dry up, they can be harvested, generally in mid-September. After harvest, dry them to reduce moisture, promote after-ripening, and improve seed maturity. Peanuts kept for seed must be harvested and dried before frost.
Is sandy soil suitable for growing succulents?
Sand plays a relatively important role in growing succulents. For example, some growers mix a certain proportion of sand into the medium to achieve the medium's water permeability and air permeability requirements, and some growers directly use pure sand for cuttings, with very good results, but sand also has its own drawbacks.
The biggest drawback of sand is that moisture evaporates quickly. If maintained normally on a balcony, the moisture in the sand evaporates easily and does not hold enough water, which can easily cause succulents to wilt, so when using sand to grow succulents we need to use it flexibly, for example:
1. If using pure sand to grow succulents, be sure to carefully observe the water evaporation situation and remember to replenish water in time (water can be replenished by the soaking-pot method; if watered like normal watering, the sand will gradually become compacted).
2. If sand is used as one component of a mixed medium, the ratio is relatively flexible; a little more or a little less is fine, and it can be adjusted appropriately according to your local climate. For example, in the north you can use a little less sand, because the weather is dry and it does not hold water; if in southern regions with high air humidity, you can appropriately use a little more sand, which helps with evaporation and prevents water accumulation.
[Growth habits]
Succulent plants like a cool, semi-shaded environment, and their main growth period is in spring and autumn. They are an “intermediate type” among succulents. They are drought-tolerant, not cold-tolerant, and avoid high temperature, humidity, and harsh sun exposure. They fear shade and also fear water accumulation in the soil. During the growth period, they should be given sufficient light. If too shaded, the plant shape will become loose and not compact, the leaves will be thin and long, and the transparency of the “window” will be poor. If the light is too strong, the leaves will grow poorly and become light reddish-brown, and sometimes strong direct sunlight will scorch the leaves, leaving ugly marks. Plants grown in semi-shade have thick, plump leaves and high transparency.
During the growth period, watering should follow “do not water until dry, and water thoroughly when watering”, avoiding water accumulation, and even more avoiding rain, especially long-term rain, all to avoid root rot. But it should not be dry for a long time either, otherwise although the plant will not die, the leaves will shrivel, the leaf color will be dull, and it will lack vitality. Haworthia cooperi likes an environment with a certain amount of air humidity. When the air is dry, you can often spray water on the plant and surrounding environment to increase air humidity. During the growing season, you can also cut off the upper half of a transparent colorless beverage bottle and cover the plant for maintenance, letting it grow in a small environment with moist air. This can make the leaves plump and the “window” more transparent. But in the hot summer season, the beverage bottle must be removed to avoid stuffiness. Note that the flower stalk should not be cut with scissors; it should be pulled off by hand while shaking left and right, so as to avoid residual flower stalk remaining between the leaves and adversely affecting the growth of new leaves later.
What should be noted when fertilizing sandy soil?
The characteristics of sandy soil are: low soil organic matter content, poor fertilizer and water retention capacity, quick fertilizer effect, but insufficient staying power.
When fertilizing, note the following points:
1. The amount of fertilizer applied at one time must not be too large (especially nitrogen fertilizer), to avoid fertilizer damage or serious loss.
3. For orchard grass mulching, apply semi-decomposed organic fertilizer as much as possible; fresh grass is not recommended.
4. The three elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium should account for 30%-50% of the annual application amount in base application. The remaining amount should be applied evenly during different growth stages.
2. When fertilizing sandy soil, apply more organic fertilizer, and for chemical fertilizer, apply as little as possible many times.
5. Micronutrient fertilizer should be applied together with organic fertilizer. This is because fruit trees planted in sandy soil are prone to deficiency of elements such as boron, zinc, and magnesium; applying these elements alone also easily causes loss or local toxicity.
6. Appropriate foliar topdressing.