How to prepare a greenhouse for winter

The warm and humid atmosphere in the greenhouse makes it an excellent place for overwintering pests and pathogens of various diseases. Therefore, in order to get a healthy harvest next year, it is important to restore order and carry out autumn processing.

You can prepare a greenhouse for winter either immediately after harvesting or later, before the arrival of stable frosts.

1. Remove the plants

Pull cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other crops from the soil right by the roots. Collect all fallen leaves and other plant debris. Tops and stems can be affected by diseases and pests. In order not to spread it all around garden and vegetable garden, throw the greens in the trash or burn them. Do the same with the ropes that tied the plants.

Also try to remove weeds from the garden bed and send them to compost pit.

2. Wash the greenhouse

Structures made of film, glass, polycarbonate and other materials can be cleaned using a regular soap solution.

To do this, dilute approximately 100 ml of ordinary or laundry liquid soap in 10 liters of warm water. Stir until a fluffy foam forms. If greenhouse high, use a long-handled brush or mop. For a smaller structure, just a large sponge will do. Thoroughly wash the walls and ceiling inside the greenhouse with soapy water, removing dust and dirt. Pay special attention to corners, joints and other hard-to-reach areas where there may be cobwebs and homes for harmful insects.

Leave the product on the walls of the structure for 10-15 minutes, and then rinse it off with water from a hose. Open all doors and windows to allow interior surfaces to dry thoroughly.

3. Treat the soil and greenhouse frame

If the plants in the greenhouse were sick during the season and suffered from pests, you first need to carry out preventive soil treatmentto get rid of insect larvae, fungi and infectious agents. To do this, dilute 50 g of copper sulfate in 10 liters of water. Use the resulting solution to water the beds and passages in the greenhouse. This amount of mixture is enough for about 5 m² of soil.

Then it is necessary to disinfect the walls, ceiling and other internal surfaces of the structure. Here you will need a more concentrated solution - 100 g of copper sulfate per 10 liters of water. Pour this liquid into the sprayer and thoroughly treat the inside of the greenhouse.

Another simple and popular way to get rid of diseases and pests on walls and in the top layer of soil is sulfur fumigation. A special sulfur bomb, which can be found in stores and garden centers, is installed and ignited on the ground in the greenhouse. After this, you must close all windows and doors tightly for two days. During this time, sulfur smoke neutralizes insects and infections. True, this product damages metal and polycarbonate, so it cannot be used in buildings made from such materials. Also keep in mind that when using sulfur bombs, clothing should cover the body as much as possible, and you should also wear goggles, a mask or a respirator.

After 10 days, another procedure will be needed to populate the greenhouse with beneficial bacteria. By the way, it will also be appropriate in the case when you did not carry out the first preventive treatment with copper sulfate. Biofungicides (for example, Fitosporin-M, Trichoderma, Fitotsid, Baikal-M1) are suitable for the procedure, which are diluted according to the instructions on the package. The consumption rates of the product are also indicated there. In any case, the principle of action of the drugs will be the same: you need to prepare a solution, water the beds with it and irrigate the internal surfaces of the greenhouse.

4. Sow green manure

It is not necessary to leave the soil in the greenhouse empty for the winter. Try sowing it with fast-growing crops - for example, white mustard, rye, oats or rapeseed. They will have time to hatch before the cold weather arrives. In the spring you will need to mow the tops to the roots and dig up the beds. Such plants do not require care, but at the same time improve the quality of the soil and saturate it with nutrients. Read about how to plant green manure correctly in our article.