Spring for all summer residents and gardeners begins the same way: dig up all the land, divide it into beds, make a neat earthen roller for each. Then wait until the soil warms up, plant the plants and start fighting weeds that occupy the entire territory, including paths. But improvements can be made that will help you get more yield for less (labor, above all).
Advantages and disadvantages of a high bed
Usually, having heard about the many advantages of such structures, people begin to wonder how to make a bed high. How is it different from conventional landings at ground level? We list only the main advantages:
- The soil on your site can be absolutely any, this will no longer affect the crop. The tall structure can be filled with a general soil mix or suitable for a specific crop. If your dacha is located in a damp lowland, then drainage can be laid as the first layer: broken brick, coarse sand. Next, lay the eggshells, branches and grass left after the autumn cleaning of the site, leaves and earth in layers.
- After many years of servicethe soil in the garden becomes less fertile, accumulates various pathogens. By learning how to make a high bed, and installing it on your site, you can bring in fresh purchased soil and protect plants from decay and fungi.
- In spring, such structures warm up faster, which makes it possible to plant plants earlier. This gives a chance to get two harvests instead of one.
- Yield is 2 times higher than when using flat beds.
- Convenience of caring for the garden, as well as picking the fruits of low-growing plants.
- Saving land area and aesthetic appearance.
Everything has its downside. The disadvantage of high beds can be called the need for material investments and labor in their creation. They dry out fairly quickly and require frequent watering. Moisture-loving plants are not suitable. The limited space in the garden requires regular fertilization as the soil is depleted.
What materials may be required to create a high bed
If you have only used flat beds so far, be sure to experiment with one progressive design. If we talk about how to make a high bed, the first question arises about the necessary material. The scope for creativity here is great, it all depends on the level of your skill and the amount you are willing to spend.
- High brick beds. If you do not have bricklaying experience, then the design may not come out too aesthetically pleasing. Pros of this -durable and safe use.
- High beds from boards. They are the easiest to make. You need to have at hand a sufficient number of long boards, corners, transverse ceilings. Alternatively, you can use slats that are sheathed with a wooden or metal frame. The downside is obvious - the tree rots.
- High slate beds. Usually, an old slate is taken, which is removed from the roof during repairs. It is believed that this is a harmful material, but the only damage to he alth can be caused by the dust generated during its cutting. Minus - fragility and the ability to break the structure during gardening.
- Rocks and mortar - a very creative approach to gardening. You can create designs for centuries, beautiful, durable, of any shape and size.
- Plastic bottles filled with colored sand. You will get original beds with low sides.
Optimal bed height
Depends on the characteristics of the garden plot and planted crops. If the garden has good soil, you can make sides about 15 cm high. This will make it possible to solve the problem of weeds and soil diseases, facilitate the care of the garden bed and improve its appearance.
If the soil is poor and a high bed is created as a separately functioning structure, then it must be made higher, 30-90 cm. Sometimes the height is laid at the level of the belt, but then it should not be made wide.
Installation
Establishing high beds is a creative process. Ateach gardener will get a completely unique work, but the main thing is that the goals are achieved, garden crops grow well and bear fruit, and the garden itself is convenient to maintain.
Choose a seat. It may be the most trampled down and unsuitable for planting. Draw the size of the future design. The length can be any, and it is better not to make the width more than 110 cm.
Now decide on the material. If this is a tree, then it should be protected from dampness, varnished or varnished, and then assembled in the form of a box using corners and nails. Raised slate beds are even easier to create. Using a grinder, you need to cut the sheets into strips of the required width (70-80 cm), and then, having dug a narrow groove along the perimeter, deepen them one at a time and trample them tightly. You can give strength to the structure using the same corners, in addition, you need to tighten it around the perimeter with steel wire.
Filling the beds
We assume that the height of your garden is 80-90 cm. Put a wire mesh at the very bottom so that your vegetables do not become the prey of a mole or shrews. Then about 25 cm can be occupied by all the waste of your personal plot: uprooted stumps, large branches. For better drainage, you can add large pieces of brick here.
The next layer is 40-50 cm. This is a source of minerals and fertilizers. It can be small chips, grass, eggshells, wood ash, lime,food waste (vegetable peelings, etc.). It is also worth adding rotted manure and compost, bird droppings with straw.
Top quality garden soil should be laid on top with a layer of 10-20 cm. It is not necessary to mix the layers, it is enough to pour them abundantly and give time for shrinkage. The arrangement of high beds is not as difficult as it may seem from the outside, but at the same time absolutely amazing results are achieved.
Irrigation features
The design features are such that it absorbs more heat, and therefore consumes a lot of moisture. A high bed for cucumbers is well suited. Since the soil temperature here is almost 10 degrees higher, this stimulates the growth and development of the root system. In addition, this culture loves light and fresh soil and does not tolerate wetlands. But don't let the soil dry out. If a drip irrigation system is not available, water several times a day, especially during hot weather.
The effectiveness of these structures is so high that, having put one as an experiment, you will soon decide: we are making high beds throughout the site.
Raised bed in spring and autumn
In autumn, after harvesting, you may notice that the level of the earth has sunk a lot. Collect a new layer of organic matter (plants, branches, grass, fertilizers), lay it on the garden bed and cover it well with high-quality garden soil. If you still have not seen high beds live, the photo will help to present all the details. Don't digyou just need to water and cover with a film until the new year. In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, your garden bed will be ready for planting the first plants. It can be greens and radishes, which will later be replaced by cucumbers, tomatoes or cabbage. The high location will save the plants from quite strong spring frosts, and the good heat dissipation of the beds stimulates rapid growth and abundant fruiting.
What is better to plant
The temperature of the soil of a high bed is always higher than the surrounding ground. This is facilitated by the limited space, and the elevated location, and the decomposition of organic matter, which is crammed with the structure. In the first year of use, it is better to plant "gluttonous" plants that like an excess of nutrients. These are tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumbers, cabbage. Only in the second year, you can grow root vegetables, herbs and leafy vegetables. But now the temperature of the soil will be much higher, which will allow harvesting sooner.
Summarize
Now you know how to make a high bed, and you can put it into practice, on your site. A minimum of hassle, affordable materials, and the result is a neat garden without weeds and excellent vegetables that have ripened at least a month earlier. That's strong enough motivation to try.
