Ideas for the garden in the country
To say that it is all the same to plants in what garden only a person who is far from agriculture can grow. The soil moisture level, gas exchange rate and species composition of microorganisms that live in the upper layers of the earth depend on the shape and size of the beds. All these factors have a direct impact on the quality of the substrate, and therefore on the level of productivity - the main criterion for success for any gardener or gardener. How to use a scientific approach for the benefit of your garden, how to create not only a neat appearance of beds, but also maximize the yield of your plot? We will try to answer these questions in this publication with a large-scale selection of photos of a wide variety of beds.
The principles of arrangement of beds
The garden bed is a relatively small, often quite isolated plot of soil on which you can provide individual care for the plant of a particular crop, create a humid regime and fertilize. Obviously, plants with different agrotechnics are often grown in the summer cottage or in the garden, often with opposite care requirements - without an individual approach, high yields cannot be achieved. It is for this purpose that differentiation is necessary on the site — the division of the territory into zones, and zones into beds.
If the purpose of the beds is more or less clear to every gardener, then such nuances as the level of illumination, the composition of the soil and even its consistency, necessary for different crops, are not always considered and not all. Unfortunately, the misunderstanding that a different approach is needed for cucumbers and tomatoes, for example, leads to a significant loss of productivity. Creating difficult trenches for planting certain crops, and isolated beds, the owner of the site can give the plants proper care - all efforts will invariably pay off with the quality or quantity of the crop.
Land cultivation methods
There are two main (and at the same time diametrically opposed) approaches to agriculture:
- traditional;
- ecological.
The traditional way of cultivating the land is a principle that is a thing of the past, incredibly laborious and often irrational, extremely traumatic for the ecosystem. It is based on human attempts to control the processes in the soil, its condition. The following activities are related to the traditional method of farming:
- two-time digging of the soil (per year);
- herbicidal treatment;
- uncontrolled amount of fertilizer applied to the soil;
- beds with this principle of farming are cultivated in such a way that they have a small number of capillaries and, as a consequence, an insufficient number of microorganisms.
- All these factors inevitably lead to low productivity, depletion of soil resources.
The second approach, ecological (natural), is based on the ability of the soil to regenerate itself. There are many principles of natural farming, but all of them are based on the fact that people rarely interfere in the natural course of processes occurring in the soil. Digging the earth is replaced by surface cultivation, and weeding 1 time per week or two by timely mulching.
Modern farming methods are based on the ecological method, and with this approach, microorganisms, plant roots and insects independently restore the soil structure. An increase in the number of capillaries increases gas exchange processes, as a result, plant roots are naturally enriched with nitrogen, which leads to an increase in both the quality and quantity of the crop. All this can happen without chemical fertilizers or with their minimum quantity.
Types of beds for a modern garden
Only at first glance it may seem that the beds differ from each other only in size and shape. Although these indicators are of great importance for plants that need an individual approach and isolation from other crops. The beds can differ by the very principle of formation, for example, not on the site, but above it, located on the so-called "green wall" or inside plastic pipes of large diameter. It all depends on how you care for each particular type of plant.
Bed in the form of a box
The garden box is one of the most popular ways of cultivating the soil today. This method of planting allows not only to create a separate place for each culture, but also to organize the landscape of a summer cottage or garden at a high aesthetic level. It is not difficult to organize a garden in the form of a box - a fence in the form of low guards is installed on the prepared and marked place of the site (hacienda or a small back yard).
To organize the fence of the garden-box, you can use:
- flat or wavy slate;
- unnecessary boards;
- polycarbonate sheets;
- plastic;
- any waste material that can tolerate soil moisture for more than one summer season.
Further, organic soil is poured into the prepared compartment in layers of organic matter. For winter, such beds are not dismantled, and in spring, after surface loosening, it will be possible to plant seeds or seedlings of certain crops again. This approach is not only practical, rational, but also aesthetic.
Beds with high sides
High beds are usually presented in the form of ridges or trapezoids. The rise of the soil, as a rule, is provided by a “pillow” of compost layer, on top of which the earth is poured. In areas of our country where the bear is common, a layer of compost is not used, the rise is carried out only by pouring earth. Medvedka usually arranges nests in the compost layer (a warm and humid place is an ideal habitat) and can spread very quickly throughout the site.
High beds are most often used for growing gourds:
- cucumbers
- Pumpkins
- zucchini;
- sometimes some varieties of potatoes are grown in this way.
Beds with high sides are created for one season. In most cases, the embankment settles heavily under the weight of the snow and loses its functional background. If weaving plants (for example, cucumbers, some types of zucchini) will be grown in the garden bed with a box structure, then it will not be out of place to equip the fence with a vertical lattice (from wood or metal, created using weaving, any improvised means).
If such a design is equipped with a high dome, covered with a film, then an ordinary garden bed becomes a greenhouse. Growing seedlings in such portable designs is very convenient and practical.
"Warm" beds
"Warm" beds are called due to the fact that in their lower layers there is fresh, not overripe manure. An embankment from manure is carried out in late autumn, so that during the winter period all processes under cover of snow will pass. In the early spring, after the snow melts, such beds are cleaned so that they are warmed up by the sun and decomposition processes are started.
Next, the manure begins to decay with a large release of heat. As a rule, in compost heaps during the "burning" temperature inside can reach 40-50 degrees. But on the beds, the layer of manure is low and this effect does not occur, moreover, winter exposure significantly slows down the "burning" process. All these manipulations and preparations are needed in order to plant crops in a finished, "warm" bed. Usually this is done for planting plants with a shallow root system - cucumbers, radishes, etc.
After the end of the summer season, all manure is processed. If you remove the top layer of soil, then under it you can find humus, which is a very valuable substrate. This natural fertilizer can be scattered throughout the garden or suburban area. And at the end of autumn, it will be possible to put manure in the garden again and start the process of preparing a “warm” garden according to a new one.
Beds with drainage
In clay buds, in very low places where all water is constantly drained and in wetlands, it is necessary to equip the beds with drainage. It is not difficult to make them - usually 50-60 cm of the soil layer is removed, then sand at a height of about 20 cm is laid on the bottom of the resulting pit, then sawdust is poured, humus and only after that is the soil. The drainage and gas exchange in beds of this type are excellent - an ideal place for growing root crops (for example, potatoes).
Do-it-yourself material for making beds
Creating a bed of any configuration requires some preparation. In order to equip the beds in the form of boxes, you will need to use the following materials:
- slate or boards, plastic or polycarbonate of such a height that there is at least 30 cm in the ground and at least 20 cm of the entire product on the surface;
- pegs made of wood or metal, which are needed to secure the material of the fence;
- non-woven material with which it will be possible to lay the bottom of the prepared trench.
After the billet - a dug hole is covered with non-woven material, it will be necessary to fill it with the following layers from above:
- sawdust or straw - about 10cm;
- dry foliage (which you prepared in advance from the fall) - about 10 cm;
- a mixture of compost and soil, in a ratio of 1 to 2 (layer size 10 cm or more);
- a clean layer of earth at least 10 cm.
The algorithm for creating beds
All preparatory processes for creating beds occur in the spring, when the soil has dried out enough and is ready for digging. It is necessary to go through the following algorithm of actions:
- marking on the ground - usually done with pegs and a stretched cord. When calculating the size of the beds, it is important to understand that the narrower the trench, the faster it will dry out;
- Next is the preparation of the material for the fence - its cutting, the preparation of pegs. If the box is not very large, then it will be more convenient to assemble it in advance using self-tapping screws. Such designs are reusable, they can be cleaned for the winter period, if the beds are transferred;
- then a fence is installed on the garden;
- Further, nonwoven material is laid at the bottom of the pit;
- a layer of sawdust, dry foliage, soil mixed with compost and just earth is subsequently covered.
And in conclusion. Your site can not only bring a good harvest, but also look aesthetically pleasing. Landscaping can manifest itself not only in the courtyard of a private house, but also in the garden, in the garden. But the main principle for the location of beds in the territory should still be the needs of plants in sunlight. On a properly located bed, plant care will be minimal.