Due to its isolation from the underlying soil, a high bed in any garden becomes more convenient for processing, and the seedlings in it quickly gain strength and increase growth, increasing harvests harvest.
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Why are elevated beds needed
Skilled gardeners create high beds to get rid of the significant inconveniences and difficulties that arise in the course of growing vegetables. Thanks to the rise, it is possible to cope with several tasks at once:
- saving. Not the entire garden should be fertilized, but only part of the land in the garden itself;
- drainage. A pre-built system blocks soil erosion;
- heating. An elevated small piece of land always warms up stronger and faster than the rest of the soil in the garden, which speeds up and prolongs the ripening period of greens and vegetables on it;
- watering. High beds are more convenient to water;
- weeds. In an isolated garden, as raised beds are also called, weed attacks are less effective, and weeding is easier and faster.
How to make your own raised bed
A high bed is erected from various materials, wood, concrete, brick, foam blocks, and so on are suitable. The most popular and simple of them is a board, it is desirable that there is no paint and varnish on it. The nutrient soil that fills the bed must be separated from the main soil. This is done using a waterproof film with holes for drainage or a thick cloth. Prepared materials line the bottom of the structure. The order of work is as follows:
- Choosing a place. So that the walls of the sides of the created bed are at the same level, the place for installing the structure is chosen even and not shaded. Completely free it from weeds.
- We set the dimensions. The universal size of the middle bed: height from 30 to 60 cm, length 1.80 - 2.00 cm, width no more than 1 meter. These sizes combine care and fertilization in a balanced manner. The distance between the ridges depends on the size of the site and its use. The more beds and crops for cultivation, the smaller the passage between crops, but not less than 0.5 m.
- Preparing the tools. You will need: wooden boards, level, hammer, tape measure, shovel, hoe, mulch, peat, seeds, chalk, cement-sand mixture, screwdriver.
- Using a level, observing the height, a frame of boards is installed. Using a hammer, the boards are fitted close to each other and fastened together.
- Pebbles, crushed stone, broken brick are poured onto the bottom, then a film or fabric is lined. Pour crushed chalk on top, then peat, compost or a combined nutrient mixture. The minimum layer size is 20-30 cm. Sow seeds or plant ready-made seedlings.
Greenhouse effect
A high bed can be additionally provided with the necessary level of humidity, lighting, and also protect plants from insects and birds. To do this, put a protective "roof". It is built from metal hoops and transparent film. The length of the hoops should be at least twice the width of the bed. They are bent and fixed on the wall of a high bed. For the effect of a greenhouse, a plastic wrap is stretched onto the frame so that it can be removed in extreme heat, and reinforced again in cool weather.
To protect the crop from birds and other pests, instead of a film, a fine mesh is attached to the frame. It allows light to pass through, but will not allow birds and other uninvited food lovers to get to vegetables and greens.
The raised bed is a universal place for the cultivation of cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, carrots, radishes and other crops. Following our advice, you can create it yourself from improvised means, and the dome mounted on top will save plants from heat, cold and pests, which will increase yields and facilitate hard work gardener.
Do you know how to make high beds?
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