How to make beds in a vegetable garden without boards?
Before every gardener, with the arrival of spring, the question arises of how to equip the beds so that crops have all the conditions for development and fruiting. In addition, the correct location of the beds makes it much easier to care for them.
Recently, high beds made with a frame of boards are gaining popularity. However, not everyone has the opportunity to build them due to the lack or lack of wood material. Do not despair, because there are still many ways how to make beds in the garden without using boards.
Most often, a vegetable garden is planned using the following beds:
- standard;
- narrow;
- high.
Standard beds
Such beds are located at the same height as the garden, do not protrude above the soil and do not go deep into it. The location of the beds, their width and length depend only on the preferences of the gardener. The distance between the rows is usually no more than 50 cm in order to gain access to the plants for care. To mark the beds, pull a rope or use a special garden marker.
Standard beds are good for flat areas that are evenly illuminated by the sun.
Narrow beds
For arranging narrow beds, only a flat surface of a plot with good lighting is suitable. Their feature is a fairly large row spacing (up to 1 m), while the width of the beds themselves is only 45 cm.The narrow beds rise slightly above the soil surface (by 20 cm).
In the place where it is planned to break the beds, they dig up the ground and apply fertilizers (the aisles themselves are not fertilized):
- dolomite flour;
- complex of minerals.
This type of beds is also called Mittlider beds - the scientist who invented it. To increase yields in high beds, he recommended watering them regularly and applying industrial fertilizing, excluding compost and manure.
High beds (without using boards)
To equip high beds, a frame 90 cm high and 120 cm wide is pre-installed, which will be filled with nutrient soil. The size of the tall bed may vary. The basis of the frame, in addition to the boards, are:
- Brick or stone. A bed made of such material not only looks beautiful, but will also stand for many years. The disadvantages of a brick frame include its cost, a greater amount of time to create, and difficulties in dismantling if necessary.
- Vine. The most affordable material that allows you to give the beds different shapes, but will not last long. In addition, you still need to learn how to weave.
- Plastic sheets. It is easy to give such a frame the desired shape, it does not break and will stand for a long time. But some species are not suitable for this purpose, since they contain harmful substances.
- Metal. With its help, it is easy to mount a portable garden bed and paint it with paint. However, such a frame is expensive and requires the services of a welder, as well as additional protection against corrosion.
- Slate. A fairly inexpensive material (you can use the remnants after repairs), easy to assemble, but requires careful handling due to its fragility.