High beds with own hands

Traditional processing of the land requires a lot of time and physical strength, and the harvest does not always match the expected. That is why more and more gardeners equip their plots with high beds, allowing to get an excellent crop of vegetables every year without much effort. To make high beds with their own hands can anyone, because this does not require special skills or special equipment.

Advantages of high beds

Compared to conventional bedsbulk is much more advantageous:

• garden can be broken even on a site completely unsuitable for farming;
• digging and weeding of the garden are replaced by easy loosening of the soil;
• on a limited space is easier to remove weeds;
• high bed is easy to assemble and also easy to disassemble;
• between the beds you can lay out tracks and walk on them in any weather;
• plants mature more quickly, which is especially important for cold regions;
• provides good drainage in the arrangement of a high bed;
• crops in the beds are easily protected from frost, covered with tarpaulins or agrofibre.

In addition, the garden from the loose beds can be very decorative, so it can be broken down near the house.

Materials for fencing

A high bed is a framework of certain sizes, the interior space of which is filled with soil, compost and fertilizers. Most often, the frame is made in a rectangular shape, and it is collected from boards, slate, branches, plastic and other materials.

The tree is the most affordable, easy-to-install and environmentally friendly material. For the assembly of beds use boards, timber, small logs. Disadvantages: wood requires protective treatment, quickly darkens and loses appeal, short-lived.

Vine and rods - inexpensive and original solution. The braided walls look very attractive, you can give the bed any shape. Disadvantages: weaving of the vines requires skills, the life of such a frame is very short.

Stone and brick is an option for sites with classical architecture. Very reliable and durable material, gives beds decorative appearance. Disadvantages: high cost, the creation of a bed requires more time, it is difficult to dismantle.

Plastic - an excellent alternative to wood. Sheet plastic is easy to assemble and disassemble, it is strong enough, has an attractive appearance, very durable and relatively inexpensive. Disadvantages: some types of plastic have harmful substances, so they are not suitable for the garden. Ecologically safe material has a corresponding certificate, which must be presented at purchase.

Metal is a comfortable and durable material, ideal for curly beds. If necessary, move the frame from the metal is not difficult, as well as dismantle it. The appearance of the metal walls is neat, they can be painted in any color or painted with ornaments. Disadvantages: for the assembly of a metal border, the skills of a welder are necessary, the price of sheet metal is high enough, to protect against corrosion, high-quality surface treatment is required.

Concrete - an excellent solution for multi-layer beds or arrangement of garden on the slope. Walls can be made monolithic or assembled from individual concrete blocks. The concrete surface is easy to decorate, it is the most durable, durable, has a neat appearance. Disadvantages: a long process of installation, high cost of materials, additional requirements for the device of the drainage system.

Decoration of the with slate is quite a budget and simple option. Walls can be installed very quickly, this material serves for a long time, for decorative purposes, the slate can be painted in any color. The main disadvantage is the fragility of the material, so it should be handled with care when installing it.

Optimal sizes of the high beds

The sizes and shape of the loose beds are selected by each trucker at their own discretion. And yet, there are optimal parameters in which the bed will be most effective:

• height from the ground 15-50 cm;
• width of 90-120 cm;

If a bed is poured on a fertile soil, it is made 15-20 cm high. This is quite enough for a good harvest. If the soil on the site is not suitable for farming, the beds are raised to 30 cm. The compost beds are made even higher - up to 0.5 m. Sometimes the walls are raised very high, which allows not to bend during the tillage and planting, but this increases the consumption of the materialand requires more time to equip the garden. In addition, with a large width of the frame to treat the soil at this height is inconvenient.

The width of the bed should be sufficient for two rows of plants. With this planting, all plants will receive the same volume of air and sunlight, which has a very positive effect on yields. A greater number of rows leads to the fact that the average plants receive less air, are shaded, stretched upward, and the yield decreases. It is also much easier to process a standard-size bed than is too wide.

The length of the loose bed does not play a special role, therefore it is limited only by the size of the plot. The most common option - beds in length from 1,5 to 3 m;they are compact, neatly look at the garden.

The correct device of a high bed

For an example the garden with a guard from boards is taken;this option is the most convenient and inexpensive.

In the process of work you will need:

• bayonet shovel;
• measuring tape;
• drill or screwdriver;
• building level;
• circular saw or jigsaw;
• self-tapping screws;
• boards 50x200 mm;
• beams 50x50 mm;
• primer;
• construction mesh.

Step 1. Wood processing

The boards are cut to the size of the frame, after which they are coated on all sides with antiseptic impregnation. It is possible to use used oil for this purpose, and that harmful substances do not penetrate into the soil, after processing the tree is recommended to be coated on one side with a film. Particularly carefully processed lower edges of the boards, which will contact the ground. The beam is sawn into pieces of 50 cm in length and also impregnated with a protective agent. After that, the building material is spread out to dry.

Step 2. Preparation of a site

The plot under a bed should be illuminated by the sun not less than 5 hours per day. Mark the boundaries of the garden, remove the stones and branches, dig out perennial plants. If desired, you can dig a ground together with shallow grass - this will increase the water permeability of the soil. If the soil is very dense, trampled, it is enough to remove the turf layer around the perimeter of the marking to a small depth, in order to more conveniently set the frame.

Step 3. Assembling the frame for the bed

The dried boards are knocked off in pairs in shields and connected together by means of bars. The height of the shields is equal to the height of the bed, the long sides of the frame are additionally strengthened by cross bars in the center. Since the length of the bars is larger than the height of the walls, they must protrude over the frame by 10 cm. These will be the legs of the frame. To improve the appearance of the structure, along the perimeter of the frame, packed flat planks are packed, the edges of which are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. In conclusion, the frame can be painted on the outside.

Step 4. Installing the

structure The finished frame is transferred to the installation site;expose the design of the markings, make grooves for the legs, check the location of the bed construction level. If necessary, put pegs or, on the contrary, take out excess soil. The design should stand as flat as possible, all angles on one level. Finally, sprinkle the soil around the perimeter of the walls and compact to ensure that no lumens remain.

Step 5. Filling the

beds First, the bottom is covered with a building mesh and nailed to the sides of the frame by the edges. The grid will protect the structure from the penetration of moles and mice. Then lay geotextiles, which will not allow the weeds to germinate. Further, the beds are filled in layers:

• small branches, bark, large shavings, leaves;
• bird droppings, overgrazing manure or compost;
• fallen leaves, branches, bark, grass;
• mineral fertilizer;
• is fertile land.

The thickness of each layer is 10 cm. It is not necessary to mix the layers, but it is absolutely necessary to smooth and compact them. If the soil on the plot is not very good quality, it is better to use the purchased soil. After filling the bed is well spilled with water and left for a couple of days. During this time, the layers will settle a little and become denser. From above it is recommended to cover the frame with black agrobiol, which provides better warming of the soil and does not allow the germination of weeds.

It is recommended to make high beds in autumn or late summer so that the layers are well sprinkled and the roots of the plants get the maximum of useful substances. If the beds are mounted in the spring, it is necessary to fill them at least a month before planting the plants and several times to spill abundantly with water for sealing. Such a design can easily be turned into a greenhouse: for this, plastic or metal arcs are mounted on the frame, the ends of which are fixed to the walls by bolts. On top of the arc, a polyethylene film or special agrarian fiber is attached.

Arrangement of beds from slate

For the device of loose beds, you can use both flat and wavy slate. The technology of installing beds in this way is very simple and can be done by everyone.

Table. Wave slate

Sheet profile	Dimensions, m	Sheet area, sq.m	Weight, kg
8 Wave	1,75 x 1,13 x 0,0058	1,9775	26,1
7 Wave	1.75 x 0, 98 x 0,0058	1,7150	23,2

For work you will need:

• slate sheets;
• Bulgarian;
• bayonet shovel;
• piece of chalk or pencil;
• measuring tape;
• level;
• rubber hammer;
• drill;
• wooden pegs or metal bars.

Step 1. Layout of the

On the selected area, the borders of the beds are marked and the beacons are installed. On the perimeter of digging narrow grooves at the depth of the bayonet. If the soil is good, then remove the entire fertile layer inside the markings, pouring it off near future beds.

Step 2. Preparation of material

Slate sheets are laid on a flat surface, measuring the required length and chalking the line across the waves. After that, the slate is cut through the lines by the Bulgarian. The pegs are impregnated with bituminous mastic or waste oil, and if scraps of metal rods are used as racks, they are treated with anticorrosive compounds.

Step 3. Installation of the frame

The first slate sheet is set vertically in the groove from the marking angle. Next, put the next sheet with the wave in a single wave, level, punch the top with a rubber mallet, so that both sheets are at the same height. Check the location of the upper edge of the slate construction level, if necessary, pour or remove the bottom of the soil. Strengthen the walls with metal rods or pegs, which are driven from both sides to a depth of 0.5 m. So alternately put all the sheets of the frame, fall into a trench and once again check the horizontal level. After that, the soil is rammed against the walls, excess is removed.

Step 4. Filling the beds

At the very bottom you can lay old newspapers, cardboard, pieces of wallpaper, the next layer - shredded brushwood, tree bark, sawdust. After that, fill small chips, stack vegetable waste, peat or compost. And from above all this is sprinkled with the ground, which was taken out at the very beginning. Plentiful watering the bed with water to soak all the layers, and leave for a few days. When the bed is compacted, you can start planting.

Care of the beds

When the plants ascend, the planting should be well watered and sealed. Weeds that have penetrated through the layer of mulch are immediately removed. After harvesting, the surface is loosened and sowed with siderates. Before the onset of cold weather, all the vegetation is mowed, leveled on a bed, covered with a layer of earth and covered with a black film for winter. Periodically, you need to inspect the walls of the frame, replace or repair individual areas.

The soil between the beds is most often covered with small gravel, gravel, straw, sometimes sown with lawn grass. In such conditions the garden always remains well-groomed, the weeds do not grow, the dirt does not stick to the shoes. If desired, you can lay out tracks from tiles and bricks, or pour concrete.

Video - High ridges with own hands

Video - High beds from slate