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Garden beds – such a simple country house structure – also need our close attention. After all, not only the productivity of garden crops depends on their location, height, filling and shape, but also the appearance of the area where we not only work, but also relax. And we, of course, would like to see our country oasis beautiful and well-groomed. Flower-shaped beds The beds should be located from north to south: this way the soil warms up better and vegetable crops receive more sun. If your site is located on a gentle slope, build beds across it, and if the slope is very steep, organize terraces (also across) and build box-beds there. This way you can avoid soil being washed away by flood waters and rain. The material will tell you the details of bringing the idea to life. A successful solution for a summer house on a slope is a vegetable garden on the terraces. The shape of the beds The shape of the beds depends solely on your imagination! You can make them square, rectangular, round, trapezoidal, in the shape of any objects, animals, and so on. Beds in the form of baskets Moreover, it is not at all necessary to build beds of the correct shape! You can arrange them following the natural roundness of the relief, and abandoning strict straight lines will not only give an aesthetic effect, but will also allow you to use your garden land more efficiently. Irregularly shaped beds Look how beautifully shaped beds of unusual shape look in landscape design! Beds of non-standard shape Size of beds The sizes can be anything, but (!) you should easily reach the middle. And if you have built a bed close to a wall or fence, then estimate the distance based on whether you can reach the opposite side with your hands (usually the width of a wall bed does not exceed 80 cm). The standard size of a free-standing bed is: 1 m wide, 1.5 m long and 30-50 cm deep. I repeat: you can vary the sizes as you wish – as long as it is comfortable for you. The distance between the beds is usually 40-50 cm. This is enough to sit comfortably while caring for garden crops or harvesting. Paths should be 30-50 cm below the level of the surface layer of the bed. Features of organizing beds You are free to arrange beds wherever and however you like, but there are some location features that should still be taken into account. <\/p>\n
In low-lying damp areas, it is better to build beds in the fall, make them small (maybe 1×1 m), no more than 30 cm high. Then the soil will warm up better, the snow will melt faster in the spring, and you will be able to sow garden crops a couple of weeks earlier than usual. Knock down 4 boards (1×1 m) into a square, install the structure on a horizontal surface, cover it with earth mixed with manure, compost and mineral fertilizers – the bed is ready. To enhance the effect, you can beautifully decorate the borders.<\/p>\n
To get an earlier and more abundant harvest (and just for beauty), it makes sense to make raised beds. Raised beds To do this, dig a hole 40 cm deep in your favorite place, and put the selected soil aside for now. Choose the length of the hole arbitrarily, but make the width 1-1.2 m, so that later it will be convenient for you to care for the plants. Along the perimeter of the pit, install a frame of stones, bricks, logs or other material to a height of 40-50 cm. Cover it from the inside with plastic film, and place a steel wire mesh at the bottom of the pit (this will protect the crop from harmful rodents). Square raised beds The first layer is filled with long-decomposing organic material: scraps of boards, shavings, fabric (not synthetics!), branches, paper, cardboard, and so on. Fill the garden bed about 1\/3 with these \u201cgoodies\u201d, sprinkle a little soil and water well. Next, fill the bed to the top with soil mixed with manure, compost, mineral fertilizers and water again. That’s all the wisdom. Just keep in mind that next year the soil will settle by 15-20 cm and the top layer will need to be renewed, so prepare fertile soil in advance. Double raised bed See also material about raised or raised beds:<\/p>\n
How to arrange beds in a small area If you have a small area and want to organize as many beds as possible, in addition to the usual arrangement, use any horizontal surfaces and hanging structures. If the area is small, you can combine a recreation area with decoratively designed beds, using multi-tiered, spiral structures and other options. A bed in a small area When arranging a bed, do not forget that its surface must be strictly horizontal: to avoid lack of moisture in a high place and waterlogging in a low place. Saving space Read more about gardening in a small area:<\/p>\n
Peculiarities of tillage in beds The soil in beds is usually dug up twice (in spring and autumn), adding the necessary mineral and organic fertilizers. When digging in the fall, it is better to leave the soil blocky in order to retain as much moisture as possible in the beds. In addition, with such digging, the larvae and eggs of soil pests are almost completely frozen out. You can replace autumn digging with mulching: cover the soil with a thick layer of peat, sawdust, rotted compost, etc. In the spring, remove the unrotted layer with a rake and dig up the ground. Digging with a shovel for a bed of vegetables or flowers is quite enough. And if the soil on your site is light and crumbly, spring digging can be replaced by loosening. How to make beautiful borders for garden beds Of course, not all summer residents are concerned with the beautiful design of borders for garden beds. Many use dividing paths, some simply knock down boards into a square or perimeter and install these structures on a horizontal surface. But we want to arrange everything beautifully, don\u2019t we? Therefore, I present to you several photographs that clearly show how you can beautifully decorate the sides of the beds with simple improvised or purchased material. Here we use ready-made plastic sides purchased at the store. Sides for the beds The sides of these beds are lined with white brick. Brick sides Here the sides are lined with paving stones. Paving stone borders This garden bed is decorated with colored slate borders. Slate borders These raised beds have borders made from regular plastic crates. There are doubts about their strength, but, undoubtedly, the beds look original)) Sides made of plastic boxes To decorate the edges of the beds, you can use any available material: boards, large stones, bricks, cut pieces of slate, vines, plastic bottles, and so on. In addition, \u201cedged\u201d beds do not slide, hold their shape better, and are more convenient to use. You can choose various options for fencing for garden beds in our catalog, which combines offers from large online garden stores. See a selection of fences: Read even more interesting and useful information about arranging beds in the articles:<\/p>\n