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Many summer residents suffer due to the fact that the groundwater is too high on the site. Excessive soil moisture is not suitable for all plants, many develop poorly or die altogether. You can solve the problem by making high beds. With such an organization of landings, it is possible to control the degree of humidity. And a nice bonus to such a decision will be an earlier ripening period and a much larger yield.
Advantages and disadvantages
In addition to solving problems with waterlogging, high beds in the garden allow you to sow or plant plants 2-3 weeks earlier: raised above the ground, they warm up more actively due to the fact that the sun heats the walls. This is also facilitated by the decomposition processes occurring in plant waste, which make up a significant part of the backfill. Therefore, such beds are also called warm. If you put arcs on such a bed and cover it with spunbond or other similar material, then the crop can be harvested even earlier.
The device is more problematic in regions with a hot climate. The task in this case is not better to heat the earth, but to keep it from overheating. But this can also be solved: use materials with poor thermal conductivity, for example, wood, to fence high beds. For the best effect, you can make double walls, between which you can fill up, for example, sawdust, lay foam, or you can leave an air gap – the best thermal insulation. It is better to paint the outer wall in a hot climate with white paint or whitewash. It is known that light surfaces heat up less. In this case, it will be possible to save the root system from overheating: in the south, the earth sometimes warms up very much and the higher the plant is, the cooler it will be. And over the beds you can stretch the same covering material. It not only retains heat, but also protects against overheating.
Raised beds can also be a good outlet for infertile lands. It is more convenient to lay out the imported soil in the beds, and not distribute it throughout the site. Maintaining fertility contributes to the compost layer, which is located under the layer of earth.
The problem of arid regions is also being solved. In this case, the fence for the high bed is coated with bituminous mastic from the inside or covered with a film, a rolled waterproofing material is laid on the bottom (on the grid) (the roofing material will quickly rot, so something from the modern type of waterproofing is better). Complete waterproofing cannot be achieved, but to keep moisture inside in sufficient quantities – yes.
As you can see, with a balanced approach, almost any problem can be solved. There are few shortcomings in high beds, but they could not do without them:
- In most cases, you have to make a fence, and these are costs.
- The complexity of the process. Again, making fences takes time and also moves a lot of earth and plant debris, which is hard work.
- In rotting leaves, branches, bark, bears and other similar living creatures feel great. You have to fight them.
- Fertility has to be maintained by updating or completely replacing the “stuffing”.
That’s all the shortcomings. If you decide on the arrangement of high beds, be prepared for a considerable amount of work. But the harvest will be many times greater. For testing, you can make one or two beds. Then decide if you need them or not.
dimensions
There are no strict recommendations in this regard, and there cannot be: very different conditions in the country, and people too. There are sizes that many consider optimal.
So, the dimensions of the high beds:
- Height – from 20 cm to 50-60 cm. Here, see what a difficult task is. The higher the bed is raised, the easier it is to process it – to bend less. But the earth and the rest of the “stuffing” will need more. Another point: if a small bed in height can be under the snow and will be covered from severe frosts, then the high one will freeze through: the sides are also open. For those ridges where annuals are sown, this does not play any role, but for perennial strawberries, say, this is a problem. Therefore, the height is chosen based on these considerations. According to the experience of many summer residents for strawberries, the optimal height is 20 cm. Then we can hope that it will not freeze out.
- Width – from 60 cm to 1,2 m. Choose a distance that makes it convenient for you to process the bed. A distance of 60-70 cm is chosen if the approach to the garden is only on one side. If you can get to it from both sides, you can make a meter or more. It is important that the middle is processed without much stress.
- Long. Here everyone chooses based on the configuration of the site or their desire. There are no recommendations at all.
So that the bed is not too high, part of it can be deepened: dig in 20-30 cm, and already put walls on top. The removed soil will go to backfill (there is often simply not enough land), and the substrate from the lower rough layers can be made thicker. And to minimize the cost of maintaining such a bed, you can do drip irrigation.
How to fence high beds
You can use anything that can hold the ground. The most durable curbs are made from brick, stone and concrete.
But the brick costs a lot, it takes a long time to fiddle with concrete. A concrete fence is made according to all the rules: first, a formwork into which reinforcement is laid, then it is poured with concrete and they wait until it sets. But the service life is impressive – decades.
A brick and stone fence is also folded according to all the rules: on a mortar with dressing. To reduce the consumption of bricks, the walls are placed in half a brick. And so that the earth does not move it, the rows are reinforced with a mesh.
But even in this embodiment, it will be necessary to install support pillars through the meter. If your soil is viscous, heavy, often waterlogged, such walls can be squeezed out. Therefore, put wooden or metal supports that will fix the long walls or make small beds, as for an ornamental garden.
Fences made of expanded clay blocks have proven themselves well. Even the voids in them can be covered with soil and plants with a small root system can also be planted there: for example, some types of greens and salads.
They also make fences for high beds made of galvanized metal and slate. Slate can be used second-hand, you can buy a new one, wave or smooth – it doesn’t matter. Cut the sheets into strips of the required width. There is no need to fear that it is harmful. In slate, asbestos is contained in a bound state, and it does not dissolve in water. It is harmful when it is sawed: the dust rises and enters the body through the respiratory tract. To reduce exposure, wear a respirator and wet the incisions.
They make plastic garden fences. Changed siding? Use it. There are old plastic panels – they are in business. But for plastic, a rigid base is needed. They make it from a metal mesh of thick wire.
Grids can become the basis for pebbles or pellets. Only in this case, a double frame will be needed, inside which stones or some other material are poured. This technique is called “gabion” and not only fences for beds and flower beds are made from it, but also fences. But so that water does not seep through the walls from the gabion beds, the inside of the box is lined with a dense film.
The most popular fencing is wood. You can use boards, timber, logs. Wood is good for everyone, except that it rots.
And since all conditions have been created in the high beds to activate this process, destruction occurs quite quickly. You can slow down the process somewhat by painting the boards or by impregnating them with a bioprotective composition. But there is still no guarantee against destruction.
But the material can be used cheap, and sometimes even junk: the remains after construction, slabs, old logs, pallets, etc. If desired, you can even make a fence out of branches. Only the bark is desirable to remove: it is under it that there are many larvae and woodworms. Although…they will also process the wood residue that you lay on the bottom of the backfill. But too many of them are also not needed, so, probably, it is still better to remove the bark.
From the same branches, only freshly cut, you can make a wicker fence. And it will also need to be lined from the inside with a film: to keep water and earth inside.
Read about how to make wattle here.
You can even use straw. It is tied into small bundles, which are interconnected with a wire. It simply cannot be cheaper, but it keeps water and temperature well. The only disadvantage of this option is that such a fence will last a maximum of two seasons, but rather one. But it can then be used as one of the layers.
Bulk beds
There are high beds without a fence: the so-called bulk. The soil in them is poured in the form of hills.
To improve drainage, branches are laid inside such a ridge. To reduce the height of the bed (for example, under tomatoes), it is slightly deepened, throwing the soil to the side. After laying the branches, it is covered from above, often there is a need for additionally imported soil. If you can’t choose the row spacing deeply.
The disadvantage of this kind of garden: when watering and during rains, the topsoil is washed off. Therefore, they began to make boxes – to avoid washing out the soil.
Layers of high beds
Framing is only a small part of the job. You still need to fill the received box. It must be said right away that the thickness of the layers depends on the height of the bed that you have chosen, so if any values u5buXNUMXbare given, then only approximately. In addition to the size of the bed, the thickness of the layer, for example, the fertile one, is influenced by the choice of plants: XNUMX cm is enough for someone, and much more is needed for someone.
So, what to pour into a high bed – layers from bottom to top:
- A metal mesh with a small cell or a layer of geotextile is laid on the bottom. You can put cardboard. Mesh and geotextile – protection against rodents and moles. Cardboard plays about the same role, but it is less effective.
- Large wood residues: thick branches, branches, even chocks and bars. This layer serves, firstly, for drainage, and secondly, moisture accumulates in the wood. The more arid the climate in your area, the more wood you need. Moreover, the following wood layers too.
- Shredded small branches, bark. Other coarse plant residues will do: corn stalks, straw. Their mission is also twofold. They store water, and when decomposed, they release heat and nutrients. But when using corn trunks and straw, keep in mind that the bed will soon sink: these remains quickly rot, but the yield will be high, and fertile land can be sprinkled on top.
- Paper, thin cardboard. It is usually lined with a thin layer. They use packing cardboard more often, because glossy paper is not suitable, just like newspapers: the lead base of the paint is not at all what plants need to be fertilized with. If there is an old unnecessary burlap (natural), you can lay it.
- A layer of plant residues: foliage, grass, semi-decomposed sawdust. Be careful with sawdust: they strongly acidify the soil. So sprinkle them under plants that love acidic soil, or neutralize the acidity by sprinkling them with a good layer of ash.
- Fertile land.
In the last two layers, you can add a good portion of mature compost, as well as sprinkle deeper layers with it. This will speed up the “readiness” of the high bed for planting.
Read about how to make a pond in the country with your own hands here, and this article says how to turn it into a fountain.
When is the best time to plant and what to plant
It is better to fill a high bed in the fall. During this period, there will be enough “material” and during the winter the processes inside will gain momentum. In this case, you can plant plants in the spring and hope for a high yield. It can be done in the spring, but there are unlikely to be any significant differences in yield: the processes have just begun and will not be able to have a noticeable effect on the fertility of the backfill. Although you will definitely feel the difference in the amount of water for irrigation: much less water is required.
Plant alternation
In the year of the device of a high bed, plants requiring high fertility can be planted on it: cucumbers, zucchini, zucchini, pumpkin, any kind of cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, sweet peppers. The next year, you can plant greens – spicy-aromatic and leafy. Root crops feel good in the second year.
After harvesting the second crop, fertility must be restored. If the contents of the bed sagged, in the fall they fill up with good earth mixed with mature compost. If there is nowhere to fill up, remove part of the top layer (on a compost heap or in another box as part of the backfill) and replace it with fresh earth with fertilizers.
Raised bed for strawberries
It differs only in that covering material is spread over the finished “pie”. Holes are made in it, in which plants are planted. This option leads to the fact that moisture evaporates in minimal quantities, and weeds do not grow in the aisle. The second option – mulching the earth also works well, but evaporation is more intense.
Features of strawberries are that its roots are located mainly on the surface. Therefore, the fertile layer can be small. But this same feature leads to the fact that in severe frosts it can die. Although there is a decomposition process inside the high bed, warming the soil, if the bed is without snow and not covered for the winter, the root system may freeze.
Raised bed for cucumbers and tomatoes
In its structure, it is no different. Is it only because they need poles and crossbars or stretched wire around the edges in order to be able to tie up bushes of tomatoes or lashes of cucumbers.
You can read about the organization of automatic watering of the garden or plot here.
High beds with own hands
Most often, questions arise not when laying layers in high beds, but when making a box. Since women often do a lot of gardening, right up to making fences for garden beds, many points may not be clear to them. To clarify the most difficult ones, we present photo reports of making a box from boards and slate – the most common fences.
From the boards
Several options for how to make high beds from boards were in the photo above. The main snag is usually in the connection at the corners. The easiest way is to overlap them: just put one to the other at 90 ° and knock it down with nails. But there are aesthetes who all strive to do the right thing. And that’s right – cut down two boards at an angle of 45 ° and connect them like that. It is this option that will be shown in the photo.
To make it convenient to fix the fence on the ground, vertical bars or pieces of board are nailed in increments of 1,2-1,5 m, the length of which is about 20 cm more than the selected bed height.
The lower end of the bar or board needs to be sharpened – it will be easier to hammer the fence into the ground. Then we take a miter box or a circular saw, and cut off the edges at an angle of 45 °. Putting two boards together creates a perfect 90° angle.
For a strong connection on the inside of the corner, we install a bar, to which we nail the boards.
It doesn’t take long to make a fence for high beds made of wood, but it’s even easier to connect the boards end-to-end, and nail metal corners for strength (pictured below).
From logs
It is not more difficult to make a similar box from hewn logs. For example, this option: two long sides from logs, and short ones from pieces of boards.
Whitewash the finished fence: both pest protection and a more attractive look.
from slate
When making beds from flat or wave slate, questions also arise about how to fix it. The easiest way is to dig in. But this is uneconomical: you will have to make the stripes wider by at least 10 cm and still there is no guarantee that the slate will not “float” in the spring. In the muddy earth, it will simply be squeezed out with a mass. You can fix it, but it’s too much time and effort.
Therefore, most often corners or pipes are driven in from one or both sides of the sheet, which clamp the slate and prevent it from deviating strongly. In the photo, the corners are driven in only from the outside: from the inside, the mass of layers of the high bed will press, so that the fence will not fall inside.
The joints of the two sheets are insured with a special welded plate. For reliability, they can be bolted to a wooden bar attached from the other side.
Another option is to make a frame. Attach a bar or a corner to similar racks with welded plates – for whom it is cheaper. And to this frame, attach the slate cut into strips (it holds well with nails, but it’s easier with self-tapping screws).
By the same principle – with guides – they make beds from plastic panels and other similar materials. As you understand, especially virtuoso skill is not needed here. The main thing is to keep well.