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In many suburban areas there are beds framed by borders. Such a fence is not always built to decorate the landscape. The reason for the installation of the border may be the technology used for growing vegetables “warm bed” or loose soil. For the manufacture of fencing is any building material available on the farm. Now we will look at the photo of the beds with our own hands from improvised materials, and also find out how they can be made.
Why are beds fenced in the garden
The border design of the beds is, first of all, order in the garden. It’s nice to go to your site, where vegetables grow in even rows, between them there is a path not overgrown with grass. On such beds it is convenient to care for plants and harvest.
Let’s find out what else flowerbed borders are for:
- The sides prevent soil erosion during prolonged rains and heavy watering. The entire fertile layer remains under the plants, and does not drain onto the paths.
- Fans of growing early vegetables use the “warm bed” technology. It turns out a small spring greenhouse, functionally capable of replacing a greenhouse. To make a bed, you will need to arrange high sides, lay organic matter, compost and turf in layers. They use a “warm bed” without shelter or put arcs, and stretch the film on top.
- Boards dug deep into the ground prevent the spread of perennial weeds in the garden. First, the useful area where the weed can grow is reduced. Instead of row spacing, paths are formed, and any grass that appears is quickly trampled underfoot. Secondly, the roots of creeping grasses cannot penetrate from the side into the beds due to the deeply dug fence.
You can decorate a garden bed of any shape and size, but the following sizes are considered optimal:
- Wide areas are not very convenient to handle. In order not to trample the ground and reach each row of plants from the path, it is optimal to maintain a bed width of 800–900 mm.
- There are no restrictions on length. Each gardener is content with his own preferences. Usually the length of the beds is determined, taking into account the total size of the land. It should be noted that beds longer than 6 m are difficult to water.
- It is not advisable to make the height of the fence more than 100-150 mm. An exception may be “warm beds”.
In general, each gardener determines the dimensions of the beds at his individual discretion, so that it is convenient to take care of them.
We make garden fences from everything that is at hand
You can approach the fence of the beds on the site creatively, then the owner will not face additional waste. In many dachas, some materials remained after construction. You shouldn’t throw them away. Even from the fragments of slate it is possible to build beautiful sides.
Wooden fences
This environmentally friendly material has huge pros and cons in arranging garden fences. The positive side is the usefulness of wood. Firstly, natural material does not poison the soil with harmful substances. Secondly, the slow decay of the wood provides the plants with additional fertilizer.
Now let’s learn about the disadvantages. They are in the same rotting wood. Such a fence of beds is short-lived. Usually wooden bumpers are enough for 3-5 years. Wood quickly rots in the ground and there is no way to deal with it. Some gardeners are trying to extend the life of the border by staining, impregnating with an antiseptic, and even bitumen. However, such measures are temporary, and after a certain period, rotten holes will appear in the fences, through which the soil will begin to spill out.
How to make wooden fences? Yes, very simple. If these are boards, then a rectangular box is knocked down from them. Fence pieces, pieces of round timber and other remnants of wooden blanks are simply dug vertically into the ground around the beds. So that the elements do not move apart, they can be sewn with crossbars from any rails.
brick fences
Brick fencing has been known since Soviet times. Then it was fashionable to fence flower beds, because the material was cheap. Now the brick fence will cost the owner of the cottage a pretty penny. Even if the remains of a brick from the construction of a house are piled behind the house, it is necessary to weigh where it is better to use it: for fencing a garden bed or building a farm building.
The brick does not infect the soil, so you should not be afraid about the condition of the plants. However, one must be prepared that the brick side is also not eternal. Silicate brick in the ground is saturated with water, and with the onset of frost it gradually cracks, falling apart into pieces. The red brick is made of fired clay. If the manufacturing technology of the material was not observed, after a few years, heaps of red clay will remain in place of the curb.
In any case, a brick fence will last at least 10 years. For its manufacture, blocks are dug into the ground with an end face under a slight slope so that teeth form on top.
slate fence
As improvised means, asbestos-cement slate is an excellent find for making garden fences. Wavy and flat sheets are used. The slate is cut with a grinder into strips of the required width, after which they are dug into the ground.
Flat slate at the corners of the garden fence is connected with metal corners and bolts. For beauty, the borders can be painted in any color.
Slate fencing will last for many years, but we must remember that this material is fragile and is afraid of shock. After prolonged rains, shallowly dug sheets are sometimes squeezed out by the ground, which requires correcting the situation by reinstalling some fragments. It must be remembered that slate contains asbestos, which adversely affects the soil. Sometimes gardeners process the inside of the slate fence with bitumen or simply paint it.
stone fence
Natural stone is an environmentally friendly material for the manufacture of fences. Beautiful borders are laid out from cobblestones of different colors and sizes. They are also called retaining walls. It is convenient to make boards from a flat savage stone. To make a stone fence, cobblestones are fastened together with cement mortar.
The disadvantage of stone boards on cement is their destruction in the spring and autumn-winter period, when the soil swells. Gabions have proven themselves well. The stones are firmly fixed inside the metal grids. These fences will last for decades.
Shop plastic boards
Plastic boards bought in a store cannot be called improvised material, because you will have to bear considerable costs. Borders are sold with imitation of stone, brick, wood and other materials. You can choose any color for the design of the site. The plastic is durable, corrosion resistant, lightweight, but the owner will cost a penny. It is reasonable to install plastic fences in the yard around the flower beds in a conspicuous place. In addition to supporting the soil, curbs will give the site an elegant look. Few people will see this beauty in the garden, so it is not advisable to spend money on fencing beds for cabbage or tomatoes.
Edging the beds with border tape
The curb tape also does not apply to improvised materials, since it will have to be bought in a store. Now you can find plastic tapes of different colors or rubber. It will not be possible to protect a high bed with such a border due to the soft structure of the material. In any case, it is advisable to support the tape along the perimeter of the bed with stakes made of wood or metal.
Installing the curb tape is easy. It does not require straight lines and angles. This makes it possible to design round, oval and other curved beds. It is enough to dig the tape into the ground to a certain depth. If you need to connect the pieces, a regular stapler will help out.
Fencing from PET bottles
What is not made from plastic bottles, and the fence of the beds is no exception. This is a real improvised material that can be found for free in a landfill or begged for in any bar. To make a fence, sand or earth is poured inside the bottles, after which they are dug around the beds with their necks down. Corks, of course, twist. The decorativeness of the border is achieved by using multi-colored bottles or pouring a little paint into a transparent container and shaking it. Empty bottles are not recommended. From a change in temperature, the walls will begin to shrink and straighten out, which will cause an unpleasant crunch in the yard.
metal fences
The metal edging of the beds looks reliable only visually. It is unprofitable to use stainless steel or thick metal for borders. Usually, tin is used with a thickness of about 1 mm. The walls are flexible and require additional support with stakes. It is easy to injure yourself on the sharp edges of the fence during work. Thin tin will rust in two seasons, and soil will begin to pour out through the holes.
They look more beautiful and last longer factory boxes made of galvanized with a polymer coating. The metal is protected by several layers according to the corrugated board principle. The disadvantage of metal structures is their very high cost.
The video shows the factory fence:
Conclusion
We examined the most common options for arranging beds from improvised materials, as well as from purchased structures. Which border to choose for your site depends on the capabilities and wishes of the owner.