What can be made beds and fences to them? Do-it-yourself high beds Do-it-yourself high beds made of wood

Why is it worth doing?
What to Consider
Material selection
Wood protection
Bed design
frame
Assembly instructions
After installation
Track solution

A relatively new direction in the dacha economy is the arrangement of high beds. This method has advantages and disadvantages, but most enthusiastic summer residents, having tried the installation of elevated areas for planting, do not return to traditional ridges. Experience shows that with the right approach to the construction of elevated fences for the earth and competent preparation of the soil, the harvest is richer. Plus, it's a great way to stay clean when caring for your plants, whatever the weather!

It is not difficult to build high and original beds on the site.

Why is it worth doing?

The device of such fences has a number of advantages over the traditional method of zoning the site:

The beds take the desired shape. At the same time, there is no gradual shedding of the walls and erosion of the earth during the rainy season.
Weeds in the sides grow little, they are easier to weed. You can reduce the amount of grass by preliminary preparation of the earth: before falling asleep, all unnecessary roots are removed.
A vegetable garden is created even on an infertile site with soils unsuitable for gardening.
Paths of tiles or bricks are laid between the beds, then there will be no dirt even after long rainy periods.
When laying a drainage layer, protracted heavy rainfall is not terrible.
Convenience of caring for the site: no need to bend down low, which is especially important for people suffering from diseases of the back and musculoskeletal system.
The design is easily assembled from available materials, in our case, from boards that can be found in any private household or purchased inexpensively.
The original way of designing the site.

What to Consider

For plank beds to be really useful, it is important to take into account a few features:

To prevent flooding of the tank during the period of prolonged rainfall, it is important to equip the drainage layer that drains water.

Timely watering in the absence of rain is a must, since moisture evaporates from a high fence much faster than from a low bed.
The construction of the boards is short-lived. It is optimal to install bumpers for one season and change them annually. For the arrangement of the walls for several years, protection of the tree is required - impregnations, paints will help prevent the board from rotting. When installing plastic walls, this problem will not arise, but you have to weigh the pros and cons of polymers on the site.

It is better to make a bed in the spring before backfilling the soil and directly sowing or planting crops.

Material selection

Not every board is suitable for mounting a high bed. Suitable wood species that are resistant to decay. For example, larch, oak, ash, cedar. Hard acacia will also work. These are durable materials that are not susceptible to damage due to the dense structure. For construction for one or two seasons, you can take pine or spruce.

Boards must be of suitable dimensions:

The thickness is at least 15–20 cm. The softer the wood, the thicker the board is taken so that deformation does not occur due to soil pressure and softening from getting wet.
The width is determined by the height of the sides.

If the household has used wooden pallets, they can be disassembled and boards used as the basis for the box. This option will cost much less than buying new lumber.

Sometimes summer residents choose a beam as their basis, on which they can sit down during work. We do not recommend doing this - the soil practically does not receive oxygen through the walls of the fence, which is why the plants almost do not breathe with their roots (which is especially detrimental to root crops). In addition, it is economically unprofitable: the tree rots from stagnant water, and such a design lasts only a couple of seasons.

The ideal solution for the manufacture of durable garden fences will be WPC terrace boards made of wood-polymer composite. They do not rot due to polymers enveloping wood chips. In addition, the products do not require processing and protection. The only drawback of the material is the high cost.

Wood protection

Regardless of the type of wood chosen, the boards must be impregnated with protective compounds.

Often summer residents put used engine oil on the sides. This is an outdated method, besides, harmful substances penetrate into the soil, then into vegetables.

Another way is to impregnate wood with bitumen diluted with gasoline. To avoid the use of the latter, it is worth using a ready-made bituminous primer.
The safest method of protecting high bed boards is to soak them with antiseptics. It is important to choose solutions that are difficult to wash out "for severe conditions", that is, for direct contact with the ground.

For one season, the boards are covered with oil paint or wood varnish.

It does not matter how it is decided to protect the boards. Still, it will not work to save them from decay by 100%; processing will have to be done once every one or several seasons. When painting, the ends of the boards are left untreated - the tree must "breathe" to ensure oxygen access to the roots of plants.

Bed design

The minimum height of the beds on fertile soil is 25 cm. If the base on the garden plot is rocky and swampy, feel free to install fences of 30–70 cm, depending on the size of the root planting system. It is not recommended to build them too high - this is an extra waste of materials (soil, boards).

The width of the beds is determined by the convenience for the summer resident.

It should be comfortable to reach its middle and even a little further for proper plant care (weeding, loosening, picking, garter, fertilizer). The average width is 40–80 cm. It is important to consider the size of plants in adulthood and the number of rows of plantings.. For single-row plantations of tomatoes or cabbage, a width of 40–60 cm is sufficient; for two- and three-row plantations, the size can reach 120 cm.

The length of the beds is a free value and is determined by the general layout of the site. The shape of the fence is made rectangular, square, polygonal and even round.

frame

Fences for beds consist of a frame and the sides themselves.

The first are different products and materials:

processed timber;
pieces of reinforcement;
special racks with holders for boards.

The main task of the frame is to fix the fence boards. Reinforcement and special metal racks do not collapse over time, they will serve as a reliable support throughout the entire life of the structure. But a well-crafted timber looks aesthetically pleasing, it is convenient to attach boards to it without the need to connect them together.

If a beam is chosen for the frame, it is important to carefully waterproof its recessed part with bituminous impregnation or liquid rubber, since it is the part immersed in the ground that is destroyed in the first place.

Is foundation preparation necessary?

It is not recommended to remove the sod and deepen the box into the ground - the wood will quickly begin to rot. A roofing material waterproofing device will not help - water from precipitation will accumulate in the pocket, and rotting will occur very soon. Impregnation will not save the situation, and deepening itself is not necessary.

It is recommended to lay geotextiles under the soil in the garden. You can install a box on it - that will be enough. Protect wood with various stands (example in the photo). True, for such a bed, the arrangement of the bottom is required.

In the photo there is a bed protected from rotting by a stand made of bricks.

Assembly instructions

Now let's take a step-by-step look at how to make a bed in a garden plot.

We cut the pre-prepared boards in length for the end and longitudinal sides.
We give the racks a height equal to the height of the fence + the depth of the depth. The depth of entry of the rack into the ground is determined by the strength of the base. It is optimal to choose from 40 cm.
Now we fasten the boards to metal or wooden racks. It is necessary to start the assembly from the corners. It is important to tightly connect the boards so that soil does not spill out through the cracks and nutrients are not washed out of it with water.
First, we collect one plane, for example, the end, then the second. After we fix the longitudinal boards, checking the evenness of the corners.
We transfer the finished structure to the place and deepen it. It is convenient to simply hammer metal racks, but this should be done evenly from all sides with a partner or in small portions from each corner. We also drive wooden racks into the ground or simply dig in, compacting the soil around the timber well for its stability.

If the beds are long, an additional rack is installed for every 1.5–2 meters, which will prevent the boards from bending under the weight of the soil.

A step-by-step process for making beds with metal racks on video.

Boards are also stuffed onto already installed racks, but this option is suitable for completely wooden structures and is not very convenient.

For comfort, you can attach a seat board. It is attached to the corners or a fixed additional bar that stiffens the surface.

The use of special racks greatly simplifies the process of assembling the beds - just insert the boards into the grooves. In this way it is very convenient to build flower beds of different configurations:

And this is a visual master class on creating a multi-tiered flower bed:

After installation

If the geotextile was not spread out before the final installation, we put it in a box, pour drainage (crushed stone or pebbles) on top with a layer of 10 cm, then fertile soil thoroughly cleaned of roots. You can start landing.

Covering the walls of the fence with a film should not be - the roots of the plants will not breathe.

Outside, it can be decorated with drawings, applications - here the flight of fancy is unlimited. The photo shows interesting projects of enthusiastic landscape designers and summer residents.

Vertical slats serve as additional structural stiffeners.

Metal plates reinforce the corners and decorate the bed.

A high bed can be a wooden box installed on a base raised from the ground.

In high beds it is convenient to place greenhouse plants under a film or a special coating.

Track solution

When the beds are ready, you can arrange the paths between them. This will protect the shoes from dirt and complete the look of the composition. Path options:

Filling with sawdust is the cheapest way to create a path. Do not use fresh wood waste, which acidifies the soil. Sawdust will absorb excess moisture, and at the end of the season it will become a good nutritional supplement to the soil.

River pebbles are an inexpensive option for decorating a path. You just need to pour it in a small layer and level it well.

Tiles and bricks laid without cement mortar are a good temporary option. For the installation of a capital path, it is necessary to remove the turf, lay geotextiles and drainage (crushed stone), lay the coating on the cement mortar.

Concreting of the walkway is carried out on a prepared base without fertile soil for drainage from geotextiles and crushed stone.

Following a simple instruction, you can equip a convenient and efficient garden bed for growing any garden crops. According to the above algorithm, fences are created from other sheet materials (slate, metal, plastic).

Wood is the safest and closest material to gardening. Although short-lived, it provides better conditions for growing plants than others. In addition, the boards serve as a natural heat insulator for "warm" beds and a good foundation for a greenhouse and a small greenhouse.

The yield of plants depends not only on the time of planting seeds, their germination, but also on the place of planting and the height of the embankment. We hope that our tips on building beds in the country with your own hands will be useful not only for beginner gardeners.

Location selection

Some vegetable crops, for example, peas, dill, sorrel, lettuce, can grow in partial shade. But most plant species are not able to fully mature with a lack of light.

Therefore, when placing beds on a garden plot, they are primarily guided by their illumination - it is desirable that they be warmed up by the sun from the very early morning until 6-7 pm.

Decorative garden plantings

When choosing a landing site, the following requirements must be taken into account:

1 Do not plant plants in lowlands or on northern slopes, where the soil freezes deeper than on flat areas; productivity in these places will be low; plus the water in this place will constantly stagnate, which can lead to root rot

2 The site should not have a strong slope, otherwise the water will simply drain from it during irrigation, and the plants will not receive moisture.

3 There should not be large trees, buildings and fences near plantings that can shade plants

4 It is desirable to arrange them north to south, so that during the day they are evenly illuminated by the sun

5 For growing vegetables for a family of 3-4 people, about 1 acre is enough; the rest of the territory can be planted with potatoes, berries and flowers

6 To make the plot look neat, try to make “correct” beds of the same width and length; standard dimensions - 3.5x0.8 m

7 Do not forget about the compatibility of plants: some of them do not get along well with each other

Dimensions

In principle, you can make a bed of any length - up to 10 m. Agree, such beds look original. But constantly bypassing them when watering is very inconvenient. It is better to prepare an embankment 3.5-4 m long. This size is considered optimal. Or break a long bed into two with a small path. This will greatly facilitate your movement around the site.

Standard width 0.8 m. Do not save space (!) and in no case make it wider. You may be able to reach the center of the bed when planting and scatter the seeds, but weeding will turn into a real torment. Don't believe? Experiment and prepare a small but wide mound. Believe me, next year you will lose the desire to make beds of this size.

A more compact version, only 0.45 m wide, is made for carrots. This culture does not like dense plantings - the sprouts should be well blown. For the same reason, try not to place tall plants next to carrots. Otherwise, you will significantly reduce its yield. On thickened plantings, it will grow small.

Shape and height

When decorating the site, we can decorate it with beds of various shapes, from standard rectangular to triangular, trapezoidal or oval. There are plenty of ideas for unusual beds on the net. The main thing is that it is convenient to approach them from either side for watering and weeding.

The height of the embankment depends on many factors, including the type of site. In most cases, it is enough to raise them to a height of up to 35-50 cm. This will be enough so that the roots of the plants do not rot. Too high beds - up to 0.8 m - are usually made in heavily swampy areas.

But such structures are very labor intensive. Plus, they will need to bring at least a couple of KAMAZ trucks of fertile soil to the site. For one small bed it will need at least half a ton.

Raising beds is often also required for growing heat-loving crops, for example, cucumbers. Indeed, in high beds, the earth warms up much faster. It is often impossible to get an early harvest without it.

Raise the beds sometimes and just for their own convenience

Caring for plants in this case is much easier. Just keep in mind that in beds of great height, the earth dries out much faster, so you will have to water the plants more often. Experts also advise raising a landing site in areas located in the shade. The optimal height of the embankment in this case is 50 cm.

To prevent water from rolling onto the path when watering, the bed should be slightly concave inward.

Arrangement of a high bed

A box for it can be made from improvised means: boards, plastic, metal or stones:

1 It is better to put a metal mesh at the bottom - it will protect the plants from the ubiquitous rodents.

2 Crushed stone, expanded clay or broken bricks are used as drainage. The thickness of this layer is 10-15 cm.

3 It is better to treat the prepared soil in advance with agents from pathogenic microbes and pests. If you do not want to use chemistry, mix the earth with a small amount of wood ash - it will protect the plants from harmful bacteria.

4 It is not worth filling the bed with soil up to the very sides - it will constantly spill out onto the path. It is necessary to leave about 5 cm.

Drainage

When a site is located in a lowland or swampy area, growing many types of crops on it becomes a problem. Vegetables and berries on it, if they ripen, then due to excess moisture, they quickly deteriorate during storage.

Their taste also changes - much less sugar accumulates in them. To prevent this from happening, take care of the drainage of the wetland.

Most gardeners know that cabbage, melons, zucchini and cucumbers require more moisture to grow than other crops. But it turns out that massive heads of garlic can also be grown only in areas rich in moisture. On dry land, even with abundant watering, it is rarely large.

For the above types of plants, drainage is not required (unless, of course, stagnant water in the beds is insignificant). The area for growing other crops is better to drain.

For the construction of multi-tiered beds, special boxes can be knocked out of wood. It is highly undesirable to use metal - it quickly heats up in the sun, and the earth in them will dry out even faster. If necessary, paint metal containers with light paint - light surfaces heat up less.

Often used for such structures and ready-made boxes, racks or containers of a suitable size. You can also place large containers filled with earth on the shelves.

lazy beds

Such embankments are used when planting a large number of plants. They have a small height and outwardly look like bulk trapezoids without the use of a box. True, such embankments will have to be made every season - they settle over the winter.

Make a shallow ditch in the area of \u200b\u200bthe path, throwing the earth onto the ridge. Level the soil with a rake. The bed is ready.

We repeat - the drier the land on the site, the lower the height of the embankment should be. In marshy areas, dig paths as deep as possible and make the bed higher. On sandy soil, you don’t even need to do this - just tread the paths well on the dug-up ground with your feet, thus marking the location of the paths.

Boxes for beds

Decorative option, limited by a box - a favorite technique of many gardeners. After all, caring for them (watering and weeding) is greatly simplified. The use of boxes is a good way to protect against soil erosion. In addition, the paths between them will always be clean, without streaks and puddles.

As a rule, the paths are covered with wood, tiles or concrete so that the grass cannot break through the ground.

Before proceeding with the installation of the box, the place for the beds must be prepared - dig up the ground, carefully removing all weeds. Carefully level it with a rake so that water during irrigation or rain can be evenly distributed over the entire surface.

When digging, it is necessary to capture the area a little more. Otherwise, the roots of perennial plants will again make their way out of the ground. Pulling them out from under the box will be problematic. It is better to pre-dig the neglected area twice in spring and autumn.

Getting rid of the roots of perennial plants at once is simply unrealistic. To make the job easier, simply turn the sod over with a shovel so that the roots of the plants are above the ground. Gradually, they themselves will dry out under the rays of the sun and die.

Wooden box

Wooden box

The simplest wooden box is assembled from 4 long and 8 short boards of a suitable size. They are connected in pairs with the help of bars. Nails, screws and metal corners are used as fasteners.

You will also need 4 pegs or trimming reinforcement 0.6 m long - they are driven into the ground from the outside to enhance the strength of the structure. To make the bed perfectly even, its walls are aligned with the building level horizontally and vertically.

Stone or concrete box

Stone or concrete box

Such structures are characterized by high strength and long service life. However, they will cost a lot.

Plus, the process of building them takes a lot of time. Yes, and moving the garden bed will be a serious problem - the structure will have to be broken.

metal boxes

metal boxes

If you have waste metal at hand, you can make beds out of it. Such structures are lightweight and, if desired, they can be easily moved to another place. They are easily painted in any color, so they look quite decorative.

However, the creation of such products requires the ability to work with a welding machine. You can cut the metal at the nearest scrap metal collection point.

Slate fence

Slate fence

It is quite resistant to decay, even when buried in the ground and is able to last a long time.

The disadvantages of slate structures include increased fragility - when assembling and cutting them, high accuracy and accuracy are required.

Plastic structures

Plastic structures

If you have a few plastic panels left after repair, you can make a fence out of it. Bright, they favorably stand out against the background of plants.

Moreover, plastic is able to lie in the ground for an infinitely long time - it is not afraid of moisture. However, under the bright rays of the sun, this material quickly fades and loses color.

Mulching

Weeding often takes a lot of time from summer residents. If the site is large, this becomes a serious problem. You just have to spend the day and night in the garden.

To reduce the time spent on endless weeding, prepare the so-called smart beds. The principle of their manufacture is simple. To protect plants from weeds after planting, cover the gaps between the sprouts with sawdust, needles, straw, or dried last year's foliage of trees.

Mulch the soil and cover with a dark film. It is spread out before planting, making small holes for the plants. A transparent film is not suitable for these purposes - weeds will continue to develop with access to light.

It has been proven that mulching significantly (almost 30%) increases yields.

After all, the closure of the top layer of soil protects the fertile layer from weathering and rapid drying. Plus, under a layer of organic matter, beneficial microorganisms and earthworms multiply faster.

Using this method, even abandoned areas can be quickly put in order - it is enough to cover the land overgrown with weeds with mulch for a couple of years.

Unfortunately, in wetlands, mulching often leads to a sad result - covering the soil leads to stagnant water in the beds, and as a result, rotting of plants. But in this case, mulching can come in handy.

The only difference is that you should not cover the ground for the winter and early spring. Wait until the earth dries well.

Mulch should not be used during rainy seasons. If the summer turned out to be hot, with the help of mulch you will get rid of not only weeding, but also frequent watering. The moisture underneath will evaporate much more slowly. In wet areas, be sure to prepare drainage around the perimeter of the beds to drain its excess.

Warm beds

It is not so easy to achieve an early harvest in our climate. At the first return frosts, tender sprouts planted in open ground will simply die. Surviving plants will be stunted and diseased. The ideal outlet for growing in this case are warm beds.

They can be used for many types of crops: the first greens and radishes, heat-loving cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, eggplants, tomatoes, etc.

Consider the basic rules for creating warm beds and how to grow each of the crops on them:

1 They can rise above the ground or, on the contrary, be built below ground level.

2 They go deep into the ground by no more than 0.5 m. This is quite enough to protect the sprouts from spring frosts. At a greater depth, the plants will be in the shade and will be pulled.

3 Raise them to a height of up to 0.5-1 m. In principle, they can be made even higher - caring for them will only be simplified.

4 First, a drainage layer of fine gravel and sand is laid. You can replace it with broken bricks, but learn that over time this material can decompose under the influence of moisture.

5 The next layer is vegetable waste. The heat released during their decay will serve as natural heating. It is better to prepare such a bed in the fall, during the harvest. As a "warm layer" you can use cut tops or any weed grass left after weeding. The most important thing is that she does not have time to form seeds.

6 For cucumbers, pumpkins and zucchini, manure is more often used as a warm layer. When overheated, it heats up much more. For the same crops as tomatoes, manure, as well as pure humus, is contraindicated. Plants on it will only increase the green mass. You can simply not wait for a harvest on manure - the ovaries will immediately fall off. Therefore, to warm up the tomato, use ordinary vegetable waste.

7 The last layer is fertile land. It is poured with a thickness of at least 30 cm.

8 Novice gardeners sometimes complain that their neighbors have high yields on warm beds, but for some reason nothing grows in them. Indeed, if a layer of grass or manure is only a little “powdered” with earth, it will simply be impossible for the roots of the plant to gain a foothold in it. Yes, and nutrition for sprouts will obviously not be enough. Overripe plants serve only as a layer of insulation. Therefore, without a solid layer of earth, you will not achieve a harvest.

9 Next, arcs are placed above the bed, which are covered with a film. Covering material such as spunbond (agrofibre) should not be used for these purposes. It can be spread directly on the ground in case of returning frosts or used as additional shelter. Unlike polyethylene, agrofibre has many holes through which precious heat will freely escape.

The paths between the beds are a sore subject for many gardeners. Weeding the ground rammed by constant walking is problematic. But it’s enough to run a little - and the weed grass immediately crawls from it to the beds. Plus, in rainy weather, the paths become too slippery.

For the manufacture of tracks, you can use any environmentally friendly and sufficiently moisture resistant material:

paving slabs: its range is large enough, and you can easily choose the right color and shade
concrete: paths filled with cement-sand mortar can serve faithfully for up to 15-20 years; there are several disadvantages of such structures - low decorativeness and low resistance to moisture; plus, concrete surfaces under the influence of frost heaving often crack, and they have to be periodically added; Yes, and moving the track to another place will be problematic - for this, the concrete coating will have to be completely destroyed
small stones or rubble: so that they do not mix with fertile soil, for the manufacture of paths from them, it will be necessary to equip a fence made of metal, wood or plastic
wood: since this material is easily rotten, the paths from it are often raised above the ground with the help of bars; so that the tree does not bend when walking, it is necessary to choose boards of sufficient thickness; the optimal section of the bars is 500x100 mm; the reverse side of the tree is treated with mastic to protect against moisture
terrace (deck) board, of course, it costs a lot, but it looks very solid; and its service life even in conditions of high humidity and significant temperature changes is 20-30 years

Other materials can also be used for laying paths, for example, tree cuts or large stones. In this case, the space between them must be covered with sand or gravel and carefully compacted. Otherwise, weed grass will immediately appear on the path.

Make the central paths a little wider - from 60 cm, so that a wheelbarrow can freely drive along them. For the rest of the paths, a distance of 30 cm is left (that is, equal in length to the human foot). You should not make it smaller, otherwise, moving between too narrow paths when weeding or watering, you will constantly trample the planted plants.

Old linoleum can also be used to protect against weeds on the paths. But covering this slippery material with a decorative face up is not worth it. Flip it over and lay it upside down. It may not be very aesthetically pleasing, but it is absolutely safe.

Laying brick paths is not worth it: after a few years, under the influence of moisture, it will begin to collapse, gradually turning into small fragments. From under them, grass will immediately climb, which will be unrealistic to weed out.

Working in the beds requires a lot of physical strength and time, and the harvest does not always correspond to the efforts made. Therefore, more and more summer residents are arranging high beds in their plots, which can significantly reduce labor costs and grow a good harvest.

Benefits of raised beds

A high bed is a box with a height of 10-15 cm and up to half a meter, which is filled with earth, compost, and rotted manure. The size and shape of the box can be any. Most often it is made rectangular. The width should be planned so that it is convenient to care for the plants. The usual width is 50–80 cm. The passages between the beds are sown with lawn grass, covered with sand, sawdust or concreted. As a result, weeds do not grow in the aisles, the cut grass is used for mulching, and the entire garden looks beautiful and tidy. This is far from the only advantage of high beds in the country. There are many advantages here:

any plot is suitable for arranging a garden, even completely unsuitable for agriculture;
tedious digging and weeding is replaced by light loosening of the topsoil;
high beds warm up faster in spring, which allows you to get a crop much earlier and plant crops that do not ripen in the area on ordinary beds;
weeds almost do not grow on a high mulched bed, and water does not spill under the gardener's feet during irrigation;
it is not difficult to make drainage on it, this is necessary when growing garden crops that cannot tolerate high groundwater;
on the sides it is easy to strengthen the covering material to protect plants from frost;
if shrews are wound up on the site, cover the bottom of the bed with a plastic mesh with a frequent cell, and voracious pests will not get to the plantings;
the bed itself is easy to disassemble for transfer to another place, resizing or repair.

The convenience of a high bed will be appreciated by all gardeners, because in the process of work you will not have to bend down almost to the ground level.

Strengthen a wide transverse board at the ends of the beds, and you will get a comfortable bench on which you can put inventory or sit down to admire the results of your labors.

How to turn the disadvantages of high beds into their advantages

The device of such ridges brings the most benefit in a humid cool climate. But in the arid southern regions, their advantages are not so obvious - the earth in a raised box overheats and dries out faster. This is their main disadvantage. Nevertheless, even in such conditions, the construction of high ridges will be justified if the soil on the site is infertile - rocky, clay or sandy. The box for protection against overheating is built from light materials and filled with imported earth. In the midday heat, a white fabric or agrofiber cloth is stretched over the box. Such a canopy reduces the temperature of the soil and air in the garden and reduces the evaporation of water.

In the southern regions, construction from inexpensive natural stone - shell rock is widespread. If you build sides from it, the bed will last a very long time, and the soil in it will be cool in any heat. This building looks very beautiful.

See for yourself how attractive the high beds in the photo look, built in the country with your own hands from natural stone.

What materials are suitable for construction

Raised beds don't have to be so monumental. Almost any building materials are suitable for their device. The main thing is that they do not let water through and keep their shape.

Raised slate beds are popular. Slate does not rot, is water resistant, almost does not heat up in the sun. For arranging a raised ridge, it is not necessary to buy a new slate, it is quite suitable taken from the roof after its repair.

It is even easier to make high beds from plastic panels. Unlike slate, plastic does not shatter with light impact, and installation does not require much care. The border of light plastic along the edges of the beds looks neat and attractive.

High beds in the greenhouse are very convenient. Already in April, they can harvest the first crop of radishes.

It is always difficult in greenhouses, since they are usually used for growing a limited set of vegetable crops - tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants. Therefore, they often have to change the soil. It is much more convenient to do this on high beds.

How to make high beds from boards with your own hands

If the idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding high beds with your own hands inspired you, a step-by-step instruction will help you do everything without mistakes.

To build a wooden box for a high bed measuring 4000x60x30 cm, we need:

edged board 2.5 cm thick and 15 cm wide - 18.4 linear meters;
galvanized square pipe or corner 2x2 cm;
self-tapping screws.

You also need to prepare tools - a saw, a screwdriver, a grinder, a drill, a square, a pencil.

We measure 4 pieces of 4 m for the long sides of the box and 4 pieces of 0.6 m for the end sides and cut it off.

Sawn boards should be covered with an antiseptic on all sides and wait until completely dry. Suitable funds "Fire bioshield", "Senezh", "Pinotex" and others. Without such wood processing, high beds made of boards will not last long.

We cut the metal profile with a grinder into segments of 0.4 m for the corners of the box and 0.6 m for screeding the long sides. Screeds must be made every 1–1.5 m so that the bed does not burst with earth. For one box, 4 pieces of 0.4 m are needed for corners. For screeds, you will need about 4 pieces for a vertical screed and 2 more for a horizontal one. Horizontal segments are fastened with vertical ones at the level of the top board.

We drill holes in the profile for self-tapping screws. There should be at least two for each board. After that, we fasten the profile to the end boards with self-tapping screws. Next, you need to connect the end elements in the assembly with long boards in the same way. One side of the profile will be 10 cm longer than the width of the box. It will be recessed into the ground for the stability of the box.

On each long side at the same distance, we mark places for screeds. Short pieces are screwed to the boards, and short pieces are fastened with long ones. Each tie is similar to the letter "P", screwed to the long sides of the box with vertical crossbars.

If it is planned to cover the high bed with a film or other covering material, the structure is supplemented with arcs. The most reliable are metal ones to withstand the weight of tied tomatoes or cucumbers. For this purpose, an iron rod with a diameter of 8 mm and a length of at least 3 m is used. Each segment of the rod is shaped into a semicircle in its central part, leaving the ends straight. Arcs can be structurally connected to screeds by fastening them with brackets.

The finished structure is transferred to a permanent place, which was vacated and leveled in advance.

The tops of the arcs, if desired, can be connected with a strong twine. So the covering material will hold on better and it will become easier to tie up the plants.

Now you know how to make high beds in the country with your own hands. By the same principle, it is easy to make them from any other suitable material.

How to make a raised bed warm

We have already seen the benefits of arranging high beds in the country. But such a bed can be twice as effective if you make it warm. All heat-loving crops grow faster on such a bed and bear fruit better. The device of a warm bed resembles a layer cake:

coarse organics are laid down - branches, leaves, bark;
semi-rotted compost or manure goes to the middle layer;
on top of the cake is covered with a layer of garden soil.

Under the top layer, organic matter begins to decompose with the release of heat, that is, it heats the plants from below, from the cold ground. If such a bed is mulched after planting, caring for it will come down to rare watering and harvesting, which will invariably delight you, because all plants love warmth and an abundance of organic matter in the soil.

Video instruction for making a high bed

Growing plants in the country is not an easy task that requires knowledge and a responsible approach. To improve the site and provide favorable conditions for the development of vegetable and other crops, beds are used. Find out their types and features of the organization with your own hands.

If you plan to organize beds in the country with your own hands, familiarize yourself with the features of the process. First, understand the concept: the bed is a partially isolated small one, on which, under suitable conditions, you can grow different crops, providing the right individual care.

When organizing beds, several points are taken into account:

The location depends on the specific crop being grown. Some plants require good lighting, while others feel better in shading. When choosing a location, you need to take into account the relief of the site. If the place is located in a lowland, moisture will accumulate in it, which is unacceptable for some cultures. When placing, ensure free access for convenient and unhindered care. To do this, do not place the beds far from water sources and do not arrange them at short distances from each other, otherwise it will be problematic to walk between them.
The form is determined by the preferences of the owner of the cottage. It can be standard rectangular or square, but it is possible to organize beds with unusual shapes in the form of figures. The territory also affects the shape, because the beds should organically fit into it.
What plants will be grown? They need individual care, taking into account the characteristics of a particular species, so the characteristics of the culture affect the choice of location in the country, the size of the beds. And some vegetables do not get along, so they need to be planted separately at a considerable distance.
Skills. If you are planning to organize beds on the site for the first time and do not have the knowledge, choose unpretentious crops and beds that are easy to arrange. If you decide to create complex designs, you risk making mistakes and reducing or spoiling the crop.

There are several types of beds, and they should be considered in detail and separately.

Bed-box

A box-bed is a convenient and popular method of arranging a garden that allows you to create a separate isolated area for a particular crop, giving the area a neat, aesthetic and well-groomed appearance.

You can make a bed-box by preparing the place and fencing it with shields. To mark the boundaries and arrange the walls, sheets of polycarbonate or plastic, boards, slate (wave, flat) are used. It is advisable to choose a material that is practical and resistant to moisture, able to serve one season and maintain strength.

Do-it-yourself organization includes several stages:

Border designation. Draw them or arrange the pegs, taking into account the shape and size of the beds.
Wall installation. They are placed in the ground, in which furrows are preliminarily prepared. The soil must be compacted to ensure the stability and strength of the structure.
Fill in the earth and organic matter, alternating layers.
Plant your plants.

Note! Preparing for the winter of beds-boxes involves their collection. In the spring, the structure is erected, the soil is loosened and planted with the selected crop.

Garden beds with drainage

Drainage beds are relevant and necessary if the garden is located in a lowland, and clay or swampy. Excess and stagnant water are detrimental and provoke decay of the root system, so it is necessary to ensure timely constant drainage and optimal gas exchange.

To organize drainage with your own hands, follow the instructions:

Designate a landing site.
Remove a layer of soil with a thickness of 50 to 60 cm.
Sand is laid at the bottom of the formed pit, the thickness of the layer of which will be at least 20-25 cm.
Lay sawdust, humus and a layer of soil suitable for growing the selected plant on top of the sand.

High

High beds should be made in a low-lying or heavily swampy area: raising the soil will prevent stagnation of moisture and ensure timely drainage. Suitable option for gourds, potatoes, zucchini. The height can be from 30-35 cm to 70-80.

Step-by-step device of a high bed in the garden:

Prepare the box. It is possible to build it from plastic, boards, bricks, metal.
A metal mesh is installed at the bottom of the structure, providing protection against rodents. A geotextile is laid on top of it, preventing the germination of weeds.
Lay drainage, including expanded clay, broken brick, pebbles. The thickness of the layer is not less than ten centimeters.
Prepare the soil by disinfecting it and treating it from pests. Fill the box with soil, filling most of it and leaving sides about 5 cm high.

Good to know! High beds can be organized without boxes using bulk trapezoids or ridges. A compost layer is laid on the soil, which ensures the rise of the soil. Next, the earth is poured, landing is carried out. But the beds will last only one season, because during the winter they will sag under the weight of snow and get wet when it melts. If bear insects are common in the region, it is better not to use compost: pests quickly populate it and multiply, destroying the crop. The rise is provided by an embankment of soil.

vertical

A vertical garden bed will save space in the garden and will be an excellent solution if the site has a small area. But the option is suitable for crops with a not very developed root system: strawberries, lettuce, cucumbers, herbs, tomatoes.

For organization, it is allowed to use boxes, special racks or containers. You can arrange a vertical bed from improvised materials by making containers from plastic bottles and placing them on a homemade frame assembled from boards or a metal profile.

French

In 2018, beautiful and aesthetic French beds are relevant. Distinctive features are laconic geometric shapes, strict planted rows and paths between plantings. Fences can be made of finishing materials (decking boards, paving slabs), bricks. You can do it by planting leaf lettuce around the perimeter of the beds, a low-growing type of greenery. Elevate zones if the ground is waterlogged or the site is frequently flooded.

English

Fans of original ideas will appreciate the English beds, which allow a mixture of cultures. , a garden area with trees and a vegetable garden do not have strict boundaries and form a single landscape design. One site may include flower beds, fruit crops, vegetable plantings.

Spaces are left between the beds for free movement and comfortable care. The territory should not look neglected and abandoned, so carefully look after the garden, make sure that the land is free of weeds and fence the beds around the perimeter, for example, with stones or bricks (it can be irregular).

lazy

Lazy beds are suitable for beginners or busy gardeners, as they do not require complex organization and time-consuming preparation. No need to prepare recesses and dig the soil to a great depth. It is enough to weed the ground, freeing it from weeds, slightly loosen it, then land. The spaces between the bushes are filled with mulch, which ensures the preservation of moisture and the prevention of its rapid evaporation, as well as protection from weeds. This greatly simplifies care and helps to collect good crops.

Advice! Lazy beds are ground and devoid of fences or raised and surrounded by borders.

Smart

Smart beds are not only original and beautiful, but also practical and productive. This method of organization will create optimal growing conditions and increase yields.

It is not easy to make smart beds on the site, since you need to raise them and fill them not with ordinary soil, but with special mixtures suitable for specific crops, consisting of compost, fertilizers, clean nutrient soil, organic matter. Landings are protected by reinforced high sides. It is advisable to raise the site itself in order to protect it from stagnant water and pest attacks.

Warm

Warm beds will allow you to get an early harvest and will be a good alternative to greenhouses. Planting heat will be provided by organic matter, which releases energy in the process of decomposition.

Arrangement is carried out at the end of autumn and includes several steps:

Remove a layer of soil about 50 centimeters thick. You can also make a box and install it in the prepared recess. A metal mesh can be laid at the bottom of a pit or container to protect against moles.
Lay sawdust preliminarily scalded and treated with a solution of potassium permanganate on the bottom. This layer should have a thickness of at least 15-17 cm.
Lay organic matter consisting of fallen leaves, turf, bird droppings or manure. Compact this layer to a thickness of 15 centimeters.
Lay organic matter that rots quickly, such as prepared compost. This layer is approximately 10 cm thick.
Lay a nutrient mixture that includes six parts of peat and a part of sand and sawdust. Add here a tablespoon of ash and superphosphate, a teaspoon of potassium sulfate, urea, zinc sulfate. The fertile substrate has a thickness of 20 cm.

With the first rays of the spring sun, organics will release heat, warming the soil up to 40-45 degrees, which will allow crops to be planted much earlier. So you can grow plants with a small root system: cucumbers, strawberries, herbs, radishes.

garden fences

Fencing will help to equip beautiful and neat beds and zone the summer cottage. Try to organically fit them into the landscape design and do it correctly in order to protect the plants from negative influences and create an aesthetic appearance of the garden.

Different materials are used for fencing: polycarbonate, slate, metal, wood (boards or logs), stone, rods and pegs. Fans of interesting ideas use improvised means: plastic and glass bottles, car tires, old hoses.

Below are the characteristics of the main types of materials used for the organization of fences.

metal

Metal fences are quite durable, but they can be exposed to moisture for a long time and become covered with rust, which will not only worsen the appearance of the sides, but also negatively affect the composition of the soil. Thin metal is subject to deformation after mechanical stress. Metal also heats up in the sun.

Galvanized

Galvanized fences have good characteristics: they do not corrode, serve for a long time, retain their properties, are highly durable and resistant to attacks by pests and fungi. The beds will be reliably protected from wind and other natural phenomena, pests. Ready-made fences made of galvanized steel are light, easy to assemble, and have different shades.

A big minus is the high cost of structures. They also quickly warm up and transfer heat to the surrounding soil, raising the temperature of the soil and negatively affecting the root system.

Plastic

Plastic fencing is a modern solution. They have a small weight, are not attacked by pests and high humidity, serve for a long time and have an affordable price. Light plastic will not get very hot in the sun. But the fences are subject to mechanical stress.

Approaching responsibly to the organization of beds in the country, you will equip the garden, ennoble the territory and get an excellent harvest. Good luck to all gardeners!

To get a quality crop, it is necessary to make a lot of efforts to equip the site, grow various crops. High beds are considered an alternative to painstaking garden care - not very large elevations intended for the cultivation of vegetables and herbs.

In order to build high beds with your own hands, do not need specific equipment and any special skills. The structures along the entire perimeter are fenced with hand-made walls, because of this, the general level of the soil becomes higher than in an ordinary garden plot. Such a device has its own characteristics, namely: the hill is made in several layers, which contributes to high-quality soil fertilization, protection of the root system, and good growth of cultivated crops.

The entire construction of the high bed consists of 6 layers:

Bottom protective layer made of metal mesh.
Wood chocks.
Mound of branches and bark.
Part of the active layer from paper scraps.
Nutrient layer of fallen leaves and grass mowing.
Directly fertile part of the soil.

With metal mesh protect the root system, thereby preventing the penetration of pests. The upper part of the structure is filled with fertile soil, where various crops are planted, which later take root in another layer of foliage with grass, where vegetables and greens are fed. Bark, chocks, paper scraps are used as semi-protective components necessary for moisture filtration and metabolism.

All of the above layers of high beds are protected by a special frame made of brick, wood or plastic.