Raised beds are a good option for any garden. How to make beds from boards How to make a high bed in the country

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 drawback. 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

High beds in the garden are somewhat unusual for an unpretentious gardener, three or four decades ago they did not hear about them, at best, propping up a board with pegs on the slope. But times have changed, landscape design, designing a garden and a kitchen garden have entered our life, we do everything according to science, aesthetically and practically.

Benefits of raised beds

it is not difficult to make high beds, even one pensioner can do it
high beds are easy to maintain
garden area looks neat and tidy
the beds are ideal for a small garden (with a small size of 1x1 m they will fit into any corner of the garden)
high beds are an excellent solution for stony and poor soils
high beds are the only way out if groundwater is close and the soil is wet
such beds allow you to extend the growing time, because they are ready to meet vegetables in the spring at an earlier date
help to avoid the germination of a huge number of weeds

Disadvantages of high beds

With frequent watering, water can stagnate.
In hot, dry weather, the soil dries out quickly.
Some material costs are required for their construction

Materials for high beds

Wood: planks of any available material treated with an environmentally friendly anti-rot agent.

The best wood material is non-rotting varieties, such as larch. Larch boards 5 cm thick will lie on the ground for decades without signs of damage, but they are very expensive. The cheapest material is pine, it is also the most short-lived. The best option for boards made of oak or ash.

The dimensions of the boards are 5 × 20 cm, the length of the beds is any size.

You can also use concrete blocks or bricks. But you need to know that concrete gradually raises the pH level in the soil. This is easy to check and fix.

Which garden fence is better

Beds with a wooden fence, if desired, can be moved around the site, they take up less space, are cheap and quick to install, but are also less durable.

Concrete beds are a capital structure, you can’t move it if you wish, the sides of brick and concrete fences are quite wide, they occupy a certain area, the construction of such sides will require more skill, experience and money, but they are more reliable.

We do not consider fences made of slate or polycarbonate in this topic, since these are no longer high beds, but the most common ones, with a perimeter. Neither slate nor polycarbonate can withstand the load at a height of beds of 30 cm or more.

There is really another option - natural stone. If you wish, you can build amazingly beautiful fences for beds and flower beds from it, they are reliable and beautiful, but they require a lot of physical effort and time - you need to collect a lot of stones.

Raised bed sizes

The height of the raised beds can be any, the minimum is 25 cm, if the beds are located on ordinary soil that is quite suitable for a vegetable garden. If the soil is rocky, poorly drained, poor or wet, the height of the sides of the beds should start from 30-35 cm and above, literally up to 70 cm.

Which width of the beds is more convenient: the best option is from 40 to 80 cm, someone prefers wider - up to 100 cm. If you grow large vegetables - eggplant or cabbage, and plant in two rows, then the width of the beds is at least 100-120 cm. If in one row, then 50-60 cm. If the bed is adjacent to the wall of the building on one side, then its width is equal to the length of your arm.

The length of the high bed can be any - from 1 m to 4-5 m. In general, it all depends on the territory of the garden. Various configurations of beds are possible: hexagonal, T-shaped or W-shaped, but retaining the ability to reach a berry or vegetable with your hand.

Sometimes gardeners strive to make not a simple fence of beds from boards, but with wide sides - a transverse beam, so that it is comfortable to sit, like in a children's sandbox. But this is impractical - the soil under the crossbar will dry for a long time, and the boards will rot in the corners. If you feel like sitting down, you can use a folding chair.

Too wide sides of concrete beds take up a lot of space and are justified only if they fit into the design of the garden.

Beds from boards

Tool and material

boards of the required length and width
bars 40x40 (4 pieces per bed) according to the height of the sides
or metal corners
roulette
level
miter box
hacksaw
screwdriver (screwdriver)
self-tapping screws

DIY board beds

For a rectangular bed, two long sides (along the length of the bed) and two short ones (in width) are needed. If the planned height of the sides exceeds the width of the boards, then the boards will be sewn - two or three boards fastened together with small boards from the inside every 70-80 cm.

We saw off the boards along the miter box so that the saw cuts are even, and the edges of the bed box fit perfectly. And adjust the height so that there are no gaps between the boards. If the boards are uneven, a planer will help you.

By the way, it is easier to work with a dry tree, if it has just been brought from a warehouse, leave it to dry under a canopy for two weeks. If you are using very strong wood, before attaching the boards, drill holes for the self-tapping screws with a thin drill.

There are two ways to fix the sidewalls of the beds:

at the corners of the box there are bars 40x40 or 50x50, to which the ends and sides are attached with self-tapping screws
or all walls are fastened with metal corners

The bonded box must be treated with a rot solution and, if desired, painted with a water-based paint for outdoor use.

Features of installing beds from boards

I will share my personal experience of two options for installing beds.

When I put my first bed, I dug a shallow trench around the perimeter of the box. And so that the boards do not rot, the lower edge of the boards, which ended up in the ground, was “sheathed” in roofing felt. The boards were pretreated with impregnation. However, with precipitation, water accumulated in the cover and the boards soon began to deteriorate.

They learn from mistakes - the next year I dismantled the sides and leveled the site, re-treated the box with impregnation and installed it directly on the surface of the soil. Drainage was done in every bed, even in a dry area. Now the boards dry quickly and are ready to serve for a long time.

Garden beds with concrete fence

Materials and tools

construction sand-concrete mix
for reinforcement wire 6 mm or welded mesh 45x45 or 50x50
electric drill with mortar nozzle
trough or other container
Master OK
boards and timber for formwork
nails

How to make a garden bed out of concrete

Preparing a concrete solution is not a tricky business - pour a mixture of sand and cement with water and mix thoroughly. But first you need to prepare a form for pouring - a wooden formwork.

It can be made from old plywood or boards, given the width of the future border. The optimal thickness of the concrete fence is at least 15 cm.

Draw on the ground the dimensions of the future beds. Install the formwork on the level, it should fit snugly to the ground at all points. Some gardeners dig formwork into trenches 10-15 cm deep, but this is superfluous if the site is flat.

When we are convinced that the formwork is level, pour the solution and immerse the reinforcement. If the sides of the beds are planned to be wide (about 20 cm), it is better to place two layers of reinforcement - one along the inner perimeter, the other closer to the outer.

Remove the formwork after the concrete has dried.

Brick beds

Materials and tools

brick
building sand-cement mixture
Master OK
level
pegs with rope for marking
rubber mallet for fitting
smooth long bar for fitting and leveling masonry

How to make a brick garden

Only beds and flower beds with a border made of new fresh brick look beautiful, with fitted masonry strictly according to the level. If you are not a master of laying bricks evenly, it is better to invite a specialist.

But if you decide to make the sides yourself, do the preparatory work. It is necessary to drive pegs along the inner perimeter of the beds, pull the rope tightly along which the masonry will go. Next, the most important thing is to lay the first row evenly so that the brick does not walk: prepare a trench, at least half the height of the brick. Lay out the first row of bricks without mortar. Check the horizontal level in all planes. Lay a flat board or block - there should be no gaps between it and a row of bricks.

Only after the estimate is made, you can start laying out the sides on the solution. Continue to check each row by level and bar.

Preparing beds for planting

When the fence of the high bed is ready, we proceed to prepare it for planting vegetables or berries.

If the soil on the site is not poor, it makes sense to remove the sod inside the beds, and then the fertile layer of earth located under it about 15 cm. Remove it and put it in a wheelbarrow. Now lay the sod again.

At the bottom of the beds we pour a layer of gravel as drainage. Drainage is especially necessary in narrow beds with sides made of concrete, stones and bricks. From rodents rampant in the summer cottage, the plants will be saved by a fine-mesh net, the edges of which must be knocked to the sides with a construction stapler.

Now we fill the bed with fertile soil mixed with compost and fertilizers. The soil should reach almost to the very top of the sides, 2-3 cm lower.

If the height of the fence is small - 20-25 cm, you can dig a trench inside the bed, a depth of a shovel bayonet, lay tree branches on the bottom, then a layer of fertile soil mixed with compost.

If you want to grow a garden on plant residues instead of chemical fertilizers, then you can fill the beds in this way: sand or drainage to the bottom (if spring flooding of sites is frequent), then about 30 cm of various organic waste: tops, leaves, mowed grass (excluding weeds) , straw, tree bark, cleaning, peel. Now the bed can be watered with Baikal solution or other means that improve the soil-forming process. The next layer is manure or humus. Then a layer of fertile soil of at least 10 cm.

At this, the beds are ready to meet seedlings and seeds of vegetables and berries.

N. M. Osokin, gardener, Nizhny Novgorod region

How to make beds from boards in the country to get not only a well-groomed neat garden, but also practical benefits? Making garden plantings with your own hands is easiest with the help of wooden borders.

This is what homemade beds from boards look like

Advantages and disadvantages of wooden beds

The disadvantage of wood is rapid deterioration, especially with constant contact with water and earth. However, if the material is treated with protective antiseptics, the service life can be extended by 10 years or more.

What wood for boards to choose

Any boards for fencing beds can be used: slab, timber, edged material, lining.

Step-by-step instructions for making beds from boards

The choice depends only on how much the buyer is willing to spend on the design of the beds.

Oak and ash. High strength and durable material, with excellent rot resistance. However, they are also expensive.
Larch. An excellent choice - larch has high strength and resistance to a humid environment.
Cedar. Coniferous wood is the best option for a wooden garden bed in the country. Good value for money and high quality.
Pine. Pine boards are inexpensive, but do not have a long service life.
Acacia. Sufficiently strong acacia boards can be used for arranging beds.

Wood processing and protection

To extend the life of a wooden bed, the boards should be treated with protective compounds:

Dimensions of the beds from the boards

Everyone chooses the shape and size for the beds according to their taste and the area of \u200b\u200bthe greenhouse or plot that allows. There are general recommendations on the size of the fence, in which the garden bed will be most effective:

width from 90 to 120 cm;
height from 15 to 50 cm.

The length of the fence can be any, however, with a large length, it is desirable to provide the bed with additional supports. The width of the beds is the most important parameter. It is best to organize the area so that there are no more than two rows of crops in the garden. Firstly, with such a planting, all seedlings will receive enough sunlight and air. Secondly, an overly wide garden bed is difficult to care for and water.
The height of the beds is chosen arbitrarily, as long as caring for it is not difficult.

Scheme with the dimensions of the beds from the boards

Depending on the type of soil and type of crop, the following advice is given on the height of the plant fence:

If the soil in the country is fertile, the bed can be low 15-20 cm. If the soil is stony or unsuitable for planting, from 30 cm. Some gardeners make the height of the beds up to waist level so as not to bow down when working.
The height of warm compost beds should be at least 50 cm. High beds with compost will reliably protect the roots of plants in the spring from unexpected frosts.
For early ripe crops of radishes, lettuce, onions, it is better to use beds above 20 cm for their rapid ripening.
If it is planned to grow potatoes in the beds, their height should be at least 40 cm.

Installation of a simple box of boards

The design of the fence for the beds is quite simple and can be easily done by hand. To work, you will need simple equipment and materials:

Instructions for making a box for beds

boards - 2 short of the same length and width, 2 long;
wooden posts made of timber, pointed on one side - 6 pieces;
drill and screwdriver;
wood screws or nails;
shovel;
hacksaw;
a hammer;
tape measure and level.

Work order:

A wooden garden bed of a simple design is ready. You can fill it with earth and plant fruits and vegetables.

Do-it-yourself raised or raised bed

Raised beds have many advantages over traditional beds:

With all the undeniable advantages, high beds also have disadvantages:

It will take, albeit elementary, but carpentry skills and knowledge to build a raised bed with your own hands.
High beds dry out faster than classic ones, so if there are problems in the country with enough water for irrigation, such beds can become a problem.

- bulk, elevated above the ground earthen structures intended for planting and growing herbaceous plants. They are used in garden plots for garden crops and for planting flowers.

Pros and cons

Raised land has a number of advantages and disadvantages:

pros	Minuses
No shedding of the side walls of the soil, with protected structures by means of partitions.	Through the side walls, made of "breathable" material, soil moisture leaves faster, as a result of which the frequency and volume of watering have to be increased.
It is independent of the soil located on the site - you can use purchased black soil.	Periodic costs are required for the purchase of black soil.
Creating a favorable climate for plant growth - elevation above the general level of the earth significantly reduces the risk of cold damage during the frost period. In addition, the bed can be easily protected from external influences by covering it with a tarpaulin or covering material.	The limited interaction with the total mass of the earth forces to increase the use of mineral fertilizers.
An earlier period of growing crops - in the spring, snow melts earlier, the soil warms up faster.	There is a risk of reproduction of insects that will harm the planted plants.
The possibility of creating a greenhouse or a mini-greenhouse, which are dismantled with the onset of the warm season.	At the initial stage of creating high beds, you have to bear material costs and make additional physical efforts to create a land structure.
Good drainage to optimize watering and soil moisture. Due to this, there is no risk of waterlogging of the soil, moss growth, and there is no rotting of plants.	Restriction on the plant assortment - not all plants endure an open, blown area.
Deep digging of the soil is carried out 1 time in 3-4 calendar years. The rest of the time it is enough to carry out shallow loosening.
Convenience when working with low growing plants, this is especially important for the elderly or those with limited physical abilities.
Getting more yield, compared to traditional methods of growing plants.
The high level of the ground allows you to reduce the physical effort required when cultivating the soil, caring for green spaces, harvesting crops - for example, you can use a folding chair.
Optimal layout of the garden plot.
Creation of beds with an unusual shape and design.

From the above comparative data, it can be seen that the idea of high beds has the right to life. Measures aimed at reducing negative factors will contribute to this.

How to eliminate cons?

Ways to reduce negative factors:

The increased use of organic fertilizers contributes to a decrease in the amount of mineral fertilizers applied to an elevated plot of land:
- droppings of birds, manure from cattle, the creation of tinctures for liquid feeding on their basis;
- the use of ash from burning wood in stoves or fireplaces;
- creation of a private compost pit on the site for processing plant residues and human food, which will reduce the amount of purchased black soil;
- use of sludge from a septic tank.
To reduce dependence on irrigation, the “drip” mode device will help: such designs can be found in abundance on the Internet.
Reducing the material costs required when creating high beds is facilitated by:
- the use of materials left over from the construction of a country house or the arrangement of a fence, for example, or corrugated board;
- the use of industrial substandard material, which is sold at significant discounts;
- remnants of building products that appear during the demolition of dilapidated housing, or in other similar cases.
The appearance of harmful insects and weeds can be avoided by preliminary soil preparation:
- chemical treatment,
- removing roots.

Kinds

High beds differ from each other in several ways:

geometric dimensions, - length, width and height above the general level of the site;
side wall trim.

Wooden

Wooden high beds

Wood material is used as side support walls:

boards;
plywood of moisture resistant grades, for example, OSB-3;
log construction;
materials with the presence of wood, for example, wood concrete sheets (wood concrete) - a mixture of cement and shavings;
vine rods.

Main advantage of this material is its availability and ease of processing. But common deciduous (birch, aspen) and coniferous (pine) varieties of wood are prone to decay, they are sharpened by bugs. The use of resistant species, such as larch, is associated with its higher cost and difficulty in processing. But this type of wood improves its properties over time (part of the old Venice still rests on Siberian larch).

Plastic

For fencing, products made of dense plastics are used:

plexiglass;
, including cellular;
profiled polymers;
plastic pipes, for example, used for sewerage with a diameter of 100–200 mm;
container, - plastic boxes with perforated walls.

Dignity– plastic refers to “eternal” materials, does not rot, does not decompose, is resistant to water and exposure to bacteria and insects.

But in winter it becomes brittle, so during this period of the year it requires careful handling.

Easy to machine, easy to install. Plastic products have a variety of colors, which contributes to the decoration of the garden plot.

metal

For the device of an earth embankment, finished products and semi-finished products are used:

galvanized metal sheet, for example, going to the roof;
corrugated board and other metal products.

Basic requirement for metal– lack of corrosion, therefore, in the absence of protection, it is necessary to take measures to cover the surface of products with anti-corrosion compounds. Outwardly, the beds can be made in a classic rectangular shape or give a designer look - to model an oval design that resembles a large bath.

In addition to the above materials, slate sheets, bricks, concrete products, gabions and many other products that fall under the requirements for earth embankment fencing are widely used.

Technology

Before considering the technology of arranging a high bed, you need to familiarize yourself with a number of rules.

Creation rules

The requirements for beds are necessary for proper placement on the site, they must take into account local climatic conditions, the range of grown plants.

Bed sizes. The length of the earth embankment is limited by the size of the site and the ease of passage. Hence: the optimal range is 2–5 m. The width is up to 1–1.2 m, a large value will create inconvenience when processing the middle part. The height of the structure should not exceed 1 m, otherwise it will also create problems with plant maintenance and require significant costs when using purchased soil. The minimum level is 25–30 cm, which is determined by the climate and the size of the fence that is “at hand”.
The soil. The meaning of creating high beds is to increase fruiting and speed of harvest. Chernozem is one of the components. Therefore, saving on the quality of land means wasting your efforts, time and finances in vain.
Location. The abundance of sunlight is one of the keys to the normal growth of plants and their fruiting. It is advisable to arrange the beds in open, unshaded places. But you should take into account the general layout of the site, - not to the detriment of other plants and outbuildings.
Fencing material. You should not chase ultra-modern products - the boards left over from the formwork, or the old brick, will completely fulfill the functions of the enclosing walls. And money will be saved.
Protection of green spaces. Most of the country is located in difficult climatic conditions, under which frosts are not uncommon at the beginning and end of summer. To reduce the risk of plants being damaged by cold air, a pre-installed protection system will help, for example, a design for a greenhouse.

The device of the earth embankment

Stages of work:

Landing planning

It is advisable to arrange high beds at the end of summer or early autumn - this will contribute to additional overheating of organic matter and the creation of its own local microflora. If it is necessary to create a seat in spring or summer, if possible, the soil should be covered at least 1 month before planting plant material.

Most vegetable, berry and flower crops can be grown on raised land plots. Moreover, they can be successfully placed in the same fenced area. For example, cold-resistant: radishes, green onions, lettuce, can be planted around heat-loving ones - in summer all these plants will be comfortable, and tomatoes will receive additional protection when the air temperature drops.

Berry and vegetable crops on such raised embankments, under favorable temperature conditions and timely watering, ripen 1-2 weeks earlier, so it is necessary not to miss the harvesting deadlines, otherwise it will begin to rot and simply disappear.

You can appreciate the advantage of high beds even on one initial experience - just start with simple crops - onions, radishes, carrots, and gradually expand the experience that has appeared to other plants.

Traditional cultivation of the land requires a lot of time and physical strength, and the harvest is not always as expected. That is why more and more gardeners are equipping high beds on their plots, allowing them to get an excellent harvest of vegetables every year without much effort. Anyone can make high beds with their own hands, because this does not require special skills or special equipment.

Compared to conventional beds, bulk beds have many more advantages:

a vegetable garden can be set up even on a plot that is completely unsuitable for agriculture;
digging and weeding the garden are replaced by light loosening of the soil;
in a limited space it is easier to remove weeds;
a high bed is easy to mount and just as easy to disassemble;
between the beds you can lay out paths and walk along them in any weather;
plants ripen faster, which is especially important for cold regions;
when arranging a high bed, good drainage is provided;
crops in the beds are easy to protect from frost by covering with a tarpaulin or agrofibre.

In addition, a garden of bulk beds can be very decorative, so you can break it up next to the house.

Fencing materials

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

Wood is the most affordable, easy-to-install and environmentally friendly material. To assemble the beds, boards, timber, small logs are used. Disadvantages: wood requires, quickly darkens and loses its attractiveness, short-lived.

Vine and rods are an inexpensive and original solution. Wicker walls look very attractive, you can give the garden any shape. Disadvantages: weaving a vine requires skills, the service life of such a frame is very short.

Stone and brick - an option for sites with classical architecture. Very reliable and durable material, gives the beds a decorative look. Disadvantages: high cost, it will take more time to create a bed, it is difficult to dismantle.

Plastic is a great alternative to wood. Sheet plastic is easy to assemble and disassemble, it is strong enough, has an attractive appearance, is very durable and relatively inexpensive. Disadvantages: certain types of plastic contain harmful substances, so they are not suitable for the garden. Environmentally friendly material has an appropriate certificate, which must be presented upon purchase.

Metal is a convenient and durable material, ideal for curly beds. If necessary, it will not be difficult to move the metal frame, 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: the skills of a welder are required to assemble a metal curb, the price of sheet metal is quite high, high-quality surface treatment is required to protect against corrosion.

- an excellent solution for multi-tiered beds or arranging a vegetable garden on a slope. The walls can be made monolithic or assembled from separate ones. The concrete surface is easy to decorate, it is as strong as possible, durable, has a neat appearance. Disadvantages: lengthy installation process, high cost of materials, additional requirements for the drainage system.

Making beds with slate is quite a budget and simple option. You can install the walls very quickly, such material lasts for a long time, for decorativeness the slate can be painted in any color. The main disadvantage is the fragility of the material, so when installing it should be handled with care.

Each gardener selects the size and shape of the bulk beds at his own discretion. And yet, there are optimal parameters for which the garden bed will be most effective:

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

If the bed is poured on 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 bed is raised up to 30 cm. Compost beds are made even higher - up to 0.5 m. Sometimes the walls are raised very high, which allows you not to bend down during tillage and planting, but this increases material consumption and takes more time to arrange the garden. In addition, with a large width of the frame, it is inconvenient to cultivate the soil at such a height.

The bed should be wide enough for two rows of plants. With this planting, all plants will receive the same amount of air and sunlight, which has a very positive effect on productivity. More rows causes average plants to get less air, shade, stretch upwards, and yield drops. It is also much easier to process a standard-width bed than one that is too wide.

The length of the bulk bed does not play a special role, therefore it is limited only by the size of the plot. The most common option is beds with a length of 1.5 to 3 m; they are compact, look neat in the garden.

The right arrangement of a high bed

For example, a garden bed with a fence made of boards is taken; this option is the most convenient and inexpensive.

In the process of work you will need:

bayonet shovel;
roulette;
drill or screwdriver;
building level;
circular saw or jigsaw;
self-tapping screws;
boards 50x200 mm;
timber 50x50 mm;
primer;
building network.

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. You can use used oil for these purposes, and so that harmful substances do not penetrate the soil, after processing, it is recommended to cover the tree on one side with a film. Especially carefully process the lower edges of the boards that will be in contact with the ground. The beam is sawn into pieces 50 cm long and also impregnated with a protective agent. After that, the building material is laid out to dry.

Step 2. Site preparation

The plot under the bed should be illuminated by the sun for at least 5 hours a day. Mark the boundaries of the beds, remove stones and branches, dig up perennials. If desired, you can dig the soil along with fine grass - this will increase the permeability of the soil. If the soil is very dense, trampled down, it is enough to remove the turf layer around the perimeter of the marking to a shallow depth in order to more conveniently expose the frame.

Step 3. Assembling the frame for the beds

Dried boards are knocked down in pairs into shields and interconnected with the help of bars. The height of the shields is equal to the height of the beds, the long sides of the frame are additionally reinforced with transverse bars in the center. Since the length of the bars is greater than the height of the walls, they should protrude 10 cm above the frame. These will be the legs of the frame. To improve the appearance of the structure, boards laid flat are stuffed along the perimeter of the frame, the edges of which are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. In conclusion, the frame can be painted from the outside.

Step 4. Installation of the structure

The finished frame is transferred to the installation site; expose the structure according to the markup, make recesses for the legs, check the location of the beds with a building level. If necessary, put pegs or, conversely, take out excess soil. The structure should stand as evenly as possible, all corners on the same level. Finally, soil is poured around the perimeter of the walls and compacted so that there are no gaps left.

Step 5. Filling the beds

First, the bottom is covered with a construction mesh and nailed along the edges to the walls of the frame. The mesh will protect the structure from the penetration of moles and mice. Then geotextiles are laid, which will not allow weeds to germinate. Next, filling the beds is performed in layers:

small branches, bark, large chips, leaves;
bird droppings, rotted manure or;
fallen leaves, branches, bark, grass;
mineral fertilizer;
fertile land.

The thickness of each layer is 10 cm. It is not necessary to mix the layers, but it is necessary to level and compact well. If the soil on the site is not of very good quality, it is better to use 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 compact. From above, it is recommended to cover the frame with black agrofibre, which provides better heating of the soil and prevents weeds from germinating.

It is recommended to make high beds in the fall or at the end of summer, so that the layers are well rotted and the roots of the plants receive a maximum of useful substances. If the beds are mounted in the spring, it is necessary to fill them at least a month before planting and pour plenty of water several times to compact. It is easy to turn such a structure into a greenhouse: for this, plastic or metal arcs are installed above the frame, the ends of which are fixed to the walls with bolts. A plastic film or a special agrofibre is attached to the arcs from above.

Prices for different types of building boards

Building boards

The device of beds from slate

For the device of bulk beds, you can use both flat and wavy slate. The technology of mounting the beds in this way is very simple and everyone can do it.

Table. wave slate

For work you will need:

slate sheets;
Bulgarian;
bayonet shovel;
a piece of chalk or a pencil;
roulette;
level;
rubber mallet;
drill;
wooden pegs or metal rods.

Step 1. Markup

On the selected site, the boundaries of the beds are marked and beacons are installed. Narrow grooves are dug around the perimeter to the depth of the bayonet. If the soil is good, then they remove the entire fertile layer inside the markup, pouring it out not far from future beds.

Step 2. Material preparation

Slate sheets are laid on a flat surface, measure the desired length and draw a line across the waves with chalk. After that, the grinder cuts the slate along the lines. The pegs are impregnated with bituminous mastic or used oil, and if scraps of metal rods are used as racks, they are treated with anti-corrosion compounds.

Step 3 Installing the Frame

The first sheet of slate is installed vertically in the groove from the marking angle. Then they put the next sheet with an overlap in one wave, level it, knock it out on top with a rubber mallet so that both sheets are at the same height. Check the location of the upper edge of the slate with a building level, if necessary, add or remove soil from below. The walls are reinforced with metal rods or pegs, which are driven in on both sides to a depth of 0.5 m. So, all the sheets of the frame are placed in turn, the trench is covered and the horizontal level is checked again. After that, the soil at the walls is rammed, the excess is removed.

Step 4. Filling the beds

At the very bottom, you can lay old newspapers, cardboard, pieces of wallpaper, the next layer is chopped brushwood, tree bark, sawdust. After that, small chips are poured, plant waste, peat or compost are laid. And from above all this is sprinkled with the soil that was taken out at the very beginning. Plentifully water the bed to wet all the layers, and leave for several days. When the bed is compacted, you can start planting.

Garden care

When the plants sprout, plantings should be well watered and mulched. Weeds that have broken through the mulch layer are immediately removed. After harvesting, the surface is loosened and sown with green manure. Before the onset of cold weather, all vegetation is mowed, leveled in the garden, covered with a layer of earth on top and covered with a black film for the winter. Periodically, it is necessary to inspect the walls of the frame, replace or repair individual sections.

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, weeds do not grow, dirt does not stick to shoes. At will it is possible from a tile and a brick, or to fill in concrete.

Video - Do-it-yourself high beds

Video - High slate beds

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