How to make beds from flat or wavy slate. How to make the right beds from slate with your own hands

Traditional tillage is time consuming and physical strength and the yield is not always as expected. That is why more and more gardeners are equipping on their plots high beds, allowing without much effort to receive annually excellent harvest vegetables. 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 protective treatment, quickly darkens and loses its attractiveness, short-lived.

Vine and rods - 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 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 are composed 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: welding skills are required to assemble a metal curb, price sheet metal high enough, high-quality surface treatment is required to protect against corrosion.

Concrete - perfect solution for multi-tiered beds or arranging a garden on a slope. The walls can be made monolithic or assembled from individual concrete blocks. concrete surface 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, at which the 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 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 electric 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 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 along the marking perimeter 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 compost;
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 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 get the maximum. 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.

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 flat surface, measure out 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 bituminous mastic or waste 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 from above 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 with water 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 lawn grass. In such conditions, the garden always remains well-groomed, weeds do not grow, dirt does not stick to shoes. Optionally, you can lay out paths of tiles and bricks, or pour concrete.

Video - Do-it-yourself high beds

Video - High slate beds

Neat beds in the garden are the key to a good harvest. They additionally decorate the yard and facilitate land work. Stationary slate plantations can be used every season, but how long they last depends on the strength of the material, its resistance to conditions of constant moisture and the strength of the roots of the plants.
Slate for refining suburban area you can use new or leftover construction works.

Its advantages in the arrangement of beds and flower beds are:

Affordable price;
Long-term operation;
Geometric stability;
Ease of use;
Protection against pests that spoil the roots.

The disadvantage of slate sheets is the content of asbestos cement, a substance harmful to the soil. However, it is precisely such a fence that reliably protects the crop from bears and weed invasion. Also, the owner must take into account that the slate overheats in hot weather and takes away moisture from the fertile soil layer. To eliminate this negative point, you will have to regularly water the earth.

Generally negative sides slate beds have few, so they can be considered the best option decorating the backyard. It is recommended to grow in them annual plants, since in the cold season the soils in the created flower beds freeze through.

Rules for arranging beds

For the rapid growth of plantings and good development, the beds must be arranged in accordance with certain rules:

Arrange flower beds from east to west so that plants can absorb as much as possible sunlight during the day.
Deepen the fencing sheets by 10 - 20 cm.
Maintain the width of the beds within 20 - 120 cm (they are easier to handle). There are no restrictions on length.

In addition to slate and soil, the owner will additionally need crushed stone and mulch, a tape measure and a level, a grinder and a bayonet shovel. The marking of plantations in the chosen direction is carried out with the help of pegs and a rope.

Preparing the slate for work

To create beds, wavy slate plates must be cut into strips in height. To do this, you need a circular saw with a nozzle for working on stone. A standard sheet occupies a length of 1 m 75 cm. It is cut horizontally into as many pieces as required for the full immersion of the sides of the beds. To make the cut even, mark with chalk. If there is no grinder or conditions for connecting it to the mains, the slate is cut with an old unnecessary saw, wetting the cut with water.

Next, work on the soil. A narrow trench is dug around the perimeter of the future plantation and watered well. Prepared pieces of enclosing material are inserted into the ditch. For stability, they are reinforced on both sides with columns of reinforcement. Sheets are placed with an overlap of at least 1 wave, put on the upper edge wooden block and lightly press the material.

The evenness of the walls is controlled by the level in two directions - along the length and diagonally. As necessary, part of the earth is removed from the surface. Then the trench is backfilled and tamped, and the slate strips remain fixed.

Flat slate plantations

When working with flat sheets, proceed as follows:

Slate is sawn either into two identical parts, or into pieces of 1 m and 75 cm. The choice can be any, only the width of the beds depends on the cutting option.
To avoid spreading, the material is fastened together with scraps of a metal corner. For this purpose, bolt holes are made in the cut corners and the parts are treated with an anti-corrosion coating.
Mounting work is carried out carefully so as not to damage the slate and not injure your hands. The protruding corners of the self-tapping screws can be hidden under bottle caps for safety.

The aisles are tightly tamped. Free areas are concreted and sprinkled with gravel. Beautifully look slate beds, "diluted" with lawn grass. If the owner plans to plant grass in voids, the zones between the rows should be wide enough (for narrow sections vegetation is inconvenient to mow with a trimmer).

Raised beds made of slate sheets

Consider how to make a high bed. First, remember its parameters:

Length - 10 m;
Width - 1 m 30 cm;
Height - 70 - 80 cm;
The height of the immersed part of the slate is 40 - 50 cm.

We dig a trench along the perimeter of the beds, remove the fertile top of the soil and set it aside. We install the slate sheet strictly vertically. For a wavy fabric, we make an allowance for 1 wave. We fill the trench with soil and carefully tamp. We provide reliable fastening of the sheet with iron pins.

At the next stage, we are engaged in layer-by-layer laying out of fertilizers. We do it in the following order:

We cover the bottom with a metal mesh to protect against rodents;
We lay out wood and cellulose waste;
Create a layer of sawdust;
We crush with vegetable waste;
We spread peat or immature compost;
We place the previously removed fertile land.

Pour each layer with water and tamp well. For beds with a height of more than 40 cm, make a wire tie. After drilling holes in opposite sides of the ridge, pull a steel thread through them.

What are the advantages of high slate beds? In them, the owner will find many positive aspects that contribute to increasing the yield. Firstly, good drainage will prevent stagnant water, and the gardener will be able to control the composition of the soil and add substances useful to plants.

It is difficult not to notice a high bed, so the plantings will be more protected from trampling. At the same time, the soil remains loose and receives a sufficient amount of air. With a good layer of compost, tall slate plantations retain the temperature better within the fenced area (the surrounding soil remains cooler at this time). For this reason, they are also called warm beds.

For residents of cold regions, this gives an undeniable plus. Seedlings can be placed earlier in warm soil. Plants quickly take root and adapt to outdoor conditions. The harvest ripens earlier and pleases with abundance. If climbing plants grow in the beds, it is not necessary to tie them up. As they grow, they themselves will hang down.

How high should the beds be? It depends on the quality of the soil. In fertile areas, the structure does not need to be raised high. For warm compost beds, at least 50 cm is required. In case of unexpected frosts, it is recommended to insulate the structure with plastic wrap.

Slate garden care

Ready beds must be well watered. Moisture will accelerate the process of decay of fertilizers, and heat and minerals necessary for the development of plants will begin to be released into the soil. A bountiful crop of plants in the created warm bed will give 5 years. Subsequently, new nutrient reserves will have to be created. It is advisable to saturate the beds in the fall so that they gain strength until spring. If you want to create a greenhouse, the beds are simply covered with polyethylene.

Compared to low slate beds, high plantations give bigger harvest. And if you really ennoble the garden, then it is better with warm slate zones. If desired, the plates can be painted before the start of work, and then the summer cottage will not only be useful, but also attractive in decorative terms.

Arrangement of a garden at a country house or personal plot almost never goes without refining the beds. We will show you a great way to arrange elevated beds, suitable both for covering with a greenhouse dome and for open cultivation cultures.

General description of the design

Why do you even need to take care of the device for fencing the beds, if most garden crops feel quite comfortable when planting in open ground? On the one hand, it may just be a wish to improve aesthetics. landscape design. On the other hand, cultivated and fenced beds are an excellent indicator proper organization plant care and an important factor of convenience for gardeners: when working on an elevated ridge, the back gets less tired, while walkways can be covered with mulch, rubble or paved paving slabs without fear of their siltation in the future.

By itself, the design of the beds is very simple. The walls are made from asbestos-cement sheets fastened together at the corners and at straight joints. From a third to a half of the total height of the walls is under the ground, the rest rises above the ground level. Inside the beds can be filled with a specially prepared substrate, thus reducing the cost of making compost and buying fertilizer.

In general, such formwork turns out to be quite strong and reliable, but it requires some reinforcement. For example, to counteract the pressure of the bursting soil, the opposite walls of the beds are pulled together, and also firmly fastened at the corners to prevent the divergence of the joints. Slate is a very durable material, even when under a layer of soil. However, the sheets are often additionally painted, which improves the aesthetics of the garden and helps to reduce the water absorption of the walls.

Marking and preparing plots for beds

Of course, it makes no sense to split the entire sown area under high beds. Usually, in this way they equip places for growing flowers and vegetable crops, while melons and root crops grow successfully in open ground.

Slate beds can have an almost unlimited length, but it is advisable to keep their width within 120-150 cm, so access from both sides will be most convenient. The space between the beds, intended for the installation of walkways, must be at least 50 cm, at the same time, a width of more than a meter will be redundant. Before preparing the soil for the arrangement of beds, it must be marked out by driving pegs in the corners.

The soil development process itself is quite simple. It is necessary to remove the top layer of black soil and temporarily take it to a dump nearby. The walls of the formed pit must be cleaned and leveled in accordance with the geometry of the beds. With an indentation of 10 cm from the walls, the bottom of the pit is deepened by another 10-20 cm, which is necessary to equip a barrier against pests moving into upper layers soil. The soil extracted from this layer is put into a separate dump.

Making walls from slate

Sheets of the smallest format 100x150 cm are suitable as a source material. It is more convenient to deliver such sheets to the country house, and there will be fewer problems with further processing. However, the width of the sheet can be chosen individually so that it is a multiple of the total height of the walls. As a rule, 50 cm is enough for arranging beds, but individual summer residents may have their own thoughts on this.

Sheets must be dissolved into strips along the long side. For cutting slate, a grinder with a diamond wheel on stone is best, however, certain precautions should be observed when working. Asbestos, bound in the mass of slate sheet, is absolutely harmless, however, when cutting, an impressive amount of very harmful dust is formed. Therefore, it is imperative to use a respirator and goggles. It is also desirable to cut the strips at a time, subsequently spilling the dusty areas with plenty of water.

From the cut edges of the slate, it is necessary to remove small chamfers with an emery bar. Also, holes should be immediately made at the edges and in the center of the strips for installing stretch marks and connecting structural elements into a common formwork contour in accordance with the selected type of fastening. After mechanical processing, it will be correct to cover the slate sheets with one layer of budget-quality alkyd enamel.

Assembly of fences

It is possible to fasten sheets at corners and straight joints completely different ways. Tightness at the joints is not required, and the strength of the fastening should be purely nominal - only to ensure the integrity of the structure before it is backfilled with soil.

In everyday life, the most common options are when the corners are fastened by inserts from profile pipe or wooden bars, to which slate strips are screwed with self-tapping screws. This method is good for its cheapness, besides, it is possible to align the geometry of the beds in advance and provide the required installation height of the sheets. However, both wood and structural steel quickly become unusable from rotting and corrosion, especially with the active use of mineral fertilizers.

There are also Alternative option — aluminum profiles for the assembly of commercial equipment. In addition to durability, this method provides simplicity and high manufacturability of the assembly process, has a more accurate appearance. It is only important to choose the right width of the installation groove: in the smallest profile size it is 5.5 mm, which is well suited for assembling 6 mm slate sheets - again, the smallest thickness for this material. On sale you can find profiles with a groove up to 10 mm - these are optimally suited for high beds of great length. After docking, a box of slate sheets is temporarily fixed through the profile body with metal screws and placed in a prepared pit on a brick scaffold.

As for connecting straight joints, for this purpose it is quite possible to successfully use slate trimmings, reinforced rubber from spent conveyor belts and others. sheet materials not subject to decay. It is advisable to fasten the slate strips before their final installation, carefully combining the joints. In order for the fastening to be of high quality, it is necessary to pre-drill holes at the joints with an indent of 20 mm from the edge and use galvanized self-tapping screws with a press washer.

Strengthening and mortgages

To prevent the pressure of the bursting soil, the walls must be pulled together according to the same principle as the formwork when pouring concrete. It is optimal for these purposes to use galvanized wire with a thickness of at least 1 mm. On opposite walls, you need to drill two relatively coaxial holes, then roll the wire into a loop and pull it through the slate sheet, inserting a small metal pin as a stopper.

WITH reverse side the tails of the wire are twisted together until the slack is completely taken out, and the walls are slightly bent inward, after which the twist is also fixed with a pin and a pair of self-tapping screws. There is no need to place screeds in the underground part of the walls, they work effectively when installed with an indent of 10-12 cm from the top edge.

In order to be able to install folding domes of greenhouses, it is necessary to drive several pieces of angle steel into the ground, placing them close to the inner wall of the bed. Between themselves, the corners should be connected with reinforcement of 8 or 10 mm, placing the stretch marks diagonally. After installation, the mortgages are cut flush with the upper edge of the walls, after which horizontal metal plates are welded to them for attaching the hinges. When all the installation work is completed, it is advisable to wrap the flower bed from the inside with a dense polyethylene film, putting it on the bottom of the lower tier of the pit about 10 cm and wrapping it on the sides of the fence. This will help prevent the entry of bears and other pests into the bed, which migrate in the upper layers of the soil during the warm season.

Soil backfill

All soil removed from the lower tier of the pit must be poured back and compacted by spilling water. At the same time, it is desirable that the embankment covers the walls to a height of at least 5-7 cm. After that, a fertile layer can be poured.

Soil dump removed from the surface should be leveled in a free area and mixed with manure, compost or humus, the concentration of which depends on the natural saturation of the soil with nutrients. After thorough mixing with a pitchfork, the substrate can be poured back, but in no case should it be compacted, only break up large lumps. The flower bed needs to be filled up along the very edges of the formwork, in the near future the soil will naturally settle. When the bed is filled up from the inside, it is necessary to fill the gaps between the walls and the soil adjacent to the outside, while carefully compacting it and spilling it with water, after which you can start arranging the paths.

Why do we need such beds

The structure is a box with high sides, located in the free space of a summer cottage and filled to the top with fertile soil with all necessary fertilizers. The arrangement of an impromptu garden bed gives the following advantages:

the ability to successfully grow berries, vegetables and flowers, getting a crop, regardless of the quality of the soil of the land plot;
work on weeding and caring for plants is facilitated, since the gardener does not need to bend over much;
if you raise the beds above the ground, then they are better warmed up by the sun from all sides and vegetables ripen faster;
building occupies small area, if necessary, disassembled and transferred to another place;
the design allows you to quickly and easily protect plants from the cold with a film or agrofibre;
flower beds can be turned into elements of landscape design if you place them in front of the house, decorate beautifully and equip paths made of gravel or natural stone.

Reference. All traditional crops grow well on high beds - potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and so on, that is, there are no restrictions. It is also convenient to process strawberries and grow outdoor flowers on them.

The dimensions and height of the structure are selected based on the convenience of tillage and the conditions required for the normal growth of a particular crop. The right bed should accommodate 2 rows of plants in width, which is from 0.9 to 1.2 m. The length does not play a big role, and therefore is taken arbitrarily.

Another thing is the height of the flower bed, depending on the quality of the land on your site. If the soil is fertile, then it is enough to raise the level by 150 mm. On solid clay, stones and other soils unsuitable for agriculture, you will have to build a bed 30 cm high or more. Sometimes the structure is made multi-level, complex in shape, but this affects the convenience of caring for the garden.

Reference. A similar technique is often used in the construction of greenhouses, where the ground level is increased by 15-30 cm, and the paths between the beds are made 30-40 cm deeper, creating a height difference of up to 1 m. Then you can deal with seedlings, standing at full height.

Materials for manufacturing

The sides of garden beds are usually made from the following materials:

boards and bars;
wavy and flat slate;
brick and concrete;
plastic products - sheets, commodity boxes;
galvanized or painted metal.

A creative solution - a multi-tiered flowerbed of car slopes

Note. Simple and at the same time original idea- make tall flower beds from old car tires as shown in the photo. Only on the outside it does not hurt to ennoble them by staining.

Box of wooden beams and boards - The best decision in all senses. Wood is the most accessible and environmentally friendly material, which is what plants need. The design is easy to assemble and move to a new place, and the gaps between the boards contribute to the flow of air into the ground. There is only one drawback - the wood located on outdoors and in contact with moist soil, requires permanent care– treatment with antiseptics and painting. Without finishing, a wooden box will not last long.

You can also fence high beds in the country with slate, as shown in the picture. A fairly simple and durable design has another minus - fragility. The issue is resolved in two ways:

device wooden frame where the sheets are attached;
digging slate into the ground and driving special props.

With the help of brick and concrete, you can realize any unusual option structures. His forte – long term services and remarkable appearance. Minus - the cost of building brick sides and lack of mobility.

Reference. In order to save money, some cottage owners use ready-made sections of reinforced concrete curbs for flower beds.

Look pretty nice decorative beds made of plastic and metal, these designs are lightweight and relatively inexpensive. A fly in the ointment lies in the fact that both materials practically do not let air through, and plastic heated in the sun emits harmful substances. Yes, and iron needs protection from corrosion.

Another original version from plastic bottles

Making a bed out of planks

On initial stage it is important to pay attention to the preparation of wood. Remove the remnants of bark, wormholes from it and cover with an antiseptic composition. How to make the sides of a high bed is described in step-by-step instructions:

Saw the boards to the size of the future flower bed. Prepare 6 pointed pegs from a bar with a section of 40 x 20 mm. Their length should be equal to the height of the future structure plus at least 100 mm, which will go into the ground.
Make 2 boards by nailing the boards to the vertical bars set along the edges, as shown in the photo.
Knock down the second 2 sides by placing stakes in the middle.
Hammer the box with nails, laying the finished boards with sticking pegs up for convenience.

Advice. For a small flower bed, 6 stakes are enough, but if you plan to make it long, then in the middle you need to add 1-2 more pairs of bars. When they get into the ground, they won't let you stick out wooden fence from soil load.

Before installing the structure, prepare the site - remove all vegetation from the root, remove the pebbles and lay the pallet of fine-mesh steel mesh. Its task is to protect your crops from small rodents. Now put the box in its normal position and drive all the stakes into the ground one by one. At the end, cover the bottom with moisture-retaining cardboard, and then proceed to the backfill. How do-it-yourself garden beds are made from boards is described in detail in the video:

Reference. Ideally, work on making the box and backfilling with soil is done in the fall, so that it has time to soak in fertilizers and compact. In the spring, fill the bed no later than a month before planting.

The design of such flower beds is quite simple - wooden elements are painted in suitable color, shelves can be nailed on top and racks for tying plants can be provided, as shown in the photo.

Slate fence

In this case, the construction technology is slightly different, since the length of the slate sheets is limited. So the length of the structure should be a multiple of this size so that you do not have to cut the material and leave waste. Instructions for arranging the so-called warm slate beds look like this:

Dig a pit the right sizes 25-30 cm deep, level the slopes with a shovel.
Prepare stakes from the timber, as described in the previous section.
Screw the slate sheets with screws to the pegs, and then assemble the entire structure by placing it around the pit.
Place wooden spacers between the pairs of B-pillars and drive all the stakes into the ground. The box is ready for filling.

In order for the high bed to be warm, its soil must be isolated from the surrounding soil. To do this, lay branches, leaves and other garden debris at the bottom of the pit, and pour 5 cm of sand on top. The next layer is straw or hay, which must be compacted after laying. Lastly, the soil is filled up and spilled with a small amount of water (it is impossible to compact).

Note. Flowerbeds made of metal or plastic sheets are arranged in a similar way, only their ends are better to be additionally connected with corners. If it is necessary to provide for stretching a film or geotextile, then arcs of steel rods are attached to the sides.

More information about the construction of a high warm bed of slate sheets is described in the video:

Conclusion

As you can see in the photo, well-groomed high beds serve not only for growing berries and vegetables, but also act as flower beds decorating the landscape around a modern private house. Note that a variety of improvised materials available in the summer cottage, and 2 dozen nails (self-tapping screws) will fit for the construction. That is, the cost of production is minimal. The process of arrangement itself is not complicated.

May 29th, 2015

Hello dear readers! Today we will talk about. This year my husband built one of these in our garden. Remember, I told you how we arrange high ? The lower layers of such a bed are various organic remains from the garden, garden, kitchen or yard: branches, torn weeds, sawdust, bark, fallen leaves, needles, vegetable peelings, etc. The top layer is a fertile layer of earth, on which we sow seeds. Decaying in the garden, organic matter releases heat, contributing to the creation of a favorable microclimate for vegetables. It is this structure that allows us to consistently receive early and high yields of delicious homemade cucumbers every summer, and the “stuffing” of the garden in a couple of years turns into light and fertile humus.

Fences for high beds:Andwhat to do?

We used to make a fence for a high cucumber bed from different old boards. But this year, our box, built “from what was”, completely fell into disrepair, and it was necessary to decide what to make a new bed fence from. By chance, we just had an old slate in stock. After thinking, the husband decided to make boards for a high bed from this material.

Harm of slate for beds: is it there?

At first, I had doubts about the harm of slate for beds. Would such material be safe for developing plants and ultimately for our health? I climbed, just in case, on the Internet, I read that asbestos, which is part of the slate, can harm us only if it turns into a dusty state. Therefore, when cutting slate sheets, put on goggles and a respirator or gauze bandage during work. Also ask children and loved ones not to approach you during this period to be sure of their safety.

And about the fact that slate brought some harm to plants, no matter how much I was looking for, I did not find materials. The only unpleasant moment here may be the ability of the slate to heat up very much, supposedly from this there is some risk of damage to the roots. To prevent this from happening, many advise painting the slate bed in White color or whiten with lime. Or just water the plantings more often.

In all other respects, slate as a fence for beds is no worse than many others. building materials, and in terms of durability and resistance to decay - even better. The fragility of slate, I think, should not be taken into account. After all, we are not going to beat on the sides of our beds with a hammer!

We build high beds from slate

For those who are interested in how you can make high beds from slate with your own hands, my husband tried to describe the construction process in detail. Below is his explanation:

1. We cut the standard slate sheet with a grinder across the “waves” so that we get two pieces of the same size. We prepare in this way a sufficient amount of slate. If there is no grinder, you can use a slate nail and a hammer. We punch holes along the chip line, then we break the slate on a bar. The more holes, the smoother the chip line will be.

2. We mark on the ground a place to install the beds with the help of pegs and a rope. We take out the soil around the perimeter of the future beds to a width bayonet shovel to make a ditch. Its depth should be made at least 25-30 centimeters.

3. We install vertically sheets of slate into the ditch (so that the “waves” are vertical, for greater rigidity of the structure), starting from the corners. At the corner, perpendicular sheets must be fastened together with a board 12-15 cm wide and equal to the height of the bed. The plate is installed vertically with inside, then we drill holes through the slate, we twist the screws with a washer into them from the outside. Take galvanized roofing screws. If they are with a drill, then you do not need to drill holes for them first.

4. We install and align the rest of the slate sheets in height, joining them with each other “overlapping”. For horizontal and vertical alignment, use the building level. On top of the outside, we fix a wooden block 5x5 cm around the perimeter flush with the slate sheets, screwing the screws into it from the inside of the garden through the slate.

5. On top of the bar along the perimeter, we lay flat and fasten a board 12-15 cm wide with self-tapping screws in such a way as to cover the bar and the “waves” of slate. After that, it is desirable to paint it on the outside (or whitewash).

We put organic matter in the garden

6. We fill the ditch on both sides, put organic matter in the bed (manure, branches, twigs, grass, tops, sawdust, needles, etc.), large fragments (thick branches, twigs, etc.) are placed at the very bottom beds. After stuffing, it is necessary to thoroughly spill the organic matter with water (you can add bio-fertilizer for compost, such as Baikal EM-1, to speed up the decomposition processes and enrich the compost with beneficial bacteria), cover it with plastic wrap for a couple of days so that the compost "on fire". After that, a layer of humus is laid on the organic matter. Humus can be laid immediately after stuffing, without waiting for the compost to “light up”.