"Smart vegetable garden" consists of high beds, which summer residents and gardeners with experience call compost, warm and raised, and the garden itself - high or flaky. Growing vegetable and berry crops on such a site not only does not require digging up the soil every autumn and spring, but also proves that there is no need to dig at all. An excellent full-fledged crop can be obtained on high bulk beds filled with organic matter and does not require much skill in their construction.
A vegetable garden above the ground can be made on your own. Tall beds with organic materials create ideal conditions for reproduction and growth of the family of earthworms and various microorganisms, which means they make the soil fertile and nutritious. Organic mulch and compost release the heat, moisture and nutrients needed by vegetable plants when decomposed.
Pros and cons of digging soil
When digging, heavy dense soils are enriched with air, hardened earth clods are broken, the structure of the soil changes for the better. But there are also many negative consequences. The dug soil erodes and dries up very quickly, most of the organic component is destroyed, earthworms important for saturating the soil with air are also destroyed in large quantities.
After digging the earth, the seeds of numerous plants rise to the surface, mainly weeds, which were dormant at great depths. Under the influence of all the necessary favorable conditions (light, heat, precipitation), they grow at a high speed, and you have to spend a lot of time and effort fighting weeds, carrying out constant weeding of land.
The main signs of a high bed
- The soil on the site is not dug up;
- Organic matter is introduced into the soil regularly;
- Weeding of the site is not carried out;
- The entire soil surface is mulched;
- The garden bed can be located on any plot of land;
- Several hours are enough for the construction of the garden;
- Special preparation of the soil for the beds in the selected area is not needed;
- Weeds do not grow on such a bed;
- The soil is constantly enriched with organic nutrients and saturated with beneficial microorganisms;
- The mulch cover of the garden maintains heat and maintains the necessary moisture;
- To care for the garden bed requires a minimum amount of time and labor.
Construction of a high bed
Site selection and preparation
The site should be chosen sunny, with direct sunlight for at least 5-6 hours a day. This can be absolutely any area in the garden or summer cottage that is not suitable for planting vegetables using the traditional method. A wasteland covered with weeds or an abandoned lawn will do.
The first thing to do is to clear the selected area from inorganic debris and perennial rhizome weeds.Common grasses and annual weeds do not need to be destroyed.
Frame construction
The perimeter of the bed can be fenced off with wood planks, bricks, plastic waste and other suitable materials and secured carefully. The height of the bed is about 30 cm.
Filling the garden with organic matter
The first layer (about 10 cm thick) - small tree branches, wood shavings, bark, fallen leaves, and any coarse organic water-permeable material.
The second layer is organic fertilizing (for example, bird droppings, compost, rotted manure).
The third layer (about 10 cm thick) is garden soil.
You do not need to mix layers. After laying all the layers, it is necessary to water the entire surface of the garden abundantly and leave it for a while to settle.
Shelter material
A garden bed prepared in the fall should be under reliable shelter until the arrival of spring. As such a cover, you can use a plastic film or other permeable black material. The garden bed must be covered around the entire perimeter and the edges of the covering material must be carefully fixed.
Cultivation of green manure
In the period between seasons, high beds are recommended for growing green manure plants, which are useful as a green top dressing. After mowing, they are left directly on the garden bed, and on top they are covered with a mulch layer or a layer of garden soil.
