Mobile beds allow you to grow a large crop of vegetables on a small plot of land. A variety of organic waste is used to form warm beds. Such beds do not need digging or other autumn preparation, and also do not require the introduction of mineral dressings.
Mobile warm beds are harvested in spring, and after harvesting they can also be easily “disassembled”. The organic content of the beds allows the soil to work at full strength and provide the vegetable plants with all the necessary nutrients.
Choosing a place and setting up a "mobile" garden for cucumbers
Crops such as cucumbers are very fond of sunlight and warmth, so the plot of land should be illuminated for the maximum amount of time. The beds on the site must be arranged so that the sun's rays fall on the cucumber bushes from the side.
After choosing a place for a mobile bed, you need to take care of the materials that are needed to "build" the bed:
- Black or clear plastic wrap.
- Thin branches of small size, left after pruning trees and shrubs.
- Any organic waste.
- Land with a vegetable garden and river sand.
- Wood ash.
- Solution with effective microorganisms or humus.
The preparation of the beds should be started at least a month before planting cucumber seedlings. The average width and height of a warm bed is about 30 centimeters. The length can be any, depending on the area of the site. Small wooden pegs are driven in along the perimeter of the bed and at its corners to determine the boundaries.
Filling a warm bed begins with branches - this will be the first layer. The next will be the mulching layer, which has not rotted on other beds. If the amount is insufficient, then you can add any plant waste (for example, last year's leaves, peelings of vegetables and fruits and herbaceous plants). The topmost layer, about 3 centimeters thick, should be soil from the garden or sand.
In order for various microorganisms to actively start their work inside the garden, it is necessary to create greenhouse conditions. To do this, the bed is covered with a prepared film, which will retain moisture and heat. Under such conditions, organic waste will begin to actively decompose and create a nutrient medium necessary for a cucumber culture. But before covering, the bed is abundantly watered with an infusion of wood ash (for 10 liters of water - 1 glass of ash), and then also with a solution using EM preparations.
The film should not only cover the entire space of the garden bed, but also capture a little area around it. Such a cover will protect the cucumbers from the invasion of weeds. Thirty days will pass and the bed will be ready for planting seedlings, the film is removed.
Planting cucumbers in the garden, care and cultivation
A cucumber bed will become almost ideal if metal arcs pass over it, and the entire surface is covered with a special fibrous synthetic material (lutrasil), which will reliably protect the plants from sudden cold snaps.With this "outfit", the bed is ready for planting seedlings around mid-May. In the absence of such a shelter, it is better to postpone the planting of cucumbers until early June.
Cucumbers in such a bed can be grown by seed or seedlings. The seeds must be soaked in water or a biostimulator a day before planting.
You need to start by cutting holes (5-6 centimeters long each) along the entire surface of the film at a distance of approximately 30 centimeters from each other. Two seedlings or 4-5 seeds are planted in each hole and immediately watered abundantly.
The ideal temperature regime for the growth and development of cucumber bushes is 28-30 degrees Celsius. To maintain this temperature at night, in cool or very hot weather, the beds should be covered. It protects vegetables not only from cold, but also from high temperatures.
You can protect seedlings from pests and various diseases with wood ash. As soon as a second leaf appears on young plants, ash dusting can be carried out.
A warm bed under the film requires very little moisture, since evaporation hardly occurs. The first thirty days of watering are carried out directly into the cucumber holes, and after a month, it is enough to water the garden around the perimeter. This method of watering contributes to the development of the root system, as it forces the plants to independently search for a source of moisture. And with well-developed and strong roots, the normal development of the whole plant occurs, a large amount of ovary is formed.
Even such a "nutritious" bed requires additional fertilization. Cucumbers respond well to feeding. They are brought in by irrigation along the perimeter of the garden bed approximately 3-4 times a month (in July and August). The best fertilizer would be a solution of water (10 liters) and compost (5 liters).
Early and medium-ripening cucumber varieties bear their first fruits at the end of June. If the beginning of summer turned out to be cool, then this period will be slightly postponed (at the beginning - mid-July).
An increase in the yield of cucumbers is possible with the correct use of metal arches over the beds. These supports help keep most of the cucumber vines above the surface. Such devices promote good penetration of air, light and heat to each plant.
Mobile bed after harvest
All the fruits are harvested, the tops are removed from the garden - you can remove the film. Almost the entire contents of the garden can be used for compost or to protect fruit trees. Branches of trees and shrubs can be burned, and wood ash is useful as a top dressing.
If the cucumber patch did not disappoint you this season, then try to repeat your luck next year. Only now use another plot of land.
