Beds for the lazy: photos, ideas, ways to implement them. Planning a vegetable garden - getting ready to plant vegetables in the beds How to make a small vegetable garden in the country

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

If you plan to organize garden beds at your dacha with your own hands, familiarize yourself with the features of the process. First, understand the concept: a garden bed is a partially isolated small garden in which, under suitable conditions, different crops can be grown, providing proper individual care.

When organizing beds, several points are taken into account:

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

There are several types of beds, and they are worth considering in detail and separately.

Box-bed

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

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

Do-it-yourself organization includes several stages:

1. Designation of boundaries. Draw them or place pegs, taking into account the shape and size of the bed.
2. Installation of walls. They are placed in the soil in which the furrows are previously prepared. The soil must be compacted to ensure stability and strength of the structure.
3. Fill in soil and organic matter, alternating layers.
4. Plant plants.

For your information! Preparing box beds for winter involves collecting them. In the spring, the structure is erected, the soil is loosened and planted with the selected crop.

Beds with drainage

Beds with drainage are relevant and necessary if the garden is located in a low-lying area and is clayey or swampy. Excess and stagnation of water are destructive and provoke rotting of the root system, so it is necessary to ensure timely constant drainage and optimal gas exchange.

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

1. Designate an area for planting.
2. Remove a layer of soil 50 to 60 cm thick.
3. Sand is placed at the bottom of the resulting pit, the layer thickness of which will be at least 20-25 cm.
4. On top of the sand, lay sawdust, humus and a layer of soil suitable for growing the selected plant.

High

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

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

1. Prepare the box. It can be built from plastic, boards, brick, metal.
2. A metal mesh is installed at the bottom of the structure, providing protection against rodents. Geotextiles are laid on top of it to prevent weed germination.
3. Lay drainage, including expanded clay, broken brick, and pebbles. The thickness of the layer is at least ten centimeters.
4. Prepare the soil by disinfecting it and treating it against pests. Fill the box with soil, filling most of it and leaving sides about 5 cm high.

Good to know! Raised beds can be organized without boxes using bulk trapezoids or ridges. A compost layer is placed on the soil to provide soil lifting. Next, soil is poured and planting is carried out. But the beds will last only one season, since during the winter they will sag under the weight of the snow and become wet when it melts. If mole cricket insects are common in the region, it is better not to use compost: pests quickly colonize it and multiply, destroying the crop. The lift is provided by a mound of soil.

Vertical

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

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

French

In 2018, beautiful and aesthetic French beds are relevant. Distinctive features– laconic geometric shapes, strict planted rows and paths between plantings. Fences can be made from finishing materials (decking boards, paving slabs), brick. Can be done by planting around the perimeter of the beds leaf salad, a low-growing type of greenery. Raise areas if the ground is waterlogged or the area frequently floods.

English

Lovers original ideas English garden beds that allow a mixture of crops will be appreciated. , the garden area with trees and the vegetable garden do not have strict boundaries and form a single landscape design. One plot may include flower beds, fruit crops, and vegetable plantings.

Spaces are left between the beds for free movement and comfortable care. The territory should not look neglected and abandoned, so carefully look after the garden, clear the ground of weeds and fence the perimeter of the beds, for example, with stones or bricks (possibly of irregular shapes).

Lazy

Lazy beds are suitable for beginners or very busy summer residents, as they do not require complex organization and time-consuming preparation. There is no need to prepare holes and dig up the soil to great depths. It is enough to weed the ground, freeing it from weeds, loosen it slightly, and then plant it. The spaces between the bushes are filled with mulch, which preserves moisture and prevents its rapid evaporation, as well as protection from weeds. This greatly simplifies care and helps to reap good harvests.

Advice! Lazy beds can be above ground and unfenced, or raised and surrounded by borders.

Smart

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

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

Warm

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

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

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

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

Garden bed fencing

Fences will help you create beautiful and neat garden beds and zone your dacha plot. Try to integrate them organically into the landscape design and do it correctly to protect the plants from negative impacts and create an aesthetically pleasing appearance for your garden.

Used for fencing different materials: polycarbonate, slate, metal, wood (boards or logs), stone, rods and pegs. Lovers interesting ideas they use improvised means: plastic and glass bottles, car tires, old hoses.

Below are the characteristics of the main types of materials used for organizing fencing.

Metal

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

Galvanized

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

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

Plastic

Plastic fencing – modern solution. They are light in weight, not subject to attacks by pests and high humidity, last a long time and have affordable price. Light plastic will not get very hot in the sun. But the fences are subject to mechanical influences.

By taking a responsible approach to organizing garden beds at your dacha, you will arrange a vegetable garden, improve the area and get an excellent harvest. Good luck to all gardeners!

Many people create vegetable gardens as a separate part of their summer cottage: without paths or ornamental plants.

But you can also turn your garden into a real decorative vegetable garden.

Back in the XVI-XVII centuries. Such “kitchen” gardens were created in England and France.

After all, vegetables are not only tasty and healthy, but also beautiful!

It is better to place such a garden closer to the fence, hedge, fruit trees, as if limiting it. To make it easier to care for the plants, make a square plot as large as possible with beds 1.5 m wide.

Like any garden, paths and beds here are created for several years with a change of vegetable crops.

Paths must be created with minimal maintenance costs.

Gravel requires regular maintenance to remove weeds and sticks to your feet in bad weather. Grassy paths require mowing, so it is easier to create paths from scrap materials left over from construction work(usually this is an old brick, cement blocks, beautiful pebbles).

Their width should not be large in order to save total area. Therefore, the main paths can be made 70 cm wide (convenient for a wheelbarrow to pass), and the secondary paths can be no wider than 45 cm.

Path planning solutions can be very diverse.

The simplest option is to divide it into rectangular beds with an emphasis on the central bed.

Another option - a square layout - makes it possible to further enhance the decorative effect of the central squares.

Another solution - diagonal-square-circular placement of paths - will allow you to diversify the rectangular planning network with a circular line.

If space allows, several options can be implemented. planning decisions straightaway.

No less important than paths is the selection of ornamental plants that would attract attention from different parts of the garden and combine the vegetable garden with the fruit garden.

These could be pyramidal or framed apple trees, small “balls” of ornamental plants that could be planted at the intersections of paths.

To emphasize the line of paths, you can plant borders of lavender, hosta or boxwood along them, which do not lose their decorative effect for a long time.

The main purpose of such a vegetable garden is to obtain a harvest. Therefore, to grow high-quality vegetable products, we can recommend the following crop rotation scheme.

In the first year, they are planted in a certain area leguminous plants, after harvesting which nitrogen-fixing roots remain in the ground.

After them, cabbage is planted in the second year. In the third year, the soil becomes cultivable for tuber crops.

But such alternation of plants can be carried out within one year.

For example, beans are planted in the spring, and when they grow, onions are planted between them.

Once the beans are ripe, they are harvested, the roots are left in the soil as nitrogen fixers, and the beds are filled with small broccoli, cabbage, or other types of cabbage plants.

The combination of vegetables is determined by both the growth rate, ripening time, and aesthetic features.

Onions, dill, and parsley are planted closer to the paths, because they most often have to be thinned out.

Of course, for such intensively cultivated soil, it is necessary to use fertilizers in the form of garden compost or well-rotted mullein.

Numerous varieties of lettuce allow you to create decorative groups with curly, shaggy, flat and lacy leaves of various colors and varying heights.

Therefore, it is necessary to allocate a larger area for salads.

Zucchini can be sown between the rows of early lettuces.

They will reach full size just in time for the lettuces to be harvested.

Different varieties of cabbage can be taken as the basis for the composition - they have a longer decorative period.

In such a vegetable garden you will certainly receive both aesthetic and practical pleasure.

Only a person far from farming can say that plants don’t care in which bed they grow. The shape and size of the beds determine the level of soil moisture, the intensity of gas exchange and the species composition of microorganisms that live in the upper layers of the earth. All these factors have a direct impact on the quality of the substrate, and consequently on the level of productivity - main criterion success for any gardener or gardener. How to use scientific approach For the benefit of your garden, how can you create not only a neat appearance of the beds, but also increase the productivity of your plot as high as possible? We will try to answer these questions in this publication with a large-scale selection of photos of a wide variety of beds.

Principles of arranging beds

A garden bed is a relatively small, often quite isolated area of ​​soil where you can provide individual care for a plant of a particular crop, create a moisture regime and fertilize it. It is obvious that in a summer cottage or garden, plants with different agricultural techniques are grown, often with opposing care requirements - without an individual approach it will not be possible to achieve high yields. It is for this purpose that differentiation is necessary on the site - dividing the territory into zones, and the zones into beds.

If the purpose of the beds is more or less clear to every gardener, then such nuances as the level of illumination, the composition of the soil and even its consistency are necessary for different cultures, are not always taken into account and not by everyone. Unfortunately, failure to understand that cucumbers and tomatoes, for example, require different approaches leads to a significant loss of yield. By creating simple trenches for planting certain crops, or isolated beds, the owner of the site can give the plants proper care - all efforts will invariably pay off in the quality or quantity of the harvest.

Cultivation methods

There are two main (and at the same time diametrically opposed) approaches to farming:

• traditional;
• ecological.

The traditional method of cultivating the land is a thing of the past, incredibly labor-intensive and often irrational, extremely traumatic for the ecosystem. It is based on human attempts to control the processes in the soil and its condition. The traditional method of farming includes the following activities:

• digging up the soil twice (per year);
• herbicide treatment;
• uncontrolled amount of fertilizer applied to the soil;
• With this principle of farming, beds are cultivated in such a way that they have a small number of capillaries and, as a result, an insufficient number of microorganisms.
• All these factors inevitably lead to low yields and depletion of soil resources.

The second approach, ecological (natural), is based on the ability of the soil to regenerate itself. There are many principles of natural farming, but they are all based on the fact that humans rarely interfere with the natural course of processes occurring in the soil. Digging up the soil is replaced by surface loosening, and weeding once a week or two is replaced by timely mulching.

Modern farming methods are based on an ecological method and with this approach microorganisms, plant roots and insects independently restore the soil structure. An increase in the number of capillaries increases gas exchange processes, as a result, plant roots are naturally enriched with nitrogen, which leads to an increase in both the quality and quantity of the crop. All this can happen without chemical fertilizers at all or with a minimal amount of them.

Types of beds for a modern vegetable garden

Only at first glance it may seem that the beds differ from each other only in size and shape. Although these indicators have great importance for plants that require an individual approach and isolation from other crops. The beds may differ in the very principle of formation, for example, they may be not on the site, but above it, located on the so-called “green wall” or inside plastic pipes large diameter. It all depends on how to care for each specific type of plant.

Box-shaped bed

The box bed is one of the most popular methods of soil cultivation today. This method of planting allows not only to create a separate place for each crop, but also to organize the landscape of a summer cottage or vegetable garden at a high aesthetic level. It is not difficult to organize a bed in the form of a box - on a prepared and marked area of ​​the site (hacienda or small backyard) a fence in the form of low shields is installed.

To organize the fencing of the bed-box, you can use:

• flat or wavy slate;
• unnecessary boards;
• polycarbonate sheets;
• plastic;
• any waste material, capable of withstanding soil moisture for more than one summer season.

Next, layers of organic matter and the soil itself are poured into the prepared compartment. Such beds are not dismantled for the winter, and in the spring, after surface loosening, it will be possible to plant seeds or seedlings of certain crops again. This approach is not only practical and rational, but also aesthetic.

Beds with high sides

Raised beds are usually shaped like ridges or trapezoids. The rise of the soil is usually ensured by a “cushion” of compost layer, on top of which soil is poured. In areas of our country where the mole cricket is common, a layer of compost is not used; lifting is carried out only by pouring soil. The mole cricket usually makes nests in the compost layer (a warm and humid place is an ideal habitat) and can spread throughout the entire area very quickly.

Raised beds are most often used for growing melons:

• cucumbers;
• pumpkins;
• zucchini;
• Sometimes some varieties of potatoes are grown this way.

Beds with high sides are created for one season. In most cases, the embankment subsides greatly under the weight of snow and loses its functional purpose. If weaving plants (for example, cucumbers, some types of zucchini) will be grown in a bed with a box design, then it would not be a bad idea to equip the fence with a vertical lattice (made of wood or metal, created using weaving, or any available means).

If such a structure is equipped with a high dome covered with film, then an ordinary garden bed becomes a greenhouse. Growing seedlings in such portable structures is very convenient and practical.

"Warm" beds

The beds are called “warm” because their lower layers contain fresh, unrotted manure. The mound of manure is carried out late autumn for winter period All processes took place under the cover of snow. In early spring, after the snow melts, such beds are cleaned so that they are warmed by the sun and decomposition processes begin.

Next, the manure begins to rot with a large release of heat. As a rule, in compost heaps during “burning” the temperature inside can reach 40-50 degrees. But the layer of manure on the beds is not high and this effect does not occur; moreover, winter exposure significantly slows down the “burning” processes. All these manipulations and preparations are needed in order to plant crops in a ready-made, “warm” bed. This is usually done for planting plants with a shallow root system - cucumbers, radishes, etc.

After finishing summer season all manure is recycled. If you remove the top layer of soil, you will find humus underneath, which is a very valuable substrate. This natural fertilizer can be scattered throughout the garden or summer cottage. And at the end of autumn, it will be possible to put manure back into the bed and start the process of preparing a “warm” bed over a new one.

Beds with drainage

In clay buds, in very low places into which all the water constantly drains and in wetlands, it is necessary to arrange beds with drainage. They are not difficult to make - usually a 50-60 cm layer of soil is removed, then sand about 20 cm high is laid out at the bottom of the resulting hole, then sawdust and humus are poured in, and only after that soil is added. Drainage and gas exchange in beds of this type are excellent - an ideal place for growing root crops (for example, potatoes).

Material for making beds with your own hands

Creating a bed of any configuration requires some preparation. In order to arrange the beds in the form of boxes, you will need to use the following materials:

• slate or boards, plastic or polycarbonate of such a height that there is at least 30 cm in the ground, and at least 20 cm on the surface of the entire size of the product;
• pegs made of wood or metal, which will be needed to secure the fencing material;
• non-woven material that can be used to cover the bottom of the prepared trench.

After the workpiece - the dug hole is covered non-woven material, it will be necessary to fill it with the following layers on top:

• sawdust or straw - approximately 10cm;
• dry foliage (which you prepared in advance in the fall) - about 10 cm;
• a mixture of compost and soil, ratio 1 to 2 (layer size 10 cm or more);
• a clean layer of soil of at least 10 cm.

1. marking on the ground - usually done using pegs and a stretched cord. When calculating the size of the bed, it is important to understand that the narrower the trench, the faster it will dry out;
2. Next comes the preparation of the material for the fence - cutting it, preparing pegs. If the box is not very large, then it will be more convenient to assemble it in advance using self-tapping screws. Such structures are reusable, they can be removed for the winter if the beds are moved;
3. then a fence is installed on the garden bed;
4. then non-woven material is placed at the bottom of the pit;
5. A layer of sawdust, dry leaves, soil mixed with compost and just soil is poured in successively.

And in conclusion. Your site can not only bring good harvest, but also look aesthetically pleasing. Landscape design can manifest itself not only in the courtyard of a private house, but also in the garden and vegetable garden. But the main principle for arranging beds on the territory should still be the plants’ needs for sunlight. In a properly located bed, plant care will require minimal care.

Every owner of a house with a garden plot or a summer cottage wants to make this place as comfortable as possible. Regardless of the size of the free land, the plot can be designed in several ways, the main thing is to correctly develop the design of the vegetable garden.

Regardless of the size, make beautiful vegetable garden won't be difficult

The design of the garden needs to be developed correctly

There are several options for planning landscape design, they reflect the main purpose of the land.

• Rest area. If the owners are not summer residents and growing plants is not part of their plans, then the entire area is a place for rest and relaxation. If the footage allows, you can allocate a few meters for a garage, gazebo, or bathhouse. Fresh air conducive to picnics. Therefore, opposite the main house, or on the side, build a playground, patio, artificial pond.
• Area for work. Suitable for those who like to grow, care for, collect and preserve plants. Here the main part of the territory is intended for beds, the rest for shrubs, garden trees. If the size of the plot allows, you can create a small recreation area, for example, a bench under a canopy.
• Combination. The most current garden design option. You can work, then have a good rest. The main footage is allocated for beds. They can be combined. It is possible to plant berry bushes along the perimeter, fruit trees. Leave the rest of the space for a recreation area. This is a canopy, a gazebo, small pond, flower beds.

You can decorate your garden in different ways, it all depends on the preferences of the owners.

Everything on the work site is adapted for growing

In fact, if you take your landscaping seriously, you can create a small, free-standing oasis for relaxing with friends or family. The main thing is to follow a few basic rules.

• Think about your style in advance.
• Choose the right landscaping method necessary plants, trees, shrubs.
• Arrange everything correctly.

The result will not take long to arrive; the garden design will amaze the imagination.

When creating a garden design, you need to think through everything in advance.

A vegetable garden can perform different functions; if it is a place for relaxation, then it is better to plant flowers there

If everything is done correctly, the result will pleasantly surprise you.

Basic styles

If the site is designed by the owners themselves, then it is not necessary to comply with all design canons. This makes the atmosphere seem warmer and more homely. But you still need to have an idea of ​​style.

There are many smaller styles for decorating a dacha and garden: oriental, Mediterranean, exotic, French, English. If the family could not find a solution that would suit everyone, you can use a combined garden and vegetable garden design.

When creating a design on your own, the atmosphere will be more homely

Vegetable garden in rustic style would be a great place to relax

Techniques for decorating a site with flowers

It is rare when there are no flower beds on a personal plot or dacha. They are the main decoration of the entire perimeter and landscape design in general. So that they please the owners all year round, it is necessary to choose the right seasonal plant species.

Flowers come in annuals, biennials, and perennials. Depending on the specific species, they can spread out as a carpet or create a hedge. Majority experienced flower growers It is recommended to plant mainly bulbous plants on your site, perennials and dilute them with annuals. The compositions will always be different and unique.

It is advisable to plant flowers in the garden; they will harmoniously complement the overall picture.

You can choose plants that will delight you all year round

Flowerbeds can be arranged in different ways.

• Rabatka. Strip of flower plants, located around the lawn. For this method For decoration, carpet varieties of flowers are preferable: chistets, echeveria. Due to the high density of the cover, you can make a composition of any complexity and color.
• Border. Plants are arranged in the form of a border, preference is given to low-growing specimens: aster, Iberis, marigolds.
• Mixborder. In this case, several types of flowers are used; the flowerbed can be made multi-level, of various shapes.

In addition to various types of flower beds, vertical gardening can be used to decorate the garden design. It will help hide an old, ugly fence, a blank wall, play the role of a living fence, or run along a gazebo.

Climbing plants are used in vertical gardening: hops, grapes, clematis.

With the help of flowers you can hide some of the imperfections of the area

Flowerbeds can be arranged in different ways

Techniques for decorating a site with trees and shrubs

As a rule, at all dachas, personal plots Several trees and shrubs are planted. The design of a garden at the dacha allows this. Trees can be both fruit and ornamental. Between them you can safely place beds with vegetable crop, the main thing is that they have enough sunlight.

The first ones are planted from the north so that they and the adjacent beds have enough sunlight.

A wonderful decorative element are coniferous trees. They make amazing hedge, which gives coolness in summer, and in winter pleases the eye with rich green. Conifers are unpretentious in care and fit organically into any type of landscape design.

In most cases, thuja, spruce, pine, and juniper are used.

Usually several trees and shrubs are planted on the site

Trees can be fruit and ornamental

Coniferous trees will look very good in garden design

Basic rules for designing a small plot

Areas with small footage can also be decorated beautifully and unusually. In such cases, it is necessary to adhere to the basic rule: “Massive elements have no place here.”

All buildings, except the main one, should not be large. They can be hidden behind hedges or plantings. Even buildings small size should be single, it is necessary to alternate the recreation area with decorative elements, gazebo, benches.

Areas with small footage can also be beautifully and unusually decorated

In small areas it is better not to use massive elements

Blind, high fences are prohibited by garden design. In a small space, they will create the impression of a cage, narrow the space even more, and air circulation will be disrupted. Can be replaced with a mesh fence and a picket fence.

You should not plant trees that can grow “to the skies.” It is better to replace them with stunted ones.

To visually expand the space, it is necessary to avoid strict lines and angles. Everything should be streamlined and neat. Flower beds with plants should be oval or rounded. It is better to plant trees not one after another, but scattered, in different parts plot.

To save money, it is better to plant perennial plants diluting them with annuals

You can decorate your area beautifully without much effort.

It is better to plant short trees

Design of beds, entrance and exit from the green zone

Before you start forming beds, the area needs to be cleared and divided into zones. If the place is on a hill where the wind often blows, you can build a low fence. But there is no need to block sunlight from the plants.

To make the beds different from each other, they are delimited by boards laid in different forms. You can play with these figures. For example, plant one type of flower in the center, then another and a third around it. The space between them can be filled decorative stones, green grass, gravel.

The landscape design of the garden looks amazing, where the compositions of vegetables and flowers are correctly selected. For example, calendula + garlic, basil, tomato, lettuce; marigolds + bell pepper, dill; peony + beans, peas; poppy + garlic, carrots; rose + beets, cabbage, lettuce; cloves + onion, cabbage.

Before you start, it’s worth dividing the area into zones

It is best to delimit the beds

How to save on design

You can decorate any area beautifully without putting in much effort and at minimal cost. When developing an original design, the main expense column is the purchase of seedlings, seeds, and decorative elements. A mixed-grass lawn will significantly reduce costs. You can buy inexpensive varieties and mix them with natural, naturally occurring weeds.

A beautiful flower garden is the result of a gardener’s creative imagination. To save money, it is better to plant in perennial plants, diluting them a little with annuals.

Climbing plants can be used. They are perennial, easy to care for and can change the direction of growth every year.

Video: Beautiful garden with your own hands. Landscape design

The dacha and garden, instead of a place of relaxation, often become a place of exhausting work. Water, weed, loosen, water again, weed, loosen, and so on in a circle. At the same time, the harvest is not always pleasing. The situation can be changed. There is a special technology - a smart garden. The cultivated area is reduced significantly, the amount of water required for irrigation is reduced, and the yield increases. This is not a fairy tale. Many people have already switched to smart beds and they are all happy with the results.

What is a smart garden or smart beds

A smart vegetable garden allows you to get maximum yields. How? There are a few basic rules and technician: proper planning of plantings, rotation of planted plants, special growing technologies (in high beds, trenches), drip irrigation, mulching or the use of covering material. All this has been known for a long time and, probably, is already used by many. But it is precisely in combination that all these measures give what is called a “smart garden”. Because everything on the site is done wisely.

A smart vegetable garden is formed, often raised or high beds in which the necessary conditions for plant growth

The main task of this technology is to make sure that working in the dacha is not a burden. This is possible if you approach the organization of the process wisely. And it’s completely in vain that this technology is called “a garden for the lazy.” At the stage of arrangement you will have to work hard, but then everything will grow almost by itself, but the first stage requires hard efforts.

It’s worth starting with site planning. It is necessary to choose the location of the beds taking into account the lighting. Then develop a laying plan for the area water pipes and pave them. At the same time, you can build beds. Roughly in that order. All this requires time, significant effort and money. Material costs may not be too large.

Planning a vegetable garden

If you already have a summer house or a plot of land near your house, you have probably already encountered a situation of an overabundance of fruits, vegetables and berries. When the harvest has to be distributed to relatives, neighbors, and colleagues. But in order to grow it, a lot of effort had to be made. To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to plan the harvest. It’s clear that you won’t get great accuracy, but results close to the planned ones are possible.

A smart vegetable garden is also a decoration of the site

We count the area of ​​the beds

The first thing to do is sit down and think about what and how much you want to grow. The specific quantity is in kilograms. How much do you need to “eat” and “close”. Write a list of plants (in a column) and the desired harvest.

Having decided on the list of plants that you want to grow in your home, we sit down and look at the average yield that can be achieved when grown in smart beds. It is given in the table. Since you are still an inexperienced “lazy gardener”, reduce it by half. We put numbers next to each plant. It must be recorded in kilograms per square meter of area.

Now it’s easy to calculate how much area you need to allocate for each type of plant: divide the desired yield in kilograms by the average yield for each type of plant. We get the square footage for vegetables, berries, herbs, etc. If we add up all these areas, we will find out how many beds you need in total. These are the beds that should be placed on your site.

You're probably surprised by how little space you need for garden beds. And it's really not enough. Many times less than what we are used to! You will have very little land to cultivate. The vacated space can be taken under rockeries, and other decorations.

Where to place

When planning smart beds, you need to take into account the degree of illumination. Almost all the plants you need prefer sunny places. In partial shade you can grow rhubarb, sorrel, and onions (including feathers). Perhaps that's all. There are no garden plants that grow well in shaded areas. Or rather, they will grow, but the yield will decrease by 3-4 times. Shaded areas should be set aside as a recreation area or a flower bed with shade-loving plants should be placed there.

Another principle for placing beds: the more care (read watering) a crop requires, the closer to the entrance to the house it should be located:

Why arrange the plants this way? Because at the beginning of the watering/weeding work, gardeners are full of enthusiasm and the plants get more water, weeds are removed more thoroughly. Gradually, the fervor subsides, less and less water is available per square area, and processing becomes less thorough. And with the approach proposed above, the amount of water will be “just right” and everything will be fine with soil cultivation.

Orientation to cardinal directions and precise location determination

If you want to get a harvest from the entire area of ​​the lazy bed, the location is north-south. Strictly. This is the only way the entire area will bear fruit. Also place trellises for climbing vegetables. Although, they can be planted along the southern and eastern walls of buildings.

For a smart garden to also be beautiful, you need to think about where to place the beds. To do this, take a scale plan of the site indicating the direction to north/south. On it we draw all the buildings and main paths, water supply ( Special attention pay attention to the position of the taps), trees and shrubs. On the plan we immediately outline the shadow zones - we will not place vegetables here, this is a place for flowers and fountains.

We cut out the beds from paper (on the same scale as the site plan). Moreover, we make them in the shape that we plan: rectangle, square, circle, triangle, etc. The shape is selected based on the area planned for the crop. And it doesn’t have to be a boring rectangle. Since there will be enough free space (you remember that you need much less beds), rationalism fades into the background, and the main emphasis is on aesthetics. After all, few people work in their dachas “so that they have something to eat”; mostly it’s also a pleasure. And what could be more pleasant than the beauty of a cultivated plot?

So, we sign each piece of paper indicating a smart bed - we put the name of the crop or crops (you can grow two, three or more on one bed). Now we are looking for a place for each, taking into account the rules described above. Along the way, you can change the shape of smart beds: for the sake of beauty or convenience. When you have found the places, trace the contours and transfer the inscriptions. All that remains is to implement our plans.

Irrigation system

A significant part of gardening work is watering the plants. If you use lazy beds, you will have to water much less often. But even in this case, it is better to route the pipes around the area correctly. You already have a plan for the location of the beds in your garden. Now add flower beds, bushes and trees. Get a plan for the placement of plants that need to be watered. Now you should think about how to ensure that any “irrigation object” is no more than 2-3 meters away. If you do this, then you will have to pull a small hose to each bed, which is much simpler.

Homemade system drip irrigation from polymer pipes, water source - barrel

It’s even better if a hose for drip irrigation is installed in the smart garden bed. This will reduce water consumption and increase yield. Yes, at the same time. A drip irrigation hose is a polyethylene tube with small holes through which water drips drop by drop. When planting, plants are planted next to the holes. As a result, water is supplied to the root, the plant receives a sufficient amount of moisture, and the spaces between plants remain only slightly moist (due to the redistribution of moisture in the soil).

When using drip irrigation, you will have very little work. You open the tap, wait a certain period of time, close the tap. All. Hoses for drip irrigation are available for connection to a water supply (sold by the meter), and are available in the form of kits with a small pump that will pump water from the container. The price range for hoses for drip irrigation is significant - prices differ significantly. No matter how limited your finances are, do not buy the cheapest hoses - they will last no more than one season. It’s better to pay a little more for a quality product and use it for several years. When choosing kits for drip irrigation, you must also consider the area to be irrigated. But, most likely, it will suit you, since lazy beds are rarely large. Read more about drip irrigation kits and manufacturers.

How to make smart/lazy beds

The principle of constructing smart/lazy beds is that you need to create ideal conditions for plant development and ease of processing for yourself. What do plants need? Nutrients, adequate light, air, moisture and lack of large quantity weeds.

Oxygen and nutrients

We provided them with a sufficient amount of sun by arranging the beds from north to south. The next task is to provide nutrients and air to the roots. We lay all this when forming the beds. Depending on the type of soil, we select components that are missing in the “source material”. IN Middle lane In Russia, the main soils are clay and loam, so humus of varying degrees of “maturity” is usually added (one, two and three years). This is both for fertilizing and for lightening the soil - for better access of oxygen to the roots. Along with humus, bacteria and worms enter, which continue processing, enriching the soil and loosening it for you.

Productivity with square meter it will be wow...

If necessary, you can add other fertilizers - into the holes when planting or when watering. Depends on the crops or the richness/poorness of the source soils. The most common natural fertilizers are chicken manure and cow manure, and ash. When making only cow dung mole crickets will annoy you. If you add a little chicken manure, there will be no mole crickets, and the soil composition will become richer.

Moisture retention and weed control

Some of the moisture will be supplied by rain and dew, and some will have to be added by irrigation. And so that less water is required, fill the entire space of the bed that is not filled with plants with mulch. Mulch, by the way, also reduces the number of weeds - there is not enough light for them under it.

Straw, mown grass, sawdust, fallen pine needles, and special mulch made from wood chips can be used as mulch. All this can be used to mulch lazy beds. But all materials are imperfect. Here are their advantages and disadvantages:

There is another good solution: cover smart/lazy beds with a special black covering material. They completely cover the surface of the beds, sometimes in two layers. They do it under the plants small holes. Watering is carried out directly on the material - it does not retain water and air, does not allow weeds to grow, and protects the soil from overheating. In general, it’s good for everyone, except that you have to buy it.

How to make them

WITH general principles creation smart garden We figured it out, now let’s specifically figure out how to make beds. You cannot walk on them, so they must be fenced - with stones, slate, iron, logs cut in half, boards... It doesn’t matter what, but the beds must be separated from the paths. And since you cannot step on the beds, their width should be such that you can freely cultivate the soil.

Now about the width of smart beds. It depends on the type: will they be of normal height or raised. If the beds are made at ground level, their width is 80-100 cm. You can squat or bend over to cultivate this width. If the beds are raised at least half a meter, it will be even more convenient to work. They make not only high beds. Everything can be used possible technologies growing:

Now let’s talk about whether regular height beds are better or raised ones. For a really lazy garden, raised ones are better: when cultivating the soil you will have to strain less. But it’s a troublesome and slow task. So for starters, you can get high beds only for the most difficult crops to maintain. You can also use various containers/containers - for greens, salads, spice plants. Large barrels and boxes sawn lengthwise are suitable. Available for sale plastic containers, which are produced specifically for smart gardening. They can generally be placed on paths, near the entrance to the house.

The only crop that should not be grown in raised beds is potatoes. It grows well in trenches, and making them is much easier and faster.

Between the beds

The beds in the smart garden are separated, the distance between them is at least 60 cm (preferably 90-100 cm or more). A significant gap that needs to be filled with something. Weeding between the beds is not the most best idea. Why then bother with separate beds in order to fight the weeds between them... Therefore, you can either lay out/pave or sow lawn grass. The best grass for our lawn is bluegrass and bentgrass. They grow quickly, form dense greenery that does not get trampled and can even withstand cart handling.

The grass will need to be cut, so you will need a lawn mower or trimmer. And the cut grass can be used for mulch. Then, by the way, the weeds will come out - they cannot withstand frequent cutting.

Some tricks

The technology is called smart gardening for a reason. Can be tested different approaches, new products, experience of “colleagues”. There are several tricks that come with use. We have already talked about one - about covering material. It really makes maintenance a lot easier and there is no need for mulch. There are other interesting ideas:

Surely there are still tricks in processing a smart vegetable garden. If we find out about them, we will definitely update the article.