Narrow ridges. Growing vegetables in narrow beds. It’s better not to dig the garden

New and old - why is this topic so painful for us? Some people use new techniques and get fantastic results, others look at them with envy for years, but are in no hurry to say goodbye to the old days...

It’s better not to dig your garden!

Five years ago, I came across a book by B.S. at a kiosk. Annenkova “Give a shovel to your neighbor! Gardening without problems." The title intrigued me and I purchased this book. In it, the author very popularly explained why you should not dig the ground. Also Academician V.I. Vernadsky said that the German industrialist Krupp, with the release of all his weapons, caused less harm to humanity than a man with a shovel and a plow!

However, so far the Russian peasantry has not listened to this statement and TO THIS day they plow the fields with tractors, more than once a year and at least 35 cm in depth, turning over the layer of earth, destroying all living things that are in the soil.

Since the 50s of the last century, farmers in most countries of the world have abandoned plowing and digging of fields and vegetable gardens, switched to gentle and zero tillage and the use of organic composts. At the same time, they receive harvests that are several times higher than those in the fields and gardens of Russia.

There the blockade of bad traditions was broken, but in Russia this still needs to be done. This article confirms this: I tried to plant just two hundred square meters in a new way using narrow ridges and immediately noticed the difference in the amount of effort expended and the resulting harvest.

At first, I also laid out permanent narrow beds just for vegetables, and planted potatoes the old fashioned way. When the vegetables were just starting to grow, it seemed that there was too much free space left, and all my relatives condemned me for using the land so irrationally and planting so few vegetables, they were afraid that we would be left without a harvest.

By mid-summer the picture had changed. Due to narrow ridges and wide passages, vegetables receive more light, grow well and over time occupy almost everything free space. There was no longer any free land in sight. Especially good on narrow beds The cabbage felt itself, the leaves grew large, and in order to water it, you even had to look for a place to step on. Accordingly, the harvest was pleasing – and so it is with all crops. My relatives no longer said that I had started the narrow beds in vain.

On next year I have already divided the entire garden (and I have 10 acres) into beds 45 cm wide with row spacing of 65 cm. We also planted potatoes in two rows on narrow beds in a checkerboard pattern. To my surprise, it turned out quickly; we finished it in two hours. And before?..

They planted it like this: they pulled synthetic twine onto pegs on both sides of the bed, then they started planting: me and my son on one side, and my daughter and son-in-law on the other. First, the son dug shallow holes, about half a shovel deep. I put the removed soil in the center of the bed, and then I laid out the potatoes, sprinkling them with a handful of ash. Next, the son-in-law on the other side began to dig holes, and filled our holes with the excavated earth; his daughter was also laying out the potatoes behind him. When we finished the bed, we moved the twine to the next bed, and used a rake to level the remaining holes with soil from the center of the bed. Due to the wide passages, the potatoes had enough light, and they did not stretch out.

After planting, a week later I harrowed the beds with a rake; this was easy to do, since the beds are clearly visible from the paths. About 10 days later, when the paths were covered with a green haze of weeds, I walked along them with a flat cutter, grabbing single weeds that had emerged from the beds on both sides. I got the job done several times (!) faster than before when landing in the usual way– after all, there was no need to weed each bush separately.

When it was time to hill up, I stood on one path and used a hoe to roll the soil to the opposite row of potatoes. Then she did the same, standing on the path from which she raked the earth, and hilled up the second row in the garden bed. Previously, my daughter and I used to hill potatoes together, since it was hard for me to cope with it alone, but now I manage to do everything myself, without waiting for my daughter, although I am already 58 years old!

Is your habit of digging your garden stronger?

The harvest was also pleasing. Even the neighbor looked with envy, although he continues to plant the old fashioned way: he is already 70 years old, and, apparently, his habit is stronger than himself... Now, thanks to the narrow beds, I can manage my vegetable garden without outside help. They only help plant and dig up the potatoes. Therefore, I advise you not to be afraid and transfer the potatoes to narrow beds - you will be pleased with the harvest, and it will take much less effort to process!

Since I switched to narrow beds, the soil has become better and earthworms have appeared.

If I come across any “sub-standard” crops or in the spring there is crops left unused during the winter, I do not throw them in the trash, but use them in compost. I only take out things that don’t rot into the trash: iron, glass, cellophane, etc. For cleaning, I have a separate bucket in the kitchen, where I put all the waste and egg shells, and everything into the compost.

Somehow I came across advice to prepare compost in iron barrels, and I immediately took it into account, now it takes up less space. So I advise everyone not to be afraid of the new, because in our magazine for several years now people have been writing about narrow beds, and only good things.

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A dacha is not just a site for growing and harvesting crops. For many, this is a favorite place to relax and implement ideas for. Often the method of disembarkation vegetable crops relegated to the background, but this is not right, because from them interesting location and attractive appearance largely depends on the appearance of the entire landscape. This article tells you how to make beds for the lazy at your dacha in the easiest way. Photos and descriptions of the most good ideas, as well as ways of their implementation should help make your site comfortable and well-groomed.

Tall board structures for planting crops will be the highlight of any area

A garden bed is most often a fenced plot of land intended for growing a specific type of plant.

Slate.

Typically, this material is used only if it is available (for example, left after a roof repair).

Plastic.

The main feature of plastic is that it can be molded into any shape, so it is great for round or other curved fit options. In addition, it is not affected by precipitation and low temperatures, therefore it will last a long time without losing its original attractiveness.

Expensive and durable option.

A natural stone.

It makes the most spectacular sides that will serve long years. Unlike bricks, stones have irregular shape, which will allow you to design a landscape in an eco-style. Disadvantages of stone sides: high price and gradual sinking into the soil under the influence of its own weight, so such a side must be periodically checked and corrected.

A well-made one made with your own hands from scrap materials will serve for many years, but for a good harvest, its correct location is also necessary.

Placing beds in the vegetable garden: how to arrange, photos, tips

From the proper arrangement of beds to summer cottage the quality and quantity of the harvest depends, so this issue is worth paying attention to Special attention. First of all, you need to know the following:

Beds located on the cardinal points (from north to south) - good decision only for low plants on a flat horizontal area.
If the site has a slope that cannot be leveled, the beds should be across it regardless of orientation.
It is advisable to make the rows of one plant the same size. This will make it easier to calculate the amount of fertilizer, the degree of watering and planting.
If there are slopes in different directions on the site, choose the south side (the crop will ripen faster on it).

On small areas There is often a lack of free horizontal space for planting. If this is your case, try one of the following ideas:

Create vertical structures.

Use unused objects (for example, a wheelbarrow, a barrel, etc.) to plant plants.
Attach the garden bed to the seating area.

How best to make beds in the garden - options

The beds are classified according to design features, the following types are distinguished:

Traditional (level with the rest of the area, dimensions allow you to easily reach the center from any side (right or left)).

High (30-40 cm above ground level, contribute to the fastest ripening of the crop).

Deep (when installing, a trench 20-30 cm deep is dug, thanks to which the ground most often does not freeze, and planting can be carried out earlier).
Narrow (for example, according to the Mittlider method, described in detail in the next chapter).
Vertical ( perfect solution for small areas, however, not all plants can be planted in this way).

Related article:

How to make beds from boards with your own hands

Now let's look at how to properly make garden beds from wood. This material is the most common when constructing beds. Board structures have the following advantages:

Reliability.

The tree perfectly retains moisture inside the row, and also does not deform for a long time.

Low cost.

This material is often left behind after construction. If you don’t have it, you can buy boards at a fairly low price.

Easy to install.

The main thing is high-quality wood processing; if this is not done, insects and moisture will quickly destroy the structure.

Attractive appearance.

Wood is a material ideal for eco-style beds.

The only drawback of board structures is their fragility (in comparison, for example, with plastic or brick). However, the ability to quickly and cost-effectively change them more than outweighs this.

How to make a bed from boards with your own hands: photos, dimensions, installation sequence

If you decide to make a wooden structure, first of all you need to choose the type of wood:

Oak or ash- hardwoods, the boards of which are perfect in this case, but their price is quite high.
Pine– cheap, but short-lived. The service life of such a fence can be extended by periodic chemical treatment.
Cedar or larch– the best price-quality ratio. Due to the presence of resin in these conifers, there is no need to process them.
Acacia- Also great option for making beds.

What are optimal sizes beds made of boards? First you need to decide on the height of the structure, which depends on the following factors:

Features of the planted crop.

Some vegetables require a certain depth (for example, for potatoes, the planting depth must be at least 40 cm).

Soil fertility.

If the soil is fertile, the sides can be made 10-15 cm high. If backfilling is required fertile soil– 30 cm or more.

Type of bed.

For example, warm ones are characterized by a height of 50 cm.

The length of the row can be any, but it is not recommended to make it too long for two reasons: it will be an obstacle to moving around the garden, and the wooden structure will have to be additionally reinforced with oblique or vertical pegs.

Most important parameter when arranging beds in the country - their width, since ease of use largely depends on it. If you make it too wide, it will be difficult to reach its center. Therefore, the maximum width is considered to be 100 cm.

In most cases (if the planned structure does not have a very complex shape), it will not be difficult to make a bed from boards with your own hands. The size of the boards depends on the size of the future bed, however, if you only have material of insufficient length, it doesn’t matter, several boards can always be joined along the length.

Procedure for constructing a wooden structure:

Preparing the area.

At this stage, it is necessary to level and dig the area for the structure.

For a rectangular structure, you need to connect 4 boards and attach support bars to them, which should be 20-30 cm longer than the future sides. They need to be sharpened a little with an ax on the free side (to make it easier to enter the ground).

Installation of the structure.

We drive the structure into the ground, and it is important to use a level to achieve maximum evenness of the structure.

Surface treatment of boards.

First of all, the surface is primed (to protect it from moisture and pests), then coated oil paint(optional, you can leave the wood color).

Backfill.

The composition depends on the type of structure and the selected crop. But in all cases, the first layer should be drainage.

Most often, they try to plant only one crop in one area, but sometimes they practice planting vegetables together in the garden. However, it is worth remembering that not all plants get along with each other. Therefore, below is a table of compatibility of vegetables in the beds.

Related article:

Interesting ideas come to mind for many summer residents and owners of private houses. In the article we will look at original photographic examples and several instructions for creating such beauty.

Mixed planting of vegetables in the garden: examples, photos

More and more summer residents are interested in receiving not only large harvest, but also environmentally friendly. Therefore, the question arises, how to achieve a high-quality harvest without resorting to chemicals?

Perfect solution - mixed planting vegetables After all, some cultures have a beneficial effect on each other. However, in this issue You should be extremely careful, since not all plants like any kind of neighborhood at all.

Thanks to the science of “allelopathy”, a table of the proximity of vegetables in the garden has been compiled, using which you can significantly reduce the use of chemicals for pest control and fertilizer.

The proximity of vegetables in the beds - compatibility table

The table below reflects the compatibility of vegetables in the garden. Planting using this information will ensure a high-quality harvest with minimum investment funds.

Mixed planting of vegetables in the garden: examples with photos and tips

Each friendly or unfriendly neighborhood of vegetables in the garden has its own justification. For example, strawberries and onions make great neighbors. Onions protect the berries from rot and disease, and if you plant parsley nearby, they prevent the appearance of slugs.

Onions are also an excellent companion for most garden crops, as they protect them from pests. The most interesting neighborhood of this plant is with carrots. Both crops have their own pests - onion and carrot flies, and the first cannot stand the smell of carrots, and the second - onions.

Garlic is great for pest control and is therefore a good companion for most crops. However, it is not recommended to plant it next to plants of the legume family, since the latter are leaders in fence nutrients, and garlic needs quite a lot of them.

Growing crops together in the garden can be detrimental to other vegetables. For example, tomatoes cannot be planted with cucumbers, as they require different degrees of watering. Thus, the proximity of these two crops will create difficulties during processing (there will be a need for spot watering, which will take much more time and effort).

In addition to the properties of plants, it is necessary to pay attention to their size. For example, when alternating cabbage and radishes, the second crop will not receive enough sunlight, causing the quality of the crop to deteriorate significantly.

So you've developed ideal scheme the location of all the vegetables on the dacha plot, but every year the harvest gets worse. What to do? It is necessary to ensure crop rotation.

Crop rotation table for vegetables in beds

Crop rotation is the organization of alternation of crops in the garden. Ideally this process must be continuous and annual. However, in real conditions, achieving this is very problematic for the following reasons:

There is insufficient information about soil contamination and the presence of pests in it.
No time for exact calculations ideal option landings.

Why is crop rotation a must for a good harvest? Each crop has unique characteristics when it comes to obtaining nutrients. Some people look for them in the surface layers of the soil (for example, a cucumber), while others, in search of water, sink their roots several meters deep (for example, a watermelon). In addition, for the growth of each plant, different elements are needed (to a greater extent) (for example, for a tomato - phosphorus, for cabbage - nitrogen).

Now imagine that from year to year a certain layer of soil is depleted, and the content of precisely those substances that are necessary for a given crop decreases.To make it easier for you to decide how to alternate vegetables, below is a table of crop rotation of vegetable crops in the garden.

Important! The main thing is that the culture does not return to its original place for 3-4 years. During this time, the soil will have time to recover and accumulate required amount nutrients.

How to make a bed for cucumbers in open ground: photos, methods

Cucumbers are a rather capricious crop that requires special care. Many people believe that it can only be planted seedling method, however, thanks to many years of selection, there are currently several varieties that can be planted immediately in open ground.

First of all, it is necessary to prepare the beds for cucumbers in the spring:

Choose the right direction of the rows - from north to south.
Fertilize the soil ( best solutions- cow manure or chicken droppings, if they are not available, any mineral fertilizer will do).
Place sides (preferably at least 25 cm).

The main secrets of growing cucumbers in open ground are choosing the right planting time (from May to mid-June, depending on the region) and choosing the right variety.

How to make beds for cucumbers - general features

If seedlings are not used, it will not be possible to grow a high-quality crop in the usual way (in standard beds). It is necessary to use one of the other methods of growing cucumbers in open ground:

Arranging a bed with a bookmark.
Installation of a warm bed (including a raised structure).

These methods are non-standard, so they are described in detail below to prevent errors during installation.

How to make beds for cucumbers in the garden with a bookmark

To arrange a bed for growing cucumbers with a bookmark, you need to dig a trench 30 cm deep and fill it sequentially with the following layers:

No stagnant water.

Warm beds for cucumbers in open ground

How to make a warm bed for cucumbers on the surface of the ground? To do this, you need to build a box (for example, from boards or bricks) and fill it with the following layers:

Sand.
Organic waste (leaves, bark, etc.).
Straw.
Fertilizer (manure is best).
Earth and humus.

The main thing is to thoroughly compact each layer, otherwise the soil will turn out to be too loose, and you should not expect a good harvest.

Advantages warm beds for cucumbers:

No dirt from the beds due to the presence of sides.
High yield.
Aesthetic appearance (you can make beautiful identical beds).

Raised beds for cucumbers in open ground

In unfavorable climate conditions, it is advisable to arrange raised (or high) beds 40-50 cm high (for convenience, you can make it higher). In this case, the sequence of layers remains the same as in conventional warm structures on the surface of the earth. Such designs have the following advantages:

Even faster warming of the soil, which means the harvest will appear earlier.
Convenient (no need to bend over to care for cucumbers).
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How to collect high yields Every gardener wants to know about vegetables. One of the methods is based on natural agricultural technology. And narrow beds have long been needed on the site.

Read carefully, and put into practice the experience of experienced gardeners. They are already harvesting large harvests of vegetable crops.

Reasons for poor harvests

Today, soil fertility is falling catastrophically. The land on the plots has grey colour because it becomes dense and depleted.

Fertility decreases and yields decrease. And if we add to this the use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers, the picture is quite unsightly. The soil, water, air, food are contaminated, and so are people’s diseases, which are becoming less and less treatable.

But the problem can be solved quite easily if you start using Natural Farming. It will both preserve and restore soil fertility.

Natural agricultural technology, primarily minimal tillage, return of nutrients, protection from temperature changes.

Smart beds on a summer cottage

In ordinary beds, and even densely planted ones, vegetable crops, especially in the middle, get sick and often rot. Plants develop poorly, produce small fruits and do not last long. It is difficult to cultivate and weed such beds. And weak plants provide food for pests and a place where they lay offspring.

Have you ever noticed that the plants on the outer rows are much healthier than those in the middle? This means you need to make narrow beds to make them easier to process. And if you combine two technologies - narrow beds and natural farming techniques - you can get a harvest. It’s a good idea to learn how to make your own compost, and just make narrow, stationary beds.

Next, instead of mineral fertilizers, which spoil the taste of the fruit, making it unnatural, use humus, grass, manure, and ash. In short, organic fertilizers. At the same time, we note that mineral fertilizer is not poison, but it is good in reasonable doses.

Plants need to be fed, but not overfed.

How to arrange narrow beds

To build boxes for narrow beds, you need to maintain their width from 50 to 100 cm. We take the length arbitrary.

There is a gap of 60–80 cm between the beds. Do not think that the soil in the aisles is useless. No. She works. Vegetable box = this high bed. Its walls are made of various building materials: slate, boards, stone, brick, etc.
The beds should be located from north to south, and the passages should be mulched.
The box is filled with organic matter. First put leaves, grass, straw, then manure or compost.
The contents of the bed need to be shed with herbal infusions.
The top is covered with earth, which is removed from the passages. The box is full.

This is how you get a smart bed, because you can place only two rows of vegetables on it and only in a checkerboard pattern!

This geometry hides enormous productivity. After all, plants will receive sufficient light and space for development and growth. In a smart garden bed, they will all be extreme. Here, wide row spacing helps, providing space and light.

As a result, a small area of organic matter will yield much more than a large area of soil.

With narrow beds, the garden becomes well-groomed and beautiful. Planted vegetables that are not clogged with weeds are also pleasing to the eye.

Planting vegetables in narrow beds

Vegetables are planted in narrow beds as follows:

in 2 rows, observing a checkerboard order - cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, etc.
in 4 or 3 rows, observing a checkerboard order - garlic, onions, beets, various salads, carrots, radishes, etc.

There are disadvantages of the method - in the first year there are material costs for the construction of narrow beds. There are also advantages - a smart bed will work for many years, bringing high yields.

Caring for narrow beds

They require constant filling with waste, leaves, grass, and plant debris. After harvesting vegetables, it is advisable to sow the beds. When seedlings are planted in the holes, no rotted manure or compost is added to them. The garden bed is the compost.

Fences will prevent humus from being washed away. Thanks to the large passages, vegetable crops receive enough air and light. It is convenient to water the beds and the water does not stagnate.

Less fertilizers, both organic and mineral, are consumed. If you mulch the bed, then the work of hilling and weeding will be unnecessary.

Narrow beds are not dug up, but only loosened to a depth of 7 to 10 cm. In the spring, they warm up faster, so they can be planted earlier. Crop rotation is also convenient: last year you grew onions, and this year you sow carrots and cabbage. The tubers and roots of vegetables are clean and without signs of disease.

It is convenient to place arcs over the beds. They are sold in specialized gardening stores. You just need to drive two pegs on both sides at a distance of 1 m and put on the arcs. So, they do it along the entire length of the box. You can cover with frost-proof film.

The best fertilizer for smart beds

These fertilizers will help restore soil fertility in a simple, cheap and practical way and increase productivity.

Sourdough starter for organic infusions

Place in a 200 liter barrel:

grass or wood ash - 1 shovel;
litter or manure - half a bucket;
leaf litter or rotten straw - one bucket;
garden soil or compost, or humus - 1 shovel;
sand – 1 shovel;
curdled milk or whey – 1 l;
mash - 3 l.

Mash recipe

Take non-chlorinated warm water - 3 liters and add sugar - 5 tbsp. spoons and yeast - 1 pinch.

It should ferment for two to three days and be added to the tank with fertilizing. The mash is stored in the refrigerator until use so that it does not sour.

How to prepare fertilizer

Everything is infused in the tank for a week and stirred periodically. The infusion is diluted exactly twice.
In a 200 liter barrel, put 2/3 grass weed, add ash - 2 shovels. Fill with water and cover with film. Infuse for two weeks and dilute 1:10.
A 200 liter barrel is filled one third full fresh manure and fill with water. After two weeks, apply, diluting 1:10.
A third of the chicken manure is placed in the barrel and filled with water. After two weeks, dilute 1:20.

Pro100garden is always ready to share its experience and knowledge.

Do-it-yourself “correct” beds

I have my own house and a plot of 7 acres. We have been using the garden for 20 years. So, in last years I began to notice that the earth was becoming heavy, water- and air-tight, and the harvests were getting poorer and poorer. In the fall, it became a shame that so much effort, time and money had been invested, and the result was almost zero.

Something had to be done, but I didn’t know what. That’s when B.A.’s book fell into my hands. bagel “Vegetable garden in a new way. Revolutionary method“doing nothing.” This book changed my entire thinking and allowed me to take a fresh look at cultivated plants, on weeds, on pests, on the soil and in general on mother nature. In nature, everything is interconnected: one with another, another with a third, and so on along the chain. And then I looked on the Internet, saw a lot of interesting, smart, instructive things, and in the spring I decided to implement the basic principles of organic farming in my garden.

With the onset of spring, my husband and I divided the garden into “Right” beds – 90 cm wide and 8 m long(although the length can be arbitrary), row spacing is 60 cm. The width of the bed should be such that you can reach the middle with your hand, because you cannot step on the ground either when planting or when weeding.

Row spacing should be wide to provide plants with good air exchange and light, since scientists have long proven that plants take only 30% of the required energy from the soil in the form of nutrients.

We also chose a width of 60 cm because of its convenience when mowing with a lawn mower. The brought soil and compost were poured onto the top of the beds and everything was mixed together with garden soil. The beds turned out to be slightly raised, but not high. Several beds were fenced wooden planks– there wasn’t enough material for everything.

One bed contained 4 rows for planting seeds of onions, carrots, beets, and radishes. I planted seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and cabbage in two rows in a checkerboard pattern. Vegetables were planted according to the principle of “good neighborliness”, i.e. compatibility of cultures. For example, onions along with carrots and beets (along the edge of the bed). In general, beets are considered an “extreme” crop; their place is at the edge of the garden bed. She planted tomatoes with peppers, cabbage with celery and beets.

Combined plantings are good because the plants (at least three species) do not oppress neighbors, but help each other.

Don't expect a harvest without mulch!

Further, following the principles of organic farming, I mulched the plantings, but did this only when seedlings began to appear (late spring - early summer). Mulched with mowed grass, but always dried a little in the shade. The mulch was watered with a solution containing effective microorganisms and water was poured on top again. Beneficial microorganisms begin to work when warm weather sets in with an air temperature of at least 25°.

Throughout the summer, I added more and more mulch (about once every one or two weeks). Ideally, the mulch layer per season should be at least 5 cm.

And with potatoes we did this: the bushes came up after the first weeding and hilling by the whole family mulched with straw and hay. Of course, we had to work hard, but then throughout the summer we no longer weeded, and the Colorado potato beetle appeared much later and in smaller numbers. The area under potatoes was small, about 4 acres. The strawberry bed was also mulched with mown grass, where clean berries were then collected, and there were no rotten ones at all. Weeds grow through the mulch, but very little. To avoid them altogether, you need a dense layer of mulch of at least, as I said, 5 cm.

Mulching is especially important in hot weather, but in rainy weather you need to be careful, as mulch can rot, especially on heavy soils.

And yet it has many more advantages: protecting the soil from drying out, reducing labor costs for weeding, enriching the soil due to the decomposition of organic matter by soil microorganisms and bacteria.

Wormwood instead of chemistry

Separately, I would like to dwell on ways to control pests and diseases in organic farming. To combat pests, I planted plants in the beds that repel them. For example, next to the cabbage I planted marigolds, hyssop, sage and a lot of dill.

White butterflies circled and circled over the cabbage, but I never noticed any pests on the leaves. I added basil to the tomatoes and peppers, which not only repels insects, but also improves the taste of tomatoes and the structure of the soil. I planted onions and carrots close to each other because onion fly repels carrots, and carrots repels onions. Wormwood repels many pests, especially Colorado potato beetle. I have several wormwood bushes growing in my garden in different places, but to the side, not in the beds. With the help of wormwood, I saved eggplants from the striped pest. In the summer, when all my spicy plants and flowers bloomed, there was such beauty in the garden, and the smell was amazing!

I fertilized only once, in the spring, and only foliar. Next season we plan to use our own solutions and fertilizers.

In the fall, we plant the vacated beds with green manure (white mustard). The use of green manure is another principle of organic farming. They enrich the soil with macro- and microelements, their long rhizomes loosen the soil, increase the humus layer of the soil.

When using organic farming, the land before winter should always be covered with greenery and in no case bare.

And in conclusion, I want to say: in order to carry out “perestroika” in the garden, my husband and I had to work a lot, but the whole family is very pleased with the results of this work! In addition, next season there will be much less work, since the beds will already be permanent, all that remains is to loosen them (up to 5-7 cm) and plant the plants.

If you follow the principles of organic farming, the humus layer in the garden bed will increase every year, as a result of which the yields will increase significantly, and (most importantly!) they will be absolutely clean from an environmental point of view.

Dear gardeners, switch to organic farming! It really works - tested by practical experience. Believe me, this is a very interesting process, because Mother Nature has long taken care of everything for us, we just need to watch her and try to disturb her as little as possible!

Seedlings in diapers

I really love experimenting in the garden. I'll take it plastic bag for a sandwich measuring 20x30 cm, without unfolding it, place 1 tbsp on the left edge. l. (with a heap) of prepared moistened soil, then I place a seedling in the middle of the lump of earth, and on top another 1 tbsp. l. earth, and I roll everything up in the form of a roll - I “swaddle” the seedling, like swaddling a baby. I wrap the edge of the bag (you can tighten it with an elastic band). The leaves of the seedling should protrude above the film.

I put the formed rolls in a kiwi container (you can use a cake container), 13-15 bags fit. In short, in three containers I got 42 seedlings, and they all fit on one windowsill. I place the containers themselves in small trays from semi-finished products.

Then, when the seedlings grow up (after several weeks), you need to unroll the rolls again and add 1-2 tbsp. l. land. Regular care: watering, lighting.

The seedlings grow wonderfully, and by the time they are planted in open ground, I have healthy and strong tomato seedlings with an elongated root system.

With this picking method, the most important thing is that the root system is not injured when transplanting to permanent place, and the tip of the root is not pinched, which promotes further root growth deeper, where the plant will find more moisture and will not depend on watering.

Having planted my tomatoes in two rows in a checkerboard pattern in a narrow box bed, I mulch them with hay and straw (but not fresh!). A bed with ripening tomatoes looks so beautiful that it’s simply impossible to describe! And the harvest is so large that until the New Year, my whole family eats fresh tomatoes.

By the way, this picking method is very well suited for apartments where there is little space for seedlings, and much less land is used. You can pick other vegetables and flowers in this way. Try it, you will definitely like it. It really works!

ORGANIC FARMING GARDEN – MY REVIEWS

Vegetable garden "for sloth"

The most interesting thing about organic farming is that increasing soil fertility can be transferred to a constant and almost autonomous mode of operation. And the next article is the best confirmation of this.

It's not like that, guys...

At the beginning of my gardening journey, I used the experience of my parents, that is, I first dug up the entire vegetable garden, and then created beds up to a meter wide, leaving 30-40 cm gaps between them. Then, of course, I struggled with weeding the plantings, taking out all the grass torn out of the site. But every year it became clear to me that I was doing something wrong, because the work was constantly being added and added.

This became especially noticeable after I started growing seedlings of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on my own. At first, I only bought it at the market, but when I was once cheated there with the varieties, I decided that now I had to take this matter into my own hands (now I have already compiled a pretty good garden collection, but every year I test one - two new varieties or hybrids).

When I was finally convinced that there was no longer any possibility of doing agricultural technology in the old way, I began to study the works of advanced gardeners. The one that made the greatest impression on me was the Meat Tlider. Thanks to his articles, I fully realized that the wisest thing to do is to abandon the “nomadic” beds, replacing them with boxes installed in once and for all selected places, thereby eliminating trampling of the earth, which leads to deterioration of its structure. But at the same time, I left the width of the beds themselves as usual (about a meter), but increased the passages to 70 cm.

Practice has shown that if you fill the surfaces of the beds with organic matter in the fall, then under this “coat” by spring you can get moist and loose soil, which you don’t have to dig, but simply loosen it with a hoe.

But where can you get so much mulching material? I began to grow green manure before winter, collect leaf litter along the clearing along which I walk to my plot, and stopped disdaining weeded weeds. Why put them in compost heaps? It is wiser to leave it in place, increasing the thickness of the mulch layer, which will serve as extra food for various worms, bugs, fungi and microbes. In addition, in the ground “under a fur coat” the passages made by worms and empty

you are from rotten organic matter through which water passes with air and nitrogen dissolved in it. In other words, soil fertilization occurs almost “automatically”! It is generally accepted that nature independently creates 1 cm of humus in about 100 years. If we help her, then this process can be accelerated significantly.

Correct timing

My next step was to switch to ridge planting of potatoes, which also saved me from the need to shovel the entire area of the plot. By creating parallel trenches 10 cm deep and a spade bayonet wide at intervals of 70 cm, the soil only has to be laid to the right of them. Very convenient and economical. I called this method of planting “under the sloth”. Using the same method, I now plant corn (the distance between the rows of this crop is 1.2 m, and between the rows I place cucumbers or pumpkins), sunflowers and climbing beans. The only difference is that I don’t dig trenches for these plants, but loosen strips of earth 30 cm wide.

As for cucumbers, I have come to the clear conclusion that southern regions they must be grown in three periods. And only so!

First, I plant the seedlings in the greenhouse between April 25 and May 1 and get a good harvest in early July. I plant the second batch of cucumbers with seeds in open ground on May 15, and they give me their fruits from mid-July to mid-September. And I plant the third wave of cucumbers in mid-August, which allows me to enjoy the green ones almost until the end of the season. At the same time, cucumbers of the first and second terms can be either varietal and hybrid, or parthenocarpics. But the third term - only parthenocarpic. The fact is that by September 1, figs ripen, the flowers of which simply ooze with nectar, and therefore bees, flies and hornets race to them, pollinating the cucumbers at the same time. At the same time, I note that cucumbers can be grown from stepchildren, but their survival rate will be worse than that of tomatoes.

A week before planting cucumbers and tomatoes, I water the beds well and immediately cover them with film, pressing it tightly to the ground along the entire perimeter. Beneath her wet soil It warms up well, and moisture evaporation is practically eliminated.

When planting, I use hydrogel, which I carefully place in the holes around the plants, which allows me to forget about watering for 10 days.

It is also important that when watering, water can turn barely hatched seeds upside down in the soil, and then they will certainly die. To prevent this from happening, after planting I always compact the soil slightly. And if the weather is hot and windy, then all watering is done only through a non-woven material, and from a small watering can and in small portions.

I urge all readers to dig as little as possible. Do not destroy its structure! Don't walk on it unless necessary. Take care of her. Switch to simple loosening with a depth of no more than 5 cm. After all, back in Soviet times, agronomist T. Maltsev proved in practice that no-till cultivation is the most promising and correct. Deep loosening deteriorates its structure and leads to overgrinding.

After rain or irrigation, such land turns into a swamp with the formation of a soil crust when it dries. And I also urge all gardeners not to get carried away with weeding: do not keep the soil bare, something should always grow on it! After all, vegetation reduces soil temperature and significantly delays water evaporation. Mulching is shading the soil. Take care of this in advance. I wish everyone health and good luck in their dacha and personal work. And human happiness!

V.A. GIANTS. Sochi

I am glad for those who strive to live with the times, for those who are mastering the new science of agriculture, for those who are not afraid to admit their mistakes and are looking for new ways to communicate with the earth without sacrificing nature. But in almost every issue there are also letters that are simply upsetting.

About traditions...

Why can't people see their mistakes? Why don’t they feel guilty before future generations? They are destroying the earth, leaving no chance to restore its fertility and create a sustainable balance in nature! Moreover, without thinking, they also harm the health of themselves and their loved ones. Who exactly do I mean?

And those respected gardeners who are engaged in the “traditional” (or even worse, “old-fashioned”) way of running their farms. Do you think I'm being too categorical? Yes, I myself worry about these fellow summer residents! But still, let's think about it in detail.

So, what do people usually mean by “traditional farming”? Here's what:

suitable digging of soil with a shovel in autumn and spring, weekly weeding in summer, application of mineral fertilizers, as well as treatment of plantings in gardens and vegetable gardens chemicals protection from diseases and pests. But can this really be called a tradition? Yes, one of the main agricultural tools of the peasants was the plow, but who said that they plowed their gardens from top to bottom?

They did this selectively and plowed shallowly, without disturbing the fertile layer. But the main thing is that before this they transported manure to the plots, embedding it in the ground.

It will be objected to me that at that time everyone had a large farm, and no one had any problems with the presence of such organic matter. And I don’t deny it, I just want to draw your attention to the fact that digging itself is not only pointless, but also harmful.

Go ahead. After the Great Patriotic War There were devastated villages and villages in which there was no livestock or poultry. To speed up development Agriculture, a number of forced measures were taken. Forced! In particular, chemists developed and implemented mineral fertilizers, thereby sharply increasing the yield of almost all crops.

But the whole point is that the “mineral water” only replenishes chemical composition soil, and its balance is constantly disturbed. But the amount of humus from adding chemicals does not increase. Moreover, it is gradually decreasing! As a result, the land is increasingly depleted, plants, due to a lack of one or another nutrient, grow frail (at first glance this may not be noticed) and therefore become easy prey for pests and diseases. If you have depleted soil, increase its fertility, but not with the help of “mineral water”! Yes, of course, it will not be easy, you will have to work hard and be patient, because the earth needs time to recover. But almost any soil can be cured; don’t believe that there are “lazy” gardens! Get away from old stereotypes. I was wrong?

...and about innovations

Many summer residents often think that natural and organic farming- It is the same. But in fact, no. In the first case, we are talking about the coexistence of different plants in a certain unit of area, and each of them plays its own role. For example, tall ones shade short ones from the sun and protect them from the wind, wild ones attract beneficial insects, helping to get rid of pests for their cultural neighbors, etc.

Organic farming means running your own farm using waste products of flora and fauna. Here our helpers will be not only the plants themselves, but also everything that can move: from the simplest microorganisms to lizards and birds. I understand how difficult it is to evaluate, understand and accept all this.

In addition, having taken the first step and not getting a good result, many return to their usual methods. But everyone must go through this difficult and long path, because each generation must contribute to the restoration of the fertility of the earth.

My dears, try to start with a simple thing: sow the plots with green manure in the fall, do not leave the soil bare anywhere - neither in winter nor in summer. In the spring, simply loosen it shallowly, cutting off the grown grasses, and mulch your plantings with them, covering the beds from the sun, winds and showers (they wash humus deep into the ground). And the covered soil will always be moist, which will create a favorable climate in the area.

Believe me, at one time I also stood at a crossroads, and not everything worked out for me at once. And even now I am looking for more and more new ways to get closer to nature. But I haven’t been digging or weeding for five years now, I just cut the grass and use it as mulch. Every autumn I cover the tree trunks of trees and shrubs with leaves.

I don’t burn the branches left after pruning, but I process them with a chopper and scatter the resulting sawdust in the garden. I bury all food scraps (as well as paper and cardboard collected over the winter) in the garden at the beginning of the season. I water all the plants without exception with infusions of herbs and chicken droppings, spray baking soda, infusions of garlic, birch tar, I practice treatment with whey and vermicomposts. And all my plantings survive the winter without loss, even if there were frosts of -30°, and in the summer I always remove good harvests, even if the heat was 40°. That's it!

: How to find out what kind of soil - ...: Fertilizing the soil in the fall - my ...

The longer land plot used to grow crops, the less fertile it becomes. Harvests fall, no matter how much effort is put into them, and what can be grown is not pleasing in either quality or quantity.

Igor Lyadov, who lives in the Far East of the country, also faced the same problem, like many gardeners who spend the few weekends on their farm. Accustomed to putting up with falling yields at the aircraft factory where he works, advanced technologies Lyadov did not, but decided to make every effort to restore fertility to the land and achieve high yields with the least amount of labor. This is understandable - after all, a summer resident could only devote time to his favorite beds on weekends.

Technology of Igor Lyadov

The result of observations, studying the experience of foreign colleagues and our own practical work On twenty acres there was a record harvest and the creation of a truly smart vegetable garden. The technology turned out to be extremely simple and at first glance similar to the method proposed by the American Jacob Mittlider at the end of the 20th century.

However, unlike the overseas agronomist, who proposed using exclusively mineral additives to fertilize plants, Igor Lyadov gave preference to organic matter and even developed unique proprietary mixtures based on herbs and traditional fertilizers: manure and bird droppings.

What the two currents have in common is the construction high bed boxes, filled, among other things, with the remains of plants that have lived their lives. Therefore, there are no untidy people on the site compost heaps, everything is hidden in narrow beds and immediately begins to be useful.

Features of narrow beds:

The width of the beds is 60–100 cm, which is narrower than what Lyadov’s American colleague recommended.
The width of the passages is comparable to the ridges, they are 60–80 cm and can be covered with roofing felt, tiles, regular sand and sawdust. If grass is sown in the aisles between the ridges, it is mowed periodically.
The location of the beds is strictly from north to south.
But the walls of the boxes in Lyadov’s garden can be made of any available material: boards, logs, slate, bricks or blocks, depending on the work and capabilities of the gardener.

Advantages of Igor Lyadov’s smart vegetable garden

The main advantage of the method is that the yield on the site almost doubles compared to traditional technology, when crops are grown in wide beds located at soil level.

However, there are other positive aspects that attract more and more attention from summer residents to Lyadov’s experience:

The boxes are durable and their maintenance does not take much time.
The amazing vegetable garden of Igor Lyadov is convenient for loosening.
The moisture inside the box does not stagnate, but is not wasted on moistening unnecessary areas.
No painstaking, time-consuming weeding is required, especially when mulching the soil under the plants.
The plantings are well lit and actively ventilated.
There is no leaching of useful substances from the box bed.
Saves time and effort on digging up the site.
The ridges need to be loosened to a depth of only seven or ten centimeters.
The crop is not affected by pests and plant diseases.
Every year you can easily change planting locations and plan the desired proximity of plants.
Due to the height of the beds, Igor Lyadov’s smart vegetable garden gives the summer resident a real opportunity to plant much earlier.
If you cover the box with film or install plastic arches, then the bed will allow you to grow vegetables in a homemade, but very effective, way without additional effort.

A bed using the Lyadov method works for several years, and with regular replenishment of plant residues and properly fertilized, its service life is difficult to determine.

When the harvest is harvested, the author of the idea advises sowing fast-growing green manure, which will further enrich the soil in the box. When planting, there is no longer any need to add humus or fertilizers, because, in fact, the bed itself is a kind of compost storage.

As it becomes clear, Igor Lyadov’s garden has many advantages, but there is only one drawback. These are the costs of labor, money and time in the first year when switching to unusual technology.

Creating a box bed

Beds on smart garden Igor Lyadov are built in the fall and stretch strictly from north to south, and for their manufacture you can use any available materials from slates and planks to bricks or building blocks.

During the master class, which was given by Igor Lyadov himself, he used old logs from which the house was once built, and cuttings of boards. However, before assembling the box, it is important to select a suitable platform and level it.

Then the walls of the future bed are firmly installed, perhaps slightly deeper, on the soil, observing the rule that the width of the box should not exceed 120 cm. The length can be arbitrary.

The walls must be knocked together or twisted together so that the structure gains strength, and cardboard is placed at the bottom of the resulting box, which will become a barrier to the ubiquitous, perennial weeds.

After the cardboard comes a thin layer of sand.

And then the box is lined with a layer of coarse plant debris. Do not forget about protecting the structure from moisture and pests. Therefore, the author of the technology advises processing wooden box persistent, but safe paint on water based for outdoor work.

When painting is completed, you can finally fill the bed with more succulent and smaller waste, tops and leaves of collected vegetables, grass or straw cut from the lawn, excluding perennial weeds with roots that could sprout. Manure and humus, compost are laid out on top and the nutrient mixture is poured with an infusion prepared according to Igor Lyadov’s original method. The top layer, about 10 cm thick, in the box is ordinary soil.

It should be noted that in the northern regions the boxes should be made higher, and in the southern regions, lower in order to prevent rapid loss of moisture.

Such beds come in handy in places where spring flooding is common.

Thanks to the large, about 30 cm, layer of organic residues in Lyadov’s garden, constant process overheating, which means that the temperature in the depths of the box is increased, but not critical. Plants sprout faster and begin to bear fruit.

Arranging a greenhouse based on a bed using Igor Lyadov’s method

Pegs are installed along the long sides of the bed opposite each other at a distance of no more than a meter.
The ends are put on these pegs plastic pipes so that there are arcs over the bed.
The structure is covered with film or other material, resulting in a warm, covered bed for the early cultivation of a wide variety of vegetable crops and berries.

The system of narrow beds used in Igor Lyadov’s garden makes it possible to significantly lengthen the growing season of plants and obtain consistently high yields, regardless of the weather and the characteristics of the garden plot.

It is important that to ensure ventilation and adequate space, plants are planted in such beds in a checkerboard pattern. Large crops, such as cabbage or eggplant, are planted in two rows, and smaller ones, such as radishes or, in four.

Feeding the garden

The author of the method believes that the fertility of the mixture in the box can be restored not with the help of chemical additives, but with the help of personally prepared infusions, which include yeast fungi and lactic acid bacteria. The starter for the mixture can be ordinary mash.

For three liters well water take five tablespoons of sugar and a package of dry baker's yeast. After two or three days of fermentation, the liquid can be added to a common container, but it is better to store it in the cold so that the fungi do not die.

Feeding recipes from Igor Lyadov

All recipes are designed for a two-hundred-liter container. The compositions are infused for at least a week, and when used, they are diluted at least twice in the case of an herbal composition, and even more when using droppings or manure.

For the first mixture you will need:
- a shovel of sifted ash;
- half a bucket of manure or bird droppings;
- a bucket of rotted straw bedding or fallen leaves;
- a shovel of turf soil, humus or rotted compost;
- a shovel of clean sand;
- one litre fermented milk product or serum;
- three liters of mash.
For the second infusion, fill the container two-thirds with weeds or mowed grass, add two shovels of sifted ash. Now you can fill the mixture with water and cover the barrel with film. After two weeks, the product is ready, but before use it is diluted 1 to 10.
The third mixture includes a third of a barrel of dung or manure, which is poured clean water and also insist for up to two weeks. The infusion of manure is diluted 1 to 10, and the mixture with droppings is diluted in a ratio of 1 to 20.

The roots of plants in Igor Lyadov’s wonderful garden are always provided with everything necessary for growth and fruiting, and the bacteria produced carbon dioxide, is not wasted, but immediately goes to the roots. The heat generated also plays a role, making it possible to obtain guaranteed early harvests.

Organic farming, which Lyadov advocates, allows you to forget about chemical additives, carry out gentle cultivation of the soil and invariably enjoy the useful, high-quality fruits of your labor, without thinking that after growing them the soil loses fertility and will soon become impoverished.