How to make beds for vegetables. Country geography: how to place the beds

I never thought about how to arrange the beds on the site, since the dacha has belonged to our family for a long time and the traditional orientation of the garden from east to west has developed by itself.

We simply dug up all the land allotted for crops every year, re-formed the ridges in this direction and grew vegetables and herbs.

Everything changed when a very active person bought the plot opposite: she began to convince the neighbors that such an orientation was wrong on our clay soil, and the abundance of her crop compared to ours with the same care made us believe.

After that, I carefully studied the issue and understood how to properly organize the location of the beds on the cardinal points.

The correct location of the beds should take into account literally all the features of your site: the region, the relief, the nature of the summer, the presence of buildings and the shade from fences and trees. The structure of the soil is also important: it turns out that the orientation should be different on sandy and clay soils.

The orientation of the beds is necessary to ensure optimal illumination for the crops growing on them, as well as to prevent stagnant water or, conversely, increase soil moisture. By correctly drawing out your future garden, you will significantly save your strength and increase the yield of vegetables and herbs.

To mark the future garden without errors, draw a site plan. It is convenient to use a printout of the cadastral plan for this, it will accurately reflect the size of the land and the buildings on it.

After that, you need to determine where you will have recreation areas, parking, garden, vegetable garden and flower beds. As a rule, flower beds are planted near the house and in front of it, the garden is located along the contour of the site and on the north side, and somewhere in the center there is free space for vegetables.

Illumination and features of crops

So, the illumination of the site is extremely important for planning the location of the beds:

  1. The southern sector receives maximum sunlight; here it is advisable to plant heat-loving plants and crops that do not need high humidity. Orientation can be any, but if the summer promises to be hot and dry, it is best to arrange the beds from east to west.
  2. Lands lying to the north of buildings, fences and trees, which are in the shade most of the day, are not suitable for garden crops. It is advisable to place a recreation area here.
  3. Where places on your plan that are occasionally in the shade will be marked, they are suitable for growing greens - onions on a feather, dill, parsley. It is best to orient them from north to south so that at noon they receive maximum sunlight.
  4. A sunny place in the center of the site, which is not obstructed by buildings and trees with its shadow, remains for planting vegetables. Here, the orientation of the beds to the cardinal points can be any, arrange them as you like, or as required by other specific factors specific to your dacha.

In addition, you need to consider the nature of the crops you plan to plant. Usually every gardener has a clear list of favorite vegetables, some of them are short, others are tall.

Considering that you will need to organize a competent crop rotation over time, it is important to make the beds initially so that the above-ground parts of the plants do not block the neighbors and do not deprive them of life-giving sunlight with their shadow.

You will learn some more information about the layout of the site and the orientation of the beds to the cardinal points from the following video:

Other factors

In addition to the degree of illumination and crops growing in the garden, when planning the site, the type of soil, types of beds and topography should be taken into account.

Type of beds

It is believed that ordinary beds that do not have limiters should be located from east to west. This will ensure optimal illumination of low-growing crops. The east-west location is also suitable for trellis cultivation of weaving crops - cucumbers, peas and beans. Plants turn their leaves to the south, getting "sunshine vitamins."

Beds with sides or with growing tall crops are traditionally oriented in a north-south direction. So the plants do not block each other, and moisture is retained in the aisles due to the creation of a shadow.

Features of the relief and soil

If you have a pronounced slope on the site, then you don’t have to think about the orientation of the beds to the cardinal points: you will need to arrange a garden exclusively across the slope, forming stepped platforms reinforced at the edges. Such an organization will allow you to rationally distribute the usable area of ​​​​the land you have and prevent water from running off along the relief.

When planning the orientation of the beds, attention should also be paid to the nature of the soil:

  1. The N-S direction is advisable on clay soils, in wet lowlands and heavily shaded areas. Such an organization will ensure that the plants receive maximum sunlight by noon, penetrating into the aisles, it will effectively dry the ground.
  2. The W-E direction is justified on dry sandy soils, uplands and open areas in the southern regions. Growing crops will shade the aisles, thereby preventing the evaporation of life-giving moisture from the soil.

In principle, difficulties with the nature of the soil can be leveled using agricultural practices: heavy soils can be “diluted” with sand, black soil and sawdust, and drainage ditches can be organized in wet areas to drain excess water.

Outcome

It is impossible to say unequivocally how to correctly orient the beds on the site to the cardinal points. Several factors influence the choice of the direction of the garden:

  • region (in a hot climate it is more expedient to plant crops from east to west, and in a short summer - from north to south);
  • degree of illumination (on the south or well-lit side, you can form beds as convenient, and in partial shade - only from north to south);
  • the nature of the soil (on heavy clay soils, the beds are made from north to south to prevent stagnant water, in sandy and on hills - from east to west to retain moisture);
  • type of beds (high ones are oriented in the north-south direction, ordinary - east-west).

In general, if you live in the middle lane in a temperate climate, the soil on the site is fertile, and you have the opportunity to watch your garden daily, you can orient the beds to your liking.

According to experienced gardeners, the correct location of the ridges is 10% of the success of the crop, and the remaining 90% depends on your work in the garden and the competent organization of work.

Traditional cultivation of the land requires a lot of time and physical strength, and the harvest is not always as expected. That is why more and more gardeners are equipping high beds on their plots, allowing them to get an excellent harvest of vegetables every year without much effort. Anyone can make high beds with their own hands, because this does not require special skills or special equipment.

Benefits of raised beds

Compared to conventional beds, bulk beds have many more advantages:

  • a vegetable garden can be set up even on a plot that is completely unsuitable for agriculture;
  • digging and weeding the garden are replaced by light loosening of the soil;
  • in a limited space it is easier to remove weeds;
  • a high bed is easy to mount and just as easy to disassemble;
  • between the beds you can lay out paths and walk along them in any weather;
  • plants ripen faster, which is especially important for cold regions;
  • when arranging a high bed, good drainage is provided;
  • crops in the beds are easy to protect from frost by covering with a tarpaulin or agrofibre.

In addition, a garden of bulk beds can be very decorative, so you can break it up next to the house.


Fencing materials

A high bed is a frame of a certain size, the interior of which is filled with soil, compost and fertilizers. Most often, the frame is made of a rectangular shape, and it is assembled from boards, slate, branches, plastic and other materials.

Wood is the most affordable, easy-to-install and environmentally friendly material. To assemble the beds, boards, timber, small logs are used. Disadvantages: wood requires, quickly darkens and loses its attractiveness, short-lived.


Vine and rods are an inexpensive and original solution. Wicker walls look very attractive, you can give the garden any shape. Disadvantages: weaving a vine requires skills, the service life of such a frame is very short.

Stone and brick - an option for sites with classical architecture. Very reliable and durable material, gives the beds a decorative look. Disadvantages: high cost, it will take more time to create a bed, it is difficult to dismantle.


Plastic is a great alternative to wood. Sheet plastic is easy to assemble and disassemble, it is strong enough, has an attractive appearance, is very durable and relatively inexpensive. Disadvantages: certain types of plastic contain harmful substances, so they are not suitable for the garden. Environmentally friendly material has an appropriate certificate, which must be presented upon purchase.


Metal is a convenient and durable material, ideal for curly beds. If necessary, it will not be difficult to move the metal frame, as well as dismantle it. The appearance of the metal walls is neat, they can be painted in any color or painted with ornaments. Disadvantages: to assemble a metal curb, the skills of a welder are required, the price of sheet metal is quite high, high-quality surface treatment is required to protect against corrosion.


- an excellent solution for multi-tiered beds or arranging a vegetable garden on a slope. The walls can be made monolithic or assembled from separate ones. The concrete surface is easy to decorate, it is as strong as possible, durable, has a neat appearance. Disadvantages: lengthy installation process, high cost of materials, additional requirements for the drainage system.

Making beds with slate is quite a budget and simple option. You can install the walls very quickly, such material lasts for a long time, for decorativeness the slate can be painted in any color. The main disadvantage is the fragility of the material, so when installing it should be handled with care.



Each gardener selects the size and shape of the bulk beds at his own discretion. And yet, there are optimal parameters for which the garden bed will be most effective:

  • height from the ground 15-50 cm;
  • width 90-120 cm;

If the bed is poured on fertile soil, it is made 15-20 cm high. This is quite enough for a good harvest. If the soil on the site is not suitable for farming, the bed is raised up to 30 cm. Compost beds are made even higher - up to 0.5 m. Sometimes the walls are raised very high, which allows you not to bend down during tillage and planting, but this increases material consumption and takes more time to arrange the garden. In addition, with a large width of the frame, it is inconvenient to cultivate the soil at such a height.


The bed should be wide enough for two rows of plants. With this planting, all plants will receive the same amount of air and sunlight, which has a very positive effect on productivity. More rows causes average plants to get less air, shade, stretch upwards, and yield drops. It is also much easier to process a standard-width bed than one that is too wide.

The length of the bulk bed does not play a special role, therefore it is limited only by the size of the plot. The most common option is beds with a length of 1.5 to 3 m; they are compact, look neat in the garden.

The right arrangement of a high bed

For example, a garden bed with a fence made of boards is taken; this option is the most convenient and inexpensive.

In the process of work you will need:

  • bayonet shovel;
  • roulette;
  • drill or screwdriver;
  • building level;
  • circular saw or jigsaw;
  • self-tapping screws;
  • boards 50x200 mm;
  • timber 50x50 mm;
  • primer;
  • building network.

Step 1. Wood processing

The boards are cut to the size of the frame, after which they are coated on all sides with antiseptic impregnation. You can use used oil for these purposes, and so that harmful substances do not penetrate the soil, after processing, it is recommended to cover the tree on one side with a film. Especially carefully process the lower edges of the boards that will be in contact with the ground. The beam is sawn into pieces 50 cm long and also impregnated with a protective agent. After that, the building material is laid out to dry.


Step 2. Site preparation

The plot under the bed should be illuminated by the sun for at least 5 hours a day. Mark the boundaries of the beds, remove stones and branches, dig up perennials. If desired, you can dig the soil along with fine grass - this will increase the permeability of the soil. If the soil is very dense, trampled down, it is enough to remove the turf layer along the marking perimeter to a shallow depth in order to more conveniently expose the frame.

Step 3. Assembling the frame for the beds



Dried boards are knocked down in pairs into shields and interconnected with the help of bars. The height of the shields is equal to the height of the beds, the long sides of the frame are additionally reinforced with transverse bars in the center. Since the length of the bars is greater than the height of the walls, they should protrude 10 cm above the frame. These will be the legs of the frame. To improve the appearance of the structure, boards laid flat are stuffed along the perimeter of the frame, the edges of which are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. In conclusion, the frame can be painted from the outside.

Step 4. Installation of the structure


The finished frame is transferred to the installation site; expose the structure according to the markup, make recesses for the legs, check the location of the beds with a building level. If necessary, put pegs or, conversely, take out excess soil. The structure should stand as evenly as possible, all corners on the same level. Finally, soil is poured around the perimeter of the walls and compacted so that there are no gaps left.

Step 5. Filling the beds

First, the bottom is covered with a construction mesh and nailed along the edges to the walls of the frame. The mesh will protect the structure from the penetration of moles and mice. Then geotextiles are laid, which will not allow weeds to germinate. Next, filling the beds is performed in layers:

  • small branches, bark, large chips, leaves;
  • bird droppings, rotted manure or;
  • fallen leaves, branches, bark, grass;
  • mineral fertilizer;
  • fertile land.

The thickness of each layer is 10 cm. It is not necessary to mix the layers, but it is necessary to level and compact well. If the soil on the site is not of very good quality, it is better to use purchased soil. After filling, the bed is well spilled with water and left for a couple of days. During this time, the layers will settle a little and compact. From above, it is recommended to cover the frame with black agrofibre, which provides better heating of the soil and prevents weeds from germinating.


It is recommended to make high beds in the fall or at the end of summer, so that the layers are well rotted and the roots of the plants receive a maximum of useful substances. If the beds are mounted in the spring, it is necessary to fill them at least a month before planting and pour plenty of water several times to compact. It is easy to turn such a design into a greenhouse: for this, plastic or metal arcs are installed above the frame, the ends of which are fixed to the walls with bolts. A plastic film or a special agrofibre is attached to the arcs from above.


Prices for different types of building boards

Building boards

The device of beds from slate

For the device of bulk beds, you can use both flat and wavy slate. The technology of mounting the beds in this way is very simple and everyone can do it.


Table. wave slate

For work you will need:

  • slate sheets;
  • Bulgarian;
  • bayonet shovel;
  • a piece of chalk or a pencil;
  • roulette;
  • level;
  • rubber mallet;
  • drill;
  • wooden pegs or metal rods.

Step 1. Markup

On the selected site, the boundaries of the beds are marked and beacons are installed. Narrow grooves are dug around the perimeter to the depth of the bayonet. If the soil is good, then they remove the entire fertile layer inside the markup, pouring it out not far from future beds.

Step 2. Material preparation



Slate sheets are laid on a flat surface, measure the desired length and draw a line across the waves with chalk. After that, the grinder cuts the slate along the lines. The pegs are impregnated with bituminous mastic or used oil, and if scraps of metal rods are used as racks, they are treated with anti-corrosion compounds.

Step 3 Installing the Frame


The first sheet of slate is installed vertically in the groove from the marking angle. Then they put the next sheet with an overlap in one wave, level it, knock it out on top with a rubber mallet so that both sheets are at the same height. Check the location of the upper edge of the slate with a building level, if necessary, add or remove soil from below. The walls are reinforced with metal rods or pegs, which are driven in on both sides to a depth of 0.5 m. So, all the sheets of the frame are placed in turn, the trench is covered and the horizontal level is checked again. After that, the soil at the walls is rammed, the excess is removed.

Step 4. Filling the beds


At the very bottom, you can lay old newspapers, cardboard, pieces of wallpaper, the next layer is chopped brushwood, tree bark, sawdust. After that, small chips are poured, plant waste, peat or compost are laid. And from above all this is sprinkled with the soil that was taken out at the very beginning. Plentifully water the bed to wet all the layers, and leave for several days. When the bed is compacted, you can start planting.

Garden care

When the plants sprout, plantings should be well watered and mulched. Weeds that have broken through the mulch layer are immediately removed. After harvesting, the surface is loosened and sown with green manure. Before the onset of cold weather, all vegetation is mowed, leveled in the garden, covered with a layer of earth on top and covered with a black film for the winter. Periodically, it is necessary to inspect the walls of the frame, replace or repair individual sections.

The soil between the beds is most often covered with small gravel, gravel, straw, sometimes sown with lawn grass. In such conditions, the garden always remains well-groomed, weeds do not grow, dirt does not stick to shoes. At will it is possible from a tile and a brick, or to fill in concrete.

Video - Do-it-yourself high beds

Video - High slate beds

How to arrange beautiful beds for the lazy, high and smart beds - this is what a gardener needs to know who wants to make his life as independent as possible from garden worries. If you wish, you just need to master the way to design lazy beds, which you can see in the following photos. A bed of this type will allow you to enjoy a well-deserved rest in the country and will not require weeding every time. In addition, it is not only convenient, but also increases the productivity of crops.

Everyone knows how much time and effort should be devoted to each planted crop, which, however, sometimes does not even justify the result: seedlings may not germinate or may not end up with a normal amount of harvest. In this case, you should pay attention to the technology of lazy beds on your site!

Nice and comfortable

The lazy bed is a completely new approach to gardening that will allow seedlings to grow on their own and yield several times more. It is based on the rule that says that it is impossible to dig and weed the earth, except for its preparation and planting itself. Even if constant weeding can remove weeds and fluff up the earth, sooner or later it will dry out and will not be able to provide sufficient moisture for crops.

In this approach, the very preparation for future planting is very important - it is advisable to do this in the fall, when you can collect material for mulching the soil (you need to cover it with straw, sawdust, cones, etc.), which, in turn, will prevent weeds to germinate in an area with such a cover.

  1. Install your own irrigation system. It is not necessary to choose the most expensive systems available in stores. In the case of such vegetable gardens, those from which you only need to press a button are quite suitable - and there will be no need to water with your own hands. Watering will allow you to make beautiful beds: green and lush. Also worth noting: watering can be done infrequently, but plentifully, giving the plants the necessary moisture until your next visit.
  2. A tool for working in the garden is a guarantee of saving time. Therefore, it is worth choosing one inventory and for many years. It can include not only the usual shovel and buckets, but also various little things that will make your work easier. Also find a place for inventory in advance.
  3. At the beginning of the planting season, dig up the ground once, prepare it for future seedlings or seeds. Plant plants and no longer disturb the ground: mulching will do its job and keep weeds out. All that remains for you before the harvest is to water the beds in the country on time.
  4. This is an interesting and effective way that is suitable for both lazy gardeners and experienced, knowledgeable gardeners. A bed of this type will justify the efforts made and can bring a lot of amenities.

    High bed as a way to get an intensive harvest

    Although this is a very time-consuming process at first - building the frame itself and watering the beds, but it is she who will allow you to forget about the bad climate and low yields.

    The high bed is always under the rays of the sun, which contributes to the warming of the earth layer, so it can be planted already in April without fear of freezing, and the lower mesh will prevent the invasion of moles and mice. A not too wide frame (within 150 cm) will allow you to take care of the garden bed on both sides. If you divide it into two strips of 80 cm wide - you can even do it yourself greenhouse by passing the film over both landings. It is worth noting that it is high beds that give the earliest harvest, first of salads, and then of fastidious vegetables. The only problem is more frequent watering, since water does not linger in such soil for a long time.

    Despite all the difficulties at the beginning, the landing justifies the efforts invested in it and serves for a long time without bringing much trouble, and the garden bed has a beautiful view.

    Digging up a smart bed for fragrant herbs is necessary only once, before planting seedlings. Further, it requires a minimum of attention and care.

The beds need a compass

Do we always correctly position the beds relative to the cardinal points?

To some, this question may seem irrelevant. Meanwhile, this factor directly affects the yield. In the conditions of the last cold summer, we were convinced of this by the example of planting potatoes in our country and in our neighbors. A kind of experiment came out, the results of which I want to write about.

Illuminated the comb - got the tuber

We and our neighbor on the left are planting potatoes in rows directed from west to east (3-B). And at the neighbor on the right, the rows go from north to south (N-S). It turns out such a picture. In the rows in the N-S direction, the bushes cover both the ground and each other with a shadow. The soil is not illuminated, does not warm up and remains cold. Only the ground between the rows heats up. While the bushes are growing, it is still tolerable - they do not oppress each other. But over time, such plantings begin to lag behind in development compared to bushes growing in rows 3-B. The earth here does not have time to dry out, and in the wet conditions of a cold summer, wood lice begin to run amok.

And when planting in the direction of rows 3-B, even with a distance between them of 60-70 cm, the bushes and the ground on the crests of the rows are illuminated by the sun. It is not necessary to do more than the aisle between the rows: a wood lice appears in them, which depresses the bushes and gives way to phytophthora. And at an interval of 60-70 cm, the bushes quickly close, creating uncomfortable conditions for the wood lice. And this is not unfounded data, but the result of a long-term study of the effect of wood lice on potatoes 8, depending on the width of the rows and humidity. In the conditions of our area, the optimal distance is 60 cm for early and 70 cm for more powerful late varieties. In the pre-harvest period, woodlice still cover the potato field with a thick carpet, but this has little effect on the final harvest.

On a note

In the southern regions, planting potatoes in the north-south direction can be justified, since the earth in the rows heats up less and dries up, while the bushes are not oppressed by the shadow. But in our latitudes, such a landing is undesirable.

results

The neighbor on the right received a low yield with small tubers last season. But she planted more than 20 varieties of potatoes! And the neighbor on the left, who planted potatoes, like us, across the plot in the direction of 3-B, had a decent harvest, although he planted only one variety. At the same time, the tubers were formed of medium size, even, without trifles. By the way, both neighbors brought in enough seasoned manure in the same spring.

But we didn’t apply manure last year, we simply didn’t have it. They managed with ash, onion peel and a small amount of "mineral water" - all this was poured into the holes during planting. At the first hilling, a pinch of complete mineral fertilizer was scattered around the stems. This technique is obligatory for us, it helps to increase the yield. After all, stolons and additional roots are formed precisely in the zone of the first hilling, so an unused supply of food is needed there.

We planted 6 varieties. Bellarosa, Rodrigo and Latona gave (per hundred) 300 kg, Lasunak - about 350, Galaxy -400, Ryabinushka - 450 kg. This is slightly lower than the collection in 2016, but very good for a cold summer.

If the site is narrow and stretches in a north-south direction, planting in transverse rows also allows you to quickly drain rain and melt water. And if it stretches from west to east, then forming longitudinal rows, it is necessary to make transverse drainage grooves every 10-15 m.

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    How to properly place beds and fruit trees on your site
    The harvest has long been harvested, and it is snowing outside the window. It would seem that it's time to take a break from summer troubles, but the thoughts of many gardeners are already devoted to the future summer season: what and where to plant, what fertilizers and seeds to buy, how much and what kind of film is needed for greenhouses and hotbeds ...
    And it seems that there is nothing complicated here - just place potatoes, cabbage, carrots, beets, onions and garlic, green crops on their hundred square meters, because everything else: trees, shrubs, raspberries and strawberries have long had their legal seats.

    But in practice, everything turns out to be more complicated - you have to compare a lot of different factors in order to make, sometimes, only one single right decision. Moreover, for this it is not enough to know which crops are light-loving and which are shade-tolerant - you also need to take into account the fertility of a particular site, which crops grew here in the past, and preferably, and not only in the past year, and which crops will grow nearby peacefully and without conflicts.

    Therefore, really enthusiastic gardeners and gardeners have to plan and account for their garden no less painstakingly than accountants do their reporting. For example, my grandfather had a huge ledger with detailed garden plans for several decades, starting in the 50s. In fact, for so many years, information is not needed - in most cases, it is enough to have data for 3-4 years, but here the grandfather’s truly accounting nature has already affected.

    Everything is simpler for me, since a computer is at hand, and it’s enough for me to simply record the year on the plan once drawn in the corresponding program and note where and what crops I grew. But most probably still have to draw such a plan by hand - in this case, it is more reasonable to draw a plan once indicating trees, shrubs, greenhouses, hotbeds and permanent ridges, then take a dozen photocopies, and mark the crops planted in each one year or another - it will be much faster.

    How to agree on all the pros and cons
    Even if you have all the necessary information, finding the right solution can be difficult. You start to place, and it seems that almost everything was planned out, but at the last stage it turns out that, for example, there is a garden bed left for cabbage, on which this same cabbage grew the year before last and at the same time was sick with keel. So, you can’t land her here, and everything starts all over again. Again, we have to redo the plan, look for a new solution and draw it again.

    If you are familiar with this situation and give yourself a headache every year planning and re-moving crops around the garden, then try an interesting solution that I read about recently (I don’t need it, since I do everything on a computer, but most gardeners probably very useful). True, to use this approach, you must have rectangular beds that are close in size, and each vegetable must be planted on its own bed (that is, not in the company of others).

    In this case, you can plan like this: take last year's site plan (or better, plans for 3-4 years) and a blank sheet of paper. Draw this sheet into identical rectangles and write on them: potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, etc., listing everything that you plan to plant. Moreover, if you always occupy two ridges with garlic, then, accordingly, there should be two rectangles with the name "garlic", etc. Cut the paper into separate rectangles and start on your plan to assemble a puzzle called "an entertaining garden", placing the ridges-rectangles in the right way on the chosen places of your plan. It’s not scary to make a mistake here, because. it's easy to fix everything by moving the "wrong" rectangle to a new location. Try it, and this method will be much easier than playing all the situations in your head and repeatedly and painstakingly redrawing your plan.

    What factors should be considered when planning a garden?

    First, all vegetables love a sunny place. Only green crops, which include feather onions, and perennial onions like chives and slime, partially put up with partial shade. This means that in a small shade of a house, a fence, trees and shrubs, you can sow and plant onions and some herbs. Although you won’t get a big harvest in this case, you still can’t grow anything else in these places.

    The second is the compatibility of vegetables: who is good with whom or, conversely, bad. Cabbage does not live with tomatoes and beans. Cucumber - with potatoes. Tomatoes - with fennel. Potatoes - with tomatoes and pumpkin. Peas and beans are very unpleasant onions and garlic, radishes - hyssop. Only now carrots get along with everyone, although from the point of view of protection against carrot flies, it is preferable to sow it in company with onions. It was about bad neighbors.
    What about good ones? Here are other examples. All vegetables of the celery family (carrots, parsnips, parsley, celery) go well with the onion family: onions, garlic, leeks, shallots. White and black radish work well with other vegetables. Radish grows very well between rows of bush beans - it becomes very large, tasty and not wormy. Potatoes do not interfere with beans, corn, cabbage, horseradish and onions. But each individually, because in this group there are several irreconcilable couples.
    Onions, celery, potatoes, dill and lettuce are compatible with cabbage. Tomatoes can be planted next to green and cabbage crops, asparagus and beans. Peas can coexist with carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, radishes, corn. Etc.

    The third rule is no less important - it must be borne in mind that the phytoncides secreted by some plants repel pests of other crops or prevent some diseases from developing. For example, onion phytoncides repel carrot flies, and carrot phytoncides repel onion flies. Dill protects cucumbers from diseases, and onions and garlic protect tomatoes. If you plant strong-smelling plants near cabbages, such as celery, thyme, or sage, they will drown out the smell of cabbage and make it less attractive to pests. And it’s good to plant basil near beans to protect against bean weevil, garlic near roses to protect against aphids, parsley near asparagus.

    When planning, it is also necessary to take into account the predecessors, that is, whether a suitable vegetable grew last season in the place where you will plant another in the spring. And here again there are numerous schemes! And the most important thing to learn is that you cannot plant the same culture in the same place. And besides, you can not place cabbage after any cabbage and beets. Beets - after beets, cabbage and tomatoes. Tomatoes - after all nightshades and peas.

    The fifth thing to consider is the long-term rotation of crops, a 3-4 year perspective. Here it is even more difficult. Agronomy teaches you to rotate vegetables according to their nutritional needs, in particular, in organic matter. Conventionally, in the first year (i.e., on fresh organic matter), they grow cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, cabbage of medium and late ripening, leek, etc., that is, those crops for which organic matter needs to be applied a lot. In the second year they are replaced by onions, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes. The third is the turn of root crops (carrots, beets, radishes, etc.), which have to add a fair portion of mineral fertilizers.

    Features of garden planning
    With a garden, it gets even more difficult, because we plant vegetables every year, and if one year your planning was unsuccessful, then perhaps the next year everything will be much better.
    We place trees and shrubs in permanent places for a long time, and once planted apple trees will supply you with fruits for the rest of your life. Therefore, when drawing up a garden plan, it is necessary to allocate separate permanent places for each species of trees, for vegetables, for flowers, and everything must be correctly calculated in advance where and what will grow in 10-20 years. And there are a lot of rules too.

    The first rule is that each group of crops (fruit trees, berry bushes, vegetable and ornamental crops) has a permanent place. A common mistake is the combined arrangement of crops, when vegetables, strawberries, berry bushes are placed among young apple and pear trees. At first everything turns out well: the trees do not take up much space, there is enough light and nutrition for other plants. But over time, the trees grow, and then the intermediate crops fall into the shade, their productivity becomes low. Therefore, the first rule of site planning is to allocate a separate permanent place for each crop. Of course, you can temporarily grow berry bushes, strawberries and vegetables among vigorous tree species, but then, when a strong blackout occurs, they will have to be removed and moved somewhere else, which you need to think about in advance.

    The second rule is to provide for the possibility of renewing strawberries, plantations of berry bushes, cherry and plum trees. Let's say strawberries bear fruit well in one place for 2-3 years. In the fourth or, in extreme cases, the fifth year of fruiting, it must be completely eliminated. Therefore, one bed is vacated every year in order to grow vegetables here next year, and a bed of vegetables is planted with strawberries.

    Therefore, it is more convenient to attribute strawberries not to a garden, but to a vegetable garden and change strawberry ridges with vegetable ones. Currant, gooseberry and raspberry bushes can theoretically bear fruit in one place for a very long time, and it all depends on proper care. It is more profitable (from the point of view of saving your own time) to take care of these crops well and regularly cut and spray, then in one place, subject to rejuvenating pruning, they can bear fruit for 10, 15 years or more. And everything will be fine. And if you take care of them poorly, then they will not last long, the bushes will weaken from diseases, pests, malnutrition and thickening, and you will have to look for them somewhere else and start growing and shaping again.

    The third planning rule is respect for the rights of a neighbor. Your trees should not greatly obscure the neighboring area. The distance from the tree trunk to the boundary should be at least half the generally accepted row spacing: for vigorous trees 3.5-4 m, for medium-sized trees - 2.0-2.5 m. Currants, gooseberries, raspberries can be planted in the strip between the trees and the boundary . And in no case should you plant tall trees and shrubs 20 cm from the border, which, alas, is not uncommon.

    The fourth planning rule is to reduce the height of plants as you approach the house. In order for housing to be dry and bright, the lowest plants should be placed near the house - flowers, lawn grasses, part of strawberries, vegetables, shrubs, and tall trees should be taken away, into the depths of the site.

    The fifth rule is to take into account the characteristics of certain plants. From berry bushes in drier, but well-lit places, it is better to plant red currants, gooseberries, and black currants in lower, more humid (but not swampy) places. Raspberries and sea buckthorn are planted separately in specially designated areas of the site, since the first gives a lot of root offspring, and the second develops long roots that interfere with the growth and development of other plants; Strawberries are planted in places where snow is well retained in winter. Growing strawberries between fruit trees is undesirable.

    Chokeberry and sea buckthorn look good when planted in groups closer to home. Lemongrass and actinidia are planted near the wall of the house so that there is protection from the wind and it is possible for them to create reliable vertical supports. Barberry and lilac are planted away from all other crops (somewhere apart), because. their root secretions do not give life to other plants.

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