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In many summer cottages there are beds framed by borders. Such a fence is not always built to decorate the landscape. The reason for installing a border may be the technology used for growing vegetables “warm bed” or loose soil. Any building material available on the farm is used to make the fence. Now we will look at the photo DIY beds from scrap materials, and also learn how to make them.
Why are the garden beds fenced off?
Border design of beds is, first of all, order in the garden. It’s nice to go out to your own plot, where vegetables grow in even rows, and there is a path between them that is not overgrown with grass. In such beds it is convenient to care for plants and harvest crops.
Let's find out what else they are intended for borders for flower beds:
- The sides prevent soil erosion during prolonged rains and heavy watering.The entire fertile layer remains under the plants and does not flow onto the paths.
- Fans of growing early vegetables use the “warm bed” technology. It turns out to be a small spring greenhouse, functionally capable of replacing a greenhouse. To make a garden bed, you will need to create high sides and lay down organic matter, compost and turf in layers. They use a “warm bed” without shelter or install arcs and stretch a film on top.
- The sides dug deep into the ground prevent the spread of perennial weed in the garden. Firstly, the useful area where the weed can grow is reduced. Instead of row spacing, paths are formed, and any grass that appears is quickly trampled underfoot. Secondly, the roots of creeping grasses cannot penetrate from the side into the bed due to the deeply dug fence.
You can decorate a garden bed with a fence of any shape and size, but the following dimensions are considered optimal:
- Wide areas are not very convenient to process. In order not to trample the ground and to reach each row of plants from the path, it is optimal to maintain a bed width of 800–900 mm.
- There are no restrictions on length. Each gardener is content with his own preferences. Typically, the length of the beds is determined taking into account the overall dimensions of the land plot. It should be noted that beds longer than 6 m are difficult to water.
- It is not advisable to make the height of the fence more than 100–150 mm. An exception may be “warm beds”.
In general, each gardener determines the dimensions of the garden bed at his own discretion, so that it is convenient to care for them.
We make garden bed fencing from whatever is at hand
To the fence beds on the site you can get creative, then the owner will not face additional expenses.At many dachas, some materials remained after construction. You shouldn't throw them away. Even from slate fragments you can build beautiful sides.
Wooden fences
This environmentally friendly material has huge pros and cons in arranging garden bed fencing. The positive side is the usefulness of wood. Firstly, natural material does not poison the soil with harmful substances. Secondly, the slow decay of wood provides plants with additional fertilizer.
Now let's learn about the disadvantages. They consist of the same wood rotting. Such fencing of beds is short-lived. Typically, wooden sides last for 3–5 years. Wood rots quickly in the ground and there is no way to deal with it. Some gardeners try to extend the life of the border by painting, impregnating it with an antiseptic, and even bitumen. However, such measures are temporary, and after a certain period of time, rotten holes will appear in the fences, through which soil will begin to spill out.
How to make wooden fences? Yes, very simple. If these are boards, then they are knocked down into a rectangular box. Pieces of picket fence, pieces of round timber and other remnants of wooden blanks are simply dug vertically into the ground around the beds. To prevent the elements from moving apart, they can be sewn together with crossbars from any slats.
Brick fences
Brick fencing has been known since Soviet times. Then it was fashionable to fence flower beds, because the material was cheap. Now a brick fence will cost the owner of the dacha a pretty penny. Even if the remains of bricks from the construction of the house are piled behind the house, you need to weigh where it is better to use it: for fencing a garden bed or erecting an outbuilding.
Brick does not contaminate the soil, so there is no need to worry about the condition of the plants. However, you must be prepared that the brick side will also not last forever. The sand-lime brick in the ground is saturated with water, and with the onset of frost it gradually cracks, falling apart into pieces. Red brick is made of baked clay. If the technology for making the material was not followed, after a few years there will be piles of red clay in place of the border.
In any case, the brick fence will last at least 10 years. To make it, blocks are dug into the ground with their ends at a slight slope so that teeth are formed on top.
Slate fencing
As a means of improvised asbestos-cement slate is an excellent find for making garden bed fencing. Wavy and flat sheets are used. The slate is cut with a grinder into strips of the required width, after which they are dug into the ground.
Flat slate at the corners of the garden bed fencing is connected with metal corners and bolts. For beauty, borders can be painted any color.
Slate fencing will last for many years, but we must remember that this material is fragile and is susceptible to impacts. After prolonged rains, shallowly dug sheets are sometimes squeezed out by soil, which requires correcting the situation by reinstalling some fragments. We must remember that slate contains asbestos, which has a detrimental effect on the soil. Sometimes gardeners treat the inside of the slate fence with bitumen or simply paint it.
Stone fencing
Natural stone is an environmentally friendly material for the manufacture of fencing. Beautiful borders are laid out from cobblestones of different colors and sizes.They are also called retaining walls. It is convenient to make sides from flat wild stone. To make a stone fence, cobblestones are fastened together with cement mortar.
The disadvantage of stone sides on cement is their destruction in the spring and autumn-winter periods, when swelling of the soil occurs. Gabions have proven themselves well. The stones are firmly fixed inside metal mesh. Such fences will last for decades.
Store plastic sides
Plastic sides bought in a store cannot be called improvised material, because you will have to incur considerable costs. Borders are sold with imitation stone, brick, wood and other materials. You can choose any colors to match the design of the site. The plastic is durable, corrosion-resistant, lightweight, but it will cost the owner a pretty penny. It is wise to install plastic fencing in the yard around flower beds in a visible place. In addition to supporting the soil, borders will give the site an elegant look. Few people will see this beauty in the garden, so it is not advisable to spend money on fencing a bed for cabbage or tomatoes.
Edging the beds with border tape
Border tape also does not belong to improvised materials, since it will have to be bought in a store. Now you can find plastic tapes of different colors or rubber ones. High bed It will not be possible to fence with such a border due to the soft structure of the material. In any case, it is advisable to support the tape around the perimeter of the bed with stakes made of wood or metal.
Installing curb tape couldn't be easier. It does not require straight lines and angles. This makes it possible to design round, oval and other curved bed shapes. It is enough to dig the tape into the ground to a certain depth.If you need to connect the pieces, a regular stapler will help out.
Fencing made of PET bottles
They make a lot of things out of plastic bottles, and fencing garden beds is no exception. This is real improvised material that can be found for free in a landfill or begged for in any bar. To make a fence, sand or soil is poured inside the bottles, after which they are dug in around the garden bed, neck down. The plugs are naturally tightened. Decorative borders are achieved by using multi-colored bottles or pouring a little paint inside a transparent container and shaking it. It is not advisable to bury empty bottles. As the temperature changes, the walls will begin to shrink and expand, causing an unpleasant crunching sound in the yard.
Metal fencing
Metal edging of beds They look reliable only visually. It is not profitable to use stainless steel or thick metal for borders. Typically, sheet metal with a thickness of about 1 mm is used. The walls are flexible and require additional support with stakes. It is easy to get injured on the sharp edges of the fence while working. Thin tin will rust in two seasons, and soil will begin to spill out through the holes.
Factory galvanized boxes with a polymer coating look more beautiful and last longer. The metal is protected by several layers according to the principle of corrugated sheeting. The disadvantage of metal structures is their very high cost.
The video shows the factory fencing:
Conclusion
We looked at the most common options for arranging beds from scrap materials, as well as from purchased structures.Which border to choose for your site depends on the capabilities and wishes of the owner.
