Content
It is generally accepted that in order to get a good harvest of vegetables, you need to put a lot of effort into caring for your garden. Digging the soil twice a year, weeding and loosening takes a lot of time and effort from the farmer. But what to do if there is always not enough time and such traditional worries become a burden? But there is a very simple solution to this problem - beds for lazy owners. So called Box beds do not require deep digging, protect vegetable plants from creeping weedy herbs, facilitate watering and loosening. An example of creating boxes, the advantages of using them, as well as a description of other technologies for creating lazy beds are given below in the article.
Box beds
Framed beds can be low or high. It is worth noting that the second option is more convenient to maintain, which is why farmers often prefer it. Box beds allow lazy owners to grow an excellent harvest of vegetables without much time and labor.
Advantages and disadvantages
Lately, lazy beds have become increasingly popular. They are preferred by beginners and experienced farmers. The technology of lazy beds has become widespread due to a number of characteristic advantages:
- you can build a garden bed for lazy owners on any piece of soil, stones or even asphalt;
- the technology assumes the presence of a drainage layer, which allows the use of lazy beds in lowlands and wetlands;
- using special high filling the ridge can be made warm, suitable for early cultivation of heat-loving vegetable crops in greenhouses and open ground;
- high bed barriers protect plants from weed seeds and the encroachment of other grasses;
- a high lazy bed makes work easier, since there is no need to bend low while sowing and loosening crops;
- priming in boxes does not require regular deep digging; before sowing seeds or picking seedlings, it is enough to simply loosen the soil;
- the opportunity to make beds with your own hands with a high level of decorativeness;
- The paths between the ridges do not require weeding; the grass on them can be mowed.
Among the disadvantages of lazy beds, it is worth highlighting the need to use certain materials to create the box, as well as one-time labor costs during the construction of the structure.
Creation technology
The first step in creating lazy beds is building a box. Its parameters may vary, however, the width of the beds should not be made more than 120 cm, as this may complicate its subsequent maintenance.
The sides of a lazy bed can be made from scrap materials, for example, old bricks, remains slate, logs, boards. The building materials market also offers special curb strips and panels, however, their purchase requires additional cash costs.
Fill the box in layers:
- The first layer is drainage.To make it, you can use expanded clay, broken brick, pebbles;
- long-decomposing organic matter, coarse tops, and processed sawdust are placed in the second layer;
- the third layer is laid with foliage, grass, and rotted manure;
- the last, fourth layer in the box bed must be made of fertile soil.
The thickness of each layer should be at least 15 cm. It is recommended to make the layer of fertile soil at least 20 cm thick.
Usage
You can create lazy box beds both in spring and autumn. At the same time, spring beds require the introduction of special bacteria, which will contribute to the accelerated rotting of the planted grass. The source of such bacteria can be the drug “Baikal-M”. Beds created in the fall do not require the use of special bacteria. The process of decay occurs naturally during the autumn-spring period. In order for the autumn beds to be suitable for growing vegetables in early spring, they must be covered with black polyethylene for the winter.
High beds can be used to grow absolutely all crops, be it cucumbers, tomatoes, root vegetables or strawberries. Also lazy beds can be mixed, planting different plants in one box.
Box beds are indeed an excellent option for lazy and busy owners who do not want to spend a lot of time and effort on growing vegetables, but at the same time do not mind enjoying the harvest. So, having taken care of creating the boxes once, you can forget about digging up the earth for several years.Weeding of such high ridges needs to be done extremely rarely, because the soil is protected from the proximity of weeds and is inaccessible to self-sowing seeds. There is no need to bend low while weeding, which means that even an elderly or ailing owner can take care of the beds. Detailed information on how to create such convenient beds in your garden can be found in the video:
Beds under cover
Another option for creating beds for lazy owners allows you to get rid of weeding. It consists in covering the free space in the beds with a continuous, opaque carpet.
Advantages and disadvantages
The technique for creating such lazy beds is quite young. It is most often used by experimental farmers, however, this method of cultivation has already received a lot of positive feedback, which means it deserves attention.
The advantages of this method include:
- no need to weed the beds;
- creating favorable conditions for growing heat-loving crops;
- the ability to plant plants in early spring.
Among the disadvantages of the technology, one should highlight the financial costs of the material and the complexity of irrigation.
Creation technology
On the lazy you can grow in the garden any crops, including tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, root vegetables. Such unique ridges can be created by implementing the following steps:
- after deep digging, it is necessary to form a raised bed and fill it with mown grass and leaves;
- Cover the prepared bed with opaque polyethylene or old carpet. The edges of the material should be fixed with boards, bars or bricks;
- it is necessary to make holes in the coating and sow seeds or plant seedlings in them;
- if seeds of heat-loving crops are sown in a lazy bed in early spring (cucumbers, zucchini), then the holes with the seeds are covered with cut-off plastic bottles;
- with the onset of favorable weather, the bottles should be removed and the film should be left for the entire period of growing the crop.
The technology for creating lazy beds is shown in more detail in the video:
Photos of beds for lazy owners can be seen below.
Usage
Under the film and carpet, favorable temperatures and high humidity are maintained throughout the entire growing period. The resulting condensation regularly moistens the soil and allows the layer of grass and leaves to rot, turning into natural organic fertilizer.
It is necessary to water the plants precisely at the root. Loosening should be done as needed. In the absence of sunlight, weeds do not grow under the film, which means there is no need to weed the ridges.
Conclusion
Each farmer can independently choose the option of creating lazy beds. So, with a little time you can make beautiful raised beds- boxes that will allow you to get a bountiful harvest with minimal care. In this case, the beds can become a real decoration of the garden. Ridges under cover, of course, do not look so chic, but creating them does not require special skills or a lot of time. Moreover, each option has a number of its own advantages, which means it can be used
