- Application of gradation
- Creating a multi-tiered bed from stone
- Wooden multi-tiered beds
- Video: do-it-yourself multi-tiered bed
- Car tires for the construction of multi-tiered beds
- What is the advantage of a multi-tiered bed?
Multi-tiered beds: do-it-yourself beds, photos, videos, recommendations. Multi-tiered beds are a new trend in design and gardening art. There are a large number of different beds with which you can not only decorate your plot, but also grow the desired crops
Multi-tiered beds: photo. examples of how to do it yourself.
Application of gradation
Thanks to multi-tiered beds, 3 or more planes can be used. Plantings can be located not only horizontally, but also vertically. This will harmoniously fill the picture of the garden and make it more attractive.
The lower level is made as the widest and flattest, after which the middle and thinnest step is formed. Using this technique, you can significantly save space on your summer cottage. The creation of steps is done using old tires (of unequal sizes), boards of wood, slate or even bricks.
Such beds have a number of advantages. They can be arranged in any direction and of different diameters. This solution is also characterized by creativity and space saving.
Building flower beds or beds in several tiers is quite simple if you use available materials. The most commonly used application is:
- curb stones;
- bricks;
- old tires;
- wooden boxes;
- stepped flower beds, which can be purchased in the required format.
Application of gradation.
Lately, purchased beds have become very popular because they are easy to install and all a summer resident needs is to simply pour the prepared soil mixture into it and plant the necessary plants. But this design has a significant drawback - a relatively high price. When choosing a structure for a summer cottage, you should take into account the climate of the region. If you live on the sea coast, you can use pebbles to create original stepped flower beds and decorate them. But you should be prepared for the fact that independently constructing structures from pebbles is not an easy procedure and takes quite a long time.
Car tires are very often used to build beds. From them it will be possible not only to make multi-tiered structures for growing plants, but also to cut out original shapes. A few more popular options are wooden containers, glass bottles or old unnecessary furniture. Competent summer residents try to make structures for the construction of flower beds, using old pallets, chests of drawers, and even using unnecessary shelves and barrels.
We make beautiful beds with our own hands
You probably understand how to plan a vegetable garden. All that remains is to find out how to make raised or raised beds. The fence for them can be made from boards, slate, remnants of roofing iron, and other similar materials.
A little about sizes. You can raise the bed to a height of 20 cm, but no one will do it higher than 1 meter - it’s difficult and inconvenient. The width of the ridge depends on whether it can be approached from one side or from both. Estimate at what distance from the edge it will be convenient for you to process the plants. Sit down and try to reach with your hands, keeping in mind that you will have to stay in this position for some time. This will be the optimal width for you. The length of the beds often depends on the site or on the area that you plan to allocate for this crop.
Having decided on the dimensions, you can calculate how much material is needed. When deciding how to fence a garden bed, conduct an inspection in the barn. Perhaps there are some materials left over from the construction, and you can use them to make a fence. If there are not enough materials of one type, you can make several from one, and several from another. To make everything look beautiful (we are making a beautiful vegetable garden), make different fences through one. This will also add zest to your garden.
In the article about raised beds you can find techniques for making some fences.
Slate fence
If there is slate, the work of arranging the bed will be easy. It is cut into strips of the required width, taking into account the fact that 10 centimeters will need to be buried. To save material, there is a second option: drive the pegs into the ground, and screw the slate to the pegs with self-tapping screws (nail it), the lower edge of which is simply slightly recessed into the fertile layer.
By the way, the fence can be grown or woven. A hedge is an excellent backdrop for beautiful French-style beds, and a wattle fence is an excellent backdrop for a country-style vegetable garden.
From boards
There are many options for borders and fences for beds made of boards. From the simplest - four boards nailed together into a square or rectangle, to complex structures.
In the simplest version, take two long boards and two short ones (according to the width of the bed). Nail a block with a cross section of 50*50 mm to the short edges. Its length is 15-20 cm longer than the height of the boards. Then nail long boards to the free side of the bars, assembling a rectangle.
How to make a simple fence for a garden bed made of wood
If desired, you can complicate the design. From the boards you can make a non-standard or even tiered bed. And it's not at all as difficult as it seems. See the ideas in the photo.
You can read about making a pond here. And this article is about how to turn it into a fountain.
Non-standard approach: unusual shape and/or materials
People make beautiful beds with their own hands in unexpected places and from unexpected materials. Many people know that curbs are made of stone, but concrete is used to hold them together. And this is long and tedious. But if you make a fence from a metal mesh and put stones inside, you will get an original fence. It's called "gabion" and has been quite popular lately. To prevent the soil from spilling out, the inner part of the mesh (from the side of the bulk soil) is covered with geotextiles.
Stone fence
You can make a beautiful bed from branches. Ordinary, clumsy ones. The main thing is not to forget to treat them with bioprotection so that they do not become a source of disease for plants.
A fence made of branches - there are almost no costs other than time
You can even make a vertical bed from plastic pipes. The stand is also assembled, by the way, from PVC pipes, but of a smaller diameter. There are holes made in the pipes into which plants are planted. Only a couple of meters of space are occupied, and the vegetable garden is decent.
Garden bed made of plastic pipes
You won’t believe it, but you can plant a vegetable garden….on the wall of your house. Just long narrow boxes are mounted on the wall, one under the other. There is enough illumination for everyone, it is convenient to care for, and it takes up almost no space at all.
Vegetable garden on the wall of the house
A site with a slope is always a little more difficult than a flat site. But how many non-standard ideas can be implemented. For example, such a bed for greenery or aromatic herbs.
Any piece can be useful and beautiful))
Are you wondering what to make paths between the beds from? Do you have old carpeting? Cut into strips and place in the garden. When watering, the water passes through, then does not evaporate, and weeds do not grow. Beauty in the garden without cost - it's possible...
Old carpet can become a garden path (even if only for one year)
And a few more interesting beds for aromatic herbs or greens.
Creating a multi-tiered bed from stone
When choosing the appearance of the shape of the flower bed, you can move away from straight geometric shapes. For example, a multi-tiered structure looks original; it should be made in the form of thresholds that are attached to the facade of the house. Creating such a structure is quite simple; you need to build side walls to the foundation of the building. After the structure hardens, you need to pour any drainage material in the middle. This could be broken brick, crushed stone or even construction waste. Fertile soil is laid on the top layer, it is watered and crops are planted there. How thick the soil will need to be laid depends on the length of the plant rhizomes. Depending on the length of the roots, the layer of soil will increase. It is important that the structure is constructed using stones that are securely fixed to each other using cement mortar.
Creating a multi-tiered bed made of stone.
The middle tier is laid out using low steps of smaller diameter. The upper step is laid out using even smaller stones. Inside the structure you need to fill a layer of drainage, then a mixture of soil, and then irrigate and plant the plants. Designers recommend using large-sized crops as the bottom layer, and planting miniature flowers on the highest one.
How to make for strawberries
Warm beds
Markings are applied on a flat area. Then a box 25 cm high is assembled from the boards. The recommended width of the warm bed is up to 1 m. Cardboard is laid out at the bottom of the box bed. This will protect strawberries from soil pests and perennial weeds. The next layer of sand is poured over the cardboard, and compost is laid out on it. The bed is covered with a 10 cm layer of soil.
Garden bed pyramid
To create a pyramidal cascading bed, you will need boards 25-30 cm wide, from which boxes of different perimeters are assembled. Some designs provide for the installation of a vertical pipe in the center with slots for watering from the inside. To grow different varieties on the same pyramid, use different sides of it, adjusting the illumination, or levels, if a special substrate is needed.
To protect against pests, a chain-link mesh is laid under the first tier. Then the box is filled with nutritious soil substrate. The perimeter of the second level is calculated so that the width of the bed of the first tier is 20-40 cm. A box assembled from boards is installed on the substrate of the first level of the pyramid and is centered relative to the base.
The assembly of the multi-level structure continues as long as the width of the previous box allows.
Similar pyramidal beds for strawberries are also made from pipes, barrels and car tires of different diameters.
Smart beds
To create a smart bed, dig a trench 30 cm deep. A box made of boards, lining or slate is installed along the earthen walls of the recess, and thick cardboard is laid on the bottom. A layer of fresh plant residues (corn, legumes) is poured into the trench. Then a layer of humus. And on top they cover everything with a layer of black soil.
Having planted young strawberry bushes, the bed is covered with agrofibre or thick dark film with slots for each plant. Strawberries grown in this way are protected from weeds, have a large supply of nutrients and protect the roots from drying out.
Multi-tiered bed
The structure of several tiers is made of wooden boxes of the same length but different widths. They are lined up one on top of the other in such a way as to create steps, the height of which should be at least 30 cm, and the width of the soil for planting strawberry bushes should be 40 cm. The height of the step should allow the root system of garden strawberries to fully develop. Strawberry roots reach a length of up to 30 cm.
Vertical bed
This ergonomic bed can be made in several ways:
- Beds made of vertically installed plastic pipes filled with substrate. Holes are made in the pipes at intervals of 40 cm. Young strawberry shoots are planted in them.
- Vertical beds made from thick plastic bags filled with soil mixture, hung on the wall. Slots are made in the material for seedlings.
- The chain-link mesh is rolled into a cylinder and filled with soil mixture. Sprouts are planted in the grid cells.
But gardeners are most interested in pocket beds. The technology for sewing them from foil insulation:
- No matter what height the bed is planned, you will need twice as much material, since it is folded in half when sewing. So, for a bed 2 m high, there should be 4 m of insulation. The material folded in half is sewn at a distance of 5 cm from the fold. The indentation makes it possible to fix the bed on the wall.
- Sew the side parts and the bottom longitudinal. Mark future pockets so that for 1 sq.m. there were no more than three of them.
- Sew along the markings.
- At a distance of 3 cm from the seam, a semicircular incision is made on each pocket.
- A hollow tube is inserted into the indentation left at the bend and twine is pulled through it, which is secured to supports.
- The pockets are filled with substrate, watered and young strawberry bushes are planted in them.
Low strawberry bed using German technology
There are no furrows between the rows, but partitions made of wooden boards, slate or bricks. Low German beds are made 20-40 cm high and 40-80 cm wide. On wide beds, garden strawberries are planted in 2 rows. The distance between bushes in a row should be at least 40 cm.
Garden bed using Finnish growing technology
The arrangement of Finnish beds involves covering areas fertilized with humus with mulching material with perforated holes for planting strawberries. To regularly moisten the soil, a drip irrigation system is laid under the agrofibre.
Wooden multi-tiered beds
Natural wood beds also have a creative and original look. To create structures, it is necessary to use a material that will be identical in diameter and length. It is necessary to bury wooden pegs to the ground along the entire perimeter of future plantings. Then, along the entire line of the upcoming club, you need to dig a hole, the width of which will be slightly larger than the size of the boards. Then the wooden blocks are inserted into the dug ditch and covered with earth. After this, the formation of the next tiers occurs. The result will be a regular bed with different levels. After marking the border of each tier, it is necessary to fill in the drainage layer, then - the fertile mixture and plant the plants.
Laying layers of high beds - what is important to remember
Let's talk in more detail about the fourth point of our algorithm - the correct laying of layers. Let's consider what to put in a high bed to get that double harvest promised to us by "bed building" enthusiasts.
A fine-mesh metal mesh should be laid at the very bottom of the trench or box - it will protect the plantings from the encroachments of moles and mice, which will probably come to visit. For reliability, it is worth attaching the mesh with a construction gun to the frame of the bed.
Next is the drainage layer. It is needed to prevent moisture stagnation and ensure sufficient air exchange in the roots of plants. For this layer, you can use chopped branches and twigs of trees and shrubs, brushwood, corn or sunflower stalks. You can also add straw and sprinkle everything with wood ash. Drainage height is about 30 cm.
The next layer is not always recommended, but it is worth doing if your soil is light, porous, and quickly drains water (sand or peat). In this case, after the coarse organic matter, you can lay out wood and paper waste: cardboard, old newspapers, burlap, shavings. Sometimes a layer of sawdust is poured, spilling it with a solution of potassium permanganate. These materials absorb water and gradually release it into the substrate, helping to maintain optimal humidity inside the bed. In addition, thick cardboard prevents weeds from sprouting from the soil under the bed.
How else can you use cardboard and old newspapers to benefit your garden - read here:
- Cardboard and newspapers in garden beds: why they are needed and how to use them without harming the crop
How to correctly and exclusively use newspapers and cardboard in the garden?
The main layer, which ensures the “work” of the warm bed, is organic waste. It is recommended to make it about 30-50 cm thick. Plant residues from this year’s harvest, weeds, turf, fallen leaves, dry grass, kitchen waste and everything that we usually put in a compost heap will go here. The only difference is that this pile will be immediately inside the bed. That is, the process of compost maturation will also take place inside, simultaneously releasing heat and providing future plantings with the necessary nutrition. The illustration below shows possible options for filling the organic layer.
In order to ensure the maturation of the organic mass by spring, the compost layer is watered with EM preparations that accelerate the process.
- Review of compost products: 10 most popular products
Ready compost in 2-3 months without an unpleasant odor or flies - the mission is achievable!
Next comes another optional, but desirable layer. If you have ready-made compost from last year at your disposal, add it to the garden bed as well. This will additionally accelerate the ripening of the lower fresh layer and enrich the composition of the soil. For the same purposes, you can use straw manure or humus.
The logical completion of “construction” is to fill the top fertile layer of garden soil with a thickness of 15-20 cm. If you prepared a trench to create a warm bed, then simply return the garden soil “in place.” If the soil on your site is unsuitable for growing plants, use a purchased substrate or prepare a soil mixture for seedlings yourself using one of our recipes.
- Soil for seedlings - how to prepare the right mixture for young plants
Seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and cabbage will be strong and healthy if grown in the correct substrate.
Raised beds are usually installed at the end of the season, and there are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, after harvesting, the summer resident has a lot of organic waste at his disposal, which is perfect for adding to the garden bed. Secondly, organic matter must mature to become a nutritious fertilizer, and the winter period is just enough time for this process. By spring, the green mass planted in the garden bed will turn into high-quality compost and provide adequate nutrition for young seedlings and seedlings.
Car tires for the construction of multi-tiered beds
Car tires are another available “raw material” for creating beds. Repair shops or tire shops offer to buy old tires. It is also quite easy to give this material any desired color by simply painting it in the desired shade. To build beds or flower beds of several floors, you need to buy tires of unequal diameters and stack them on top of each other using a descending method. The steps with the largest diameter are placed on the bottom, and each further tier is reduced. Some summer residents prefer to create beds in the shape of a pyramid. Each tire must be filled with drainage. This could be broken brick, crushed stone or construction waste. Fertile soil must be laid on top.
Car tires for the construction of multi-tiered beds.
What is the advantage of a multi-tiered bed?
Multi-tiered beds are characterized by a number of significant advantages. They are extremely compact, and any owner will definitely take care to ensure that every piece of land is functionally exploited. Therefore, the construction of multi-level beds will be a pleasant event for any summer resident. In addition, such designs will fully unleash the owner’s imagination.
Also, the multi-tier design is very effective. With proper care and the creation of fertile soil, you can get a good harvest. Such structures are much easier to maintain, and the soil warms up faster because it is closer to the sun.
Another advantage is ergonomics. The beds with several tiers are very comfortable. Thanks to the required height, you will be able to avoid wasting time caring for structures. The owners of the beds do not need to regularly bend down to weed and carry out other manipulations. In this case, you can make any height that will be most comfortable for caring for the beds.
What is the advantage of a bed of several tiers.
Aesthetics is another significant advantage of multi-tiered structures. You can practice growing different crops on them, for example, tomatoes are planted on the lower ones, and basil is planted on the upper ones, which will repel pests.
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