Mankind has been engaged in agriculture since time immemorial and is constantly improving in it. The more we know about nature and its laws, the more confident we feel about cultivating different cultures. To increase the productivity of today, various adaptations and technologies have been used, tested for centuries, than we can rightly be proud of.
One of such technologies is the device of warm beds. This "know-how" is used mainly in the northern regions, where the normal growth of crops is not enough heat. For example, in Siberia, the average temperature in May does not exceed 10 ° C, and for a full development of most vegetables, only 2-3 degrees is missing. To do this, they came up with warm beds. In them, under the compost layer, an organic substance is laid, which, decomposing, gives a thermal effect and heats the roots of plants from the inside, from below. Vegetables in such beds can be planted 3-4 weeks earlier, and they tend to yield until the fall. In addition, when organic matter decays, they form a large number of nutrients, which also has a beneficial effect on plants.
How to make warm beds?
This is not as difficult as it may seem:
- First, determine the location of the future garden. The ideal place will be the sunny side of the plot, preferably behind the wall of the house or a barn. Warming up for a day, the wall of the building will give heat at night, not letting young shoots freeze.
- If your site is in the lowland, then you can use a wooden box for the bed. In this case, the lower part of the bed will be in the ground, and the upper part in the box. If the site is even, you can dig a small trench about 40 cm deep.
- Clear the ground by removing the top layer of the old soil, and begin to lay the constituent beds in layers, from the bottom up:
- drainage (branches);
- carbonaceous organic material (fallen leaves, sawdust, old newspapers, straw);
- nitrogenous organic matter (plant tops, manure, hay, bird droppings, mullein);
- another layer of carbonaceous organic matter;
- compost;
- greenhouse (if you planted the plants ahead of time, you can cover the bed with polyethylene, but this is not necessary).
One of the options for the arrangement of warm beds are round beds for cucumbers, zucchini and other single climbing crops. To do this, old car tires will be useful: they are used instead of a box, keep the heat well and promote additional warming of the bed. In the center of the hole, do not forget to drive in the support.
Experienced gardeners recommend the watering of warm beds with a solution of the biopreparation "Shine", as well as alternately ordinary water and various herbal infusions.
Keep in mind that in the first year in a warm patch you can not plant plants that have the property of absorbing nitrates: beets, radishes, dill, spinach, parsley. Usually, warm beds are made for vegetable crops: cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, pumpkin, which intensively absorb nutrients from the soil. With the onset of the second spring, you can plant white cabbage, lettuce, celery, and for the third year - plants with an even smaller need for nutrients.
You can combine warm beds with the method of growing vegetables on the mitlajderu (narrow beds at a great distance from each other). This approach will be more effective than both of these methods separately.
When is it better to make warm beds?
To start the device of warm beds is best in the autumn, because:
- firstly, in the autumn you will find much more natural organics: dry foliage, potato leaves, hay, straw, etc .;
- secondly, in the spring of work in the garden and in the garden areas is much more than in the autumn: it is necessary to dig, loosen, plant, water, and to engage in the arrangement of beds especially once. Therefore, as soon as you decide to make a warm patch, do not delay until the spring: it will save you valuable time.
In the spring it will only be necessary to prepare the beds for the season: dig holes, if necessary add compost to them and plant the plants.