Box beds look neater than ordinary beds, the soil from them does not erode, the walls protect from pests and weeds. Wood is most often used as a fence, but other materials, for example, asbestos-cement slate, have also proven themselves well. How to make slate beds with your own hands?

Pluses of slate beds

The main advantage of slate over wood materials for the device of beds - the fact that it is not subject to decay, which means it will last longer. In addition, rodents do not like slate. The slate weighs a little, so it is not difficult to transfer material from place to place or replace a damaged area. This is an inexpensive material that is not difficult to find on the market.

Slate can be ordinary and colored, which will be an additional decoration of the garden. Even beds made of ordinary gray slate look quite aesthetically pleasing, since the material is easy to cut in accordance with the required dimensions, the structures are smooth and geometrically stable. Slate fences protect against pests, in particular, bear, and weeds.

Slate beds are made of various shapes: rectangular, polygonal, square. Can be used as wavy or flat roofing material... A slate bed can be not only a place for growing vegetables, herbs, flowers and berries, but also a decoration of the site, because it can be made in any shape, painted in suitable color and supplement with flower beds and flowerpots. The photo shows do-it-yourself slate beds.

To increase the service life of the slate, it can be painted; it is better to use quick-drying acrylic paints or paints such as liquid plastic. It is also recommended to paint the slate if you are afraid of asbestos released from the slate, which is harmful to health.

The disadvantages of slate beds are the fragility of this material, it is afraid of impacts and strong bends. Also, slate is stronger than wood, heats up in the sun, so moisture from the ground evaporates more than in the case of wooden box beds.

How to make a slate bed with your own hands? You will need

• slate,
• rope and pegs for marking,
• bayonet shovel,
• crushed stone,
• grinder for cutting slate,
• fertile soil.

The width can be from 20 to 120 cm, the length can be any. Not only slate, but also other beds are best located from east to west. This provides the most uniform sun illumination. The fence is deepened into the ground by at least 40 cm so that it stands stable.

The passages between the beds are sown with a lawn or reinforced in a different way so that the soil does not erode. You can cover them with sawdust or lay them out with slabs so that weeds do not grow.

From corrugated plates

First, the slate is cut into plates of the required size along or across the wave.

A garden is marked with a rope with pegs, a trench is dug about half the depth of the plate and well watered.

Slate sheets are installed, reinforced on both sides with pegs or pieces of reinforcement. Check the diagonals so that the bed is flat. The sheets are installed with an overlap of at least one wave.

The slate is slightly pressed into the ground, for this, a wooden block is placed on the upper edge and lightly pressed on it. The trench is filled with soil and tamped.

It is important to remember that with the horizontal arrangement of the waves, plants can sprout along the grooves in the plate, which is not always desirable. Also, when digging the beds, you need to be careful not to break the plate. It is better to place the plates in waves perpendicular to the ground, so it will be easier to connect the plates.

Flat slate

For flat slate beds, it is convenient to use sheets of 1.75 m in size. They are cut into two parts: 1 m long and 75 cm long. To connect such plates, metal plates and corners are needed. The plates are connected with bolts, for this you need to drill holes in them. If self-tapping screws or screws with sharp ends are used, you can cover them with bottle caps.

It is also necessary to paint the corners or cover them with an anti-corrosive compound. Once dry, you can fill the fence with earth or compost.

You cannot drive slate plates into the ground, this is a fragile material that can break. They are installed in a trench, covered with earth and tamped. Pegs are used for securing.

How to cut slate

Slate is produced in large sheets up to 3 m long, therefore, such sheets will have to be cut to make beds. This is best done with a grinder. Diamond discs or discs for stone work are used, the latter are cheaper.

If there is no electricity on the site, then you can also saw with a hand saw, including a hacksaw for wood, but this method is more traumatic, and after work, most likely, the saw will have to be thrown away. You can use a foam concrete saw, but it is more expensive.

If we are sawing with a hand saw, one person must hold a sheet of slate, which is not always convenient due to the large size of the sheet.

Important! When sawing asbestos-cement slate, asbestos dust is released, which is harmful to breathe. Therefore, you need to work with glasses and a respirator and position yourself so that the dust is blown away by the wind.

To prevent dust from scattering around the site, when one person is sawing the slate, the second one pours water over the place of sawing from a bottle with a hole in the lid (in a thin stream). If there are no assistants, a wet rag should be put in place of the cut for several hours.

If you are sawing across the waves, it is convenient to first saw through their tops, and then connect the holes.

High beds

Tall boxes are relevant on marginal soil. In these box beds, you can create a nutritious soil with compost, humus and fertilizers and get a good harvest. The ridges are usually made in the following sizes:

• width - up to 1.3 m,
• height - about 70 cm,
• length - up to 10-11 m.

Such designs are good in that they can easily adjust the composition and thickness of the soil layer depending on the planted plants. Thanks to this individual selection of conditions, plants will be less affected by various diseases and pests.

Also high beds it is convenient to make slate in areas with an uneven surface. The ground inside such boxes remains loose and is not washed away by rain and watering, there is no need to dig up the whole garden every year, it is enough to loosen the ground in the beds. Even cucumbers, tomatoes and climbing plants, they hang out from the fences, so there is no need to support or tie them up.

The disadvantage of such structures is that perennial plants after a few years, it can become crowded, so you need to plan their placement with a margin of space or replant.

The soil in high beds consists of several layers:

• metal mesh from rodents,
• wood waste (sawdust, shavings, chips),
• humus, compost,
• peat,
• previously removed fertile soil.

Due to this composition and the continued decay of plant residues, the temperature in the beds is slightly higher than the temperature of the soil next to it, so the yield will be higher, and less fertilizer may be required. On average, this soil is enough for 5 years of growing vegetables, after which it is changed. It is easy to get a greenhouse from a high bed if you cover it. plastic wrap or other covering material.

For strength, a bed with a height of more than 40 cm must be pulled together with wire. To do this, holes are drilled in the opposite walls of the bed, a wire is pulled through them and its ends are twisted. You need to be careful not to overtighten the wire and break the slate. Also, the beds are strengthened by driving along the edges. metal pipes, which need to be buried 40 cm into the soil.

The video shows how to make warm slate beds:

Meatlider beds

How to make Meatlider slate beds, for example, for strawberries, carrots, beets, greens and other plants. They are made 45 cm wide, and the row spacing is 90 cm wide.

The garden bed is arranged as follows:

• a layer of 20 cm of sawdust, shavings or wood chips is poured,
• fertile soil is poured on top.

Sawdust is needed to retain moisture and as a fertilizer. Thanks to them, the upper layers of the soil crack less, and cracks increase the evaporation of moisture from the ground.

With such a width of the beds, the plants are located freely, due to which they develop well, and it is also easy to remove weeds. Also, with a free arrangement, the roots are less susceptible to rot and other diseases.

The soil in the aisles is well compacted. Meatlider does not recommend laying them with tiles, as weed roots may remain under it.

Slate beds are a convenient and not very difficult to construct option for beds with a fence. They not only increase the yield, but also serve as a decoration for the site due to their neat appearance.

Tall, or as they are also called, smart beds, can increasingly be seen on amateur sites. And they equip them from various materials... For example, a flat slate made from an asbestos-cement mixture is great for a frame. The article will discuss how to equip such structures with your own strength and hands.

Why are such beds good and what are their shortcomings?

Before proceeding with the construction of the side of the garden from any material, in order to avoid disappointment, it is advisable to study its features. Flat slate sheets are endowed with the following advantages:

• Quite low cost. Even buying new ones will cost less than some other materials.
• Installation of the skirting is quick and easy. Any amateur can handle it. You will not need to create a frame from other materials.
• Slate beds can last a long enough period without losing their shape. Moreover, the quality of the material already used is in no way inferior to the new one.

Advice. If you want to create something exclusive on the site, fences can be painted in different colors.

• The beds with slate frames are reliably protected from rodents. Through such a barrier, the bear and the wireworm will not get to the roots and root crops.
• The material is not afraid of water and is not subject to corrosion, rot, etc.

Slate bed frame

• Slate beds can be equipped not only with rectangular shape, but also with square, trapezoidal, polygonal. This allows you to create an interesting, unusual look.

Of the obvious disadvantages of framing from flat sheets, one can name the ability to heat up on hot days, as a result of which the bed dries quickly and suffers from overheating, and the fragility of the material - it does not withstand heavy loads and impacts.

Is it harmful to use a building material as a frame or not

Disputes over the harmful effects of slate on the soil have been going on for a very long time. Some people are categorically against installing such a bed in their dacha or personal plot... How valid are these fears? The main substances used in the production of any kind of slate are as follows:

• plain water;
• cement;
• asbestos fiber.

In turn, the last component is different:

• amphibole-asbestos;
• chrysotile asbestos.

The first is made on the basis of natural materials and does not degrade under the action of acids, while the second tends to degrade in an acidic environment. In European countries, slate based on chrysotile asbestos is not used - there is simply no such natural material... As a roofing material, only a coating is used for the production of which amphiol-asbestos is involved. The harm of such a composition has really been proven by scientists.

But here it should be borne in mind that slate itself is not dangerous. It is not capable of saturating the soil and surrounding air with hazardous substances. Asbestos dust is harmful, which can enter the respiratory tract of a person. As a result of prolonged contact, which is possible only in production, it is capable of causing pathological changes in the bronchi and lungs, including the formation of malignant tumors.

Attention! To avoid the ingress of harmful dust particles into the respiratory tract and mucous membranes when cutting slate at home, you should definitely use a respirator and goggles.

Roofing material containing chrysotile asbestos is produced in Russia. Its harmfulness has not been proven. Therefore, when buying material, if you want to equip slate beds, you should definitely be interested in the manufacturer and the constituent substances.

How to properly build slate beds

The creation of a tall bed in a slate frame is as follows.

1. Now on sale you can find ready-made sheets specifically for the beds. But if there are none, the standard material is cut across with a grinder or with the help of other tools into two identical parts. As already mentioned, precautions should be taken in this case.
2. On the site where the garden is planned, markings are carried out. On it, using an ordinary shovel, they dig a trench 25-30 cm deep and 20-25 cm wide.
3. Wooden corners are prepared from boards with a width of about 15 cm and a length equal to the height of the beds. They will be located in the corners of the structure from the inside.
4. Slate sheets, along the edges of which holes should be drilled, are installed along the perimeter of the garden bed and are attached to the wooden corners with the help of galvanized self-tapping screws.
5. After fastening, the structure is leveled using a level.
6. It is advisable to close the ends of the slate with wooden bars using the same self-tapping screws. At the end of the assembly, it is advisable to paint them.

More detailed information can be found in the photo and video materials attached to the article. At the end of the installation, the trench is covered with earth on both sides, which is well rammed. The inner cavity of the garden bed is filled with various garden waste: branches, leaves, hay, straw, tops of various crops, etc. Then organic matter is added: manure or humus. Sprinkle on top with a small layer of soil (about 15 cm), watered and covered with a film.

Advice. In order for organic matter to disintegrate faster, a special biofertilizer can be added to the water during irrigation.

After a few days, the film is removed, and a layer of soil is poured on top. The beds are now ready for planting.

Slate beds are a great solution for organizing a "smart garden". In such a frame, the plants will feel very comfortable and will bring a good harvest.

How to make a bed of ordinary slate: video

Every gardener knows how tedious it can be to build beds on his site, since giving the beds the required size and shape, preparing the land and final finishing the beds are very time consuming steps. One of the favorite types of beds for those who like to "dig" in the ground are high slate beds. And we will talk about how to build them in our article.

Gardeners are trying to organize their property in such a way as to minimize labor costs for their construction, while saving precious seasonal time and money.

It is here that slate shows its best qualities:

• Firstly, this material is very durable, since it does not rot when in contact with organic matter.
• Secondly, slate for beds is also suitable from an aesthetic point of view, as it looks quite attractive on them.
• Thirdly, the material is easy to use.

If we talk about the disadvantages of slate as a material for beds, then some sources insist on the not entirely favorable effect of asbestos cement on soil quality.

It is not entirely clear how harmful such a neighborhood is. However, many gardeners note the fact that slate sheets, by digging in to a considerable depth, protect the crop from bears.

In addition, the disadvantage can be attributed to the fact that from heating in the sun the outer part of the slate (as well as on) heats up its inner part, which leads to accelerated evaporation of moisture from the soil.

In other words, when using slate beds, more frequent watering will be required.

The bed slate can be used in both classic wavy and flat shapes.

Erection of beds from corrugated and flat slate sheets

Wave slate beds

It is very simple to build beds from corrugated slate sheets:

• With the help of a grinder, pieces of slate of the required size are cut across the waves.
• Dig a shallow trench around the perimeter of the proposed bed.
• Cut plates are installed in the trench.
• Sprinkle the slate with soil on each side and tamp it in order to make them more stable. If necessary, the sheets are reinforced on both sides with metal pegs.

Flat slate for garden beds can be a good option for setting up a garden. It is laid as follows:

• A sheet of flat slate for a length is usually 1.75 m.At the same time, in order to avoid the appearance of waste in the work, it is better to divide them in half or into parts of 1 and 0.75 m.Accordingly, this width will be your future beds.
• In order to avoid "spreading" of the beds, the sheets of slate must be fastened together. To do this, use scraps of a metal corner.
• The corners are cut to size, holes are drilled into them for bolts, they are painted to protect against corrosion.

The beds of flat slate laid in this way will be raised above ground level by about 10 cm, and this will significantly improve the heating of the ground in the garden, while the slate deepened by 15-20 cm into the ground will become a real protection against root penetration into the beds.

You can fasten slate sheets to each other by other methods. For example, with the help of an aluminum corner attached to the slate with self-tapping screws.

And in order to avoid scratching your hands on the ends of the screws sticking out of the corner, you can screw ordinary caps from plastic bottles onto them.

Advice! To avoid damaging the slate, it should not be driven into the ground, but a trench should be prepared in advance. Otherwise, pebbles on the path of the leaf can destroy it.

How to arrange beautiful beds

A method of strengthening the walls of flat slate beds

In order for the beds to become a decoration of your garden, you must follow a number of simple rules. Constituents beautiful garden are its shape, size and color, which are selected at the discretion of the owner.

Rules for arranging beautiful high beds:

• They are placed in the direction from east to west.
• The width of the beds is up to 160 cm, and the height is up to 70 cm.
• The beds also need fencing. They are strengthened with slate walls, previously painted in some beautiful bright color, deepened into the ground by about 40 cm.
• The space between the completed beds is sown with a lawn.

You need to take care of such beds in the same way as for ordinary ones.

Such a bed or even a slate flower bed is used to grow annual plants and flowers, since the soil in it freezes as well in winter as it warms up in warm weather.

High bed device

Usually, high beds in the garden are made quite long - up to 10-11 m, while their width and height reach 1.3 and 0.7-0.8 m, respectively.

When arranging supports for the walls of a high bed, a deepening is made up to 40-50 cm.

As walls can be used different kinds materials, however, a wavy slate is considered more aesthetically pleasing, durable and more acceptable in price.

Before digging a trench, mark the future bed so that it has the shape of a regular rectangle. Moreover, the beds can be made in other forms, depending on the shape and size of the site.

The most fertile topsoil is poured into a separate heap for the purpose of its further use in the formation of the top layer of the bed.

At the end of digging the trench, a wavy slate is installed in a vertical position with the next sheet overlapping by one wave. The trench is covered with earth and after it is tamped, metal stakes are driven in on both sides of the sheets to strengthen the walls.

It is possible to achieve the required shape of a slate flower bed with the help of metal pegs, which at the same time impart rigidity to the structure.

After arranging the walls, they begin to stage-by-stage laying of organic filler in the bed: first with brushwood, wood chunks and compost, and then with black soil.

As each subsequent layer is laid, the previous one is slightly tamped and watered.

When the soil level in the bed reaches 30-40 cm above the main ground level, holes are made in the opposite slate walls through which steel wire is passed for screed.

Advice! The twist is pulled until the wire is pulled into a string. However, do not overdo it, as the slate can be broken.

Beds made with the above methods will be able to provide a higher soil temperature (by about 2-4 degrees) compared to horizontal layers of ordinary beds.

Through this processes of rotting in the soil organic matter will be accelerated, and substances useful for plants will appear more actively in it. All this will certainly have a positive effect on the activity of plant growth in the beds and increase the yield of vegetables.

And before you make this kind of beds, think about whether it will pay off future harvest on these beds the funds and efforts spent on their construction.

Wave slate bed

Neat garden beds are the key to getting good harvest... They additionally decorate the courtyard and facilitate the land work. Stationary slate plantations can be used every season, but how long they last depends on the strength of the material, its resistance to constant moisture conditions and the strength of the plant roots.
Slate for ennobling a summer cottage can be used new or left over after construction work.

Its advantages when arranging beds and flower beds are:

• Affordable price;
• Long-term operation;
• Geometric stability;
• Ease of use;
• Protection against pests that spoil the roots.

The disadvantage of slate sheets is the content of asbestos cement - a substance harmful to the soil. Nevertheless, it is such a fence that reliably protects the crop from bears and weed invasion. Also, the owner should take into account that slate overheats in hot weather and takes moisture from the fertile soil layer. To eliminate this negative point, you will have to regularly water the land.

In general, there are few negative sides of slate beds, so they can be considered the best option registration of the backyard territory. It is recommended to grow in them annual plants, because in the cold season, the soil in the created flower beds freezes.

Rules for arranging beds

For the rapid growth of plantings and good development, the beds must be arranged in accordance with certain rules:

1. Create flower beds from east to west so that plants can absorb as much as possible sunlight during the day.
2. Deepen the enclosing sheets by 10 - 20 cm.
3. Maintain the width of the beds within 20 - 120 cm (they are easier to handle). There is no limit on the length.

Arrangement of beds from wave slate

In addition to slate and soil, the owner will additionally need crushed stone and mulch, a tape measure and a level, a grinder and a bayonet shovel. The marking of plantations in the chosen direction is carried out using pegs and a rope.

Preparing slate for work

To create beds, wavy slate plates must be cut into strips in height. This requires a circular saw with a stone attachment. A standard sheet is 1 m 75 cm long. It is cut horizontally into as many pieces as required to fully immerse the sides of the bed. For evenness of the cut, markings are made with chalk. If there is no grinder or conditions for connecting it to the mains, the slate is cut with an old unnecessary saw, moistening the cut with water.

Next, they deal with the soil. A narrow trench is being dug along the perimeter of the future plantation and well watered. Prepared pieces of enclosing material are inserted into the moat. For stability on both sides, they are reinforced with reinforcement posts. The sheets are placed with an overlap of at least 1 wave, a wooden block is placed on the upper edge and the material is lightly pressed.

The evenness of the walls is controlled by the level in two directions - along the length and diagonal. As necessary, part of the earth is removed from the surface. Then the trench is filled up and tamped, and the slate strips remain fixed.

Flat slate plantations

When working with flat sheets, proceed as follows:

1. They cut slate either into two identical parts, or into pieces of 1 m and 75 cm. The choice can be anything, only the width of the beds depends on the cutting option.
2. In order to avoid creeping, the material is fastened together with scraps of a metal corner. For this purpose, holes for bolts are made in the cut corners and the parts are treated with an anti-corrosion coating.
3. Mounting work is carried out carefully so as not to damage the slate and not injure your hands. The protruding corners of the self-tapping screws can be hidden under the bottle caps for safety.

Flat slate plantation

The aisles are tamped tightly. Free areas are concreted and sprinkled with gravel. Slate beds, "diluted" with lawn grass, look beautiful. If the owner plans to plant grass in voids, the zones between the rows should be wide enough (on narrow areas vegetation is inconvenient to mow with a trimmer).

High beds of slate sheets

Consider how to make a high bed. First, let's remember its parameters.:

• Length - 10 m;
• Width - 1 m 30 cm;
• Height - 70 - 80 cm;
• The height of the submerged part of the slate is 40 - 50 cm.

We dig a trench around the perimeter of the garden bed, remove the fertile top of the soil and set it aside. We install the slate sheet strictly vertically. For a wavy canvas, we make an allowance for 1 wave. We fill the trench with soil and carefully ram it. We provide reliable fastening of the sheet with iron pins.

At the next stage, we are engaged in layering the fertilizers. We do this in the following order:

1. Cover the bottom metal mesh to protect against rodents;
2. We lay out wood and cellulose waste;
3. Create a layer of sawdust;
4. We crush it with plant waste;
5. We spread peat or unripe compost;
6. Place the previously removed fertile land.

Water each layer with water and tamp well. For garden beds over 40 cm, use a wire tie. After drilling holes in opposite sides of the ridge, pull the steel thread through them.

What are the advantages of high slate beds? In them, the owner will find many positive aspects that help to increase the yield. Firstly, good drainage will prevent stagnation of water, and the gardener will be able to control the composition of the soil and add substances useful to plants.

It is difficult not to notice a high bed, so the plantings will be more protected from trampling. At the same time, the soil remains loose and receives a sufficient amount of air. With a good compost layer, tall slate plantations are better at keeping the temperature within the enclosed area (the surrounding soil remains cooler during this time). For this reason, they are also called warm beds.

For residents of cold regions, this gives an undeniable plus. Seedlings can be placed in the heated soil earlier. Plants take root faster and adapt to outdoor conditions. The harvest ripens earlier and pleases with abundance. If climbing plants grow in the beds, it is not necessary to tie them up. As they grow, they themselves will hang down.

What is the height to make the beds ? It depends on the quality of the soil. In fertile areas, the structure does not need to be lifted high. For warm compost beds, at least 50 cm is required. In case of unexpected frosts, it is recommended to insulate the structure with plastic wrap.

Maintenance of slate beds

Finished beds must be well watered. Moisture will accelerate the process of fertilizer decay, and heat and minerals necessary for plant development will begin to be released into the soil. A bountiful harvest of a plant in a created warm bed will give 5 years. Subsequently, you will have to create new nutritional reserves. It is advisable to engage in saturation of the beds in the fall, so that they gain strength until spring. If you want to create a greenhouse, the beds are simply covered with polyethylene.

Compared to low slate beds, high plantations yield higher yields. And if you really ennoble the garden, then it is better with warm slate zones. If desired, the plates can be painted before starting work, and then country cottage area will be not only useful, but also attractive in decorative terms.

Systematization brings order to any area. This can apply to both personal belongings and serious production. This approach is also true for the cultivation of various crops. To make it easier to maintain the territory in the country or in a personal plot, you can make slate beds with your own hands. How exactly do they need to be located and what is needed for their arrangement? This will be discussed in the article.

Do you need such beds

It is worth equipping the beds using slate at least due to the following nuances:

• low weight of the material;
• resistance to decay;
• low price;
• long service life;
• ease of self-assembly;
• resistance to climate change;
• resistance to moisture;
• nice appearance.

The slate is lightweight, so individual sheets are easy to transport around the site to the installation site. Besides, individual elements easy to dissolve into products of the required height, which will make it possible to build beds in several tiers. The service life of slate fences is 10 years or more. At the same time, the material is not exposed to rotting and other biological influences that can occur in the soil. Slate does not collapse from fertilizers applied to the soil. In comparison with wood, slate is ideal option... When wood swells, it deforms and collapses. With constant presence in the ground, it begins to rot.

Slate perfectly tolerates sudden changes in temperature conditions, so there is no need to dismantle garden fences for the winter. The material makes it possible to give the rows a neat and complete look. Its cost is low, so everyone can build similar beds for themselves. Slate beds are fire resistant, so no fire will occur. Those who have already managed to build slate beds for themselves note a noticeable growth of plants. This is due to the fact that slate reduces the likelihood of destroying the root system. various pests... The material also acts as a barrier to the weed's root system.

There are also disadvantages to this method of decorating the beds. One of them is the increased heating of the walls from the sun's rays. This leads to the fact that moisture from the soil evaporates somewhat faster than without fencing. Given this, it is necessary to water it frequently, which will increase water consumption. Some gardeners believe that slate itself is toxic and can transmit harmful substances. cultivated plants... This disadvantage can be leveled with paintwork. If you apply this approach, you can further extend the life of the fence.

Note! For coloring slate sheets, it is better to choose paints on acrylic base or polymer compositions.

For the successful construction of the beds, it is important to follow a few simple recommendations... Among them, the main ones can be distinguished:

• the correct location of the beds;
• deepening of the fence sheets is enough;
• the correct width of the beds;
• correct organization of row spacings.

It is necessary to arrange the beds in such a way that they are mostly under the sun's rays. This means that they must stretch from east to west. The correct width of the beds should not exceed 120 cm. This size is not a definitive rule, but such beds are easier to care for. In order for the slate sheets to withstand the soil pressure, they must be buried 20 cm. The space between the beds should be enough for free movement. It can be laid out with paving slabs or covered with straw or sawdust. This will prevent weed growth and make it easier to move.

Safety engineering

Working with slate has its own characteristics, so you should adhere to the basic safety rules so as not to harm your health. It is necessary to cut asbestos-cement sheets using angle grinders. By itself, this tool is quite dangerous. It will require a concrete disc. It is better to take a non-segmented disk so that the sheets do not burst. Shatters during the cut a large number of dust. The respiratory and visual organs must be protected. In the first case, a respirator is used. A regular petal will do, which must be changed as it gets dirty. When working with a grinder, it is better to use earplugs or special headphones.

Straight slate can be cut in any direction. If we are talking about wavy, then it must be shortened across the waves. Only in this case can you achieve the perfect result. During operation, it is advisable to periodically wet the disc. This will extend its life and reduce dust.

Making beds

Regular

The process of building slate beds with your own hands is simple, so even an untrained master can handle it. On a sheet of paper, you can schematically plot a piece of land to scale. On it, choose the best arrangement for the beds. After marking on a sheet of paper, the symbols are transferred to the ground. The territory on the site is marked with pegs and twine. Next, slate is cut to the required size. A trench 20 cm deep is dug along the perimeter. Slate sheets are inserted into it, aligned vertically and fixed with soil. To make the slate sheet more reliable, you can make several props. To do this, the reinforcement is cut into pieces and the posts from the reinforcement are hammered close to the sheet. Examples of finished flower beds can be seen in the photo.

Working with flat slate generally has a similar algorithm, but there are some nuances. The total length of one sheet of such material is 175 cm.To make the walls without residues, you can divide it into 100 and 75 cm, or 25 cm and three 50 cm each. Slate elements, which will be located perpendicularly, are interconnected by means of metal corners ... Pre-drill holes for the bolts so that the slate does not burst during the fastening process.

Note! The slate must be placed in prepared trenches. If you try to hammer it into the soil, you can damage it and you will need a new sheet of material.

High

One of the main problems with gardening is the need to bend your back. That is why many people choose high beds for themselves. Thanks to them, the load on the back is reduced significantly. Tall beds also make it easy to plant crops in sloping areas. There are additional tips to improve the efficiency of these beds:

• special composition of the soil;
• drainage device;
• take into account the peculiarities of the root system;
• using a configuration other than rectangular.

For tall beds, it is easier to prepare a special soil composition that can accommodate additional nutrients... In addition, the density of the soil in such a slate bed can be selected depending on the root system of the plants. Due to the fact that the slate bed has a sufficient height, excess moisture is removed faster. Tall beds are easy to turn into warm beds and plant early in the spring. The advantage of tall beds is the ability to plant plants that normally grow with props. Here, the slate walls themselves will act as props, because the plant can simply hang from them.

Note! With a high height of the walls of the beds, they must be strengthened. This can be done using pins, as described above, or using a wire. In the second case, the wire is pulled through the slate sheets, which are located on opposite sides, and pulls together well, uniting the walls into a monolithic structure.

Mittlider

Jacob Mittlider is a renowned American crop cultivator. He developed interesting solution for strawberry beds. The bottom line is that the width of such a slate structure is only 45 cm.

The advantages of this solution are the minimum effort when processing the area where the strawberries are planted. You can arrange individual bushes so that they do not interfere with each other. This has a positive effect on fertility. With this arrangement, the roots receive a sufficient amount of moisture, but do not rot.

After fencing the site with slate, shavings, chips or sawdust are placed inside. The layer of this material should reach 20 cm. Fertile soil or a special composition is laid on the pillow. The beds, fenced with slate, are placed at a distance of 90 cm from each other. The row spacing is covered with agrofibre. This is to prevent weed growth. The sawdust pillow provides additional nutrients and prevents the soil from cracking. In addition, during rotting, they heat up the topsoil.

From such flower beds, you can get several times more harvest than from a plot that is decorated in the usual way. Thanks to the special temperature regime plants absorb moisture and nutrients at a faster rate, this also applies to fertilizers. In some cases, agrofibre is additionally laid on top of the strawberries so that only bushes stick out, and the ground is completely covered. The system is additionally mounted drip irrigation... The berries always remain clean and weed harvesting is minimized. A video about the construction of slate flower beds is below.

Row spacing

The convenience of movement around the site will depend on what approach was used to organize row spacings. After installing the slate walls for the beds, it is necessary to compact the space between the beds well. For this, a manual rammer is used. On the prepared soil, you can lay out natural stone, brick, paving slabs or pour concrete aisles. This approach makes it possible to carry out processing even after rain. Some gardeners sow lawn grass between the beds, as it quickly absorbs moisture.

Summary

As you can see, the construction of beds using slate is an easy task that everyone can handle. The shape of the slate beds can be selected depending on the size and shape of the site. In some cases, the beds can be decorated with a rhombus or triangle. It is convenient to grow cabbage in high beds, since this greatly facilitates its harvesting. In some areas, tall slate beds paired with greenhouses are the only way out for normal crop cultivation. This is due to permafrost or too low temperatures even during the summer months.