Slate beds

Slate beds are something that every gardener has heard at least once. After all, everyone knows how tedious it is to give the beds the desired shape and size, to prepare land cover, to follow all the steps.

This process is very time consuming and takes a lot of power from the truckers. Of course, such small difficulties do not confuse "lovers to delve into the ground," but many still strive to optimize their work.

It is not at all strange that people want to invest as less money and time, but at the same time get the maximum return. It is then that many just think about how to organize the beds of slate.

• This roofing material is very durable, due to the fact that it does not affect the processes of corrosion and rotting. Even in contact with organic matter, it retains its properties.
• On the aesthetic side, everything also looks good: nice and neat.
• Equally important and ease of use.

But one cannot say only about the positive aspects, without mentioning the shortcomings:

• So, there is a fairly common opinion that this material adversely affects the surrounding soil, due to the fact that it contains asbestos cement. It is difficult to unequivocally say about the harm or benefits of such a neighborhood. On the other hand, many gardeners noted that after installing the beds of slate (and at a rather large depth), the number of bears and similar pests was practically reduced to zero.
• Another disadvantage of this material is that when it is used in agriculture, moisture from the soil evaporates at an accelerated rate. This is due to the fact that the material is strongly heated in the sun and dries the soil around it. That is, for those who decide to equip their garden in this way, in the future will need more frequent watering.

Corrugated sheets are mounted in the following order:

• Cut pieces of the desired size. To do this, use the grinder.
• On a certain perimeter, they dig a not too deep trench.
• In the trench put the sawed plate.
• On each side of the plate a little sprinkled with earth and tamped. This provides greater stability. If necessary, you can use metal pegs to reinforce the sheets.

In the case of flat sheets, clearance is as follows:

• The size of a standard flat sheet is 1.75 m. For convenience, it is usually either sawed into two halves, or divided into parts of 1 m and 75 cm. The width of the slate beds will depend on this.
• To prevent the processes of sprawling, the sheets are attached to each other. This can be done with a scrap metal corner. To do this, in the cut corners, drill holes for the bolts and paint them with a special coating to prevent corrosion.

Which of the options for laying slate for the beds to choose - decide for yourself. It cannot be said that they differ significantly in their qualities.

During the time when slate is used for the arrangement of the beds, a lot of unspoken rules have been derived. It is believed that their observance will help make the garden really beautiful and fertile.

• The direction of location should go from east to west.
• The remaining free space can be planted with lawn or covered with pebbles.
• Typically, the width of one design should not exceed 160 cm, and the height - 70 cm.
• Also worth taking care of the fence. It can be pre-painted in some attractive color.

When your beds of slate are ready, you should think about their arrangement. In fact, it will not differ from the usual. To make the soil more fertile, compost is placed on the bottom, which is covered with a layer of soil. They are used in the same way as simple ones.

In the same way, you can equip flowerbeds. Best of all, these beds are suitable for annuals, because in winter the ground will be quite substantially frozen.

Most often, if in the garden they decide to make a high bed of slate, then they make it rather long - about 10-11 meters.The width, on average, does not exceed 1.5 m., And the height is 80 cm.

Before you build walls, you need to make support for them. They are deepening about half a meter. Before you start digging a trench, you should deal with the markup. The selected form will depend on how large the site is and on what is already on it.

Work order:

• The most fertile soil, which is removed during construction, is poured into one place. Then it is again used to form the upper layer.
• After installing the slate bed bed and fall asleep tamped. Next, on each of the sides, stakes of metal are driven in, which are necessary to strengthen the walls. These metal pegs help make the desired shape.
• When the work with the walls is finished, go to the filling. First, the brushwood is laid and well tamped. Then - wood chocks, the next layer - compost, and only at the very end - black soil. With the laying of a new layer, you need to tamp the previous one well.

Such a device design will increase the internal temperature of the soil, due to which the processes of decay will be accelerated, and nutrients will appear faster.

But all the same, before embarking on this process, think carefully about how relevant it is for you: can the harvest obtained be able to recoup the time and effort expended, the acquisition of materials and construction tools. Or it is possible to do without all this completely by equipping the simplest beds without using slate or any other building materials.