Compost beds. How to make a warm bed in the fall: step by step instructions. "Classic" high compost bed

In the spring, one wants to start sowing faster in order to get the harvest as early as possible. The earth is still cold at this time, and the roots of plants need heat first of all. You can speed up ripening and increase the yield by equipping warm bed, it is very easy to do it yourself. The manufacturing technology does not require large financial costs, but the harvest can be obtained three times per season. Consider how to make a warm bed with step-by-step instructions, decorated with photographs. Watch an example of creating beds in the video to understand what the end result should be.

Advantages of a warm bed

To understand whether it is worth equipping warm beds on your site and spending your own time and effort, you need to understand the advantages of this method.

• A raised warm bed is especially good for wet, cold regions. The soil warms up earlier, it is possible to get a crop in more early dates. In case of waterlogging, the plants do not get wet. Even stone fruit trees are planted in this way to protect root system from ground water.
• A properly arranged garden bed will last about five years. Then it can be rebuilt, and the resulting fertile land can be used for sowing other plants.

A warm bed allows you to get early harvest vegetables

• Reduced water consumption. Organics retain water, so once or twice a week for watering is enough. And if you equip drip irrigation or at least lay a holey hose for irrigation, then labor costs are minimized.
• When organic matter decomposes, heat is released, which stimulates seed germination. Compost formed as a result of the activity of microorganisms and earthworms is an excellent source of plant nutrition.
• There is no need for a compost heap, all organic matter falls directly onto the bed.
• You can install a warm bed on the street or in a greenhouse - this will bring the same effect. AT open field it is enough to install arcs and stretch agrofibre to protect plants from frost.
• After precipitation, the crop remains clean, as a layer of mulch covers the soil, and rain splashes do not stain vegetables.
• Weeds germinate with difficulty and in small quantities, they are easily pulled out.
• It does not take up much space, it is convenient to handle, it does not create dirt and mess.

Advice. In autumn, all available small organic matter and leaf litter add to the bed and cover with cardboard to keep warm and useful material were not washed out by rains in the lower layers.

Arrangement rules

With a close approach to groundwater, the bed is raised above the soil. In dry regions, on the contrary, they deepen, making it level with the soil or slightly higher. Raised beds border different materials. Most often they use wood or slate, less often metal. Placed in the middle of the lawn, framed by a blind area of ​​tiles, such a bed pleases the eye and decorates the site. Or they make it in the form of a meter-long hill without sides. In fact, a warm bed is a compost heap, folded in the form of a layer cake according to certain rules.

Neat beds look very nice

1. Coarse organic matter is laid on the lowest layer, which decomposes for a long time: stumps and tree trunks, thick branches. Spilled with urea. The larger the waste, the longer the bed will last. Wood retains moisture well.
2. The next layer is laid with smaller organic matter: corn and sunflower stalks, small shrubs. Paper and kitchen waste, leaves, straw can also be used.
3. To speed up the process of decomposition and heating, semi-rotted manure or compost is laid. From above, sod with grass down, and then a layer of mature compost.
4. After that, the seeds are sown.

The length of the bed can be any, optimal width about a metre. The depth will depend on the composition of the soil and the type of bed chosen. Recessed is made by 40 - 60 cm. The height of the raised bed is up to 1 m.
The air remaining in the cavities between large organics will provide breathing and quick heating of the beds. You can speed up the process by spilling the soil with special bacteria.

Advice. If the soil is initially good, then the need to dig the beds will disappear by itself. Already in the first year, the soil is well loosened to a depth of 20 cm, for the next season it is enough to add compost and plant plants.

The process of making beds

Consider the process of making a recessed bed with a small wooden side from an unnecessary board.

• We knock down the boards to make a rectangle.
• We mark the size of the bed on the ground and dig a trench about 60 cm deep.
• cut turf and upper layer we recline the fertile land in one direction - it will still come in handy.
• Fold the bottom layer over to the other side.
• The sides of the trench can be additionally insulated with expanded polystyrene foam, and closed plastic bottles can be laid on the bottom.

Insulation of the bottom of a warm bed

• We fill the trench with branches, logs. Above we lay smaller material.
• We pour out several wheelbarrows of semi-finished compost - this will be a starter from beneficial microorganisms for processing and heating organic matter.
• We lay fertile soil and sod with grass down.
• From above we fill with compost, a mixture of sand, peat and sawdust with the addition of trace elements.

Filling the garden bed with compost

• Water well and cover with foil. After two weeks, you can plant seeds or seedlings.
• Cover the soil with dark mulch. Light-colored mulch, such as straw or sawdust, is best applied in the summer - it reflects well sunlight and does not allow the roots to overheat.

What plants are planted in a warm garden

A container filled with organic matter heats up quickly in the spring. Heat-loving vegetables in such a bed can be sown ahead of time, covered with a film for the first time. By correctly calculating the planting time and the distance between plants, you can first grow radishes and greens. Place a trellis in the center, plant cucumbers and tomatoes. After harvesting the radish crop, plant carrots, onions, and beets. In the fall, plant radishes, salads and greens again.

Experienced gardeners who have been using warm beds for more than one year recommend planning plantings in this way:

• in the first year, when the bed is rich in organic matter to the maximum, sow pumpkins, tomatoes and cucumber with zucchini. It is these crops that will give the maximum yield;
• on the next year you can plant the same vegetables again as in the first year;
• for the third season, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, herbs, beets, beans and carrots are planted.

The film can be attached to the bottom row of the trellis with clothespins. Press the edges loosely with boards. So the bed will turn into a greenhouse. Air will be sucked in from below and exited at the top. If you forget to open the bed during the day, the plants will not burn. And if there are free funds, install a roof over the bed. It will protect tomatoes from phytophthora, and cucumbers from peronospores - these fungi germinate in water droplets on the leaves. Vegetables will stay healthy until frost.

Advice. deep hole and large volume Organics hold moisture well and give off heat. Raised boxes with a small layer of organic matter dry out faster and lose their nutritional value.

Once, having found time and energy, as well as a sufficient amount of high-quality organic matter, and having equipped a warm bed with an irrigation system, you will not only free up time for rest, but also get an early harvest delicious vegetables. If in the open field vegetables ripen a month earlier, then such a construction in a greenhouse will more than justify the invested work.

Warm garden: video

How to make a warm bed: photo

Why do plants thrive in some gardens and barely survive in others? The reason lies in not enough fertile land. Articles about planting or caring for vegetables often talk about adding compost to the soil. As the plant grows, it takes up various nutrients from the soil. harvesting in autumn, part nutrients is taken from the soil with the tops of plants, they also contain substances that are in the ground, thereby depleting the soil even more. According to the laws of nature, everything that is taken out of the soil must be returned back there. Otherwise, the land will become poorer and its natural fertility will inevitably decrease. Soil composting solves this problem.

There are hardly any people who do not know the meaning of this word. Compost is organic fertilizer, which is obtained as a result of decomposition organic waste, mostly of vegetable origin. These include plant waste (tops of plants, weeds, fallen leaves, mowed grass) and food waste (,), etc. It is not recommended to use waste of animal origin, plastic, glass, metal for composting.

The biochemical reactions that occur during the decomposition of waste occur due to rapidly multiplying microorganisms and. The compost heap is a living bioreactor. The main condition for all reactions occurring there is the presence of heat and moisture. The process of obtaining valuable fertilizer is called composting. After the completion of the composting process, a highly nutritious mixture containing minerals and valuable trace elements is obtained, similar to humus. Ripe compost is a homogeneous crumbly material dark brown.

Basic rules for good compost

Most the right way recycling food and plant waste from your site - this is a compost bin. With its help, you can ensure the competent movement of organic waste, and get free fertilizer With high content humus and nutrients.

Compost can be made in the form of a compost heap, in the garden, in bags. Whichever way we decide to make compost, there are certain rules for its preparation. The technology is pretty much the same everywhere.

A compost heap, or rather a compost bin, is a box, a wooden box where all the waste is stored. Following the rules, you will get a good nutrient mixture in 1.5-2 years. So what do you need to know?

1. You can form a compost bin not only in summer, but at any time of the year. The exception will be cold days with frosts. For example, right from the beginning of spring, you can compost all organic matter as it forms. In autumn, during this period, there are especially many different wastes (tops of plants, leaf litter, etc.), which can also be composted. Diseased plants should not be used in compost. It is better to burn them, and use only the ashes from them.
2. When forming a compost heap or bed, the soil under them must be loosened to a depth of about 30 cm. This is necessary in order to create close contact of decaying organic matter with earthworms and other organisms involved in composting.
3. You need to place the compost bin in partial shade, so that it is not constantly under the sun, otherwise it will dry out.
4. For rapid decomposition, it is better to grind all the material. This way the whole composting process will go much faster.
5. For quick decomposition, it is good to add the Baikal-M biological product to the waste.

How to make compost

Any material is used for the walls of the compost bin - boards, bricks, old metal sheets, slate. Remember that the bottom cannot be closed, it must be earthen. There should be slots or openings in the side walls for air circulation. Box dimensions: width - 1.5 m, height no more than 1 m, the length of the box is made depending on the amount of waste. The correct box has 3 compartments:

• The first compartment stores fresh waste;
• In the second - last year's ripening;
• In the 3rd compartment there is compost ready for use.

The composting technology itself is simple. The more diverse the waste that is stacked in layers, the more complete and better the decomposition will go. It is not good to stack only one cut grass, the composting process will not start. Therefore, plant residues that are rich in carbon should be combined with manure or bone meal rich in nitrogen. Therefore, be sure to sprinkle the grass with earth.

The layers in the heap must alternate.

• Shrub branches, hay, tree bark are laid at the bottom;
• 1st layer - a layer of food and plant waste about 15 cm thick;
• 2nd layer - manure, bone flour a layer of about 5 cm;
• Lime is sprinkled on top or, and then a 2 cm layer of earth.

In this sequence, lay out all the waste until they run out. Most last layer- earth, hay, straw or leaves. They protect against drying out.

An important point - the water from the box must be removed, and the air must circulate. Otherwise, the contents of the box will not decompose, but rot.

How to prepare a compost bed

It is better to make a compost bed in the fall, using wooden boxes for this. Their size depends on preferences and the amount of waste. A bed filled with waste will turn out neat. The advantage of this method is that the next year the wooden box can be moved to another place and a new bed can be made there again.

The principle of filling the beds is the same as in the compost bin (compost heap). Branches, tops of plants are laid at the bottom, then various plant wastes are laid in layers. Since the decomposition process requires moisture and heat, the bed is covered from above with a film or oilcloth, preferably black. It is necessary to make holes in the film in which you will plant, for example, zucchini or pumpkin in the spring. If the film is transparent, then cover it with boards or old slate for the winter. And in summer the soil will be covered with plant leaves.

By autumn, a loose homogeneous material of dark brown color and with the smell of forest land is obtained in the garden.

Making compost in bags

How many fallen leaves disappear in autumn? But it will make an excellent nutrient mixture for the garden. Making compost in bags is quite simple.

Autumn fallen leaves are preferable for leaf humus, because raw foliage undergoes a decomposition process faster. So, armed with a rake, we collect fallen leaves from under the trees. For the most part harvested leaves and other winter crops. In the spring, all this will be collected and sent to the compost heap.

There are so many leaves every year that you can make compost in bags. We put the rest of the collected foliage in large bags for household waste. We tie the bags tightly so that moisture does not evaporate from them. Remember that air is needed for better decomposition. Therefore, we pierce the bags filled with foliage with a pitchfork 2-3 times. In plastic bags are created comfortable conditions for processing bacteria. If it got into the bags green grass, then this is good, fungal bacteria will speed up the process. Also, to accelerate decomposition, the Baikal-M preparation can be added to the bags.

Bags of leaves are removed for storage and winter freezing. This, too, will only benefit. Some pests and some pathogens die. And in the spring, this mass can be sent to compost heaps or added to the garden. Or be patient when, in six months or a year, the foliage will turn into humus.

Compost in barrels

Another way to make compost in barrels. Here you can add all the weeded weeds from the garden. As a result, after overheating, you get a nutrient mixture - humus, which can be used to fertilize the beds.

Which is better - compost heaps or mulch on beds and paths? To prove the case in such a dilemma is like saying: “it is better to oversleep than to undereat.”

In fact, there is no dilemma, if you understand the essence of what I'm doing. I will try to formulate this very essence very briefly: the basis of my technology is in composting plant debris in paths and beds. I moved the compost heap to a place where it would be available to the roots of the plants - in the paths and in the beds. I am for composting with both hands, but with some reservations. Let's compare two options: composting in lanes and composting in bins, compost heaps ah etc. What is the difference?

1. The process of operating a compost heap can be simplified as follows: we collect all organic residues in a heap. We support microbiological activity in the heap. We spread through the beds ready compost. We close it in the soil of the beds. Operating process compost lanes twice as easy. We collect organic residues on the paths. We support microbiological activity in lanes. And that's it.
2. Composters occupy separate place Location on. Composting in lanes does not require additional space at all.

Already only these two points show great benefits compost lanes in front of the compost heap.

1. When composting in heaps is lost carbon dioxide, which is the main building material plants. When composting in paths, carbon dioxide is released in the place where plants are able to use it most fully - in the root zone of crops.
2. Most of the waste is lost in compost heaps. organic matter, the heap is reduced in volume by a factor of 4. Nothing is wasted in the compost lanes. In the process of decomposition of organic matter, it also plays the role of an effective mulch that retains moisture, evens out temperature fluctuations in the soil, and enhances microbiological activity in the garden and paths.
3. The compost heap attracts worms. But only when the temperature in the heap drops does the worms begin to work in the heap (vermicomposting). In addition, the compost heap will attract worms from the surrounding beds, if the beds do not create the same comfortable conditions for the worms as in the heap. The area of ​​compost lanes is much larger than the area of ​​the compost heap (with the same amount of organic material used), which means that more worms are attracted. Worms work there all the time - the temperature in the tracks does not rise. And the waste products of the worms are distributed both in the paths and in the beds through the efforts of the worms themselves. And the worms will lay offspring right there, in the paths.
4. The disadvantages of a compost heap are devoid of compost paths. The organic layer in them does not exceed the critical volume required to heat up the heap. There is no increase in temperature and everything connected with it.
5. In compost heaps, when heated, most weed seeds die. In compost paths, weed seeds do not die. But this is only for the good - free green manure, the seeds of which do not need to be bought and sown. But on paths with a thick layer of organic weeds, unfortunately, there are few.
6. Proponents of compost piles are forced to carry all weeds and post-harvest residues into a pile. If there are compost paths, this is not necessary. We leave everything in place.
7. Compost heaps perform one single role - the preparation of compost. Compost paths, in addition, are a system automatic adjustment humidity and temperature in the beds, depending on the season.

And here is another argument against the use of composting in paths and beds: “Your proposal to increase humus in the soil by mulching ridges and passages with raw organic matter is equivalent natural process- the accumulation of humus in the soil over many years. The gardener, on the other hand, wants to increase the fertility of the soil as quickly as possible ... ”The question shows a clear misunderstanding of the role of paths as small-volume compost bins. All processes that take place in the lanes are equivalent to the processes in the compost heap, except for warming up. Accordingly, no less humus is formed over the same time. But for me, the accumulation of humus is not an end in itself. Humus is only an important "complement". In the process of vital activity, the microworld decomposes organic matter into solutions that it consumes for its nutrition. These same solutions are able to assimilate plants - this is their main food. That part of the solutions that was not absorbed by plants and microbes combines with the mineral part of the soil, forming poorly soluble stable particles - this is humus.

This process in my garden takes place intensively in paths. In the presence of compost paths, the decomposition of organic matter on the surface of the ridge is not so important, although it is useful. The main thing here is to retain moisture, stabilize the temperature, protect the soil structure from destruction, and create comfortable conditions for the worms. These functions are best performed by undecomposed organic matter. But my practice shows that even in drought conditions and without watering, organic residues on the surface of the beds decompose, although less intensively than in humid conditions. In addition, these processes can be controlled. If the organic matter is crushed, then decomposition will go faster. In my practice, I do not grind anything. I just select the mulch for the culture according to the size of the organic fragments. For example, I mulch tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes with hay, straw, and other large-sized organic matter. Carrots, beets, daikon, radish - foliage, that is, smaller organic matter.

Different organics go into the paths, both small and large, both fast-decomposing and long-decomposing. This is done consciously. This heterogeneous structure of compostable materials ensures constant aeration. This does not allow putrefaction to go on a putrefactive type. All of the above is not to say that I am against shredding organic matter for mulch and composting. But my practice proves that you can do without grinding.

This comparative analysis shows that lane composting technology is less labor intensive than using compost heaps. And, in addition, it performs many related functions. I did this analysis for myself. I just wondered, maybe I'm really doing too much, compared to composting in heaps? It turns out that my approach is less labor-intensive. Good luck with gardening.

Oleg Telepov,
Omsk

This year, spring is early and since the beginning of April we have been spending a lot of time in the garden - making warm compost beds. In general, such beds are made throughout the year, even in winter, and immediately after the snow melts, they are finalized, covered with a film and “ripen”. Making warm compost beds with your own hands is not so difficult! Try it too!

Compost pile or compost beds: which is better?

I will not be mistaken if I say that on almost every garden plot there is a treasured corner where gardeners throw organic matter - a compost heap. On our site for several years in a row there was also such a place.

Our old compost heap

Our compost heap was located a few meters from the house so that it was not so far to run with a garbage pail. It was the husband’s “sacred duty” to fill the heap, he did a great job with it, only the land, which it is desirable to pour organic garbage, was far in the garden, and the husband was reluctant to drive behind it every time with a wheelbarrow. It is not difficult to imagine what a "flavor" was around our composter - all the surrounding flies flocked to us! In addition, the compost in our heap usually matured in two years, which is a long time by my standards, and for some reason it turned out not enough. All this did not particularly please me ... We did not doubt that compost was needed in the garden, but here's how to optimize the process of obtaining it?

Watching how my husband runs every day to the compost heap with a slop bucket, periodically mixes the compost with a pitchfork so that it “breathes”, and then every spring he delivers the compost with a wheelbarrow to numerous beds located throughout the hectare, I wondered: how do they cope with all this, women who do not have “male power” at their side.

I went to visit my closest neighbor, pensioner Nadezhda Petrovna, who is known in the Ark as a real gardener, always gets beautiful harvest, manages to common territory beds to make and plant, and she copes wonderfully with this alone. Nadezhda Petrovna said that the whole secret is in high compost beds! Why demolish all the organics in one pile, and then from this pile - along the beds, when you can immediately take the bucket to the garden and sprinkle it with earth from the same garden! And really, why?

After weighing all the pros and cons, I decided on my own, without the help of my husband, to make a compost bed. It turned out to be quite affordable and did not require much physical effort. Now there is no more compost heap on our hectare, but a lot of warm compost beds! Filling them up is still the same “holy duty” of the husband, but now, when he is too lazy to fill up the waste with earth, I am able to do it myself, since the earth is here, on the same bed!

Turning ordinary garden beds into compost

So you have ordinary beds on which you have already grown vegetables. To improve their fertility, we will begin to fertilize the beds with organic waste.

Organic waste includes nitrogenous and carbonaceous materials.

nitrogenous- these are wet (juicy) materials, for example, the remains of vegetables, fruits and other food waste, mowed grass and weeds (although it is better to mulch plantings with them), as well as animal manure, bird droppings, human feces(for some reason, it is this most valuable product of human activity that is most difficult for many people to “accept” as a fertilizer).

To carbonaceous materials include everything dry: hay, straw, paper, cardboard, sawdust, branches, various husks, rags from natural materials(although it is better to collect them separately and use for mulching), eggshell, tea and coffee brewing, etc.

It is believed that in proper compost the optimal ratio of nitrogenous materials to carbon materials is 1:4. We will strive for this ratio in our compost beds.

It is not recommended to put in compost beds heat-treated kitchen waste, bones and meat of animals, animal fat and vegetable oil(To be honest, I don’t really bother, I put any food waste in the compost - both boiled and with oil, but we don’t have meat and bones anyway, we are vegetarians). It is not yet necessary to put diseased plants (especially those affected by cabbage club and late blight), seed heads of weeds, cat and dog feces, uncut wood, perennial weeds, and wool into the compost.

Do you practice separate waste collection?

If you still collect all the garbage in the house, both organic and inorganic, in one bin, then it's time to get rid of this bad habit and more conscious approach to the garbage collection process. Your kitchen should have at least two buckets! In one you will throw away the remnants of food, scraps of paper and cardboard (although we, for example, never throw away paper, but collect it separately for kindling), all dust from the vacuum cleaner - in general, everything that can rot and turn into valuable fertilizer. We collect all the inorganic matter into another bucket - candy wrappers, film, plastic, rubber, etc. The next step in increasing your awareness is the separate collection of inorganic garbage, depending on the material from which it is made (in the Ark, we now practice separate collection of inorganic matter), but now start at least small - collect organic matter in a separate bucket!

With a smile, I remember the time when my husband and I lived in a city apartment. Five kilometers from our house there was an abandoned holiday village, gradually turning into a swamp. No one lived there for a long time, the land was overgrown with willows. My husband cleared clearings there and grew chestnut seedlings, which he later planted in the local park. We also organized a small garden there, built a hut and got out "on the ground" almost every week. We had such a kind of cottage there. So, in order to increase the fertility of the soil, we ourselves made compost right in the apartment! My husband installed a small barrel on the balcony, into which we demolished all organic waste. To not be on the balcony bad smell, the husband took the tube out of the barrel into the street and put a small fan in the barrel. When the compost was ready, it was taken out in bags to our garden. This I mean that even in urban conditions it would be realistic to engage in composting, there would be a desire.

How many compost beds can be made per season?

But back to our beds. Let's calculate how many beds per season we can make compost. It depends on how much organic waste you get in the course of your life. For example, it takes two weeks to make one small compost bed on my site (that is, during this time our family of four collects enough organic waste to cover the bed with a layer of 15-20 cm). Considering that the beds then have to “ripen” for another 3 weeks, it means that if we start filling the bed with waste right now, then by mid-May we will already have the first ready-made compost bed for planting, for example, corn seeds. In another 2 weeks, by the end of May, another bed will be ready, where pumpkin seedlings can be planted.

Thus, this spring I can only make 2 compost beds, so the rest can be safely planted. The third compost bed can be filled during June after we remove the harvest of early crops from it - radish, lettuce. Then a bed of peas is released. Thus, throughout the spring and throughout the summer, you can gradually increase the fertility of 5-7 beds.

A few more beds will be filled in the fall. Since autumn, we have been preparing the beds closest to the house (I’ll tell you exactly how below) in order to carry out organic waste on them in winter. It turns out that my family can provide about 10 beds with compost during the garden season. And yours?

We make compost beds with our own hands

So, we have chosen the first bed and are ready to gradually fill it with waste. To do this, it is necessary to remove part of the earth from the end of the bed by about half a bayonet of a shovel in depth and about half a meter long. This earth can be poured into unnecessary (cracked) buckets and put away for storage somewhere in the shade. We take out the garbage into the recess that has turned out on the bed and immediately sprinkle it with a small layer of earth, which we take from the same bed from the place where our hole began (it’s convenient to immediately “settle” a separate shovel on the bed so that each time you don’t run after it with a garbage can in hand). Thus, when we fill and sprinkle the first recess with earth, we automatically form the next recess. So we gradually fill the entire garden with organic matter. It is not difficult to guess that to fill the last recess with waste, we use earth from buckets that were waiting in the shade in the shade.

After the compost bed is completely filled, it must be shed very well with a solution of Baikal - EM1 (1 cap of Baikal per 10-liter watering can). A watering can of such a solution leaves for 1 sq.m of the garden.

Then the bed should be well mulched. You can use straw or hay, cardboard, newspapers, black nonwoven fabric- spunbond, which must be well fixed in the garden. In the spring, for better heating of the bed, I additionally cover it with a film, in the summer it is no longer necessary to use a film. While the first bed "ripens" for 3-4 weeks, we proceed to the manufacture of the next compost bed.

When the bed is “ripe”, I sprinkle it with ash (0.5 liters per 1 sq. M), I go through a slightly flat cutter and. Be sure to mulch everything, usually with freshly cut grass.

If the beds were filled during the summer, and you no longer plan to grow anything on them this season, then be sure to mulch them so that weed seeds do not fall on the soil.

If there is still time until autumn, you can sow the bed with green manure, but then do not close them up, but leave them like that before winter.

Preparing beds for winter filling

Therefore, in the winter we continue to fill the beds with organic matter. But for this it is necessary to prepare the beds in the fall. It is important to choose the beds closest to the house, in winter it snows so much, you won’t get far into the garden.

In principle, if there is a ready-made bed with high sides that needs to be filled, you can do nothing, just take all the organic waste into it in winter and sprinkle it with snow. But in the spring there must be a place where you can take the land to cover the resulting compost bed with a layer of at least 10 cm. We have a special mountain of fertility (formed when we dug a pond), my husband brings the earth from there to such a bed in the spring. 2-3 days before backfilling with earth, it is advisable to walk along the bed with a flat cutter, break frozen clods of organic matter, if any. And then fill it with earth, spill it with a warm solution of Baikal-EM1 and be sure to cover it with a film.

If there is no such storehouse of land, then you can carefully remove the top layer of soil from the garden bed and lay it next to it. For example, on a banner. And in the spring, when the soil thaws, return it to the already filled bed, spill it with the Baikal-EM1 solution and be sure to cover it with a film.

This year, instead of Baikal-EM1, we used for the first time the microbiological fertilizer Siyanie-3 - sprinkled it on the compost and spilled it well with water. I think the effect will be the same as Baikal.

This year we tried to sprinkle the compost bed with Siyanie-3 microbiological fertilizer.
Then they spilled the bed well with water.

Pros and cons of compost beds

I'll start with pluses:

1. Even a retired woman can make a compost bed. There is no need to periodically mix the compost and run around the site with a wheelbarrow (especially if the site is a hectare).

2. The compost bed “ripens” relatively quickly, especially if it is treated with EM preparations. 3-4 weeks after laying the bed, it is ready for use.

3. The compost bed is long-lasting, it can be used for several seasons in a row, planting in the first year plants that like to “eat” (pumpkin, corn, cucumbers, etc.), in the second year root crops (carrots, beets, potatoes), and on third year legumes (beans, peas).

4. In the first year, the compost bed is also warm, so you can plant vegetables in it even with seeds. For example, on such a bed, corn, planted in mid-May with germinated seeds, grows remarkably and ripens.

5. Worms love to settle in the compost bed, which help maintain the structure and fertility of the soil.

Now about minuses:

1. In spring, when the snow melts, covering the compost beds that were filled in winter, they do not look very aesthetically pleasing. Here you have to suffer a little “mess”, and as soon as the earth thaws, just finish the garden bed, sprinkling it with earth.

2. The second minus concerns settlements where there are no fences. They love to delve into the unfinished compost bed of the dog, taking away the "sweets". Magpies also feed there, again, until the bed is covered with earth.

Using compost beds is one method. I have been using it for several years now and am very happy with the result. I advise you too!

“Prepare the sleigh in the summer and the cart in the winter,” says a Russian proverb. So we make warm beds in the fall for planting next spring.

What is a warm bed

A warm bed is, in fact, an improved compost heap. The bed consists of several layers of plant residues (weeds, fallen leaves, plant stems, branches, etc.). During decomposition, heat is released, which helps the roots of plants to endure changes in spring temperatures. In addition, plant residues are an excellent organic fertilizer.

A warm bed is easy to do with your own hands

A warm bed, compared to a conventional one, has several advantages:

• all organic remains (fallen leaves, weeds, plant stems, branches, etc.) are placed in warm beds;
• no need to dig and weed the bed - weeds practically do not grow on it;
• fertilizing the bed for 4 seasons is not required - decaying organic matter provides plants with all the nutrients;
• carbon dioxide released during decay of waste improves the photosynthesis of plants growing in the garden;
• sowing seeds and planting seedlings at an earlier date due to heating the soil with decaying plant residues;
• plants on a warm bed are not afraid return frosts.

The only disadvantage of warm beds is the time and effort spent on its manufacture. But this shortcoming is compensated by the early high yield large fruits.

I have in the area clay soil, high level ground water. Therefore, the manufacture of warm (high) beds is a salvation for me.

A warm bed can be made in spring, but autumn - best time for its manufacture. In autumn there is a lot of organic waste and more free time.

Why do you need a warm bed

In spring, the soil warms up much more slowly than the air. Therefore, the planting of heat-loving crops is postponed for more late time, and it is not always possible to get an early harvest. Seedlings are planted on a warm bed three weeks earlier than on a regular one. In addition, plants easily withstand return frosts down to -5 o C.

On such a bed, plants develop well, practically do not get sick. The fruits grow large, the yield increases.

The structure and composition of the soil is improved, which allows you to get a decent harvest even on poor soils. Wetlands provide good drainage.

A warm bed can be made both in open ground and in a greenhouse. The garden prepared in autumn is ready for spring plantings next year.

How to make a warm bed in the fall: step by step instructions

When making a warm bed, follow certain rules:

1. The bed should have drainage that provides air exchange. Therefore, the lowest layer consists of large branches, hard stems (Jerusalem artichoke, corn, etc.), roots of uprooted trees, etc.
2. The bed should not dry out. Before laying the next layer, spill the previous one well.
3. Plant residues must be healthy and without seeds.
4. The place where you plan to make warm beds should be well lit by the sun. best location- from east to west.
5. The bed is made 90–120 cm wide. The distance between the beds should be 30–50 cm, for easy movement between them.
6. Cover the bed with a film (preferably black) on top so that the weed seeds are not blown by the wind and they do not germinate in the spring.

Trench bed

1. Dig a trench at least 40 cm deep, 1 m wide. Make the length of the beds as you wish.

   First, dig a trench at least 40 cm deep

2. Lay large branches (previously chopped into pieces), rough stems of plants, tree roots, etc., on the bottom of the trench.

   Lay drainage in the form of branches, stems, etc. at the bottom of the trench

3. On top, lay a layer consisting of weeds, tops, rotten vegetables and fruits, food waste and fallen leaves.

   Lay a layer of tops, weeds, fallen leaves, etc. in the bed

4. Lay the next layer of rotted manure or matured compost.