The vertical bed gets the increasing popularity. It will be just the perfect solution if the size of the small plot is small, but you really want to try yourself as a gardener and a gardener. Vertical designs, as a rule, look very decorative and beautiful, save space and are suitable for growing many flowers, strawberries, greenery, and vegetables.
Pros and cons of vertical beds
Ordinary plantings take up a lot of space. The limited area does not allow growing a large number of vegetables and berries, but vertical beds will help to solve the problem. Their advantages are as follows:
There is a great variety of vertical design for growing plants. Only one thing remains unchanged - a vertical bed is always compact, which will not only help out on a tiny plot near a private house. It is easy to place it even on the balcony of a city apartment and enjoy beautiful flowers or fresh greens from your own mini kitchen garden.
"Bending your back" on the vertical beds will not have to. They are quite high, so harvesting or removing weeds turns into a pleasant occupation.
The very form of the beds is a good protection against damage to plants by pests or birds. The roots of plants are located above the ground, which prevents their damage by rodents and insects, and birds will not be able to peck berries - it will be problematic for them to sit on such a structure.
Vertical design will be an excellent decor for an unsightly wall or fence.
But the vertical bed has the following features that must be taken into account:
Frequent watering of vertical beds is required. When the soil dries out, plants in such constructions die faster than in open ground. The problem is easily solved with the help of a drip irrigation device or a moisture-retaining hydrogel, but this requires additional investments.
The vertical bed is suitable only for short, small plants. This is caused by a small amount of land.
Plants need regular feeding.
If you plan to grow perennial plants, for example, strawberries, then it is necessary to warm the bed for the winter.
Simple design
The easiest way to do the vertical beds with their own hands from ordinary plastic bottles. This is the cheapest way to build mobile structures of any size.
For work you will need the following materials and tools:
large plastic bottles of at least 2 liters;
metal or wooden frame;
knife;
wire;
wire cutters.
Vertical bed is made in the following order:
The plastic bottle is cut in half so that the top (with the cap) is 2 cm shorter than the bottom.
Lid tightly twist - excess water should easily drain down.
The top of the cap is inserted down into the bottom of the bottle - the container is ready.
With the help of wire, it must be attached to the frame and filled with earth, which can be mixed with hydrogel. It remains only to plant the plant.
There is another option for vertical beds of plastic bottles that can be mounted on any vertical surface. For their devices you need to prepare the following materials and tools:
large plastic bottles;
2 washers for each bottle;
strong rope;
knife and awl.
Further work is performed in the following sequence:
Side of the bottle cut out a rectangular hole.
Several holes are made on the opposite side to ensure the flow of excess water.
Along the edges of the bottle - near the neck and bottom - they make through punctures with an awl and pass a rope through them. Then the washers are threaded onto the ropes and knotted under them to secure the container at the required height and prevent the container from falling down to the bottom row.
The height of such a suspended structure will depend on the height of the wall on which it will be mounted.
A thin layer of expanded clay is placed on the bottom of the bottles and the earth is poured on top. After that, you can plant low-growing plants with a small root system.
Even more simple will be hanging beds of plastic bags. For their device, they take dense polyethylene or artificial burlap and sew from them bags 30 cm wide and about 1 m long. Then they are filled with fertile soil and hung tightly at the top. For hanging, you can sew a special handle. After that, several cross-sections with a sharp knife are made in the bags and the seedlings are planted in the holes obtained. Caring for such a bed in bags will consist only in watering and fertilizing.
Vertical bed at the cottage (video)
Tire beds
More solid and durable will be beds in the form of pyramids, which can be built personally or assembled from tires. If there are several tires of various diameters in the farm, then in a short time you can build a beautiful and practical pyramid bed. In addition, the tires are strong enough and there is no need for an additional frame for the stability of the structure. You can do it as follows:
For the lower tier choose the biggest tire, put it on the prepared leveled area and fall asleep in the ground.
From above on the center establish a tire of smaller diameter which also is covered with the earth. Thus they build all available tires from the biggest to the smallest.
For a more complete design from the top you can install a large flower pot.
To make this garden more attractive and decorative, tires can be painted in bright colors.
If the tires are the same size, then you can also make a vertical bed of them. To collect it, you need to have the following items:
several tires;
chisel;
wooden block.
The sequence of works is as follows:
In each tire side make the required number of holes. To do this, it is necessary to lay the tire on the block and punch windows of the desired diameter using a chisel.
Lay the tires one on top of the other and fill the ground with the improvised column. The beds do not need to be made too high - this makes it difficult to water.
In each window, seedlings are planted.
Plastic Pipe Bed
Excellent vertical bed with the original watering system will be obtained from ordinary plastic pipes.
For its device it is necessary to have the following materials and tools:
plastic pipes of large diameter (from 15 cm);
plastic pipes of smaller diameter (5–10 cm);
drill bit;
burlap or any nonwoven fabric;
stubs
The device bed is as follows:
Having decided on the height of the future bed, they cut the pipes, and the length of the pipe of smaller diameter should be 10-15 cm longer.
In the pipe of smaller diameter, the drill drills the holes for watering, the lower of which should be located at a height of 25-30 cm from the ground. At the lower end of the set cap.
So that the watering pipe does not get littered with earth, it is wrapped with sacking and tied tightly with a rope.
In a pipe of a larger diameter, holes with a diameter of 10 cm are drilled on the drill using a round nozzle. The bottom holes should not be located below 20 cm from the ground. The recommended distance between the holes is 20-30 cm.
Watering pipe is inserted into the pipe of larger diameter. The space between them is filled up first with claydite (10-15 cm) for drainage, and then with earth to its full height.
To ensure the necessary stability and stability, the structure must be attached to a wall or any vertical support.
After that, you can plant strawberries or other plants.
The inner tube is filled with water for irrigation. If necessary, plant nutrition, liquid fertilizer is diluted in water and also poured into this pipe.
The described methods of how to make a vertical garden bed will suit even novice gardeners and gardeners. For their devices do not need special tools and expensive materials. The mobility of these beds allows you to place them in any convenient place, and with proper care, they will become a real decoration of the backyard.
