Planting without digging the ground. Vegetable garden without digging - high beds. Spring. Planting and mulching

It’s not even a matter of having to dig up the bed before planting anything on it. If the soil on the site is loose and fertile, then any gardener can loosen the bed without any problems, either with a pitchfork or a Fokin flat cutter, even if there are some physical restrictions due to age and health.

I just really want to get a good harvest with minimal labor and time. In the spring, in May, there is a lot of digging and sowing work. It always seems like we won’t be able to complete the plantings before the deadline (June 6). And as a result, it turns out that the most labor-intensive work is done in the summer: when it’s hot, watering the vegetable garden turns into many hours of backbreaking physical activity, if there is no automatic drip irrigation on the site and everything is done manually using an ancient tool called “Leika” ...

A garden bed without digging up the soil, the design of which will be discussed, is a method close to the processes in nature, where any plants grow wildly on their own: without watering or care. In nature, everything is harmonious:

• there is no bare ground. The entire surface of the soil is covered with something: ground cover plants, grass, turf, fallen leaves...
• under the plant layer the soil itself is loose and constantly moist
• in the soil covered with a “blanket” there is a whole world of microorganisms that tirelessly, automatically work to increase its fertility

We, gardeners, are accustomed to plowing the land so that not a single “speck” remains on it.

It has long been known how to create a new bed without digging in virgin soil (an area overgrown with weeds), when:

• thick cardboard is placed directly on the grass
• a thick layer of organic matter is placed on the cardboard: compost heaps of garden residues that have not rotted over the winter, grass clippings, kitchen waste
• a layer of fertile soil and finished compost is poured on top of the organic matter

Many gardeners have probably already tried this method of creating beds, if not on virgin soil, then perhaps in a new greenhouse when making a warm bed. There is no need to dig here, but a layer of soil is still required. And there is another similar method of creating beds, in which the earth is not dug at all and it does not need to be brought (carried) from another part of the garden to be poured on top of the organic matter.

Beds without digging up the ground can be made even simpler: adapt and begin to use the structure of the soil you have not touched, which will always be loose, moist, warm and cool at the same time, exactly what plants need for their successful growth.

How to make beds on virgin soil without digging

The design of an easy-to-make bed, its author Jeff Lawton, calls “quick.” How to make beds on virgin soil without digging quickly and easily:

1. Place cardboard sheets directly on the ground with or without grass (in last year's bed) to block any access to light on the surface of the soil so that weeds cannot sprout and remain in the soil as food for soil organisms
2. Instead of cardboard, you can use newspapers, cardboard boxes for milk, cereals and other products (do not throw them in the trash!), egg cartons... You can even lay all this paper in a wet and half-rotten state in a layer that completely covers the entire soil without gaps so that there is no light access. Also, such a layer is needed to retain moisture in the soil.
3. On such a paper base you need to lay last year's mown grass (hay, straw) layer by layer (to form a loose, but quite high layer), even with seeds - this does not matter in this method. This layer has its own function: to imitate the forest floor. It's better to make it thicker than not report it. You can put last year's garden tops on this layer if you have them in stock.
4. The bed is ready. Now it must sit for a couple of weeks before planting, so that the soil under the cardboard acquires during this time the properties (moisture, looseness) most favorable for planting seedlings

In such a bed design, the soil that is already there will work. It does not need to be touched. You just need to use cardboard and dry mown grass to create a warm “blanket” for the soil, similar to the one that covers the ground in natural conditions.

An example of a mulch layer can be seen in the forest: a perennial layer of fallen leaves and rotted grass has turned into mulch, which not only covers the roots of all plants, retains moisture, but also supplies the necessary substances.

The only difficulty in creating a bed using Jeff Lawton’s method is that you need to worry about the material for the insulating and mulching layer in advance:

• mow the grass behind your fence or bring hay (straw) from some field
• prepare cardboard by asking for it in the store
• bring piles of newspapers and egg cassettes that have accumulated at home to the garden

Planting without digging the ground

Planting without digging the soil in the bed described above is done as follows:

• you need to make holes in the hay (straw, grass) all the way to the cardboard
• pierce or cut the cardboard in the hole
• lightly loosen the soil under the cardboard
• plant seedlings or sow a seed in the soil
• there is no need to cover the hole with anything, since it will already be humid and warm under such a thick “blanket”

In winter, the soil under such a bedding will be “warm” (organisms useful for soil fertility will continue to live in it), and in the hot summer, it will be cool and normal for plants (without overheating and drying out).

To water such a bed, you will need 10 times less water than if you planted vegetables on dug up ground in the usual classical way, which will not only reduce your labor and time spent on watering by 10 times, but will also save water, which is also important there, where water consumption is limited.

Microorganisms of the soil covered with such a litter will feel like in a forest, where vegetation is always rampant. Your vegetables in such a bed without digging are “threatened” with the same thing: rioting and productivity.

Traditional agricultural technology for growing potatoes involves spring digging and repeated hilling of seedlings after their appearance. This is because the tuberous crop develops well only in loose and soft soil. However, there are methods that do not involve these processes. Gardeners share their experience and video recommendations on how to plant potatoes and not waste time digging the soil or hilling the beds.

Digging and hilling: why many refuse this technology

In recent years, abandoning the shovel and hoe has become increasingly popular among summer residents and gardeners. Digging and loosening the soil means reducing its fertility. A set of the most valuable substances for plants is found in the top layer of soil. If you remove it, the roots will not receive the trace elements and minerals they need. That is why agricultural technology has appeared, which eliminates the need to dig the ground.

In the case of potatoes, this method of growing is effective because the tubers grow not on rhizomes, but on horizontal shoots-stolons. They grow from the base of the stem.

The method of growing potatoes without digging the soil is becoming increasingly popular.

Potatoes do not need to grow in the ground to form and mature. The main thing is to be in the dark. Agrarian talents took this feature as a basis.

Advice. Shoots with growing tubers are covered with light-proof organic and artificial materials. It is important that the plant itself remains in bright light. Otherwise, the potatoes will grow tops, not tubers.

Preparing material for planting

The best way to determine the optimal time for planting a crop in your region is to monitor bird cherry. If it blooms, prepare the area, although potatoes are often planted earlier. In 1-1.5 months. Before this, start preparing planting material. Healthy and strong tubers are one of the important factors for the success and efficiency of cultivation.

Follow these steps:

Advice. An alternative to potassium permanganate at the first stage of potato preparation is Fitosporin. Stir a small amount of the mixture in water. You should now have an almost clear liquid. Soak the tubers in it for 30 minutes. The further algorithm is the same.

Planting potatoes in virgin beds

Mark the ridge directly on the virgin soil, without digging. Don't pay attention to the weeds. Use only prepared germinated planting material. The optimal size of one tuber is a chicken egg. Potatoes with such dimensions contain the necessary amount of useful substances to form a bush up to 30 cm high with a developed root.

Do not deepen or press the tubers. Just lay them out on the garden bed:

• make 2 rows at a distance of about 50 cm from each other;
• each row should be no closer than 20 cm from the edge of the bed;
• landing strip length - any;

Planting potatoes in a virgin bed

• Place 2-3 potatoes in one nesting point so that the bushes grow the number of stems necessary for high yield;
• the distance between nests is 25 cm.

Attention! Tubers that are too large are not suitable for planting. They give good growth of green mass to the detriment of the root system. Such specimens should be divided into a longitudinal section. Moreover, the number of sprouts on each should be as equal as possible. The cut tubers must be dried for a couple of days. Before planting, the cut areas should be sprinkled with ash to prevent fungus from entering.

Protection and care of potatoes in virgin beds

An air-tight material is suitable as a blackout cover, but not just any material. It must be dry. Immediately after planting, you can use hay, dry leaves, and the top dried layer of compost. As a last resort, torn and crumpled pieces of wrapping paper or newspapers (black and white printing) will do.

Attention! Straw should not be used. It attracts rodents.

There is no need to cover the ground between the rows. But the material itself will need protection from the wind. To do this, additionally cover the bed with lutrasil or burlap, or old one. It is important that the soil under the material breathes, otherwise the planting will begin to rot. For this reason, polyethylene should not be used.

From mid-May, the burlap can be removed - there should be no return frosts. Now the bed is covered with any organic waste, which usually becomes the basis for a compost heap. They are carefully laid out on a dry layer so as not to overwhelm the potato seedlings. The compost layer needs to be regularly updated. You won’t be able to forget about the garden bed: you will have to repeat the procedure all summer.

Cover the beds with mulch

In essence, this is hilling, only without covering it with earth. During the growing season, the compost in the garden bed will rot and settle. Make sure that the tubers are not exposed. Otherwise, you'll end up with corned beef instead of potatoes.

With this planting method, weeds will not break through the compost layer. The garden bed does not need to be fertilized or watered. Organic waste will do this for you. To easily loosen the top layer of soil between rows, you can use a flat cutter. Potatoes planted without digging are highly productive and do not require complicated work.

Work on a summer cottage is never monotonous, and every gardener constantly tries something new- interesting varieties, different dates for sowing crops, specific types of fertilizing and other changes in agricultural technology elements. So I also experiment all the time in my garden.

Moreover, a long time ago I made it a rule for myself that everything that even very successful and reputable gardeners advise and recommend is to be tested in practice yourself. And only then, if in the conditions of my particular area the result is quite satisfactory, do I begin to gradually and cautiously introduce innovations into constant practice.

I also don’t dig up the beds when planting strawberries in a new place (after onions and garlic).. I make holes, plant strawberries - and that’s it. Next, care for the plants as usual - watering, fertilizing, loosening, mulching, etc. Strawberries grow no worse when planted this way. than on dug up (this is what I did before) beds.

However grow tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and carrots without digging, I have never had the chance before. And last season it was time to try to grow some of these vegetables without first digging up the soil, and draw a conclusion for yourself whether this makes sense or not.

Of course, if you don’t dig up the beds, then this is certainly saves labor costs, but in my specific case it still doesn’t play a big role. My plot is small, and I cultivate the beds, so I spend very little time and effort on this matter. So this experiment was educational in nature. I wanted, more out of curiosity than for practical benefit, to try what the result would be.

And so, when the time came to plant seedlings of tomatoes and peppers in the beds, some of the plants were planted in plowed beds, and some in loosened ones. to a depth of 10 cm areas. I also planted a small amount on undug soil.

Tomatoes without digging

In areas where I didn't dig the soil, potatoes grew smaller and its overall yield was noticeably lower. It’s not that the potatoes that grew were completely bad, but they turned out to be about a quarter worse than in the dug up areas. But harvesting potatoes in undug soil turned out to be much more difficult than on a plowed one. Even with a pitchfork I had to work with effort. It was very difficult for them to stick into the ground.

Y. SHELAYEV.

“These are fairy tales,” a sensible gardener will think. “What can grow in undug soil is only weeds. And what if you don’t pull them out?..” Meanwhile, a simple way to develop land, even completely overgrown with weeds, exists. With its help, the author of the article, Yuri Sergeevich Shelaev, an environmental chemist by profession, grew a generous harvest of many crops, including watermelons and melons, last year in the Moscow region. With minimal expenditure of effort and money. In a word, it really is a fairy tale. The method is new and not entirely familiar, but it’s worth a try because it promises to save time and effort during the hottest spring season.

Science and life // Illustrations

This is how planting holes are made.

Seedling bush under double cover.

So, the place for the garden has been chosen. The main thing is that it is illuminated by the sun almost all day. Level out large holes and mounds, remove large stones. Scatter compostable organic materials over the soil surface: leaves, sawdust, straw, kitchen waste, any plant debris, finely chopped branches from tree and shrub trimmings. Two buckets of organic matter per 1 m 2 of land is quite enough. If the soil is poor, even if weeds do not grow on it, as well as when planting garden strawberries or perennial crops, the layer of organic matter should be increased to 10 cm thick.

Stepping back at least a meter from the side border of the site, stretch a white or bright colored cord along the future ridge, in its middle. Pull the next cord, stepping back a meter, parallel to the first. In the future, compact, low crops such as onions, lettuce, radishes, dill or parsley will grow well on these two ridges, each 50 cm wide. For planting rapidly growing vegetables - cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes - place the beds at a distance of 1.35 m from each other (the distance from the center of one bed to the center of another), and for planting pumpkins, sunflowers, corn - at a distance of 1.5 m.

Sprinkle mineral fertilizers evenly along the entire length of the beds in a narrow strip along the cord. In my garden, I use fertilizer mixtures prepared according to the Mittlider method (see "Science and Life" No. 4, 1992; No. 6, 1993): for each linear meter of the bed I add 150 g of mixture No. 1 (dolomite flour or lime with the addition of 1% borax) and 50 g of mixture No. 2 (complex mineral fertilizer with microelements, with the obligatory presence of magnesium). Adherents of organics can add manure or, even better, compost to the soil along the cord.

Cover the entire area of ​​the garden with ordinary transparent plastic film - this is the novelty of the method and its amazing possibilities. The film used as a mulching material makes it possible to “tame” weeds without digging, weeding and herbicides. It is customary to use an opaque, most often black film or black non-woven material for this purpose. Unlike black, transparent film, by creating greenhouse conditions for weeds, turns them from crop enemies into valuable green fertilizer that grows on its own; it does not need to be sown and incorporated into the soil. The rays of sunlight when using such a film are not wasted: those that do not fall on the leaves of planted crops go to the green carpet underneath them. The foliage of this carpet is always provided with carbon dioxide, which is formed in abundance during the decomposition of organic matter introduced under the film in the spring.

The advantages of transparent film coating do not end there. In warmth and with sufficient moisture, soil microflora actively multiplies on the organic material under the film, ensuring the absorption of nitrogen. The resulting weak solution of nitric acid leaches phosphorus, potassium and numerous trace elements from the mineral base of the soil. These elements are contained in the soil in large quantities, but in an insoluble form, therefore, inaccessible to plants. The soil solution enriched with leached elements is absorbed by the roots of cultivated plants, which helps to increase the yield, and the roots of weeds use it to increase their biomass. At high temperatures and air humidity, a significant part of the weed biomass is quickly composted and turns into humus, or black soil. Earthworms are bred in soil rich in organic matter; through their deep passages, air enters the lower layers of the soil and plant roots easily penetrate, and during the rainy season, excess moisture is removed.

On hot days, it is, of course, hot under the transparent film, but only the tops of the weeds dry out. The resulting “hay” protects the underlying layers from overheating. The soil in which the roots of the plants are located does not dry out; at night, water vapor rising from its deep layers condenses on the film, the condensate moistens the top layer of soil, rich in organic matter, and the organic matter holds water like a sponge. In cool weather and at night, the soil heated under the film gives off heat to the plants on the film, and the covering material, like a blanket, retains it.

It is most convenient to use new polyethylene film as a “self-assembly”, but you can get by with used film that has not lost its strength. Overlap the panels over each other by 10-15 cm; Any cuts in the old film can be sealed with tape. Press the edges of the film to the ground with long, unplaned scraps of fresh lumber (slugs do not like to live under prickly boards).

Planting holes on the film are easy to mark with chalk or a felt-tip pen, and they can be easily made with a stake made of hardwood, such as birch, sharpened on one side like a pencil. With a sharp blow, use the sharp end of the stake to punch cone-shaped holes at the planting site, and with circular movements, expand them to sizes corresponding to the root ball of the seedling or the diameter, for example, of the future root crop. If the depth of the resulting hole is not sufficient, repeat the strike. On very heavy soil, it is more advisable to use a crowbar instead of a wooden stake.

To sow seeds, you can use a small planting peg with a diameter of about 2 cm and a length of up to 90 cm.

Punch holes along the entire length of the bed; The marking cord should be located in the middle. Make the outermost holes at the beginning and end of the ridge at a distance of at least 0.5 m from the edge of the film. Leave the intervals between holes depending on the crop: for beets, onions and other low crops (in two rows) - 5 cm, for cucumbers and tomatoes (in one row) - 20 cm, for corn, daikon, kohlrabi - 30 cm, for all types of cabbage (in a checkerboard pattern) - 35 cm, for zucchini, watermelons and melons (in one row) - 70 cm, pumpkin - 100 cm.

Sow cold-resistant crops first: all types of cabbage (for seedlings), watercress, radishes, parsley, dill, carrots, onions. A couple of weeks after the first sowings, the time comes for peas, beans, lettuce, and beets. At the beginning of May - cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, closer to June - watermelons and melons (for seedlings) and tomato seedlings.

In the prepared holes intended for sowing seeds, pour a small mound of moist soil made from sawdust and compost (a bucket of sawdust, half a bucket of compost), or peat soil used for growing seedlings. Ordinary soil from the garden will not work: it may contain seeds, weed roots or pests.

Sow 10 to 20 seeds in large holes (for radishes and carrots - no more than 5 pieces, beets - 1 piece), in small holes - 1-2 seeds. Level the mound of earth by pressing it lightly with your palm. When planting seedlings, moisten the root ball well in advance and lower it into the holes on the torn edges of the film. The edges buried in the holes will prevent weed roots from growing inside the holes and will protect the plantings from insect pests living under the film and in the very top layer of soil. If a mole cricket has settled in your garden or the area is clogged with creeping wheatgrass, I recommend placing covers made of non-woven material (spunbond) or simply flaps of this material rolled into bags directly into the holes. The roots of the seedlings will easily grow through them into the ground, and for pests such a cone is an insurmountable barrier.

After planting, water the plants generously, cover with loose and moistened soil, which was mentioned above, and cover the entire area of ​​the garden with a thin (17 or 30 g/m2) covering non-woven material. Press the edges to the ground, just like the film, or better yet, together with it. Lay the panels loosely - so as not to interfere with the plants growing under them. In the future, you won’t need to water the garden frequently: the double cover will prevent the aimless evaporation of moisture, and prolonged rains will not turn it into a swamp. In the same places where puddles form on the film, make punctures with a thin needle, and the water will drain away. To avoid bending over, the needle can be secured to a long stick.

For fast-growing crops such as corn, sunflowers, and climbing beans, the covering material will need to be removed soon. Do this after the end of frost and place supports under the plants. Bee-pollinated cucumbers and zucchini should be opened slightly after flowering for pollination by insects. Cruciferous crops (cabbage, turnips, radishes, radishes), on the contrary, must be constantly closed; open them only at harvest. Peppers and tomatoes can be grown under covering material without supports. Plant varieties that do not require pinching and do not worry about them until the first fruits ripen.

At the end of the season, remove all plant debris from the area and remove the film. Let the weeds grow a little and add organic matter, including the tops of grown vegetables.

In October, plant winter onions, garlic and bulbs (tulips, daffodils), if you did not have time to do so earlier. Instead of covering the plantings, cover the plantings with collected foliage, and in the spring leave it in the garden for the entire next season.

Using the new method, you can grow perennial vegetable crops, flowers, garden strawberries and shrubs. When planting bushes with a large lump of earth, it is more convenient to dig holes of the required size with a shovel. Make cross-shaped cuts in the film according to the size of the hole, dig it, plant bushes, cover with the removed soil, water and cover with the corners of the film. It is better to seal the cuts on the film with tape.

When planting strawberry bushes intended for several years, apply long-decomposing organic fertilizers: sawdust, shavings, spruce and pine needles, chopped branches. It is good to add AVA or Kemira universal fertilizer, as well as dolomite flour. You can replant strawberry plantings at any time and in any weather. Make holes in the places where new plants are needed and plant the tendrils in them without tearing them away from the mother plant. It is not necessary to water and sprinkle with special soil; 100% survival rate is guaranteed. No weeding or labor-intensive trimming of the mustache is required. All mustaches that do not find soil under them will wither on their own.

The method is new and, naturally, has not been tested on all crops. For example, what is the best way to grow carrots? Should I sow many seeds in a large hole or one seed at a time in frequently made small holes? Has

Is there any point in growing potatoes in a new way, because when harvesting, the tubers will have to be dug out from the tangle of weed roots? Will the tubers turn out green? Is this method suitable for large areas? In the southern regions, the new method is suitable for heat-loving crops with widely growing leaves (pumpkins, cucumbers) and melons, but other crops will have to be protected in the summer months from overheating of the roots by scattering, for example, straw over the film. But the vegetable season will become almost year-round. Residents of the northern regions, the Urals and Siberia will surely like this method.