Joint plantingsvegetable, berry, green and ornamental crops at the dachas there is a garden bed x is not know-how, not innovation, but used over many centuries of traditional cultivation vegetable crops technologies. Examples of joint planting of vegetables in bedswere known to both the American Indians and the ancient Slavs. Modern agricultural technicians study the interaction of different crops within a separate industry -plant allelopathy. We are talking about beneficial or depressing mutual influence various plants, planted nearby. For small country farms themeco-cultivationof various vegetables and herbs is especially relevant, since the use of this planting method will allow using the available space more economically in terms of quantity and more efficiently in terms of quality.
To obtain maximum yield on a minimum area, using the technology of combined beds, it is necessary to understand the basics of crop rotation, since even incorrect rotation of crops planted on the same plot of land in different years, can either improve the result or negate all the efforts of the gardener. Since the gardener is primarily interested in the yield and health of the plantings, the right choice neighbour and in the garden bed allows you to solve both problems.
Understanding the secrets of combined cultivation vegetable x, green and decorative crops You can achieve not only a rich, healthy harvest, but also combine the useful with the beautiful: a garden bed can become a decoration for your garden, turning into a flower bed. When choosing neighboring crops, the following factors must be taken into account: Plants with similar maintenance conditions and care requirements are planted in one bed: lighting, humidity, acidity and soil structure, regime and composition of fertilizing. If the cultures coincide in most parameters, then the nuances can be taken into account by correctly drawing up a diagramjoint landing : plant a more moisture-loving plant in the center of the bed, where the soil moisture level is higher than at the edge. The same applies to sizes: the tallest specimens from a set of crops require planting in the center, the shortest ones - in the border, then everyone will have enough sunlight.
Compliance with crop rotation is an indispensable condition. Related crops belonging to the same family should not follow Friend after each other from season to season, since they draw from the soil the nutrients necessary for these particular plants (which means that the next season the “relative” will already be deprived of soil fertility) and pathogenic microorganisms accumulate over the season, causing harm to this particular family (and therefore , a “relative” is initially susceptible to a “family” disease). Plants with a powerful deep root system and short surface roots should be planted side by side in one bed so that these crops are adjacent and alternate: deep-shallow-deep. With such a planting, the roots of neighbors will not compete for underground space, each developing in its own direction.
Joint landingcultivation of different crops is possible not only within a spatial framework, when plants are simultaneously planted and ripen at the same time.
Joint planting within temporary boundaries allows you to harvest some vegetables, freeing up space for later neighbors to emerge and begin to develop.
Good example such a conveyor principlecombined planting in the garden bed, the width of which is 1 m, and the row spacing is 10 cm: Planting: lettuce (leaf) and radishes in one row - alternating every 10 cm; next row: watercress, kohlrabi cabbage alternates in a row with a head variety of lettuce, spinach is planted in three rows in a row, an early variety of potatoes, a couple more rows of spinach. Total 9 k ultur. Harvesting: spinach and watercress are harvested first (cut off the leaves and leave the roots); As they ripen, the radishes are pulled out and the lettuce leaves are removed after one; later, after harvesting the head lettuce, kohlrabi and potatoes remain until fully ripened.
Example of vertical combining compatible plants in one bed: The bed is located in an east-west direction. Along the northern border along the entire length there is a trellis support for tying up a climbing crop - beans. Rows: beans, every 0.2 m - low growing tomatoes, after 0.2 m - carrots, after 0.2 m - onions, along the edge - a fragrant spice (for example, basil) or marigolds to protect against insects. Carrots, onions and beans are planted first, and a little later, when the beans catch on the trellis, the tomato seedlings are planted. Harvesting in this combination is almost simultaneous for all vegetable neighbors.
The advantages of planting vegetables, herbs and ornamental crops in common beds, taking into account their compatibility, include not only saving space, although it is this reason that often pushes gardeners to mixed cultivation.
By wisely using the characteristics of certain plants, you can protect your plantings from attacks by insect pests: marigolds, oregano, mint, spices drive away insects, protecting their neighbors in the garden. Onions and garlic can also become a reliable barrier. If you plant nasturtium next to vegetables, then the aphids will prefer the decorative crop without getting to the vegetables. The smell of rosemary will repel bean lovers, and thyme will help the cabbage resist insect attacks. As a result, the summer resident will have a harvest of vegetables and aromatic additives for tea in the fall. Many cultures are not just friendship t, but they show beneficial influence for each other's development: tall, sun-loving sunflowers and corn They are excellent neighbors, since their roots develop at different depths, and create the necessary shade for short plants that prefer light shading: chard, spinach.
Early spinach greens will provide soil moisture and keep weeds at bay while beets and beans, potatoes or tomatoes emerge in the same area. And when the time comes to cut the spinach leaves, roots that are beneficial to the soil will remain in the ground, helping neighbors get food from the soil. These and others examples of joint planting of vegetables in the gardendemonstrate the benefits of growing different crops in a common area, if you know that what and why is it friendly, what can be planted side by side in one common bed . It is equally important to consider which plants do not tolerate each other.
Cabbage crops usually suffer from pests, so onions and garlic are planted to protect against voracious caterpillars, and the aroma of mint, sage, rosemary and Bogorodskaya grass will help against butterflies. Snails do not like borage, and flea beetles avoid planting celery.
In addition to the defenders, cabbage there are simply friendly neighboring vegetables: potatoes, salads, cucumbers, beets.
Neighbors do not recommend carrots to go with cabbage (although with broccoli perhaps), beans, grapes, strawberries, and tomatoes are planted away from cabbage.
It has been noticed that basil is not just best neighbor for tomatoes , it makes vegetables taste richer. Combines harmoniously with garlic, which protects against pests, leafy greens, radishes and radishes, beans, carrots, onions and beets. They are developing well tomatoes next to peppers , even in closed ground conditions - in a greenhouse or greenhouse. Dill and it is better to plant potatoes further away, but nettle - a malicious weed - is very useful for improving the taste of tomatoes.
There is experience when cucumbers are planted with corn, which helps cope with ants, becomes an additional support for tenacious cucumbers, corn leaves cover the neighbor from the hot sun.
Radishes and radishes repel bugs and improve the flavor of the fruit. Can plant next to onions with garlic. Compatibility of related plants - cucumbers and zucchini - not bad example of joint cultivation in one bed. Spinach, beans and beans, dill, celery and even beets - good neighbors in cucumber beds. Compatibility vegetable crops and weedsplants in the gardenmanifests itself in a combination of cucumbers and tansy, agaric, and quinoa. These weeds help the crop resist pests.
Cucumbers and tomatoes do not grow nearby, especially in greenhouses and hotbeds - they are too different conditions content. Potatoes and spices are also planted away from each other.
Some gardeners believe that a pumpkin cannot find a favorable neighborhood. They definitely don’t plant pumpkins next to zucchini - this is fraught with cross-pollination, with potatoes, peppers and eggplants and legumes. Possible joint plantings with radishes and nasturtium - these crops perform a protective function.
The best neighbor for carrots - onions, but perennial onions. The fact is that onions and carrots have a fundamental difference in watering needs: either the onions will rot or the carrots will not grow. Garlic, spinach, radishes, lettuce - the most popularexamples of beds with joint plantings carrots.
Dill with carrot beds they tear them out mercilessly: these plants, competitors for moisture and nutrition, have the same diseases. Carrots and parsley , not the best neighbor and celery.
When planting potatoes, many experienced gardeners throw a bean into the hole - the best partner of the crop, helping to get more bountiful harvest. Potatoes have many useful garden companions: beans, coriander, marigolds with nasturtium or tansy protect against the main pest - the Colorado potato beetle. Garlic planted between rows helps cope with late blight.
Potatoes' friends include radishes, salads, cabbage, eggplants, horseradish (if its distribution is controlled), calendula, and corn.
But quinoa inhibits the growth of potatoes; for the same reason, beets are not planted next to them. Raspberries and tomatoes can cause late blight. Zucchini, cucumbers, sorrel - examples of crop incompatibility
Having identified as neighbors to beets mint or catnip, the gardener saves himself from fighting aphids and fleas, the main pests of the vegetable. Proven neighbors for root vegetables are cabbage (white cabbage), carrots, onions, celery, carrots, strawberries are also suitable. But for a mutually beneficial neighborhood, all plants need to be provided with a place - the plantings should not be thickened.
Beet antagonists are potatoes, beans. Not recommended nearby plant mustard.
Basil is not just a neighbor. This is an active assistant for Bulgarian peppers , it promotes better growth and development of the plant. Onions are good for peppers, and beets are just a good neighbor. Not grown next to the peppers are carrots, peas, beans.
Perennial onions and carrots are an almost perfect examplecompatibility of plants in the garden. And onions grown for the sake of the bulb are incompatible with carrots, since moisture-loving carrots will ruin the neighbor or the onion harvest will leave the gardener without carrots, because they have different requirements for substrate moisture.
Onions are comfortable in the same bed with tomatoes, green crops, beets, and strawberries. But not with sage, radishes, beans, legumes, grapes, gladioli.
Garlic is valued by gardeners for its beneficial nutritional qualities and for the vegetable’s contribution to pest control: it protects plantings from insects, caterpillars, slugs and even moles if a large area is planted with garlic. Garlic is friendly with radishes, salads, celery, strawberries, carrots. It protects potato plantings from late blight, and decorative plants - gladioli and roses - from aphids.
Among the enemies of garlic, we note leguminous plants.
Eggplant with beans - perfect union in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle. Creeping thyme protects eggplants from flea beetles. Included in one diagram planting with eggplants, onions, peppers, herbs. Incompatible with cucumbers and cabbage.
Radish It is good to grow next to carrots, cabbage, turnips, beans, salads, tomatoes, and beans. But onions, cucumbers, and beets are not suitable for common planting with radishes.
Turnip can grow with peas, but does not develop surrounded by asparagus, next to mustard.
Salads are used in various combined beds. And spinach is recommended for mandatory planting: agricultural technicians note it compatible with any plants in the gardenand benefit in enriching the dacha land.
The list of plants that do not get along in the close company of other crops is small. The leader of this list is fennel, which requires individual planting.
More often, incompatibility is explained by related ties between crops (dill, coriander, parsley, the Apiaceae family, they compete and suffer from the same diseases).
When planning a general planting scheme, take into account the size of an adult plant, the characteristics of the root system, and the need for free space on a plot of land. If we neglect these factors, then even a neighborhood that is favorable in theory will only bring problems in practice.
By studying the influence of plants on each other, a gardener increases the efficiency of his work. The summer resident transforms the appearance of the plot every year, because knowledge of the basics of garden allelopathy and garden crops allows you to create unique flower beds that produce a rich harvest and give beauty and joy.
I have my own house and personal plot 7 acres. We have been using the garden for 20 years. So, in last years I began to notice that the earth was becoming heavy, water- and air-tight, and the harvests were getting poorer and poorer. In the fall, it became a shame that so much effort, time and money had been invested, and the result was almost zero.
Something had to be done, but I didn’t know what. That’s when B.A.’s book fell into my hands. bagel “Vegetable garden in a new way. The revolutionary method of “doing nothing.” This book turned my whole thinking upside down and allowed me to take a fresh look at cultivated plants, weeds, pests, soil and Mother Nature in general. In nature, everything is interconnected: one with another, another with a third, and so on along the chain. And then I looked on the Internet, saw a lot of interesting, smart, instructive things, and in the spring I decided to implement the basic principles of organic farming in my garden.
With the onset of spring, my husband and I divided the garden into “Right” beds – 90 cm wide and 8 m long(although the length can be arbitrary), row spacing is 60 cm. The width of the bed should be such that you can reach the middle with your hand, because you cannot step on the ground either when planting or when weeding.
The row spacing should be wide to provide the plants with good air exchange and illumination, since scientists have long proven that plants are taken from the soil in the form nutrients only 30% of the required energy.
We also chose a width of 60 cm because of its convenience when mowing with a lawn mower. The brought soil and compost were poured onto the top of the beds and everything was mixed together with garden soil. The beds turned out to be slightly raised, but not high. Several beds were fenced wooden planks– there wasn’t enough material for everything.
One bed contained 4 rows for planting seeds of onions, carrots, beets, and radishes. I planted seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and cabbage in two rows in a checkerboard pattern. Vegetables were planted according to the principle of “good neighborliness”, i.e. compatibility of cultures. For example, onions along with carrots and beets (along the edge of the bed). In general, beets are considered an “extreme” crop; their place is at the edge of the garden bed. She planted tomatoes with peppers, cabbage with celery and beets.
Combined plantings are good because the plants (at least three species) do not oppress neighbors, but help each other.
Further, following the principles of organic farming, I mulched the plantings, but did this only when seedlings began to appear (late spring - early summer). Mulched with mowed grass, but always dried a little in the shade. The mulch was watered with a solution containing effective microorganisms and water was poured on top again. Beneficial microorganisms begin to work when established warm weather with an air temperature of at least 25°.
Throughout the summer, I added more and more mulch (about once every one or two weeks). Ideally, the mulch layer per season should be at least 5 cm.
And with potatoes we did this: the bushes came up after the first weeding and hilling with the whole family mulched with straw and hay. Of course, we had to work hard, but then throughout the summer we no longer weeded, and the Colorado potato beetle appeared much later and in smaller numbers. The area under potatoes was small, about 4 acres. The strawberry bed was also mulched with mown grass, where clean berries were then collected, and there were no rotten ones at all. Weeds grow through the mulch, but very little. To avoid them altogether, you need a dense layer of mulch of at least, as I said, 5 cm.
Mulching is especially important in hot weather, but in rainy weather you need to be careful, as the mulch can rot, especially on heavy soils.
And yet it has many more advantages: protecting the soil from drying out, reducing labor costs for weeding, enriching the soil due to the decomposition of organic matter by soil microorganisms and bacteria.
Separately, I would like to dwell on ways to control pests and diseases in organic farming. To combat pests, I planted plants in the beds that repel them. For example, next to the cabbage I planted marigolds, hyssop, sage and a lot of dill.
White butterflies circled and circled over the cabbage, but I never noticed any pests on the leaves. I added basil to the tomatoes and peppers, which not only repels insects, but also improves the taste of tomatoes and the structure of the soil. I planted onions and carrots close to each other because onion fly repels carrots, and carrots repels onions. Wormwood repels many pests, especially the Colorado potato beetle. I have several wormwood bushes growing in my garden in different places, but to the side, not in the beds. With the help of wormwood, I saved eggplants from the striped pest. In the summer, when all my flowers bloomed spice plants and the flowers, there was such beauty in the garden, and the smell was amazing!
I fertilized only once, in the spring, and only foliar. IN next season We plan to use our own solutions and fertilizers.
In the fall, we plant the vacated beds with green manure (white mustard). The use of green manure is another principle of organic farming. They enrich the soil with macro- and microelements, their long rhizomes loosen the soil and increase the humus layer of the soil.
When using organic farming, the land before winter should always be covered with greenery and in no case bare.
And in conclusion, I want to say: in order to carry out “perestroika” in the garden, my husband and I had to work a lot, but the whole family is very pleased with the results of this work! In addition, next season there will be much less work, since the beds will already be permanent, all that remains is to loosen them (up to 5-7 cm) and plant the plants.
If you follow the principles of organic farming, the humus layer in the garden bed will increase every year, as a result of which the yields will increase significantly, and (most importantly!) they will be absolutely clean from an environmental point of view.
Dear gardeners, switch to organic farming! It really works - tested practical experience. Believe me, it's very interesting process, after all, Mother Nature has long taken care of everything for us, we just need to watch her and try to disturb her as little as possible!
I really love experimenting in the garden. I take a plastic bag for a sandwich measuring 20x30 cm, without unfolding it, put 1 tbsp on the left edge. l. (with a heap) of prepared moistened soil, then I place a seedling in the middle of the lump of earth, and on top another 1 tbsp. l. earth, and I roll everything up in the form of a roll - I “swaddle” the seedling, like swaddling a baby. I wrap the edge of the bag (you can tighten it with an elastic band). The leaves of the seedling should protrude above the film.
I put the formed rolls in a kiwi container (you can use a cake container), 13-15 bags fit. In short, in three containers I got 42 seedlings, and they all fit on one windowsill. I place the containers themselves in small trays from semi-finished products.
Then, when the seedlings grow up (after several weeks), you need to unroll the rolls again and add 1-2 tbsp. l. land. Regular care: watering, lighting.
The seedlings grow remarkably well, and by the time they are planted in open ground I have healthy and strong tomato seedlings with an elongated root system.
With this method of picking, the most important thing is that you do not get injured. root system when transplanted to a permanent place, and the tip of the root is not pinched, which promotes further root growth deeper into where the plant finds more moisture and will not depend on watering.
Having planted my tomatoes in two rows in a checkerboard pattern in a narrow box bed, I mulch them with hay and straw (but not fresh!). A bed with ripening tomatoes looks so beautiful that it’s simply impossible to describe! And the harvest is so large that until the New Year, my whole family eats fresh tomatoes.
By the way, this picking method is very well suited for apartments where there is little space for seedlings, and much less land is used. You can pick other vegetables and flowers in this way. Try it, you will definitely like it. It really works!
The most interesting thing about organic farming is that increasing soil fertility can be transferred to a constant and almost autonomous mode of operation. And the next article is the best confirmation of this.
It's not like that, guys...
At the beginning of my gardening journey, I used the experience of my parents, that is, I first dug up the entire vegetable garden, and then created beds up to a meter wide, leaving 30-40 cm gaps between them. Then, of course, I struggled with weeding the plantings, taking out all the grass torn out of the site. But every year it became clear to me that I was doing something wrong, because the work was constantly being added and added.
This became especially noticeable after I started growing seedlings of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers on my own. At first, I only bought it at the market, but when I was once cheated there with the varieties, I decided that now I had to take this matter into my own hands (now I have already compiled a pretty good garden collection, but every year I test one - two new varieties or hybrids).
When I was finally convinced that there was no longer any possibility of doing agricultural technology in the old way, I began to study the works of advanced gardeners. The one that made the greatest impression on me was the Meat Tlider. Thanks to his articles, I fully realized that the wisest thing to do is to abandon the “nomadic” beds, replacing them with boxes installed in once and for all selected places, thereby eliminating trampling of the earth, which leads to deterioration of its structure. But at the same time, I left the width of the beds themselves as usual (about a meter), but increased the passages to 70 cm.
Practice has shown that if you fill the surfaces of the beds with organic matter in the fall, then under this “coat” by spring you can get moist and loose soil, which you don’t have to dig, but simply loosen it with a hoe.
But where can you get so much mulching material? I began to grow green manure before winter, collect leaf litter along the clearing along which I walk to my plot, and stopped disdaining weeded weeds. Why wear them? compost heaps? It is wiser to leave it in place, increasing the thickness of the mulch layer, which will serve as extra food for various worms, bugs, fungi and microbes. In addition, in the ground “under a fur coat” the passages made by worms and empty
you are from rotten organic matter through which water passes with air and nitrogen dissolved in it. In other words, soil fertilization occurs almost “automatically”! It is generally accepted that nature independently creates 1 cm of humus in about 100 years. If we help her, then this process can be accelerated significantly.
Correct timing
My next step was to switch to ridge planting of potatoes, which also saved me from the need to shovel the entire area of the plot. By creating parallel trenches 10 cm deep and a spade bayonet wide at intervals of 70 cm, the soil only has to be laid to the right of them. Very convenient and economical. I called this method of planting “under the sloth”. Using the same method, I now plant corn (the distance between the rows of this crop is 1.2 m, and between the rows I place cucumbers or pumpkins), sunflowers and climbing beans. The only difference is that I don’t dig trenches for these plants, but loosen strips of earth 30 cm wide.
As for cucumbers, I came to the clear conclusion that in the southern regions they should be grown in three periods. And only so!
First, I plant the seedlings in the greenhouse between April 25 and May 1 and get a good harvest in early July. I plant the second batch of cucumbers with seeds in open ground on May 15, and they give me their fruits from mid-July to mid-September. And I plant the third wave of cucumbers in mid-August, which allows me to enjoy the green ones almost until the end of the season. At the same time, cucumbers of the first and second terms can be either varietal and hybrid, or parthenocarpics. But the third term - only parthenocarpic. The fact is that by September 1, figs ripen, the flowers of which simply ooze with nectar, and therefore bees, flies and hornets race to them, pollinating the cucumbers at the same time. At the same time, I note that cucumbers can be grown from stepchildren, but their survival rate will be worse than that of tomatoes.
A week before planting cucumbers and tomatoes, I water the beds well and immediately cover them with film, pressing it tightly to the ground along the entire perimeter. Under it, the moist soil warms up well, and the evaporation of moisture is practically eliminated.
When planting, I use hydrogel, which I carefully place in the holes around the plants, which allows me to forget about watering for 10 days.
It is also important that when watering, water can turn barely hatched seeds upside down in the soil, and then they will certainly die. To prevent this from happening, after planting I always compact the soil slightly. And if the weather is hot and windy, then I do all the watering only through non-woven material stretched over the beds, and from a small watering can and in small portions.
I urge all readers to dig as little as possible. Do not destroy its structure! Don't walk on it unless necessary. Take care of her. Switch to simple loosening with a depth of no more than 5 cm. After all, even in Soviet time Agronomist T. Maltsev proved in practice that no-till cultivation is the most promising and correct. Deep loosening deteriorates its structure and leads to overgrinding.
After rain or irrigation, such land turns into a swamp with the formation of a soil crust when it dries. And I also urge all gardeners not to get carried away with weeding: do not keep the soil bare, something should always grow on it! After all, vegetation reduces soil temperature and significantly delays water evaporation. Mulching is shading the soil. Take care of this in advance. I wish everyone health and good luck in their dacha and personal work. And human happiness!
V.A. GIANTS. Sochi
I am glad for those who strive to live with the times, for those who are mastering the new science of agriculture, for those who are not afraid to admit their mistakes and are looking for new ways to communicate with the earth without sacrificing nature. But in almost every issue there are also letters that are simply upsetting.
About traditions...
Why can't people see their mistakes? Why don’t they feel guilty before future generations? They are destroying the earth, leaving no chance to restore its fertility and create a sustainable balance in nature! Moreover, without thinking, they also harm the health of themselves and their loved ones. Who exactly do I mean?
And those respected gardeners who are engaged in the “traditional” (or even worse, “old-fashioned”) way of running their farms. Do you think I'm being too categorical? Yes, I myself worry about these fellow summer residents! But still, let's think about it in detail.
So, what do people usually mean by “traditional farming”? Here's what:
suitable digging of soil with a shovel in autumn and spring, weekly weeding in summer, application mineral fertilizers, as well as treating plantings in gardens and vegetable gardens with chemical means of protection against diseases and pests. But can this really be called a tradition? Yes, one of the main agricultural tools of the peasants was the plow, but who said that they plowed their gardens from top to bottom?
They did this selectively and plowed shallowly, without disturbing fertile layer. But the main thing is that before this they transported manure to the plots, embedding it in the ground.
It will be objected to me that at that time everyone had a large farm, and no one had any problems with the presence of such organic matter. And I don’t deny it, I just want to draw your attention to the fact that digging itself is not only pointless, but also harmful.
Go ahead. After the Great Patriotic War There were devastated villages and villages in which there was no livestock or poultry. To accelerate the development of agriculture, a number of forced measures. Forced! In particular, chemists developed and introduced mineral fertilizers, thereby dramatically increasing the yield of almost all crops.
But the whole point is that the “mineral water” only replenishes the chemical composition of the soil, and its balance is constantly upset. But the amount of humus from adding chemicals does not increase. Moreover, it is gradually decreasing! As a result, the land is increasingly depleted, plants, due to a lack of one or another nutrient, grow frail (at first glance this may not be noticed) and therefore become easy prey for pests and diseases. If you have depleted soil, increase its fertility, but not with the help of “mineral water”! Yes, of course, it will not be easy, you will have to work hard and be patient, because the earth needs time to recover. But almost any soil can be cured; don’t believe that there are “lazy” gardens! Get away from old stereotypes. I was wrong?
...and about innovations
Many summer residents often think that natural and organic farming- It is the same. But in fact, no. In the first case we're talking about about coexistence different plants on a certain unit of area, and each of them performs its role. For example, tall ones shade short ones from the sun and protect them from the wind, wild ones attract beneficial insects, helping to get rid of pests for their cultural neighbors, etc.
Organic farming means running your own farm using waste products of flora and fauna. Here our helpers will be not only the plants themselves, but also everything that can move: from the simplest microorganisms to lizards and birds. I understand how difficult it is to evaluate, understand and accept all this.
Moreover, having taken the first step and not receiving good result, many return to their usual methods. But everyone must go through this difficult and long path, because each generation must contribute to the restoration of the fertility of the earth.
My dears, try to start with a simple thing: sow the plots with green manure in the fall, do not leave the soil bare anywhere - neither in winter nor in summer. In the spring, simply loosen it shallowly, cutting off the grown grasses, and mulch your plantings with them, covering the beds from the sun, winds and showers (they wash humus deep into the ground). And the covered soil will always be moist, which will create a favorable climate in the area.
Believe me, at one time I also stood at a crossroads, and not everything worked out for me at once. And even now I am looking for more and more new ways to get closer to nature. But I haven’t been digging or weeding for five years now, I just cut the grass and use it as mulch. Every autumn I fall asleep with leaves tree trunk circles trees and shrubs.
I don’t burn the branches left after pruning, but I process them with a chopper and scatter the resulting sawdust in the garden. I bury all food scraps (as well as paper and cardboard collected over the winter) in the garden at the beginning of the season. I water all plants without exception with infusions of herbs and chicken manure, I spray with baking soda, infusions of garlic, birch tar, and practice treatment with whey and vermicomposts. And all my plantings survive the winter without loss, even if there were frosts of -30°, and in the summer I always harvest good harvests, even if the heat was 40°. That's it!
: GROWING EARLY ZUCCHINS IN MOBILE...
Spring work on your own summer cottage start with planning your garden. This may seem like a simple task. But in order to get a good harvest, you need to take into account important factors, which affect the location of certain crops and plant varieties in the beds. To provide good harvest It is important to plant plants according to the cardinal directions, soil composition, required lighting, and the topography of the site. It is necessary to follow the rules of crop rotation.
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You can start planning your garden in early spring, when the snow has melted and the soil has dried out a little. For summer residents with many years of experience, this process is not particularly difficult. Those who are just taking their first steps in gardening should take into account the basic rules that you need to know in order to properly plant plants on your site.
If a summer resident decides to plan his garden for the first time, then he needs to pay attention to the following factors:
When drawing up a plan for the location of the beds, you should definitely think about how the plants will be watered. Crops such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and cucumbers need watering every 3-4 days. Therefore, the irrigation system should be quite convenient.
At a dacha, at a minimum, there should be a tap and long hoses that could be reached to the plants. If the site has large area, then a garden should be laid out on it or plants that do not need frequent watering should be planted, and the vegetable beds should be located closer to the water source so that the distance allows regular and special costs carry out irrigation.
It is important to note that you should not moisten plants directly with tap water. It should be settled, rainwater or from a local pond or river. For this, large containers are used: an old bathtub, a metal vat, plastic barrel. To ensure good pressure when watering, you should purchase a pump and place it in the middle of the container. You can water using a garden watering can, but this process will take quite a lot of time.
A good option for setting up an irrigation system is drip irrigation. If such a system already exists on the site, then the planting of vegetables will need to be “tied” to places provided with water.
After the issue of watering, lighting and cardinal points has been resolved, one more important point should be considered. Namely, compatibility and alternation of plants in the garden.
For proper planning of beds, it is important to remember the compatibility of crops, which consists in the ability to grow, develop and protect each other side by side.
The table contains the names of crops and the degree of compatibility between plants.
It is important to pay attention to the timing of crop ripening and planting. This will allow on the same bed in different time enjoy the harvest.
Crop rotation is important point, which determines the degree of soil fatigue and the quality of the future harvest.
Otherwise there may bequite serious problems with growing vegetable crops.
The following factors lead to soil fatigue:
To understand this more accurately, it is necessary to take into account that all vegetable crops can be divided into several categories according to how demanding the plant is to the soil.
To properly draw up a plan, you need to divide the site into 4 zones:
Next year, demanding plants should be planted where undemanding plants grew. Those with moderate demands should go to the place where the demanding ones grew up. Undemanding plants should be sent to the bed where moderately demanding ones grew. This rotation should be done every year. This will allow the soil to rest a bit.
The table shows the predecessors and successors of vegetable crops. It is important to remember that the culture returns to its previous place no earlier than after 3–4 years.
It is important to take into account the fact that human memory is not unlimited. It is very difficult to remember exactly what crop grew in a certain area 5 years ago.
Refusal from deep cultivation of the land, from the use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides sometimes causes a skeptical smile on the faces of some gardeners. Indeed, it is easy to stigmatize shovels and plows and refuse chemical services. But where are the guarantees that good fruits will grow in the garden, and pests will share the harvest with us?
Another important point that needs to be taken into account when intensively planting plants is the concept of allelopathy, which I would like to discuss separately.
Throughout its life (from the development of the seed to the formation of decomposing residues), each plant constantly secretes environment biologically different active substances, thereby creating a protective biochemical sphere around itself.
Gardeners who are thoughtful and attentive to the growing process often notice that different crops growing nearby affect each other differently. One plant can inhibit another, or, on the contrary, have a beneficial effect and help with the growth and ripening of fruits. Scientists became interested in this phenomenon, and in the process scientific research It turned out that cultures influence each other in various ways:
Based on these studies, such a subsection in the study of plants as allelopathy appeared. In agricultural science, this term is understood as the effect of one plant on another through the release of special substances by each of them (antibiotics, colins, phytoncides, other enzymes) that affect the life processes of the garden bed. Substances released by plants can affect neighbors at any stage of development, be it seed germination, flowering or fruiting.
There are practically no plants in nature whose secretions do not contain toxic substances, and a third of all species are capable of producing fairly strong toxins. However, it should be noted that allelopathy in many cases is not negative, but positive, which contributes to better growth of the neighboring crop. Some substances secreted by plants can protect “cohabitants” from diseases and pests, increase productivity and improve the taste of fruits. And it is precisely these allelopathic properties of crops that intensive planting in organic farming is based on.
Unfortunately, there are no precise rules for assessing the “livability” of different cultures. IN in this case Careful consideration and life experience can help. For example, it has long been noticed that pumpkin gets along well with corn, onions with carrots, cucumbers with beans and peas, tomatoes with radishes, garlic and beets, and so on. The compatibility of most crops is described very accurately and in detail in the books of such famous agronomists who adhere to the principles of organic farming as Nikolai Kurdyumov, Natalya Zhirmunskaya, Boris Bublik.
Before planting plants in one bed different types, it is necessary to figure out what influence they will have on each other. When creating plant communities, it is necessary to combine crops that help each other and avoid planting oppressors together.
IN wildlife There are no such large patches sown with only one crop, such as potato fields. In our gardens, in most cases, instead of lush natural diversity, there is a dominance of monoculture patches and stripes. And hence, according to the majority of organic gardeners, all our problems arise, which intensive planting will help solve. Let's figure out what bonuses a farmer will receive by putting this basic principle into practice.
As you know, pests mainly find their food by smell. The cabbage cutworm, for example, always flies to the smell of mustard oil released by cruciferous crops. In social planting there are some effective ways protection from harmful insects, the main one of which is scent repellent. In onions and carrots this happens on a reciprocal basis, in other neighboring plants - unilaterally. The cabbage fly cannot stand the smell of tomatoes, and the aroma of basil is not at all to the liking of the hornworm, which loves to feast on tomatoes and corn. Some plants can provide excellent camouflage and confuse the pest. For example, marigolds successfully protect cabbage from caterpillars.
Intensive planting can simulate the diversity and ecological balance that exists in the wild. At the same time, neighbors in the garden protect each other from diseases and pests, everything is included in the work - flowers, herbs, industrial crops and even weeds.
This principle of organic farming, such as intensive planting, allows the farmer to almost completely abandon the “import” of fertilizers. Thanks to intensive planting, right in the garden you can grow all the necessary components for preparing compost, which, as you know, is a valuable fertilizer that improves the structure and fertility of the soil, protecting plants from diseases.
Way intensive planting will also provide the gardener with the lion's share of organic materials for mulching. The benefits are obvious. Imported mulch must be mowed, moved or transported and spread on the beds. And for this, you see, you need time and effort.
Having grown right in the garden, the mulch does not need to be mowed, carried or laid out - it will completely independently fulfill its mission of structuring the soil and increasing the humus layer. The “living mulch” created as a result of intensive planting frees a person not only from the hassle of caring for it, but also from many worries about the crops growing under its protection.
Intensive planting dramatically reduces the need for watering, and in some cases allows you to completely eliminate it. This can be explained by the fact that organic-rich soil holds much more moisture than clean, bare soil. “Living” mulch reduces evaporation and promotes intensive dew formation. With intensive planting, the moisture required in the root zone can be maintained for weeks without watering.
It's no secret that watering requires a lot of time, effort and money, not to mention a constant source of water. Intensive planting, even in the driest period, maintains sufficient soil moisture, protecting it from overheating and drying out.
The roots of all plants living in the garden bed constantly loosen the soil during their life processes. And this main function The principle of intensive planting allows you to completely abandon deep cultivation of the land.
The more abundant the vegetation, the softer and airier the soil becomes. As they decompose, numerous roots enrich the earth with organic matter and leave behind many channels through which air and moisture penetrate deep into the soil. Root remains are excellent food for all soil inhabitants, which helps increase their population and, accordingly, increases the fertility of your site.
Intensive planting allows in some cases to control weeds. Probably, many people paid attention to how clean the land is after rye has grown on it. This plant poisons all its neighbors with its root secretions. They are also good at cleaning soil. white mustard, oats, buckwheat and barley.
An intensively planted bed always generates competition among plants, as a result of which even weeds may suffer. In this case, we are talking about their oppression, and intensive planting plays a by no means episodic role here.
Caring for the land, preserving and increasing its fertility is at the forefront of all the principles of organic farming. Intensive planting helps protect the soil from erosion and dust storms. Covered all year round and connected by roots, the earth is protected from weathering and washing away; it is not afraid of frost in winter and scorching sun in summer. Such a land is simply teeming with various beneficial organisms, which make it “alive” and fertile. Intensive planting helps restore ecological balance, which helps protect your garden from pests and diseases.
In those areas where the principle of intensive planting is applied, you will never see a dull black and potholed picture. The beds here shimmer in all shades both in spring and autumn Green colour, in the February-March windows, not gray thawed patches peek out from under the snow, but emerald shoots of rye and wheat. There is no need to talk about summer at all. At this time, replacing each other, all kinds of flowers decorate the area. Such beauty improves your mood, adds energy and health. Having mastered the principle of intensive planting, you can not only improve the fertility and structure of the site, not only grow an environmentally friendly rich harvest, but also significantly save energy and time, and get incomparable pleasure from working in the garden.
The agricultural technology of such farming is aimed at respect for the earth, as a living organism, to improve fertility through the return of organic matter, green manure, mulching, crop rotation, as well as to obtain natural, environmentally friendly food products without the use of chemical fertilizers and plant protection products.
And organic farming technologists promise us big harvests with lower labor costs than in classical farming
But is everything as simple as leading experts and promoters of organic farming tell us?
When we first decided to put organic farming into practice at our dacha, we were naive people, like everyone else, we needed that very safe food, and at the same time we had little free time, but a great desire to grow plants. Therefore, we dug through a lot of literature to find out what it is: organic farming in the country and where to start mastering it. We needed to understand and comprehend all this. And we immediately set about an exciting and good thing: organic farming from scratch.
We took into use 12 acres of land near Odessa, which no one had cultivated for several years. Of these, 2 acres were under trees and bushes, 1 acres were under strawberries, and the remaining 9 acres were densely covered with weeds, so it was necessary to develop virgin land. We have a noble goal ahead of us: we are implementing careful and loving relationship to the ground, which is called in the literature “Organic farming in the country.”
First, we cut the weeds, then we laid out the area, dividing it into paths and beds. The beds were surface treated (loosening) to a depth of no more than 5 cm, as recommended in the books. We sown seeds, planted seedlings and mulched.
The plantings were, as expected, thickened and planned taking into account the allelopathic properties of neighboring plants. A week later, the first shoots appeared, and then weeds appeared, which had to be pulled out manually, since Fokina’s flat cutter did not work on mulch. And so several times a season.
We spent a lot of time and effort, but there was no result. Of those planted, about 7% of cultivated plants survived, which gave, to put it mildly, modest harvest, or rather, there was almost none (not counting 5 carrots and 5 watermelons weighing 100 g each).
Nevertheless, we continued to work, as we fell in love with work on the land and in the fresh air. And the experience gained was very useful.
Today we practice organic farming in our dacha on two hectares of land, where we harvest tons of crops. We also maintain several forest nurseries. We work according to the “Organic agro-forestry” system.
And the question “how to grow?” is no longer relevant, now the question is “what to do with the harvest?”
Well, now we will tell you about everything in order, how in reality you need to start organic farming in your dacha from scratch, and not what is told in books or at seminars. In life, it turns out, it’s not quite the same as on the pages of books. But how does everything actually happen in organic farming?
Harvest of Alexey and Nadezhda Chernyavsky 1: “The earth cannot be stirred up.”
We called the process by which the earth does not turn, “wilding of the soil.” This means that there are so many insects, animals and weeds in it that they do not allow anything to grow and bear fruit. cultivated plant. Here you go natural farming! In addition, if you have virgin soil on your plot, then you will have to plow it once, since virgin soil cannot be conquered manually. And after the first plowing, you can treat the soil superficially. Then there will be watermelons and corn.
Conclusion: a cultivated plant needs cultivated soil and appropriate care!
2: “Mulched plants do not need to be watered.”
After conducting many experiments, we came to the conclusion that mulch does retain moisture, but not for long, especially in dry places. Therefore, if you want to get a harvest by practicing organic farming in your country house, then you will have to water moisture-loving plants, even if they are mulched, you will just need to do this less often .
3: “All plants need to be mulched so that there is no bare soil left in the garden.”
In fact, not all plants like mulch. So, for corn, watermelons, melons, peanuts and chufa, mulch is unacceptable. These crops love “hot and clean soil.” In addition, corn, peanuts and chufa require hilling, which is very difficult to do if there is mulch on the ground.
Conclusion: when using organic farming in the country, it is certainly necessary to mulch, but selectively. Cover the soil only around those plants that really like it (tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, etc.)
4: “Organic farming for the lazy.”
Many people have heard the old proverb “You can’t catch a fish out of a pond without effort”; no one has yet canceled it. And for people for whom organic farming in the country has become a matter of life, they know exactly what this proverb is about. As we found out, If you want results, you have to work hard! Loosening the beds, planting seeds, extracting and laying mulch, digging and weeding weeds, hilling, planting, watering, collecting and processing crops, in the end, all this is work! If you give in to laziness, you won’t see a full harvest!
Conclusion: He who works, eats.
5: “Joint and dense plantings repel insect pests and attract insect predators » .
Fast, efficient, convenient and environmentally friendly, and therefore safe
Conclusion: You need to combine beds with crops, not crops in a bed.
6: “Biological plant protection products are better and safer than chemical ones.”
We do not use either one or the other. Today, humanity is already reaping the full benefits of using chemistry in agriculture(killed lands, mutant insects, dead bees, food poisoning and allergies in people, polluted waters of the world's oceans, etc.). And we still don’t know what fruits biological drugs will bring us, because it’s a matter of time. Remember when they appeared on the market chemicals protection, people were very happy about this, it seemed to them that the problem was solved. But they struggled with the consequences, but the cause - monoculture - remained. Today the people are rejoicing biological drugs! What will happen tomorrow?
Conclusion: by practicing organic farming in the country, we avoid the use of any drugs.
Chemical and biological agents protection have detrimental consequences for the ecology of the entire planet and every person. Nobody knows how it will all end, not even scientists!
7: “Do this and everything will be like ours”
Another sophisticated lie that gullible farmers are falling for. In the course of our numerous experiments and based on the experience gained, we came to the conclusion that nothing is the same in nature! And, repeating the experiment, it is unlikely that it will be possible to obtain exactly the same result. Even in the same bed, with the same agricultural technology, using the same farming, the same fertilizer, mulching, green manure, the same plants bear fruit differently.
There are different soils, different climates, microclimates, etc. Even the attitude and mood of the person working with the plant, using exclusively natural farming, plays a huge role and can affect the result! In general, you don’t need to expect results the same as in the pictures promoting organic farming in the country, and then if the result is inconsistent, disappointment will not discourage you from moving on!
Love your land, study its specifics and character, observe - and draw your conclusions with good thoughts. Don't believe it, check it. And then organic farming at your dacha will pay off, and you will definitely succeed!
