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Dolomite flour: how to use it in the garden, application, what is it for? Medicinal herbs: growing in the country We choose the “design” of the beds and place them correctly

It happened! You have finally become the proud owner of six, and maybe more, hundreds. Now is the time to figure out what needs to be done on the site and in what order. What to build? What equipment should I buy? What to plant? In order not to step on your own rake, it makes sense to study other people's practical experience.

First, you need to put the area in order, remove debris, and decide what can be planted and where. The planning of the site should be carried out taking into account the lighting and soil type, because each crop is more or less demanding of these two factors. It is also necessary to install a utility building on the site for equipment (if you do not plan to store everything in the house) and organize a compost pit - a lot of organic waste will be generated during the work process. The “pit” can be made in the form of a box or “well”, preferably with a lid.

Decide on the lighting of the area. Cucumbers, radishes, legumes, and beets grow well in partial shade. Here you can plant onions, parsley, mint. The sun is simply necessary for the normal growth of tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplants. They need not only light, but also a lot of moisture, so sandy soils that do not retain water well will have to be supplemented with black soil. As an option, planting will have to be done in deep beds and furrows. But on clay soils, the beds need to be raised.

The width of the beds may vary depending on the species being grown. But as a standard during initial planning, ridges with a width of about 0.6 meters are laid out. Between the beds, row spacing is needed to cultivate the crops, as well as for their normal growth. The row spacing is about 1 meter.

What to grow for a beginning gardener

Garden crops can be divided into two large groups: unpretentious and those that require careful care. You shouldn’t immediately take on the whimsical ones - cucumbers, cabbage. Of course, these are the ones you most want to see on your table as “trophies”. But it’s better to start with carrots, beets, garlic, radishes, and green peas. They practically do not get sick, do not require frequent watering and grow almost independently. In addition, if you do not plan to live in the country, then crops that require a lot of moisture will simply wither.

Do not forget that there is such a thing as the compatibility of garden crops. This is due to the fact that some species consume the same nutrients from the soil, and often their “neighbors” simply do not have enough of them. In addition, insects need to be attracted for pollination, so it is worth planting honey plants, such as chives, next to the cucumbers.

Proper rotation of beds is important not only for the proper growth of garden crops. Among the plants there are species that will protect the crop from pests. Celery saves cabbage from butterflies, tomatoes protect garden crops from moths and aphids, and beans protect from the Colorado potato beetle. To prevent pests from attacking the strawberries, the “plantation” can be thinned out with a bed of onions, dill, thyme or parsley.

Conclusion: Proper rotation of crops in the garden is the key to a bountiful harvest.

The topic of the proximity of plants on a site is quite extensive and deserves not only a separate article, but an entire book. So before planting this or that crop, you need to study what it likes, who it gets along with well, what diseases it suffers from, and what pests it attracts.

Competent mixed planting of strawberries and onions

You also need to be careful when choosing a variety: it should take root well in your climate and on your soil type. If you have a complete lack of experience, you can turn to your neighbors in the area: they have probably already decided what type of potatoes and tomatoes grow best in your area.

When to plant what

For each vegetable, fruit, seedling, there is a specific time for sowing into seedlings, for planting in a greenhouse, for planting in the ground (we advise you to study the section on our portal dedicated).

Beginning gardeners who have not yet acquired a greenhouse (a temporary structure without a foundation) or a greenhouse constantly keep in mind the most important question: when can they sow seedlings and plant certain crops in the ground? Of course, it is worth making adjustments for climatic conditions in a particular region, but in general the picture looks like this:

For flower lovers:

Gardening by season

The title “summer resident” is not just a statement of the fact of owning a piece of land. It really is a way of life. In summer, spring, and even in winter, a gardener will find something to do. Each month has its own tasks.

• January. Plan the plantings, purchase fertilizers, seeds, drugs for diseases and pests, shake off snow from bushes and trees, wrap unpainted trunks with nylon or propylene to prevent mice and hares, in severe frosts - rake snow into the tree trunks, feed the birds to avoid pecking at the buds.
• February. It's time to buy soil for seedlings, sort out the bulbous plants, sow celery, and at the end of the month sow peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants.
• March- a troublesome time for a gardener. At the beginning, it’s time to sow heat-loving varieties of tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants. It's also time to sow petunia, snapdragons, marigolds and some other flowers, and plant seedlings of some types of trees. At the end of the month - picking seedlings. The site needs to carry out drainage work, sanitary pruning, spraying, and prepare beds for winter sowing.
• April- the most responsible time. Drainage work, spraying and preparation of beds continue. We need to feed the bushes and prepare the potatoes for sowing. You can sow early greens - watercress, radishes, parsley, dill. If the end of April is warm and the seedlings are ready, you can plant tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

Video - spring work in the garden

• May- landing time. We fight pests, but do not spray the trees with mineral fertilizers, prepare and plant seedlings, and graft apple trees. If the soil has warmed up to 13°C, then you can plant potatoes. We sow onions, garlic, parsley, turnips, sorrel, radishes and carrots. Towards the middle to the end of the month, it is time to sow melons, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables (cabbage). We plant cucumbers.
• June. If you haven’t planted potatoes yet, there will be a lot of work. We spray young ovaries of trees and bushes, fight weeds, pests, and birds. We pinch raspberries, sow heat-loving plant varieties, and fertilize cucumbers, melons, and berry bushes. We pluck out the “shot” onion and garlic. We hill up and spray the potato plantation. We process tomatoes and cucumbers.
• July. It's time to harvest the first harvest! You also need to remember about feeding bushes, processing potatoes, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It is worth protecting the pepper from soaking. In the last days of the month, do not forget to peel off the tomatoes.
• August. We support bushes and heat-loving trees with fertilizing. We fight late blight in tomatoes, protect peppers and cucumbers from rotting. You need to remove a layer of soil from onions and cabbage to preserve the fruits. You can plant winter garlic. We harvest the berries, process the strawberries, preparing them for frost. We remove the rhizomes of fruit trees.

Video - autumn work in the garden

• September. At the beginning of the month you can plant strawberries. It's time to dig potatoes, trim and harvest flower bulbs. We harvest root crops, plant heat-loving shrubs, and whiten trunks to keep hares out.
• October. We fill the root circles of trees and bushes with leaves, weeds, spray them, water them if necessary, and fertilize them. We plant suitable types of trees and bushes.
• November. We carry out the final feeding of trees and bushes, fight lichens, treat the beds from bacteria, cut off the stems of perennials, and cover the roses.
• December. We sort through the harvest, check storage conditions, knock snow off trees and bushes, and read interesting books for gardeners.

So in any month there will definitely be a job for a real owner, and this list of jobs is far from complete.

garden tools

To carry out gardening operations, you will need a lot of tools. All garden tools can be divided into several groups:

1. For tillage.
2. For pruning trees and bushes.
3. For harvesting.
4. To remove weeds.

1. The main garden tool is, of course, a shovel. They come in two types:

• with a rounded blade - used for digging and working at shallow depths;
• bayonet shovel - needed for working on hard soils.

Among the bulky tools you will also need:

• rake - for final tillage, loosening, harvesting leaves;
• hoe (hoe or flat cutter) - for cultivating soil with grass, weeds, hilling, loosening, breaking up clods of earth;
• scythe (lawn mower) - to remove thickets of grass and weeds;
• pitchforks - for digging, handling grass, hay.

Hand tools you will need:

• hand shovel - useful for working with a single plant (digging when replanting, etc.);
• hand rakes for loosening;
• hand forks for digging up roots and loosening.

2. To process trees and shrubs you also need your own tool. The list is small:

• hand pruning shears for trimming excess branches;
• a small hatchet for cutting down trees;
• a short hand saw for removing medium-thick branches;
• garden shears (brush cutter) for forming the crown of a bush.

3. To harvest root crops, the following are used:

• large and hand shovels;
• ladder (not a tool, but a valuable device);
• garden knife (used mainly for assembling melons);
• potato digger (useful on a large plantation);
• manual cultivator (fruit picker) for collecting fruits from trees.

4. The following tool can be used to control weeds:

• shovel;
• scythe or sickle;
• hand forks;
• pruner;
• hoe;
• hand and large rakes;
• root remover

Valuable root remover tool

Also, during gardening work you cannot do without buckets, bags, wheelbarrows (stretchers). So the shopping list will be quite extensive.

And that's not it

There are a lot of tricks and wisdom in gardening. Diseases and pests, as well as methods and means of combating them, deserve separate articles. At first, it can be difficult to decide on plant varieties. You need to protect your beds and garden from freezing, getting wet, drought... In a word, you will have to gain serious theoretical experience so that in practice everything goes smoothly, and the harvest is the envy of your friends and acquaintances.

Video - tips for beginner gardeners

To grow vegetables even in a small area, you do not have to be an experienced gardener. You can easily make a garden and vegetable garden with your own hands, combining them into one whole. To get started, you will need a sunny area, seeds, patience and the desire to grow your own vegetables. You will learn in detail how to properly plan a vegetable garden, select plants and transform the garden with the help of vegetable crops from this article.

Choosing a place for a vegetable garden

Even a 5 × 2 m plot can well be the start for your mini-vegetable garden in the garden. The main thing is not the size of the garden, but its location. The place for vegetable plants should be sunny, protected from the wind, away from the road, large trees and shrubs.

Also, do not plan to plant vegetables above the hedge, the shade from the bushes can interfere with the normal development of vegetable crops. You can plant greens here (parsley, dill, cilantro, celery, etc.), but note that greens need at least 3-4 sun rays hours a day. Flowers next to a plot for a vegetable garden won’t hurt at all, and in some cases they will even help with care, but more on that later.

Soil preparation

When you have chosen a place for vegetable crops, check the condition of the soil. For best results, soil pH should be in the range of 6-6.8. Very acidic soil is not favorable for growing plants; in this case, the soil is “treated” every 2-3 years using fertilizers with calcium and magnesium or simply adding ground chalk. If necessary, the area is fertilized with compost.

The selected area is cleared of excess plants and stones. To allow air access, the soil is thoroughly loosened; it is advisable to do this even while the plants are growing.

Vegetable garden design

Depending on your preferences, you can create a modern or classic vegetable garden with your own hands, where the boundaries between plant types are clearly visible. The modern vegetable garden is created more for decorative purposes, but it is also quite capable of producing a harvest, just not in such quantities as a classic vegetable garden with many rows. A beautifully designed decorative vegetable garden, ideal for small plots. If you are interested, we offer several options.

The owner of this garden is apparently tired of destroying weeds from all sides. And he solved this problem in such a miraculous way. We see that the paths around the beds are filled with cement and covered with brick of several shades, but most often gardeners replace the brick with gravel. Before laying the bricks, the vegetable beds were pre-fenced with low boards. Thus, two problems were solved at once - fast-growing weeds would not kill the cultivated plants, and the interesting design improved the vegetable garden and beautified the entire garden.

This shows how easy it is to create a modern garden design. The boxwood bushes around the greenery are cut to 15-20 cm, the wicker fence for enclosing vegetables is quite high, but the ground level there is higher. Around the islands with vegetable crops there is a lawn and garden flowers, and the paths are tiled.

For the most modest area and lawn decoration, a solution like the one in this photo is suitable. A pyramidal garden is constructed using ordinary painted boards; the final “container” is filled with earth and planted with vegetables or herbs.

Please note that tall plants, such as tomatoes or onions, are best planted on the first level. At the highest level of the pyramid, low crops are planted - cabbage or parsley. Also, the pyramid can be sowed with cucumbers, zucchini or strawberries. The width and height of the vegetable pyramid may vary depending on the area of ​​the plot and the expected number of vegetable crops.

The ideas for your vegetable garden are simply endless! Don't have enough space to grow cucumbers? And that's no problem! The vertical vegetable garden picture below can be an excellent alternative to a hedge in your garden or fencing a vegetable garden.

With any design, always remember an important rule - plants should not cause mutual shading, try to minimize this phenomenon.

Seeds or seedlings

Depending on the type of vegetable crop, the optimal solution is selected. Greens are planted by seeds directly into open ground. The same is done with most vegetable seeds (onions, garlic, radishes, carrots, beets, peas, etc.). Seedlings will be the best option for all varieties of peppers, tomatoes and cabbage. Before planting, any seeds are soaked in warm water for an average of 24-48 hours, so the swollen seeds will germinate faster.

Small green seeds (parsley, dill, cilantro, etc.) are sown densely in the garden bed. Larger seeds of carrots, beets, and cucumbers are sown at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other, after germination it will be clear which sprouts are extra. Vegetable seedlings, onions and garlic do not need thinning and are planted at such a distance that in the future the vegetable crops do not interfere with each other.

How to avoid mistakes when planting seeds and seedlings

Planting vegetables correctly

Neighboring vegetables interact both positively and negatively. To get the most benefit from vegetable crops, it is important to properly plan not only the design of the garden, but also the planting of plants. This is due to the chemical communication of plants through the soil, the rate of growth of the root system and plant demand for nutrients.

Some vegetables and herbs will grow better if planted nearby:

• Carrots - onions - salad
• Tomatoes - parsley
• Tomatoes - celery
• Salad - radish - celery
• Cabbage - beans
• Pumpkin - beans
• Cucumbers - dill
• Beetroot - onions, beans

It is better to avoid proximity to other vegetable crops:

• Salad - parsley
• Dill - tomatoes
• Onions and garlic - beans, peas
• Tomatoes - peas
• Cucumbers - tomatoes, potatoes
• Potatoes - tomatoes
• Pumpkin - potatoes, beans.

Bioprotection of vegetable crops

As mentioned above, flowers next to vegetable crops will bring significant benefits. To begin with, garden flowers attract pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies, bumblebees, wasps, moths and even flies. Some vegetables do not need pollination to ripen and bear fruit, such as lettuce, all types of greens and root vegetables. But there are a large number of plants in the garden that require the help of pollinators (tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, peppers, zucchini, etc.).

Of course, you can do without garden plants, but it is known that the more insects visit the garden plot, the more harvest the plants will produce.

The most attractive garden plants for beneficial insects:

• Marigold
• Zinnias
• Asters
• Lavender
• Yarrow
• Sage
• Daisies

Night moths perceive white flowers better, bees - blue and purple, but bees do not see red. Butterflies are attracted to bright flowers in shades of yellow, red and orange.

The second benefit of beautiful flowers is to repel harmful insects, which will allow you to avoid using chemical pest control products. Below is an example of how some flowering plants exert biological control.

• Calendula - protects plants from nematodes and repels aphids
• Mint - repels ants
• Garlic will prevent the spread of fungal diseases in the soil
• Blooming onions - will not miss vole and aphids
• Catnip - repels aphids
• Nasturtium - attracts aphids, thereby “preventing” pests from attacking other plants
• Pink chamomile will prevent ticks from settling in your area, and white chamomile (pyrethrum) will repel annoying mosquitoes

Vegetable garden in kindergarten

A vegetable garden in a kindergarten is one of the conditions that is necessary for the implementation of environmental education of children in kindergarten.

Why do you need a vegetable garden in kindergarten?

A vegetable garden in a kindergarten is needed to introduce preschoolers to nature and its seasonal changes.

In addition, a vegetable garden in a kindergarten and the feasible work of children on its territory influence the formation of elementary environmental concepts in preschoolers.

A vegetable garden in a kindergarten is also an opportunity to see the results of your work. Joint work in the garden provides an opportunity to learn responsibility, contributes to the formation of work skills and the unification of the children's team. And, of course, a vegetable garden in a kindergarten and work in the fresh air help preserve and strengthen the children’s health.

Vegetable garden in kindergarten: rules of organization

In order to create a vegetable garden in a kindergarten, it is necessary to determine a place on the territory of the kindergarten that would be located in a lighted space. A vegetable garden in a kindergarten has its own design features.

The size of the garden in a kindergarten is influenced by the local conditions of the kindergarten's location. But, it is desirable that each child has at least 0.5 m² of garden space.

To make it more convenient for children to reach the middle of the bed with their hands, the width of the bed should not be more than sixty centimeters. The length of one bed is approximately three meters.

To prevent water from draining from the garden bed when watering, you can make a wooden frame. A distance of fifty centimeters is left between the beds so that children can freely pass between them without damaging the plantings.

A garden in a kindergarten must also have a main path at least one meter wide, thanks to which children can walk to the beds, and the teacher can conduct organized educational activities and observations.

A table and bench are required. There, children will be able to relax after completing work assignments, observe plants and engage in joint activities with the teacher.

What to plant in the garden in kindergarten

A common garden in a kindergarten can be organized for children of middle, senior and preparatory groups. In common beds you can plant a larger number of garden plants.

That is, for example, if the children of the middle group plant peas, then the children of both the senior and preparatory groups will be able to observe its growth. This means that older children do not need to replant peas.

For younger preschoolers, who are characterized by instability of attention, it is more advisable to have beds in close proximity to the playground. Thus, kids can at any time observe the plants in their garden or carry out the teacher’s instructions (water peas, pick onions, etc.).

In the younger group For planting, we select seeds of fast-growing and early-ripening crops that can be eaten in the spring and summer seasons. The main requirement for planting material: seeds and bulbs must be large in size. In their garden, children independently plant onions, peas, beans, beans, and zucchini. Small seeds of radishes, carrots, dill, turnips, and lettuce for children can be sown by older children or a teacher.

In the middle group We grow already known garden crops, but we sow seeds of different varieties (for example, zucchini with different colored fruits) to show children the diversity of plants, their common characteristics and differences.

We take such vegetable crops for growing in the garden as green (dill, lettuce, sorrel and others), onions (onions, garlic, onions), cabbages (white cabbage, red cabbage), fruits (cucumber, tomato, pepper), root vegetables (carrots, radishes, beets) and tubers (potatoes), legumes (peas, beans), cereals.

Before sowing, be sure to check the seeds for germination.

Options for planting seeds are different. You can stick sticks into the places where you need to put seeds (peas, beans) and the children, when shown by the teacher, remove the stick and put the seed in the hole. To plant onions, you can make even grooves in the garden bed.

A vegetable garden in a kindergarten requires the presence of gardening equipment. The equipment must be safe to use, real, but appropriate for the age and height of the children. To work in the garden we use shovels, scoops, buckets, watering cans, and rakes. After finishing the work, we clean the garden tools from the soil and dry them.

Classes in kindergarten in the garden

The content of work in the garden will also depend on the age of the children:

In the younger group of children We involve you in planting bulbs and large seeds, watering beds, and harvesting.

In the middle group In addition to the above, we teach how to use a rake and loosen the soil between the rows.

In senior and preparatory groups The children dig up the beds and weed the weeds on their own.

We organize children's work in the garden in the following forms: individual assignments - mainly in younger groups, collective work and duty. We introduce duty in the garden to care for plants in the preparatory group. The attendants carry out daily care of plants in the garden: watering, weeding, collecting pests. If there is a lot of work, then the whole group is involved. Fresh greens grown in their garden are taken by the attendants to the kitchen for preparing children's food.

Thus, with competent guidance from the teacher, a vegetable garden in a kindergarten has a huge impact on the harmonious development of children. And, the most important achievement of child labor is harvesting.

As a rule, summing up the work in the garden, the kindergarten hosts such events as the “Harvest Festival” entertainment, the exhibition “What Autumn Brought to Us” and more.

When starting any business, every person strives to ensure that it brings him both material and moral satisfaction. And this applies primarily to work in the garden. To ensure that the efforts spent on growing vegetables are not in vain, it is necessary to carefully plan all garden work. Experienced farmers already know that each crop must grow in a specific place and must be planted within a clearly defined time frame - only in this case will it be possible to obtain an optimal harvest.

Before drawing a plan for the beds and determining what vegetables you want to grow, you need to carefully think about the question of how much time you can devote to working on the land - weekends should be relaxation in the garden, and not exhausting work in the garden plantations. In order for your dreams to come true, and for your garden to delight your soul and decorate your homestead, you need to solve for yourself questions that are fundamentally important for the successful cultivation of vegetable crops:

1. What is the mechanical and chemical composition of the soil on the site?
2. What part of the plot should be allocated for planting vegetables?
3. Which beds to choose and how best to place them?
4. What is fruit replacement and crop compatibility?

Let's take a closer look at each of these questions.

Determining the composition of the soil

Knowing the mechanical and chemical composition of the soil is extremely important in order to be able to determine for yourself which vegetables are best grown on your site. The most important characteristic for this is acidity, the level of which is determined by pH units. Depending on the level of acidity, the soil on the site can be acidic, neutral or alkaline. And from this it will become clear which vegetable crops will grow best on your land. All grown crops can be divided into 4 groups:

1. Plants that do best in neutral or slightly alkaline soils are beets, cabbage, and currants of any variety.
2. Crops that prefer soil with a slightly acidic reaction - all legumes, cucumbers, any type of onion.
3. Tomatoes, pumpkins, turnips, carrots, raspberries and gooseberries are best planted in an area where the soil is moderately acidic.
4. Sorrel and potatoes prefer high acidity.

Another important characteristic for obtaining optimal yields is the mechanical composition of the soil on your site. Based on their mechanical composition, the following main types of soils are distinguished:

• clayey
• sandy
• sandy loam and loamy
• peat
• limestone

Each of these types has its own pros and cons when growing vegetables. Land with different mechanical composition requires the use of different agricultural techniques for growing certain crops. We talked in more detail about how to determine acidity and mechanical composition, how to improve the structure of the soil on the site, in the article “How to improve the structure of the soil and increase its fertility.”

Choosing a place to plant

Choosing a site for organizing vegetable beds is one of the most critical moments when planning a vegetable garden. Sometimes no amount of effort, time and money can produce the same excellent results as a properly selected place for growing vegetables. Therefore, this issue should be approached especially carefully, taking into account the following basic rules:

1. The place where the beds are planned to be placed must be illuminated at least from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., or at most from noon to sunset.
2. It is best to grow vegetables on level ground, in which case you will have much less work. However, such an opportunity does not always present itself. If the site is sloped, then a southern or southeastern gentle slope is best suited for vegetables. The soil here warms up and “ripens” faster in the spring, which means it will be possible to plant vegetables much earlier.
3. Try to avoid northern slopes, where there is a lack of sunlight, and in the spring the plants may suffer from unexpected night frosts.
4. It is recommended to place the beds in the selected area from north to south - this way they will receive more sun during the day.
5. Vegetable crops do not do well in soil with poor drainage - if the soil is oversaturated with moisture, the root system suffers due to lack of oxygen, and the plant may simply suffocate.
6. Medium and light loamy soils, which have a good structure and a rich composition of nutrients, are best suited for growing vegetables. When planning a vegetable garden, it is advisable to avoid peat and limestone soil. Peatlands, as a rule, are poor in nutritional composition and have a high groundwater level, and limestones have an increased alkaline reaction, which some plants tolerate very poorly.
7. A site for growing vegetables must be chosen near a permanent source of water, be it a water supply system, a well, a borehole, or the like. Vegetable crops, especially during drought, require regular watering, without which it is not possible to get a good harvest.
8. If there is such a possibility, then it is best to place the garden on a site located in a river valley or on the bank of any other body of water. Hilltops or the top of gentle slopes are also good places to grow vegetables. In such places, the frost-free period usually lasts 2-3 weeks longer, and minimum temperatures at night are usually three to five degrees higher.

We choose the “design” of the beds and place them correctly

Dividing the garden into beds helps keep the area in perfect order, promotes proper crop rotation and greatly facilitates plant care. You can choose the “design” of the bed according to your wishes and capabilities - these can be ordinary mounded beds or high beds made from materials available on the farm.

If the garden is located on an area with heavy, waterlogged soils, then it is recommended to form a raised bed, which helps to warm up the earth as quickly as possible. In such beds, plants can be planted 2-3 weeks earlier, and they are much easier to process—you can care for the crops without practically bending over. In order to form such a bed, a certain amount of effort, time and money will be required, but it will fully pay off during the growing process. More details about the varieties and methods of building and filling high beds were described in the article “Organic farming. How to plant “smart” beds.”

When planning a vegetable garden, it is important to carefully consider the choice of the width of the beds and paths, using the most rational approach. Too narrow beds with wide paths lead to a large loss of space, which is especially true if the plot is small. In addition, in narrow beds, plants planted along the edges are provided with much less moisture. It is inconvenient to cultivate a bed that is too wide, as it will be difficult to reach its middle.

The paths must be laid so wide that, if necessary, a wheelbarrow can be rolled along them. The optimal width of the main path is 50-60 cm, and the paths between the beds are 30 cm. In this case, you can use sawdust as a covering, which lasts the entire season, and overheats over the winter. If possible, it is best to lay the paths with tiles, on which it is convenient to walk and carry a wheelbarrow. It is not recommended to fill them with gravel - although it looks elegant, such paths very quickly become overgrown with weeds, which will not be easy to remove from under the gravel.

fruit changer

When planning a garden, it is necessary to take into account such a need as fruit production. This means that one vegetable crop cannot be assigned to the same bed for a long time. If, for example, you plant cabbage over cabbage, then pests and diseases that affect this particular crop will accumulate in the soil. In addition, such plantings will lead to one-sided depletion of the land, when even the best fertilizers become ineffective. Therefore, it is recommended to return this or that crop to the place where it already grew, no earlier than after three to four years. In this case, it is advisable to think through the order of planting several years in advance, taking into account the nutritional needs of different plants.

To organize ideal fruiting, after a strong consumer of food, medium consumers are planted in the same place in the second year, and weak consumers in the third year. In the fourth year, the soil in this place is well fertilized, after which strong consumers can be planted again. Thus, the basic principle of fruit replacement is that plants feed on what their predecessors left for them. But, as with any rule, there are exceptions. Climbing beans do not need to change beds every year, asparagus can grow in the same place for 10-15 years, rhubarb - 7-8 years, strawberries do not need to be replanted for 3-4 years.

Plants are divided into strong, medium and weak consumers, depending on how much nitrogen they need for normal growth and development:

1. Strong consumers have a high need for nitrogen - any types and varieties of cabbage, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, pumpkin.
2. Average consumers are potatoes, eggplants, carrots, beets, leaf and head lettuce.
3. Weak consumers - peas and other legumes, radishes, parsley, dill, coriander, basil.

If we take into account the nitrogen needs of plants and the accumulation of pests and pathogens in the soil, we can accurately calculate the best precursors for the main vegetable crops:

1. For potatoes - legumes, cabbage, pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber.
2. For cucumber - all types of cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, any root vegetables (except carrots).
3. For tomatoes, eggplant and peppers - cabbage, zucchini, pumpkin, any root vegetables.
4. For cabbage - tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and beets.
5. For greens - cucumbers, cabbage, onions, any root vegetables.

Culture compatibility

In order to properly plan the planting of vegetables and ensure their normal growth and fruiting, it is extremely important to adhere to such a concept as crop compatibility. It has long been noticed by man that any plant, in the process of life, releases biologically active substances that can have a positive or negative effect on crops growing nearby. Based on these observations and accumulated knowledge and experience, even such a subsection in the science of plant research as allelopathy appeared. Farmers receive such information little by little, every year, by carefully observing the behavior of crops growing nearby. Taking into account the information collected by experts, you can create a basic list of compatible and incompatible garden plants.

Goes well together:

• tomato - onion, cabbage
• potatoes - beans, beans
• cucumber - lettuce, dill, beets, parsley, cabbage
• carrots - dill, various types of lettuce
• cabbage - radishes, dill, tomato
• zucchini - corn, cucumber, pumpkin
• onions - carrots, parsley, lettuce

Feel bad around:

• beans - onions
• potatoes - pumpkin
• tomato - cucumber, peas, beets
• onions - cabbage, potatoes

Gardeners have been collecting such information for decades. In order to accurately understand the compatibility of crops, considerable growing experience and certain knowledge are required. Practice shows that organizing garden beds taking into account the compatibility of various plants can increase the yield by 30-40 percent, but if you plant plants nearby that negatively affect each other, you may not get a harvest at all. We talked in more detail about allelopathy and crop compatibility in the article “Organic farming. Intensive planting".

We are thinking over a rational irrigation system

When planning a garden, it is extremely important to decide how watering will be arranged. This will determine how difficult this work will be for you - you can install a drip irrigation system and water the beds rationally and without straining at all, or you can limit yourself to a regular watering hose and collapse after such an activity, pouring out a large amount of water in vain. What irrigation systems exist and what the pros and cons of each of them are are discussed in detail in the articles “Water the garden correctly” and “Drip irrigation - the technology of the future.”

Considering all of the above, it should be noted that it will not be possible to plan plantings once and for all. Practice shows that adjustments to various points will be made by you from year to year, as you accumulate valuable experience and knowledge. And this does not mean at all that you will become lazier, just common sense will tell you that it is better to learn how to increase the productivity of your garden beds than to pointlessly care for “hectares” of your garden. To ensure that the time spent caring for your garden does not go in vain, it is important to correctly determine the assortment and quantity of vegetables your family needs, purchase high-quality seed material and plant on time. We'll talk about this in the next article.

Turischeva Olga, rmnt. RU