Slate beds

Slate beds are something that every gardener has heard about at least once. After all, everyone knows how tedious it can be to give the beds the desired shape and size, to prepare the ground cover, to follow all the stages.

This process is very time consuming and takes a lot of energy from summer residents. Of course, such small difficulties do not bother "fans of digging in the ground", but still many strive to optimize their work.

It is not at all strange that people want to invest as less money and time, but at the same time get the maximum return. It is then that many just think about how to organize the beds of slate.

• This roofing material is very durable, due to the fact that it is not affected by the processes of corrosion and decay. Even in contact with organics, it retains its properties.
• From the aesthetic point of view, everything also looks good: nice and neat.
• Ease of use is also important.

But one cannot only say about the positive aspects without mentioning the shortcomings:

• So, there is a fairly widespread opinion that this material adversely affects the surrounding soil, due to the fact that it contains asbestos cement. It is difficult to say unequivocally about the harm or benefit of such a neighborhood. On the other hand, many gardeners noted that after installing slate beds (and at a rather large depth), the number of bears and similar pests was practically reduced to zero.
• Another disadvantage of this material is that when it is used in agriculture, moisture from the soil evaporates at an accelerated rate. This is due to the fact that the material heats up strongly in the sun and dries the soil around it. That is, for those who decide to equip their garden in this way, in the future, more frequent irrigation will be needed.

Corrugated sheets are mounted in the following order:

• Saw pieces of the desired size. To do this, use a grinder.
• A not too deep trench is dug along a certain perimeter.
• Sawed plates are lowered into the trench.
• On each side, the plates are slightly sprinkled with earth and tamped. This ensures greater stability. If necessary, metal pegs can be used to support the sheets.

In the case of flat sheets, the design is as follows:

• The size of a standard flat sheet is 1.75 m. For convenience, it is usually either sawn into two halves, or divided into parts of 1m and 75 cm. The width of the slate beds will depend on this.
• To prevent spreading processes, the sheets are attached to each other. This can be done by scraping a metal corner. For this, holes for bolts are drilled in the cut corners and painted with a special coating to prevent corrosion.

Which of the options for laying slate for the beds to choose - decide for yourself. This is not to say that they differ significantly in their qualities.

During the time that slate is used to equip the beds, many unspoken rules have been derived. It is believed that their observance will help make the garden really beautiful and fertile.

• The direction of the location should go from east to west.
• The remaining free space can be sown with a lawn or covered with pebbles.
• Usually the width of one structure should not exceed 160 cm, and the height - 70 cm.
• It is also worth taking care of the fence. It can be pre-painted in some attractive color.

When your slate beds are ready, you should think about arranging them. In fact, it will be no different from the usual one. To make the soil more fertile, compost is placed on the bottom, which is covered with a layer of soil. They are used in the same way as simple ones.

In the same way, you can equip flower beds. Best of all, such flower beds are suitable for annuals, since in winter the soil will freeze quite significantly.

Most often, if in the garden they decide to make a high bed of slate, then they make it quite long - about 10-11 meters. The width, on average, does not exceed 1.5 m, and the height is 80 cm.

Before erecting the walls, you need to make supports for them. They are deepened by about half a meter. Before starting to dig a trench, you should understand the markings. The shape chosen will depend on how large the plot is and what is already on it.

Work order:

• The most fertile soil, which is removed during construction, is poured into one place. Then it is used again to form the top layer.
• After installing the slate, the bed is filled up and tamped. Further, metal stakes are driven in from each side, necessary to strengthen the walls. These metal pegs help to make the desired shape.
• When the work with the walls is over, we proceed to filling. First, brushwood is laid and tamped well. Then - wood blocks, the next layer - compost, and only at the very end - black soil. With the laying of a new layer, you need to compact the previous one well.

Such a design device will increase the internal temperature of the soil, due to which the decay processes will be accelerated, and useful substances will appear faster.

But anyway, before starting this process, think carefully about how relevant it is for you: whether the resulting crop will be able to recoup the effort and time spent, the acquisition of materials and construction tools. Or you can completely do without all this by arranging the simplest beds without using slate or any other building materials.