Brick beds
Content:
Brick beds allow you to acquire an aesthetic and well-groomed appearance, but these are still all the advantages of such beds. In addition to the acquired beauty of the garden, such a structure allows you to save plants from the formation of rot, as well as the leaching of humus (a useful fertile layer). If you correctly not only fill in, but also apply nets at the base of the ridge, then you can protect the crop from possible pests, such as moles.
Brick beds: features
Fencing of flower beds and beds with bricks is considered a rather beautiful and durable solution for landscape design, either in the country house or in the suburban area. But you should know that in order to build such structures, you need to take into account the interesting features of stone structures.
It is believed that brick fences, especially high ones, are immovable, therefore they are erected as a permanent structure. Although if it is very necessary to transfer the structure, then such a structure will need to be disassembled entirely.
It is such a structure of brick masonry, reaching a height in some cases up to 100 centimeters. In order for the structure to be quite stable, it is necessary to carry out the technology of erecting a brick wall, and a solid foundation is made under its base, in this case a strip one.
An important feature of brick fences is considered to be a huge variety of shapes. They have the shape of a square, circle, rectangular, as well as a more complex one, with a combination, different heights and any geometry. Such designs are great for any perfect land plot and therefore have recently gained great popularity among gardeners and farmers.
What is the function of a fence for brick beds
As a rule, such a brick fence performs two main functions - practical and decorative. Brick beds are:
- Design solution for a personal plot. Brick beds very effectively and beautifully decorate absolutely all the plants on the land. They are erected both as a separate element and in the general architectural and design solution.
- Implementation of protective functions of plants. Fairly tall brick structures help protect crops from various pests, rodents and weeds. Also, thanks to them, the flowering period of plants noticeably increases, as well as their growth and fruiting.
- The functions of the territory separator, as well as its designation. Thanks to such structures, it is possible to divide the entire total area of the site into separate zones for planting berry, vegetable and ornamental crops. They also determine the location of various plantings and paths passing between them.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of do-it-yourself brick beds
Brick beds have their own advantages and disadvantages. And before you do such a structure on your site, first, be sure to familiarize yourself with them so that there are no all sorts of unpleasant situations.
Here are the most important and famous dignity such constructions:
- Quite neat, pleasant and aesthetic appearance.
- High level of durability and strength of this structure.
- The soil warms up rather quickly in spring.
- Easy enough to care for.
- Provides good protection of ornamental and vegetable crops from various pests and weeds.
- Significant increase in the period of fruiting.
Such fences also have some minuses:
- Quite a complex process of erecting a brick structure.
- The impossibility of transferring the structure.
- Sufficiently fast drying out of the soil.
- These fences are very attractive to cats.
Remember that a tall brick structure is considered a fairly solid structure that cannot be moved or changed. Therefore, before creating such a structure, pay special attention to its future location and shape, size.
How to make a brick bed - technologies
There are two options for the technology of erecting such beds with your own hands - these are beds with high sides of bricks and low fences in one or two bricks.
Any brick can do this. Whether old, left over from repair or construction, or new, specially acquired for these purposes.
Such structures differ mainly in their height and methods of implementation. If you want to build a brick structure that is high in size, then you should make a strip foundation. In addition, for the installation of such beds, you need to know the technology of erecting brick walls.
But the construction of fairly low brick beds is not at all a difficult process that even a beginner can handle.
If you do decide to design high brick beds, then you may need the following items:
- Crushed stone, cement, sand.
- Bricks.
- Lumber to make formwork.
- Knitting wire, steel reinforcement.
- Building level, tape measure, trowel, lace, shovel, bayonet shovel... And also a bucket for mixing cement mortar.
Action plan for the construction of a tall brick structure with your own hands:
- On the personal plot, the right place is selected in advance and then pegs are driven in over the entire area of the future brick beds. A cord is pulled between these pegs. Thanks to this, the place for the future foundation becomes clear. And at the place where the lace is pulled, a trench should be dug, at least 30 centimeters deep, and about 20 centimeters wide, for such a design.
- After digging a trench, sand should be poured onto its bottom. Approximately the layer of sand should be 12-15 centimeters. This sand needs to be tamped and watered.
- Further, over the entire area of the trench, reinforcement is laid in two rows, and formwork is made from the old edged board. At a height of about 10-15 centimeters from the soil level, the foundation is poured with concrete. After pouring, it should dry, so it is left to stand for about 2.5 weeks. And after the foundation is completely dry, the laying of bricks begins, and this is done from the corners.
- Such a brick structure can be of any height, from 30 centimeters to one meter. The top row of bricks can be covered with a plastic or wooden panel, as well as sheet galvanized.
If you correctly follow this sequence of actions, then you can quite professionally erect brick structures. Well, after the brickwork is completely dry, they begin to fill it with certain layers in the following sequence:
- Protective layer (metal mesh),
- Active layer (wood blocks, bark of plants with branches, paper scraps),
- Nutrient layer (mown grass with fallen leaves) and fertile soil.
Another way to make a brick bed is simple overlay her with this brick. This process is much easier than with the construction of a tall bed, since in this method you do not need to fill the foundation. And this also means that the ridge may well be transferred to another site.
- Lay the bricks on top of each other diagonally.
- To make the edging of the ridge in one or a double row of bricks, and without deepening.
- Lay a brick fence in one row with the deepening.
The brick fence, which is laid out diagonally, has a jagged appearance and looks quite beautiful. A not deep trench is dug, its bottom is covered with sand, which should be tamped. Then such a structure can be performed in two ways: using a liquid cement mortar, or without making it.
The ridges that have been made look quite interesting and beautiful. curb with one row of bricks... And if the aisle is also lined with a garden slab, expanded clay or crushed stone, then this is already a completely beautiful view. In addition, the position of the brick can be completely different, well, the structure can also be made in various shapes.
For the construction of such a structure, the place is first outlined where it will be located and its shape. After they begin to dig a trench, this is despite the fact that the brick is laid out in height and half buried in the soil.
Although it can be laid out directly on the soil. True, in this version, it is required to make the masonry wider, flat. This will allow the curb to be stronger, stronger and wider, so that it will not be able to move at the time of agrotechnical work.
Brick beds in a greenhouse
In a greenhouse, fences can be completely made of different materials, but as for brick boards, this is undoubtedly the most reliable and durable material. With a certain structure, it will be quite possible to sit on them, or use them as small tables for a variety of purposes.
To make such beds in greenhouses, use red, white brick, or paving stones. Such brick structures look great with tiles, paving stones or large fractional expanded clay laid on the floor.
In a greenhouse, brick structures can be of different heights. They also perform quite well the function of a "warm bed", they can remarkably tolerate high humidity. Plus, their period of operation has an unlimited amount of time.
Such structures are made in a greenhouse according to the same scheme as in an open space. For high brick beds, a foundation is provided even at the time of pouring the general foundation of the greenhouse itself. And low structures without a foundation are erected after the entire installation and installation of the greenhouse, directly on site.
Conclusion and recommendations
Tall brick beds have their own characteristics for caring for them. Experienced gardeners who have already applied such a technology on their site give valuable advice that will help you not only work with such structures, but also get a high level of plant growth in the future, as well as their yield.
Here are some of the most important guidelines:
- A huge advantage of high ridges is considered to be rather soft and more than ideal land. In no case should you walk on it, or even step on it. For the convenience of caring for crops, the width of this structure is no more than 120 centimeters.
- To maintain an optimal level of soil moisture and so that it cannot dry out, such beds with crops already planted on them should be mulched. For these purposes, it will be good to use straw, grass, fallen leaves or wood chips.
- To make the irrigation procedure convenient enough, you need to build an automatic drip irrigation system. But always before such a structure is filled with soil. This will help you to keep the soil moisture at the optimum level.
- You need to think about protecting your crops from various kinds of pests and rodents. For this, a metal mesh is laid at the base of the structure, and with frequent steps.
- A barrier is made in the lower part of the base to protect the planted crops from weeds. Old cardboard, rather thick paper in several layers, or unnecessary and old floor mats are used as such a barrier.
- In order for the yield of the planted crops to be high, one should not forget about the constant feeding of the soil with compost with fertilizers, as well as about regular loosening procedures.
- At the very end of the growing season, the soil of such a bed is covered with mulch. This should help protect it from compaction and freezing in winter. Straw, fallen leaves, grass, old tops are used as mulch. Also, to protect the fertile soil from frost, an ordinary garden transparent film can be used.
If you listen and follow all the advice, you can greatly simplify your task in caring for the crops growing in such beds. Also, regular preventive measures of high brick beds and, in general, such structures will help to increase the growth of crops, their germination and the quality of the crop in general.
Outcomes
Such brick structures are considered an excellent, useful and optimal option for beds on any site. After all, if you work hard once, you can then forget about the design of the site for a long enough time.
With such brick beds, your garden will always remain clean and well-groomed, and the planted crops will noticeably delight you with their high-quality and good harvest.