Narrow ridges (aka the Meatlider method) on 8 acres of summer cottages, based on my experience, are not applicable to all types of vegetables grown. I applied such narrow beds in the country to potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage (except kohlrabi), carrots, onions, corn, garlic and beets. Cucumbers are within the scope of this growing method in the "no" rather than "yes" range. And peppers and eggplants do not react at all to narrow ridges. The only plus from the method regarding cucumbers, peppers and eggplants is feeding them with the Mitlider mixture 3-4 times per season and building a certain type of greenhouse, which allows the plants to grow well on warm days and protect them from northern winds in summer.
Planting in narrow beds along the Meatlider, with a photo
Narrow ridges, as our contribution to vegetable growing at 0.8 dacha acres, which are involved in the cultivation of potatoes. We dig up: in a bad year, 5 bags of potatoes, in a good year - 7 bags, not taking into account the "little things" from 5 cm in diameter and below that go into the compost (a bag is 4 12-liter buckets). We plant potatoes in a so-called "zigzag" pattern on both sides of the narrow ridge.
Distance between holes on narrow ridges - thirty - thirty five centimeters... In the same way we plant both corn and cabbage. The output for tomatoes is as follows: depending on the number of bushes, which we regularly reduce, giving the land for flowers, we get the following in the last years: 2008 - 90 bushes - 21 buckets; 2009 - 80 bushes - 16 buckets; 2010 - 60 bushes - 14 buckets; 2011 - 50 bushes - 16 buckets.
Having made and tested such beds for several seasons, it is easy to see that the yield also depends on the weather. Still, growing vegetables in the country, all this is largely dependent on the climate. Planting a tomato is carried out according to the following scheme: in one row with the distance between the roots of the same thirty to thirty-five centimeters.
As for cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, corn and beets, it is difficult to state the harvest by buckets. We can only say that by using narrow ridges on vegetables, the garden will delight you with an excellent harvest!
When growing garlic, onions, carrots, beets, we plant on both sides of the garden at a distance of about ten centimeters between the seeds. For cucumbers, this distance increases to twenty-five centimeters, moreover, we plant them in one line, that is, on one side.
One little tip: it is very convenient to prepare a marker for planting vegetables on narrow ridges by stuffing a strip of a given length onto a long handle. Make several such markers, for all the lengths of the distances between the holes. We have three of them. Without bothering myself at all, without loading my back, I quickly pass the surface like a compass along a freshly prepared narrow ridge, defining the place of planting seeds or seedlings with the ends of the bar. Convenient and fast.
It makes no sense to give any description of Mitlider mixtures, since there are not only two mixtures, but also more than a dozen tables for choosing the optimal mixture for each soil and the optimal amount for each mineral fertilizer.
Better, of course, to buy a book in a store and take a chance at what happens. And what will turn out great - we answer.
With this article, I am opening not only a new section "", but the entire site. Wish me success!
The longer the land is used to grow crops, the less fertile it becomes. Harvests fall, no matter how much effort is invested in them, and what can be grown does not please either quality or quantity.
Igor Lyadov, who lives in the Far East of the country, faced the same problem, like many gardeners who spend a few weekends on their own. Lyadov, who was accustomed to face the drop in yield, who was accustomed to encounter at the aircraft plant where he works, did not use the most advanced technologies, but decided to make every effort to return fertility to the earth and achieve high yields with the least labor costs. This is understandable - after all, the summer resident could devote to his favorite beds only on weekends.
Igor Lyadov's technology
The result of observations, studying the experience of foreign colleagues and our own practical work on twenty hundred square meters were a record harvest and the creation of a truly smart vegetable garden. The technology turned out to be extremely simple and, at first glance, similar to the method proposed by the American Jacob Mittlider at the end of the 20th century.
However, unlike the overseas agronomist, who suggested using exclusively mineral supplements for plant feeding, Igor Lyadov preferred organic matter and even developed unique author's mixtures based on herbs and traditional fertilizers: manure and poultry droppings.
The common thing for the two currents is the construction of high beds-boxes, filled, among other things, with the remains of plants that have lived their days. Therefore, there are no untidy compost piles on the site, everything hides in narrow beds and immediately begins to be useful.
Features of narrow beds:
- The width of the beds is 60 - 100 cm, which is narrower than recommended by Lyadov's American colleague.
- Passages in width are comparable to ridges, are 60 - 80 cm and can be covered with roofing material, tiles, ordinary sand and sawdust. If grass is sown in the passages between the ridges, then it is periodically mown.
- The location of the beds is strictly from north to south.
- But the walls of the boxes in Lyadov's garden can be made of any available material: boards, logs, slate, bricks or blocks, depending on the work and capabilities of the gardener.
Advantages of Igor Lyadov's smart garden
The main advantage of the method is that the yield on the site is almost doubled compared to traditional technology, when crops are grown in wide beds located at the soil level.
However, there are other positive aspects attracting more and more attention of summer residents to Lyadov's experience:
- The boxes are durable, and their maintenance does not take much time.
- Igor Lyadov's amazing garden is convenient and loosening.
- The moisture inside the box does not stagnate, but it is not wasted on moisturizing unnecessary areas.
- No painstaking laborious weeding is required, especially when mulching the soil under the plants.
- The landings are well lit and actively ventilated.
- Nutrients are not washed out from the bed-box.
- Saves time and effort in digging the site.
- Loosening the ridges is necessary to a depth of only seven or ten centimeters.
- The crop is not affected by pests and plant diseases.
- Each year you can easily change planting sites and plan the desired plant neighborhood.
- Due to the height of the beds, Igor Lyadov's smart garden gives the summer resident a real opportunity to plant much earlier.
- If you cover the box with foil or put plastic arches, then the garden bed without additional effort will allow you to grow vegetables in a homemade, but very effective.
The bed according to the Lyadov method has been working for several years, and with regular replenishment with plant residues and properly carried out dressings, its service life is completely difficult to determine.
When the crop is harvested, the author of the idea advises to sow fast-emerging green manure, which will additionally enrich the soil in the box. When planting, it is no longer necessary to add humus or fertilizer, because, in fact, the garden bed itself is a kind of compost storage.
As it becomes clear, Igor Lyadov's garden has many advantages, but there is only one drawback. This is the cost of labor, money and time in the first year when switching to an unusual technology.
Creating a bed-box
The beds in Igor Lyadov's smart garden are built in the fall and stretch strictly from north to south, and for their manufacture you can use any available materials from slate and boards to bricks or building blocks.
In the course of the master class, which was arranged by Igor Lyadov himself, he used old logs from which the house was once built, and trimming boards. However, before assembling the box, it is important to find a suitable platform and level it.
Then the walls of the future bed are firmly, possibly deepening a little, set on the soil, observing the rule that the width of the box should not exceed 120 cm.The length can be arbitrary.
The walls must be knocked down or twisted together so that the structure gains strength, and cardboard is laid at the bottom of the resulting box, which will become an obstacle to the ubiquitous, perennial weeds.
After the cardboard comes the turn of a thin layer of sand.
And then the box is lined with a layer of coarse plant residues. Do not forget about protecting the structure from moisture and pests. Therefore, the author of the technology advises to treat the wooden box with a stable, but safe water-based paint for outdoor use.
When the painting is completed, you can finally fill the bed with more juicy and shallow waste, tops and leaves of harvested vegetables, grass or straw mowed from the lawn, excluding perennial weeds with roots that could sprout. Manure and humus, compost are spread on top and the nutrient mixture is poured with the infusion prepared according to the author's method of Igor Lyadov. The top layer, about 10 cm thick, in the box is ordinary soil.
It should be noted that in the northern regions, the boxes should be made higher, and in the southern ones, in order to exclude a rapid loss of moisture, lower.
Such beds help out well in places where spring flooding of sites is frequent.
Thanks to a large, about 30 cm, layer of organic residues in Lyadov's garden, there is a constant process of overheating, which means that the temperature in the depth of the box turns out to be elevated, but not critical. Plants quickly sprout and begin to bear fruit.
Arrangement of a greenhouse based on a garden by the method of Igor Lyadov
- Pegs are installed along the long sides of the bed opposite each other at a distance of no more than a meter.
- The ends of plastic pipes are put on these pegs so that arcs are formed above the bed.
- The structure is covered with a film or other material, getting a warm covered bed for early cultivation of a wide variety of vegetables and berries.
The system of narrow beds, used in Igor Lyadov's garden, makes it possible to significantly lengthen the growing season of plants and obtain consistently high yields, regardless of the weather and the peculiarities of the garden plot.
It is important that in order to ensure ventilation and proper space, the plants are planted on such beds in a checkerboard pattern. Large crops, such as cabbage or eggplants, are planted in two rows, and smaller ones, such as radishes or in four.
Fertilizing the vegetable garden
The author of the technique believes that it is possible to restore the fertility of the mixture in the box not with the help of chemical additives, but through self-prepared infusions, which include yeast and lactic acid bacteria. Ordinary mash can serve as a leaven for the mixture.
For three liters of well water, take five tablespoons of sugar and a packet of dry baker's yeast. After two or three days of fermentation, the liquid can be added to the general container, but it is better to store it in the cold so that the fungi do not die.
Top dressing recipes from Igor Lyadov
All recipes are designed for a two-hundred-liter container. The compositions are infused for at least a week, and when used, they are diluted at least twice, in the case of a herbal composition, and even more when using dung or manure.
- For the first mixture you will need:
- shovel of sifted ash;
- half a bucket of manure or bird droppings;
- a bucket of rotted straw or fallen leaves;
- shovel of turf, humus or rotted compost;
- shovel of clean sand;
- one liter of fermented milk product or whey;
- three liters of home brew.
- For the second infusion, two-thirds of the container is filled with weeds or mown grass, two shovels of sifted ash are added. Now you can pour the mixture with water and cover the barrel with plastic wrap. After two weeks, the product is ready, but before use, it is diluted 1 to 10.
- The third mixture includes a third of a barrel of manure or manure, which is poured with clean water and also infused for up to two weeks. The manure infusion is diluted 1 to 10, and the mixture with droppings in a ratio of 1 to 20.
The roots of plants in Igor Lyadov's wonderful garden are always provided with everything necessary for growth and fruiting, and the carbon dioxide produced by the bacteria is not wasted, but immediately goes to the roots. The heat released also plays a role, making it possible to obtain guaranteed early harvests.
Organic farming, for which Lyadov advocates, allows you to forget about chemical additives, carry out gentle tillage and invariably enjoy the healthy high-quality fruits of your labor, not thinking that after growing them, the soil loses its fertility and will soon become scarce.
Back in the nineties of the last century, the most progressive gardeners began to arrange their beds according to the principle of Jacob Mittlider, an American expert on agriculture. The method of "narrow beds" turned all the traditions of gardening literally upside down: still, if it involves reducing the area of \u200b\u200bthe ridges themselves, and increasing the aisles between them, on the contrary. How can you expect an increase in yields? It turns out that it is very possible!
Now, in the era of popularity among summer residents of organic farming, few people use the Mittlider method in its pure form. But narrow beds to this day “work” in most bio-gardens for the benefit of the harvest.
Why are narrow ridges so good compared to traditional ones? Let's try to understand the principles, features and advantages of narrow beds.
The beds are considered narrow with a width of 30 to 90 centimeters of arbitrary length with obligatory wide passages between them. The recommended passage width is 60-100 centimeters. At first glance, such a garden arrangement seems like a waste of usable area, but in fact, the aisles also have their own function. And the experience of a huge number of summer residents convinces us that a decrease in the area of \u200b\u200bthe ridges has a positive effect on the size of the harvest. This method takes not quantity, but quality!
General principles of functioning of a narrow bed
Why do vegetables and other crops grow and bear fruit better on a narrow garden bed? The fact is that according to scientists, the soil provides plant nutrition only 40%, and they get everything else from the air. Suddenly? But this is a fact. Pay attention to the outermost row of onions, carrots, radishes, or parsley in your beds. The largest and healthiest plants always appear there! Think about the terrible soils on which city grass and trees grow that no one has ever fed. How do they survive?
Wide passages between narrow beds are designed to provide each plant with enough air (primarily carbon dioxide) necessary for growth and development. On a narrow bed, there is no middle, since crops are planted in one row or, in extreme cases, in two rows in a checkerboard pattern. That is, each row will be "extreme" and will receive a maximum of light and air. But do not forget that the passages must be either mulched, or planted with lawn grass or. The growing cover or decaying organic matter in the aisles emits a large amount of carbon dioxide, from which crops in the beds grow by leaps and bounds.
Organic narrow beds. That is, you will need boxes made of boards, slate or other material and plant waste of different calibers, from cardboard and paper to grass and foliage.
It is customary to place narrow beds from north to south on a flat horizontal surface of the site (so that the water does not drain). In the future, you can do two things:
Method 1. First, remove the sod, if any, and dig up the earth, adding humus, manure, compost and other organic fertilizers to the ridge. Fence the garden bed with a box 25 centimeters high, and spread the sod in the aisles. No more digging is required. The fertility of the ridges is maintained by mulching and / or growing green manure.
Method 2. Those who do not want to dig even once do differently. First, they knock down a box of boards, logs or any other materials and set it on the ground. A layer of thick cardboard is laid at the bottom as an obstacle to perennial weeds and covered with sand. The second layer can be small twigs, stems of sunflower, corn, straw, rotten apples, or kitchen waste. Then tops, foliage or grass cuttings are laid. Well, in the end, everything is sprinkled on top with a layer of earth or humus. To speed up the work of microorganisms, it would be better to spill the bed with a solution of EM preparations, manure or. 
In whatever way we did not create the bed, it is imperative to take care of wide aisles. The most beautiful solution is to plant the passages with lawn grass, which in the future will be mowed for mulch. But it is not forbidden to just cover the aisles with sawdust or mulch with weeds.
When the beds and passages are ready, you can safely breathe out: they will now constantly serve in one place with faith and truth for several years.
Some of the benefits of organic narrow beds overlap with "warm beds", which is not surprising:
- the garden bed is done once, but it serves for many years;
- no need to dig every year;
- the number of weeds and pests is sharply reduced;
- weeds are not pulled out by the roots, but are cut with a flat cutter, which is much faster and easier;
- seeds and seedlings can be planted earlier, the earth in such beds warms up faster;
- rains do not erode the garden; due to the box, it retains moisture inside;
- it is convenient to observe the crop rotation.
But the narrow bed has its own unique advantages:
- plants in a narrow bed are equally well lit and get unlimited access to air;
- you do not need to stand on narrow beds in order to get to a hard-to-reach vegetable from the “middle”, which means there will be no damage to the micro-roots that are located in the surface layer of the soil;
- a narrow bed is more convenient to handle, it is also more convenient to harvest from it - everything is in sight;
- planting in a narrow bed is not thickened (one or two rows), so each plant is better ventilated, which reduces the incidence;
- on a narrow bed, it is easier to install arcs or other devices for temporary film shelter;
- with the "narrow ridges - wide passages" system, you can forget about clods of dirt from the garden: grass or mulch in the aisles will ensure cleanliness and beauty.
If you are not afraid to experiment on your site and are open to everything new or well-forgotten old, try organic narrow beds in the next summer season. We are sure you will appreciate their convenience and productivity.
We wish you success and big harvests!
Back in Soviet times, much attention was paid to how to collect as much crop as possible from the same area of \u200b\u200bland - i.e. rationalization of agriculture. It was then that the books of Mitlider and Ugarova were distributed, in which the main emphasis was on growing with the help of narrow beds. So, the harvest for them was really almost twice as large as with conventional methods. But the instructions of the foreign professor were often strongly corrected, which sometimes led to a disruption in the process and narrow beds did not acquire particular popularity. But today a lot has changed - and all thanks to the development of the World Wide Web. If you decide to go from quantity to quality in a greenhouse, the narrow bed method is for you. After all, it is better to grow not five frail and small heads of cabbage, but two large and juicy ones, agree? It will take you much less time, effort and resources, and you will not need much space in the greenhouse. What is the main advantage of narrow beds - the harvest from them is very, very solid, and this is with a comfortable ergonomic layout of the greenhouse itself.
The determining factor in the choice of narrow beds is usually the fact that it is much easier to care for such a greenhouse. But many are switching to this technology because of the quality of the crop - and it is really impressive.
There is such an interesting study by Professor Ovsinsky: with dense planting of plants in a row and enhanced nutrition, so-called "internal competition" arises, and with it all plants begin to grow more intensively and give greater fruits. Also, in narrow beds, less compost and fertilizers go, which is also not bad.
Scientists have investigated that a vegetable garden in narrow beds even has self-cleaning - all thanks to the competent activation of the process of photosynthesis, in which nitrates are converted on time and where needed. Abundant watering, proper nutrition - greenhouse vegetables are far superior in quality and taste to those grown in the open air. Vegetables grown in narrow beds have excellent root nutrition and are not oppressed by other crops.
Even Siberian gardeners have recently started using the "narrow bed" method in their greenhouses. The whole problem was in the thickening of the space - tall vegetables in a month or two turned the greenhouse into a real jungle, and this did not have the best effect on the plants themselves. That is why adapting "narrow ridges" to Siberian greenhouses was an excellent solution: the width of the beds is 45 cm and the distance between them is 90 cm. No weeds in the aisles, timely harvest and almost complete immunity to diseases.
How to work properly in such beds?
Simple enough. We sow seeds on narrow beds in two rows along the sides - but not in the middle. Prepare for this in advance a mixture of filler and small seeds (large ones will need to be placed in the garden separately, at a distance of 3-5 cm from each other). It is necessary to sow as follows: the planting depth is exactly 2.5 times higher than the seed thickness. We also plant seedlings along the sides in rows.
Along each ridge, you need to make sides with a height of at least 10 cm.The plants themselves, depending on their type, are placed at distances between themselves 7.5 cm, 17.5 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm and 50 cm.Some plants need to be planted in a checkerboard pattern - so that they have enough space and light, and the largest ones only along one side.
We place fertilizers in the center of narrow ridges, filling them with a narrow strip of 10 cm - so they will not cause burns to the plants themselves. And to become available, they just need to be watered and they will dissolve.
And, finally, in vegetable growing on narrow ridges, only the ridges themselves are watered, not the aisles - this is a good water saving and at the same time weed control. You will notice that in the middle of these beds, they will not grow at all - due to the concentration of salts in the fertilizers. Just do not use the sprinkler system in the greenhouse - water only at the level of the soil and roots, and the seedlings will not hurt.
Arrangement of passages between the beds
Interestingly, opinions on how to make narrow beds and what exactly the passage should be have long been divided: some summer residents believe that this is not an economy, that it would be possible to grow something on them. But others, more experienced, noticed that wide passages are not only convenient, but also useful for plants - they get much more lighting this way.
Growing method from J. Mittlider
The essence of growing on narrow beds according to the Meatlider method is as follows: good lighting, competent weeding, top dressing and constant watering. All this, as it were, "programs" the plant for intensive growth - and the vegetables are delicious. During vegetative ripening, they do not accumulate nitrates in themselves, which is also very important. This method of growing is especially beneficial in the northern regions - after all, narrow beds need to be done in two rows from north to south, and so the plants really get maximum lighting.
If we speak as accurately as possible, then according to the Mittlider, the beds in the greenhouse should be exactly one and a half meters long, 45 cm wide and 105 cm left for the path. However, over time, such land from intensive work can become like plasticine, earthworms and other living creatures will no longer be found in it. Yes, and with the acquisition of specific microelements today is already a problem - because the market is more and more filled with complex ones, and it is not profitable to sell "mono" - there is little demand.
Let us draw the following conclusion: for many, the technology of narrow ridges according to the Mittlider is quite attractive, but at the same time, not everyone likes large doses of fertilizers with the entire periodic table in place. Therefore, most summer residents, as they themselves express themselves, take only the "geometry" they like, and in practice they use organic farming.
Growing method according to Ugarova
Yes, the Meatlider method has its drawbacks: those who used it from A to Z argue that after a year or two the ground in the greenhouse becomes like dust - completely lifeless, although the crops themselves may well at the same time please. And all due to the fact that this method of growing uses a lot of minerals, while organic farming has long gained popularity all over the world. But you can take the idea of \u200b\u200bnarrow beds, and at the same time grow on them as you see fit. Moreover, it was not only Jacob Meatlider who developed such a scheme - today even such a method as “Meatlider-Ugarovoy” is in demand, where methods from the book “Family vegetable growing in narrow beds” are also used.
"Rustic" growing method
Here's how you can successfully work in narrow beds using organic farming technology:
- In autumn, as soon as the greenhouse is cleaned, we sprinkle rotted manure with peat on the beds - a layer of 5-7 centimeters. We water all this with Baikal.
- In the spring, we water such beds with hot water from Lake Baikal, do not dig, only slightly level them.
- We plant seeds and cover with foil until germination, then with a special covering material.
- We fill the row spacing with gravel, which works as drainage ditches.
And here's how to make the narrow beds themselves without sides:
- Step 1. Prepare in advance wooden pegs with a cross-section of up to 5 cm and a length of up to 45 cm. Sharpen them at one end. You will need 4 pegs for each bed.
- Step 2. Divide the greenhouse area into separate areas, where the beds will be. Drive the pegs into the ground, marking 4 corners of each narrow ridge. The passages between them should remain about a meter.
- Step 3. Pull the cords from peg to peg.
This completes the process.
How to grow tomatoes in narrow beds?
Here's how to grow tomatoes in narrow ridges. We divide the greenhouse with a width of 3 meters by a half-meter passage - into equal parts. In each of them, with the help of boards, we make narrow ridges 45 cm wide and 80 cm apart. In total, you get exactly 8 narrow beds. It is desirable that their height is 15 cm. Tomatoes are planted in one row with a step of 20 cm. But not only tomatoes need to be planted - do this: a bed of peppers, a bed of tomatoes, a bed of peppers, and so on. This is good for both crops.
According to the rules, from the beginning of June until the very harvest, the rows must remain free so that the rows of tomatoes and peppers are illuminated to the maximum. We do watering and feeding only in the ridges, if we loosen the earth, then only very shallowly. During the season, we spray it several times with potash fertilizers, a solution of urea and ash.
By the way, Siberian gardeners grow tomatoes in one or two stems, pinching after the appearance of 8-9 brushes. The land is changed often, removing a layer of 6-8 cm in narrow ridges and replacing it with soil from under cucumbers.
But now - the main plus: there is much less work on narrow beds. There are almost no weeds, the plants do not get sick, it is easy to water with a regular watering can. And sowing is extremely simple and quick - what is not the dream of every summer resident?