Create A Vegetable Bed

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Competition "Summer Season - 2005"

Our site is located in a swampy area with a close occurrence of groundwater. In addition, the soil on it is very poor, clayey. We bought it four years ago, and since that time our family has been busy for all twelve months: we spend spring, summer and autumn fussing in the country, and in winter there is intensive preparation for the next season. At first it was very difficult - it was necessary to "raise" the virgin soil, build a house, set up greenhouses, but gradually, year after year, other tasks came to the fore, more ambitious plans were made.

The set of vegetable crops, fruit and berry plantings was determined as if by itself. First of all, those crops that the family needed were required: potatoes, beets, carrots, radishes, etc. But since I really love flowers, from the very beginning almost a third of the entire plot was allocated for them. I dreamed of immediately creating a real rockery, growing roses and dahlias, planting more bulbous ones, but poor soils dictated their requirements, and often they had to restrain their impulses. Time passed, and last year on our site there were already flower beds, berry and ornamental shrubs grew, bulbous crops bloomed beautifully.

From the very beginning, I decided to create a garden of continuous flowering, dividing the site into several zones. Very often in the literature it is advised to separate the fruit, vegetable and flower zones from each other. And since our site is small, it was decided to plant crops in such a way that they complement each other. Therefore, in our country, strawberries are adjacent to dwarf sweet peas, and cherry plums and plums grow next to lupines.

By nature, I am an inquisitive person, and it is interesting for me to grow not only traditional crops and varieties, but also to test new products, to preserve wild-growing species. Everyone remembers that the last season was extremely unfavorable: constant rains practically reduced the harvest of potatoes, beets and carrots to nothing. But on the other hand, it was very pleasant to note the stability of strawberries and berry bushes, green crops. An excellent harvest was given by a fig-leaved pumpkin - from three plants we collected 12 fruits, which made our family very happy, we were even able to share them with friends and members of the florist club. The blackberry looked very elegant. It was all strewn with large fragrant berries.

The greatest number of worries and worries were caused by flower crops. Our heavy soils "held" the water very stubbornly, there was no runoff, and very often, after another heavy rain, the flower beds were flooded. Sometimes the most valuable pieces of the collection had to be simply rescued. But flowers were given away a hundredfold for taking care of them. The bloom was abundant and bright.

But our main pride was a vegetable bed. Back in winter, I drew up its project, but the protracted spring made its own adjustments. The most thermophilic crops had to be removed from the scheme. Nevertheless, the flowerbed turned out to be elegant and original. With an area of four square meters, twenty-one cultures fit perfectly on it. Since it is located in a recreation area, the requirements for the choice of crops were determined by two conditions: usefulness and decorativeness.

To create a vertical dominant in the center, I planted five tall Ipomoea plants with pink and cherry colors, making a support from slats in the form of a pyramid.

On the southern and south-western sides were planted plants of corn, decorative millet, fennel, bush dill, tomato varieties Room gnome, Room pear and Gardener's Dream. Knowing that they do not exceed 15-20 cm in height and form very compact bushes, I used them as a border, which was dressed up all season. These varieties have very beautiful dark green foliage and original small, but very tasty fruits that cover the entire bush.

On other sides, where the sun was less, I planted several lashes of cucumbers, which grew freely and pulled themselves up to the sun on their own. Then cauliflower and ornamental cabbage, one zucchini, onions, garlic, chard, celery and two types of parsley were planted: leaf and curly.

To increase decorativeness in plantings of this type, in my opinion, it is more convenient to use unpretentious summer plants: bush nasturtium with flowers of different colors and various varieties of calendula. Various types of lettuce served as a border for this side: Lollo Rosso, Summer golden, Red-leaved summer.

I sowed radishes as compacting crops in spring and daikon in autumn. Compacted plantings with minimal nutritional areas did not oppress the plants, because in the fall and spring a very thorough soil preparation was carried out with the introduction of a sufficient amount of fertilizers. I grew all the plants for the flower bed through seedlings in a film greenhouse. It took very little time and space, because besides the salad of the rest of the plants, only a few copies were required.

I must say that the flowerbed turned out to be just a feast for the eyes. It looked great from all sides, something was constantly blooming on it, and the harvest was sufficient for consumption right at the dacha by the whole family. Of course, the small size and large assortment of crops demanded constant attention, but the plants "orderlies" calendula and nasturtium made it possible to get rid of pests, and an open sunny location and a quick change of crops saved from fungal diseases. You must admit that it is very convenient to collect vegetables and pick herbs to the table right before lunch in one place, and it is much more pleasant to dine when such beauty is before your eyes.

I would also like to tell you about a wonderful plant that I grow in my garden. This is a fig-leaved pumpkin. I bought its seeds two years ago, and, I must admit, I didn’t count on a special harvest, because they didn’t look very attractive - they were flat, dry, brown in color, and looked very much like dry watermelon seeds. Yes, and it was hard to believe that in our conditions this plant can give full-fledged fruits not in a greenhouse, but right on the ridge in the open ground.

In the first year, only one plant emerged, and we got only two small pumpkins from it. The tasting was approached with caution, because they did not know what to expect. But they were pleasantly surprised - it turned out that not only the fruit itself with its spotty surface is beautiful, but also the white, juicy, rather sweet pulp is very tasty. And the smell was beyond praise - as soon as the fruit was cut, the finest melon aroma spread through the apartment. Of course, cooking porridge from such fruits is probably not worth it, but this pumpkin is indispensable in the composition of fruit and vegetable salads.

Last season, I planted three plants from the collected seeds of my own, and in different ways: one was grown through seedlings in a cup in a film greenhouse, and the other two were planted with seeds directly in the ridge prepared in autumn under the covering material and film arcs. And she concluded that plants that immediately grow in a constant place are in no way inferior in growth strength and the time of entry into fruiting of greenhouse specimens. In my opinion, they are even more vigorous and come into fruiting a little earlier.

The care was the same as for all pumpkin crops, but the yield varied sharply. If ordinary types of pumpkins, due to heavy rains, entered fruiting later than usual, and the fruits did not have time to develop to normal sizes, then the fig-leaved pumpkin felt great. Its fruits did not rot, the set rate was very high, and even had to carry out rationing of the fruits. Their keeping quality was also very good. They were kept indoors until spring. It turned out that the fruits of this type of pumpkin are characterized by increased resistance to low temperatures compared to ordinary types of pumpkins. It so happened that several small pumpkins fell under the September frosts, but they survived them perfectly, and this did not affect their keeping quality.

I want to offer all gardeners a recipe for fruit and vegetable salad, which is very much loved in our family. It will require: a slice of pumpkin, one apple, one pear, one kiwi, you can add grapes or grated carrots, lemon or orange juice. The pulp of pumpkin and carrots should be grated on a coarse grater or cut into small cubes. Cut the apple, pear, kiwi and grapes into cubes, then mix everything, sprinkle with lemon or orange juice, add sugar to taste. You can season the salad with yogurt or sour cream, or you can use it without dressing.