The climate of our country is very diverse, and what is good in the southern regions will not bring results in the northern ones. To grow a good crop, gardeners go to different tricks.
In the spring, until the seedlings are planted, you need to do a radical simplification of the summer work: cover the mesh structures-nethouses, install roofs, repair and lay paths, weld supports and trellises, set up irrigation systems.
Roofs from rain and hail over the beds
Construction and restoration of shelters — April work. Seedlings are planted in ready-made shelters. Do you think now we will talk about greenhouses? Not at all. Let’s talk about shelters from rain, sun and wind. How do they differ? Now you will feel the difference.
What is the difference between shelters for beds and greenhouses?
- A greenhouse made of transparent film does not save you from radiation freezing. (This is for your information.) The transparent material does not prevent the heat radiation from escaping into space. Hinders-semi-transparent. That is why non-woven lutrasil, spunbond or old sheet is a necessary addition to the film in case of a clear and cold spring night.
- In almost all inhabited areas, greenhouses overheat to +50 in summer…+60°C. Only ridge ventilation saves from overheating, but there are almost no such greenhouses on sale. As a result, the shelters turn into “saunas”, in which the plants are worse than in the wild. The same tomatoes at a heat above +32°C stop normally tying fruits, and cucumbers instantly shoot peronosporosis.
- In the south and in the steppe zone, it is more important to shelter plants from supercritical solar radiation than from the cold. Cold — only in the spring, and hot-all summer. Heat stress shuts down synthesis for most of the day. For the southern district and all the dry steppes, the summer zone of comfort and continuous synthesis is 60% of the solar radiation flux.
- A dry, hot wind causes the plants to evaporate five times as much moisture as they need in the calm. The greenhouse protects from the wind — but only at the cost of heat stress.
- The main cause of disease in the south is the summer rains. Sick plants are burned whole. Meanwhile, under the awnings, they almost do not get sick.
Because of the hurricane winds, it was very useful to cover the grapes with polycarbonate and mesh. The result is simply stunning — all the young bushes grow with double power, without getting sick until autumn, and in one summer they become adults!
Protection of the garden from the wind
Wind protection is the most important way to extend the season and protect plants from freezing in cold areas. And in the south — to protect from drying out and overheating. Smart northerners build special windproof structures for early vegetables.
Arranging a vegetable garden and a garden, too, do everything to protect them from the wind. When you take the land, start with this! On the windward side, plant fast-growing trees with large seeds: nuts, legumes, oaks, chestnuts. Do not take seedlings — sow seeds. Seedlings grow twice as powerful as the best seedlings: they have a taproot. Also the most important growth factor, by the way! Add pine trees to the deciduous ones, beat them with junipers, in the south — also with thuja.
Still, do not spare the money-gradually build fences, walls, and lags. Without them, the garden intelligence and the harvest can be immediately divided in half. Well, if you live in a windless place, rejoice. You have no idea how lucky you are!
Optimal lighting for garden beds
Optimum lighting is the most important crop factor for areas with hot and dry summers. Half the voltage of the midday sunlight is sufficient for the needs of nutrition; all the further excess can no longer be used by the plant and is spent on unproductive and dangerous heating.
Let’s add optimal light to the calm. “What else is optimal?! The sun — it is the sun! It would be more!” – you say. And you’ll be almost right if you live in a damp or cloudy city.
In the old days, it was wise to arrange sliding lighting in the kitchen gardens. Stakes were placed, poles were placed on them, and stalks of corn, millet, and sunflowers were placed on top. The result was a “roof” that allowed light to pass in strips, just half or a little more. The soil did not overheat, evaporation decreased, and synthesis accelerated.
Military camouflage nets best reproduce the “crown” effect. But they are terribly expensive. In the south, they can be replaced by vine shoots weaving on the “ceiling”. The shade in July is almost solid, but peppers, as it turned out, have enough sunbeams.
Now is the time of high technology. Europe and the United States have long grown fruit orchards and vegetable plantations under special phytoprotective and shading nets. Israel is particularly advanced in this area: they have nothing at their disposal but hot deserts. The peasants of this country covered the crops from all misfortunes with nets. Several types of such grids have been developed: shading, optimizing the spectrum of the sun, energy-saving, from pests and birds. There are also universal ones, three in one.
From non-woven spunbonds, these nets are characterized by multiple strength, durability and optimal blowability — even a hurricane wind does not bother them. Here’s a godsend for the draughty steppes! It was with their help that the Israelis turned the burning desert into a solid fruit and vegetable oasis.
Yes, protecting your garden not only from diseases and pests, creating an optimal microclimate for plants on your site, we can achieve real success. Make such designs in your garden and over garden beds — and you will see for yourself their benefits.
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