Do-It-Yourself Fencing of Beds Made of Plastic Bottles

Pros and cons of fencing for beds made of plastic bottles

Fencing beds made of bottles has a number of advantages and some disadvantages that should be taken into account when planning such a structure.

The advantages of plastic fencing for garden beds include:

• low cost and availability;
• durability - plastic is well preserved in a humid environment, does not rot or collapse under the influence of environmental factors;
• relatively good quality;
• appearance and differences in shapes;
• ease of working with the material - no special tools or construction skills are required.

The only disadvantage is the fact that the strength of plastic products leaves much to be desired compared to products made of wood, metal and stone. But even this point can be disputed, since not all gardeners, when erecting fences for plastic beds, try to provide durable shelter.

Two more ways to make a vertical bed from bottles

Now we will look at two more ways to make a garden bed from plastic bottles so that it takes up minimal space in the yard and is beautiful. By right, these structures can also be called vertical.

Wall of boats

This method of making vertical beds is suitable even for decorating walls finished with expensive decorative plaster. The thing is that you don’t have to drill into the wall to secure the bottles. All containers are suspended on ropes using the principle of a rope ladder. It is optimal to use one different color of plastic container for each row to achieve aesthetics.

To make a bed, one large window is cut out on the side of all bottles. When viewed horizontally, the container resembles a small boat. Next, small but strong hooks need to be attached to the eaves of the building. They must withstand the weight of boats with soil. On each bottle, through holes are made in the neck and bottom area, through which a nylon cord is pulled. A thick knot is tied on a rope under each row of containers. It will prevent the bottle from sliding down.

It is optimal to make each ladder a 50 cm step between the boats, and all adjacent rows should be hung with an upward or downward shift of 25 cm. You will get even horizontal rows of boats on the wall, but the bottles themselves will hang relative to each other in a checkerboard pattern. This arrangement will help to optimally cover the entire wall area, maintaining a large space between the bottles in a vertical row for free plant growth.

Pyramid bed

To make this bed model you will need to build a pyramid. What size it will be depends on the owner. If you have a wooden beam on your farm, you can use it to assemble a pyramid frame. Horizontally laid five-liter bottles with a cut-out window for plants are secured to the jumpers with self-tapping screws.

A pyramid flower garden can be made from boards. On each tier, the workpieces are placed flat or at a slight angle. Holes are drilled in the boards for flower pots using a drill with a round attachment. The bottles are cut in half, the neck is thrown away, and the lower part is inserted into the prepared holes. To prevent the pots from falling out of the pyramid, the top edge of the bottle is bent and then fixed to the board with a stapler or self-tapping screw.

There are a lot of options for making beds from plastic containers. There are no requirements for these designs, so each master shows his own talent.

Beds made from plastic bottles are a fairly common landscape solution for landscaping garden plots. Plastic products are affordable, retain their appearance for a long time and are a very malleable material for the manufacture of various fences. Therefore, gardeners never tire of coming up with new options for decorating beds with plastic products.

Options for decorating beds with bottles

A bed of plastic bottles can be decorated in various ways. There are several most common options for constructing fences:

1. The simplest and most popular is digging in whole bottles. To do this, you just need to dig in vessels around the perimeter of the bed. To make the fence beautiful, you can use multi-colored products, alternating them with each other. The main rule is to select containers of the same size and shape. Otherwise, the beds will not look as aesthetically pleasing as we would like.
2. Another option is to cut off the top of the vessel. In this case, the bottle is filled with sand or earth, turned over and dug into the ground upside down.
3. Creating a heated bed. In this case, you will need dark bottles that need to be filled with water and dug upside down into the soil. In the summer, the sun will heat the liquid, which will “warm” the plants at night, preventing the soil from cooling.

The beds of Lyadov and Medvedev

Most summer residents arrange warm beds according to Igor Lyadov’s method or use the recommendations of Valery Medvedev. The warm beds created by Igor Lyadov require minimal care and allow for a rich harvest. To arrange the fence you will need sand, cardboard, and plant residues. On the territory of the summer cottage, markings of the future bed are applied. Next, the wooden frame of the box is assembled. Cardboard is placed at the bottom. Sand is poured in. Next comes a layer of remnants of garden plants. Water the bed with infusion of manure. Then they are covered with earth. The structure is ready.

In some ways, Igor Lyadov’s technique is similar to the well-known technology for arranging beds according to Kurdyumov. Only there the author advises building a fairly high structure (up to 80 cm), a meter wide, and filling it a little differently: first of all with coarse organic matter, and only then with compost. And make special holes in the side walls for water. Valery Medvedev is the author of many manuals for summer residents. For example, how to build universal warm Medvedev beds, etc. He suggests creating a garden bed from plastic bottles.

To solve problems associated with crop freezing and poor yields, there are warm beds. They allow you to create favorable conditions for plants, stimulating the process of development and fruiting. It's easy to create them. The main thing is to choose the right location and follow the rules. You can create effective systems using the advice of I. Lyadov and V. Medvedev.

How to make beds from plastic bottles with your own hands

You can clearly see the beds made from plastic bottles with your own hands in the photo. This will help you choose the most suitable option for decorating the beds in each specific case. After all, you can not only fence the beds with bottles, but also make beds right in them.

Raised beds

High beds made from plastic bottles look original and allow you to preserve the fertile layer of soil. They are simple to implement and suitable for small areas. Flowers and berries can be planted in them.

To make high beds, in addition to bottles, you will need additional materials that will serve as support for the structure. These can be boards, pieces of plywood, and even mesh used for fencing. The main task is to prevent the structure from sagging and tilting.

There are two ways to build raised beds from plastic bottles. The first one:

1. Make a hole in the bottom of the container.
2. Cut a hole for plants on the side.
3. Fill the vessel with soil, having previously laid out a layer of fine crushed stone in the neck.
4. Place the bottles on top of each other on the prepared base so that the cut bottom is facing upward and the neck fits into the hole in the bottom.
5. Secure the vessels.
6. Plant plants.

The second method is a good option for very small areas. To organize the structure you need:

1. Cut off part of the throat and the bottom of the vessel.
2. The resulting egg pods need to be glued together several pieces at a time using a hot gun. You should end up with one long plastic pipe.
3. Take a drainage pipe of appropriate length. It must be inserted into the center of the plastic tube in order to further water the plants.
4. Fill the container with soil.
5. Cut out windows for planting.
6. Place it at the support and secure it.
7. Plant plants.

Hanging beds

Another option to save space is to build hanging beds from plastic bottles. Such structures do not take up much space and are a good solution for decorating a personal plot. They require special construction skills from the manufacturer. A canopy made of bottles can be attached to the fence or walls of any building, even to a residential building.

Attention! In order to hang the bottles, you will have to use ropes and mount fastenings for them.

Procedure:

1. Select containers of the same size and required color.
2. Cut out windows in them for planting plants. It is important to make them the same size so that the structure looks more aesthetically pleasing.
3. Make holes in the bottles for the ropes. Each container should have two holes on each side.
4. Stretch the rope, making knots so that the bottle with earth is held on these knots.
5. Hang as many bottles on each rope as were planned to create a hanging bed.
6. Fill the containers with fertile soil.
7. Build fastenings. To do this, at the highest point of the wall or fence, you need to screw in several hooks or secure a pipe or other cornice that can support the weight of containers filled with soil.
8. Hang the bottles on ropes and secure them by securely tying the ropes to the curtain rod or hooks.

In order for the structure to be not only durable, but also beautiful, it is necessary to follow a number of rules for hanging bottles:

• The horizontal distance between containers should be at least 30 - 40 cm;
• Depending on the type of plants (hanging, upright, etc.), it is necessary to choose the correct vertical distance between the bottles. Plants should not intertwine or cover each other, creating obstacles to the development of their own or neighboring crops;
• It is better to distribute bottles on the wall in a checkerboard pattern, so as not to create the impression of bare spaces.

Attention! Opposite each window for plants, it is necessary to make several holes so that the water drains from the “boats” after watering, and does not stagnate in the soil. You should also not use brown bottles, as they will make the plants very hot in the summer.

If you wish, you can make a slightly different hanging bed from bottles with your own hands, for the construction of which you will need:

1. Trim the bottoms of the bottles.
2. Pull ropes through the lids, connecting several bottles at a certain distance.
3. Fill the containers with soil.
4. Hang them on the prepared structure.
5. Plant plants.

Pyramid bed

Strawberries, parsley, dill, onions and even salads can easily grow in garden beds made from bottles. Pyramid beds do not take up much space and can be an excellent decoration for the yard. The main thing is to decide on the size of the future structure and stock up on a number of necessary materials:

• self-tapping screws, the number of which depends on the size of the structure;
• wooden boards or slats;
• plastic bottles of the required sizes and colors.

The first step is to make a support for the bed. To do this, lay horizontal boards on two vertical boards located at the edges and secure them with self-tapping screws.

The distance between the slats should be sufficient to accommodate the cut bottles. Therefore, it is worth cutting off one vessel somewhere in the middle in advance, leaving the part with the neck for use.

Having built a “skeleton” for future beds, you can prepare a sufficient number of containers. Then attach them to the slats with self-tapping screws, fill them with soil and plant plants in them.

Options for making beds from PET bottles

Making beautiful flower beds from PET bottles with your own hands is not difficult. Probably the most difficult job is delivering containers from a landfill. You will have to visit this unpleasant place, because large beds will require a lot of plastic containers. So, let's look at different options for cultivating a summer cottage.

Advice! To get a beautiful garden bed, you need to try to collect multi-colored plastic bottles and combine different fencing options from them.

The simplest border

The simplest fencing for a flowerbed can be made with your own hands by simply digging bottles along the contour of the bed. It should be noted right away that you will need a very large amount of containers. Bottles are only available in one size. It is optimal to use containers with a capacity of 1.5–2 liters for borders.

Now let's focus on color. The transparent bottles inside can be painted any color. This gives free rein to imagination and artistic imagination. To do this, take white acrylic paint, add the color you like, and then dilute it to a liquid consistency. Painting the inside walls of the bottle is very simple. A little liquid paint is poured into the container, closed with a stopper and shaken vigorously. After achieving the desired effect, the excess paint is drained.

Advice! If you are lucky enough to collect multi-colored plastic containers, the dyeing process is eliminated. The plastic retains its factory color for a long time, without fading even in the sun.

A border from plastic containers can be made in three ways:

• In each bottle, the part tapering towards the neck is cut off. The container with the bottom is tightly filled with damp soil and dug in upside down along the contour of the bed.
• In order not to cut off the neck of each bottle, you will need a lot of dry sand or soil. All containers are filled to the very top with loose filler, after which they are screwed with stoppers. Further work consists of the same digging in bottles upside down.
• Using brown or green bottles you can make a simple garden bed heating with your own hands. The entire container is filled with ordinary water, screwed tightly with stoppers, and then dug in using the same method along the contour of the bed. Since dark colors attract heat from the sun, bottled water will warm up during the day. At night, the accumulated heat will warm the soil of the bed along with the root system of growing plantings.

All options for made borders will last for many seasons. If necessary, the garden bed fencing can be easily removed from the ground to be moved to another place or simply thrown away.

Making a vertical flower bed

In a small summer cottage, a vertical flower bed allows you to save space, but at the same time grow as many flowers or strawberries as possible. There are many options for making vertical flower beds, but in any case, you will need a strong support to secure the bottles. Any vertical structure will act as it. This could be a building wall, a fence, a chain-link fence, a pole or a knocked down wooden board.

Let's consider two options for making vertical beds:

• In all plastic bottles, the bottoms are cut off, and a hole with a diameter of 3 mm is drilled in the center of the cork. A window for the plant is cut out in the side wall. Bottles in the narrowing area near the neck are filled with a drainage layer consisting of coarse sand with small stones. Next, fertile soil is poured at the level of the window, after which the bottles are secured on a vertical support with the neck down. Each higher-lying container should rest its neck against the ground of the lower bottle. When the entire vertical row of the bed is ready, a plant is planted in each window.
• The second option for making a vertical bed requires soldering with a hot gun. In all containers, cut off the bottom and tapered top. The resulting barrels are glued with a hot gun into a long tube, which is then fixed to a vertical support. A thin drainage pipe wrapped in burlap is inserted inside the resulting tube. This device is useful for watering plants. Soil is poured into the tube, and windows are cut out on the side wall with a knife, where the favorite plant is planted.

By showing your imagination, you can make high beds of complex shapes with your own hands from plastic containers. Let’s say that after making an ordinary vertical bed, there are a lot of bottoms cut off from bottles. They make a great flower vase. You will temporarily need a large children's ball as the base of the structure. The bottoms of the bottles are glued together with a hot gun, but they are not fixed to the ball. It is only needed to give shape to the bed. The bottoms should form a ball, as shown in the photo, but there will be a large neck at the bottom for filling in soil and planting plants.

The finished ball is turned upside down, the ball is deflated and taken out from the inside. The resulting spherical flowerpot is placed in a permanent place. For reliability, the bottom can be cemented. The bottom of the flowerpot and the side walls are covered with geotextiles. It will prevent soil from spilling, plus it will allow excess water to drain out of the garden bed after rain. Fertile soil is poured inside the flowerpot and plants are planted.

Advice! Using a similar method, the bed can be given any shape, for example, a boat.

Hanging flower beds

Ornamental plants and flowers look beautiful in hanging beds. In essence, this design is reminiscent of a flower pot, but instead of a flower pot, a plastic bottle is hung. The container can be placed with the neck up or down, as you like.

Let's look at one example of making a hanging bed:

• A large through window is cut out in the side walls. At the bottom, the side is left higher to make room for soil.
• The top of the bottle is pierced through and a rope is pulled through the holes for hanging. Instead of a cord, a chain or simple wire will do.
• A drainage hole is drilled at the bottom of the bottle. Excess water after watering will drain through it. If the container with the flower will hang under a canopy, you need to take care of a small pallet. Otherwise, after each watering, dirty water will drip onto the floor or a passing person.

I pour soil inside the prepared bottle, plant the plant, and then hang it on a nail or hook.

Original flower beds made from large bottles

If you have small children at home, you can make a fairy-tale flowerbed for them with your own hands. The heroes of modern cartoons are trains, robots, cars, etc. All of these characters can be made from large five-liter containers. Typically, such bottles are made from transparent plastic, so you will have to add beauty using paint.

The easiest way is to make a train with carriages, a boat or a pig out of bottles. The basis of the design is a container laid on its side with a hole cut out on top for planting flowers. Next, you need to use your imagination. Corks from small bottles are suitable for making eyes, buttons and other small parts. Wide corks taken from five-liter bottles will replace the wheels of a train or car. If the bed is in the shape of a pig, ears are cut out from a colored bottle, and a spot on the cork can be drawn with a marker.

The video shows a master class on a flower bed made from bottles:

Advice from experienced gardeners

Making borders for beds from plastic bottles is not difficult, the main thing is to listen to some recommendations.

Features of creating beds:

1. To add originality, you can dig plastic bottles of different sizes into the ground, alternating between 1.5-liter and 2-liter containers.
2. To make the garden bed look elegant, plastic bottles can be painted in any color. To do this, you need to pour a little paint into each container and shake the bottle until it is completely colored. Drain off the remaining paint.
3. The bottles can be cut and filled with colorful aquarium stones, and then dug into the ground with the bottom up. This move will make the site not only elegant, but also original.

Attention! Plastic bottles of different colors retain their appearance longer, in contrast to hand-painted products. Therefore, it is better to spend extra money and time searching for suitable plastic containers.

How to install a plastic border for garden beds

As you know, a vegetable garden is always divided into several parts, which are called beds. This is very convenient, since in each bed you can grow one or another crop. But often these mini-plots need fencing. Thanks to them, several problems are solved at once, including the ability to prevent the appearance of weeds and the escape of water when watering outside the garden bed. The border can be made from metal, wood or plastic. It is the latter material that is in wide demand among gardeners today.

PVC borders are unique structures that today perform a number of functions:

1. Prevents the formation of weeds in the fenced area. The lower part of the border is immersed in the ground to the level of growth of the base of the root part of the crops.
2. Thanks to the fencing structure, plants that reproduce by rhizomes do not penetrate beyond the boundaries of the beds. But how to choose covering material for beds, and what you should pay attention to, is described in great detail here.
3. PVC borders give the garden bed its shape . This point is considered very important when creating a flowerbed of a non-standard shape. But you can see what flat slate looks like and how it is used for beds in Leroy Merlin here.
4. Plastic fencing, concentrated along the border of the tree trunk, prevents soil from spreading during watering. Thanks to this, the decorative appearance of the garden is not disturbed. It will also be useful to learn about how to water tomatoes against late blight.
5. PVC fencing products for the garden reduce the number of pests.
6. Fencing products made of plastic have an attractive appearance, due to which they perform a decorative function, especially with decorative varieties of eggplants or varieties of pumpkin for open ground.
7. Such products allow you to save water during irrigation . This result is achieved due to the fact that the liquid will be concentrated in the fencing of the beds and flower beds, and will not disperse throughout the garden.

Types of products

Today, border tape remains very popular. It is sold in rolls. Their height can vary from 20 to 50 cm. This product is flexible and easy to install.

Garden construction sets made of PVC are also gaining popularity. It imitates wooden stumps. The installation process takes a few minutes. It is necessary to thoroughly irrigate the area and press the fence into the ground, while connecting its edges. But the PVC border in the form of a mesh is not in such great demand, however, it can still be found in the garden.

Panels remain the most popular type of PVC fencing. They are convenient and practical. In addition, panels that remain after repairs can be used to fence the garden beds. Thus, the cost of the beds is zero.

Manufacturers and prices

You can purchase plastic borders for your garden today from the following manufacturers:

GRINDA – price 290 -350 rubles per roll,

Palisad – price 450 -700 rubles per roll,

Protect – price 650 – 680 rubles per roll,

The need to fence a plot of land

Any area where it is planned to grow something implies the presence of clear boundaries. Why is this being done? The answer is simple: to preserve the original amount of land and prevent it from changing its location as a result of exposure to precipitation.

This is especially true for flower beds.

Owners of open flower beds know very well that after rain, part of the soil, especially if the soil is sloped, is carried away with the flow of rainwater.

Various methods and materials for arranging plastic borders for garden beds

As a rule, these are the most fertile upper layers, where the natural fertilizer humus is formed - the key to a beautiful flower garden and the fragrance of any flower bed.

You can apply an unlimited amount of organic and mineral fertilizers, but if the flower beds do not have defined boundaries, such manipulations will not only be useless, but also extremely costly. Do-it-yourself plastic fencing for garden beds? It’s another matter when the owners of flower beds initially take care of the land by constructing plastic fences for the beds. This material is quite durable, copes well with its functions, and is also affordable.