Naš mali eko vrt počeo je dobivati svoje prve sadržaje, zahvaljujući volonterima u okviru programa Europskih snaga solidarnosti

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With a lot of effort and ideas from our volunteers, we started the process of creating raised beds for our garden in Greenville, within the European Solidarity Forces project called "ECOVILLE". With the help of an international team of volunteers, after designing the concept, we started with practical work aimed at creating our new garden.

Why did we decide on raised beds?

They are very easy to make, and apart from their aesthetic role, they also have numerous advantages compared to classic gardening. As the plants thrive in them, real little green oases can be created. In classical gardening, plants are usually planted in rows (which takes up much more space), and while tending to them, we often stand and walk between the rows and trample the soil, which does not suit the roots of the plants.

We don't plant the plants in wide rows, but we do it more densely than usual, and they have an abundance of nutrients, so they are usually so lush that a real microclimate is created in that plantation, which is abundant in moisture. In most cases, due to the density of the plants, weeds will not grow, hoeing is mostly unnecessary, and it is believed that such plantations have fewer problems with diseases and pests. Since the plants have much better conditions for growth: heat, moisture and loose soil with plenty of nutrients, we often extend the growing and harvesting season for many of them.

Cultivation in these beds is also favorable for earlier sowing because the sun will warm the sides of the bed, which will make the soil in these beds warmer. From autumn to spring, we can cover them with foil or a tunnel, so we will create greenhouse conditions and accelerate the growth of plants. In addition, the beds covered in this way can also serve as a warm nursery: when we fill the bottom with undecomposed compost or manure and cover it with sowing soil, gradual decomposition will occur, generating heat that warms the seeds or seedlings.

Source: Sensa.story.hr

In relation to the initially designed concept of the garden, the volunteers decided to make a departure and adapt the entire structure to the educational character that the garden will have.

Namely, our garden will not be used for growing vegetables on a large scale, but will have an educational purpose - it will teach children and young people the first steps in planting and caring for plants.