One of the favorite spring gardening activities of summer residents is planning the beds.
At the same time, raised beds are becoming increasingly popular. They are not as troublesome to arrange as warm ones, and at the same time they increase the yield. And to prevent the soil from crumbling, gardeners are cunning.
Summer residents do not waste anything, and everything is put to use, even slate from an old barn. It is often dug into the soil around the perimeter of the plot so that neighboring weeds do not climb or such aggressors as horseradish or Jerusalem artichoke do not grow.
Sometimes slate is dug in around the perimeter of the beds to prevent them from crumbling. Let's find out if this is really as harmful as summer residents think.
There is an opinion that slate is harmful to the soil and crops, and also has the property of being destroyed due to temperature changes.
Truth and fiction
The reason for the speculation is that the roofing material contains asbestos.
Opponents of this material claim that asbestos fibers can penetrate the crop and then into the body.
But there is another point of view. Many people deliberately leave slate in the root zone of trees and shrubs, as well as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. If we talk about beds with slate sides, then in this case the acidity of the soil decreases.
As for the toxic properties of the material, experts say that this is a lie.
The only significant drawback that forces summer residents to use other elements for finishing beds is the fragility of slate. One careless blow - and a piece can break off.
In addition, this material absorbs moisture, which also needs to be taken into account.
