LOOKING TO INSTALL MULCH IN YOUR LANDSCAPING?
Through the proper use of landscape mulch installation, you can limit the number of weeds that sprout up in your garden. The mulch, acting as a natural barrier, limits the amount of sunlight that can reach the unwanted weeds. Another benefit of this type of mulch is that it prevents soil erosion by limiting water penetration. It also provides a protective environment for stored rain water, as it is not washed away by the rain. This prevents the water from reaching the base of trees and the roots below them, and the mulch helps keep out insects.
Many people opt for inorganic mulches such as gravel, sand and pea gravel. However, there are a number of benefits that organic mulches offer that the inorganic varieties just cannot offer. These include: they are more resistant to rotting, wear and tear, require no or little maintenance and increase the overall value of your yard. They also make excellent choices for lawn and shrub beds because they are so lush, beautiful and colorful.
When it comes to weed barrier, an inorganic mulch installation is much better than a compost one. Organic material mulches do not have the necessary chemicals and additives to prevent weed growth. Composted material mulches on the other hand, have an excessive amount of chemical additives. This means that over time the weed barrier is significantly reduced. Inorganic mulches are a much better option if you are looking to prevent weed growth from below ground level and are used throughout most of the planting beds.
There are several different types of mulch installation methods. Some people choose to use a weed barrier throughout the planting beds. In this method, the entire bedding material is placed at the bottom of the soil. Then, rows of plastic, wood or metal are planted from top to bottom. Wood and metal are the easiest to install, but the rows of plastic and metal can be installed by using a tractor.
A mulch installation that utilizes wood chips for mulching has the added benefit of providing natural mulch to the soil. However, this mulch installation should only be used in dry climates. Wood chips are very susceptible to rotting and collecting pine needles. Another popular mulch installation is to use bark as mulch. Bark is excellent for lawns because it provides a natural look, but should only be used in well-drained areas.
Mulching with bark requires approximately one inch deep holes, or “stales.” The ideal stales to use are those which are dark in color – like the color of bone, with no yellowing. However, there are some mulch installation options for which one inch depth will prove to be inadequate. If the weed growth is severe, then two inches of weed bed soil is ideal. This two inch depth will also provide the weed control needed to prevent heavy weed seedling growth.
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