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Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Decorative mulch is a great way to both improve the soil quality and change the look of flower beds and gardens. It consists of sawdust and small pieces of gravel and can bring many benefits such as helping to retain moisture, reducing weeds, and protecting the soil from extreme temperatures. Additionally, different types of gravel and sawdust can be combined to create a truly unique look in your landscape. Decorative mulch is an affordable and easy way to give gardens and flower beds a beautiful and distinctive look!

Decorative mulch

Decorative mulch is most often understood as wood chips or shavings, painted in different colors. In industry, a special apparatus is used for dyeing wood waste โ€“ a colorizer. At home, you can simply use an aqueous solution of the purchased color to dye wood chips. Some gardeners use, for example, beet juice, potassium permanganate, decoction of onion peels or green herbs to give bright shades to wood chips..

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

The scope of application of decorative wood chips is very large: garden paths, flower beds, the allocation of individual areas of the garden, front gardens. Organic mulch has a lot of advantages, because it retains moisture in the soil, does not allow weeds to germinate, and protects plants from pests such as slugs.

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Decorative filling allows you to create a variety of geometric patterns, to show imagination. It is convenient that no basis for such mulch is needed, it is simply poured onto the ground, without an airtight substrate.

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Decorative chips, painted in an industrial environment, are more resistant to external influences. It does not fade in the sun. The decorative chips created at home will have to be updated annually, because after winter this garden decoration may fade somewhat and lose its original appearance..

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Wood chips are an organic product and do not harm people, plants or animals. On the contrary, wood waste can saturate the soil with useful substances. You can update the layer of decorative mulch without removing the previous one, that is, just add wood chips and trim it.

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Decorative mulch well protects the root system of plants from frost, while allowing the roots to receive oxygen. The fertile soil layer is also covered, it is not blown out by the wind and is not washed away by heavy rains.

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

To check the quality of decorative wood mulch, just hold it in your hands and dip it into the water. Chips should not stain hands, and after exposure to moisture, they should not lose their bright shade. Otherwise, the backfill will not last long, losing color after each rain.

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

The thickness of the decorative organic backfill layer should be at least five centimeters. The soil should be weeded, loosened and leveled before laying the mulch layer. It is advisable to enclose the area to be decorated with a border, for example, as in this bright flower bed, so that the dumping does not creep.

Decorative chips in the playground

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

It is pleasant to walk on wood chips even barefoot, it is a safe and pleasant to the touch material. It is thanks to these properties that decorative organic mulch can be used when decorating playgrounds on the site.

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

This is already an inorganic decorative filling โ€“ colored gravel. It is a more durable material for decorating a garden area, but it has several disadvantages. Updating the decor will be more difficult, as well as removing snow or leaves in this area. In addition, you need more gravel per square meter than wood chips..

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

For decorative backfilling, you can even use unpainted gravel, ordinary sand or gravel. Curved curbs create whimsical shapes, and dumping in various natural shades will help organize a real stone garden.

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

Decorative mulch: mulching beds and soil with sawdust and gravel

A bag of decorative wood chips with a volume of 60-70 liters will cost from 250 rubles. Decorative gravel and crushed stone are usually sold in kilograms โ€“ from 22 rubles. Considering the fact that more decorative stone is required to decorate the flower bed, as a result, chips turn out to be a cheaper option..

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Comments: 4
  1. Everly

    Does using decorative mulch like sawdust and gravel provide any benefits to the soil or plants, or is it purely for aesthetic purposes?

    Reply
    1. Noah Wallace

      Using decorative mulch like sawdust and gravel can provide several benefits to the soil and plants beyond just aesthetics. Mulch helps to retain moisture and regulate soil temperature, reducing evaporation and preventing extreme temperature fluctuations that can stress plants. It also acts as a barrier, reducing weed growth and competition for nutrients, while preventing soil erosion. Additionally, mulch gradually breaks down, providing organic matter that enriches the soil, improves its structure, and promotes beneficial microbial activity. Therefore, decorative mulch serves both functional and aesthetic purposes, enhancing plant health and overall garden maintenance.

      Reply
    2. Nathan Turner

      Using decorative mulch like sawdust and gravel provides multiple benefits to both the soil and plants. Firstly, mulch helps to conserve moisture in the soil by reducing evaporation, resulting in more efficient water usage for plants. Additionally, it acts as a protective layer, shielding the soil from extreme temperatures, preventing weed growth, and reducing erosion. Mulch also improves soil fertility as it gradually decomposes, adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Moreover, it can regulate soil temperature fluctuations, creating a favorable environment for plant roots. Overall, while decorative mulch enhances the aesthetics of a garden, it plays a vital role in improving soil health and supporting the growth of plants.

      Reply
  2. Bella Kelly

    What are the benefits and drawbacks of using sawdust and gravel as decorative mulch for bedding plants and soil? Can it affect the health of plants or create any unintended consequences in the long term?

    Reply
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