If you have any other questions or comments, you can add them to that request at landscape fabric time. NEW free Photography Icon Set on the Blog. Hand-picked by us, great looking and exciting free images waiting to be downloaded. Need Stock Photos for your next Project? Blog Check out our blog with hundreds of photography and design articles and inspiration, plus the ever popular Free Texture Friday! Type what you are looking for in box below and then hit “Enter”. Whether you’ve imagined an outdoor patio for friends to gather around, or an environment filled with your children’s laughter and yelps of joy as they skim the tree line on one of our sturdy, natural-looking swing sets, we can help you make that dream come true. Maybe you had a quieter setting in mind?
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However, due to all the possible variants, including but not limited to: light source, monitor quality or settings, etc. Perfect for retaining walls up to 10 feet in height and is bi-directional. This geogrid may be placed parallel to or perpendicular to the retaining wall. This geogrid must be placed perpendicular to the retaining wall to retain its strength. This geogrid must be rolled out in the direction of the road. In addition, we offer pricing on Synteen, Mirafi and Strata geogrid.
SRW Products engineers use LTDS calculations to identify and reduce factors which can impact the long-term performance of a geotextile reinforced system. This allows us to offer a variety of products. Retaining walls play a very important role in protecting landscapes from natural elements. It is essential that the wall is constructed correctly using proper material to ensure long term stability. If corners are cut and stabilizing grid is not used the wall can lose stability and fall, endangering people and damaging the landscape. When hiring professionals to do the work, always check their experience in this area of construction. There are several reasons why retaining walls fail.
The most common being inadequate drainage behind the wall. With poor drainage, moisture circulates, freezes and thaws which can happen on a daily basis during the colder seasons. Some northern states experience this more often during Spring months and then again in the fall. In other cases, the walls are being forced to hold back more soil than they can handle. While in most cases this is caused by novices who really do not know how to properly construct a retaining wall, there have also been cases with landscapers, who should know better, doing the same thing. If a retaining wall is built too high there will be no reinforcement to handle the force. Customers are spending thousands of dollars to build these retaining walls and then thousands more to tear them down and start all over again.
Anyone can go search online about failing retaining walls and discover just how disastrous the outcome can be. A retaining wall is actually quite straight forward and the materials needed are not overly expensive. In order to construct the wall properly the process will require some additional digging, backfilling and compacting. The upside, its very inexpensive compared to the cost of having to start all over again. Sadly, many people, in an effort to save time and cost, do not know about stabilizing grid and whether they even need it in their construction. In many cases, they will hire contractors who truly do not understand how a retaining wall actually operates or when stabilizing grid is needed. The money they end out saving, gets spent when the wall needs to come down and they have to start over.
Stabilizing grid from SRW is a woven fabric that is extremely strong. This fabric has high tensile strength and is pinned between the layers of the retaining wall. This extends into the soil the wall is retaining and locks the block or stone wall together with the soil behind. Determining wether stabilizing grid is needed for your wall will depend on the wall building material as well as they type of soil to be retained. Clay soils, for example swell when moist and retain water and thus are the hardest to retain. When clay soil is to be retained, stabilizing grid is highly recomended.
The material used for a retaining wall matters a great deal, the more massive the material is, the less stabilizing grid will need to be used. If there is a slope at the base of the wall stabilizing grid should also be taken into consideration. First you must excavate the soil area for reinforcement. There should be a good level soil condition behind the wall units in order to place each stabilizing grid layer. The stabilizing grid should be rolled in the direction from the wall toward the embankment. You should always check the manufacturer’s specification for biaxial or unbiaxial stabilizing grid. In most cases, the stabilizing grid is rolled perpendicular to the face of the wall. You have to hook the stabilizing grid over the Keystone pins to ensure a positive operating connect between the unit and the stabilizing grid.
Always be sure the stabilizing grid is placed within one inch of the wall’s face. Secure the stabilizing grid by pulling the pinned stabilizing grid taut in order to eliminate any loose folds. Secure or stake the back edge of the grid before and during the back-filling and compaction. If desired, you can remove the stakes after the back-fill is in place. You can then place additional sections of grid, abutting each other, for a more continuous coverage for each layer. Finally, you will place back-fill over the grid in 8 inch lifts. Give a minimum of 6 inches reinforcement fill cover before driving any equipment over the grid. Stay away from driving or turning any vehicles directly over the grid, this could cause excessive damage.
Mulch has been called the gardener’s friend—and for good reason. Mulching is a fundamental part of gardening to plants looking beautiful and productive through the year. If you don’t already know how to mulch, it’s important to learn when to mulch, the right depth for mulch, and the right type of mulch. At its simplest, mulch is any material that covers the soil’s surface. In nature, mulch is simply fallen leaves and plant debris. In the garden, mulch can also include compost, wood chips, rotted manure, cardboard, or even seaweed.
It’s only recently that we’ve come to appreciate mulch’s sustainable and ecological benefits. Done correctly, mulching feeds our soil’s living microorganisms with nutrients and the waste from these tiny microbes creates healthier soil structure for plants, limiting compaction. Benefits of Mulching Reduces weed growth by keeping light from reaching the soil surface. Reduces water loss from the soil surface, which helps maintain soil moisture. Moderates soil temperatures, keeping it warmer on cold nights and cooler on hot days. Protects bare soil, reducing erosion and soil compaction. Protects plants from the harsh conditions of winter freezes, thaws, and winds. In winter, soil under mulch will be warmer than unprotected soil.
Prevents crusting of the soil surface. Water moves more readily into soil covered with mulch instead of running off. Improves the structure of clay soils and the moisture-holding capacity of sandy soils. Warms the soil in spring, allowing the gardener to plant days or weeks before the soil would normally be ready. Keeps plants clean and off the ground, especially tomatoes and melons, to avoid plant disease. Limits the chance of damaging trees’ trunks when mulch is placed around them instead of grass. A layer of 2 to 3 inches of mulch is ample. Mulch can contribute to rotting bark if piled up around the trunks of trees and shrubs.
Keep mulch 6 to 12 inches away from the base of woody plants. Keeping mulch away from the trunk discourages wood-boring insects, gnawing rodents, and decay. Mulch near plant stems is the perfect place for slugs, snails, tunneling rodents, and more pests to reside. Sprinkle wood ashes or diatomaceous earth around the base of precious plants to keep the slugs and snails at bay. Mulch can bake your plants with excess heat in midsummer if not done properly. Light-colored, wood-based mulches, like sawdust or fresh wood chips, can steal nitrogen from the soil as they break down. Counter this effect by adding a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, such as soybean meal, alfalfa, or cottonseed meal, to the mulch.
With most organic mulches, a layer of 2 to 3 inches is plenty. The finer the material, the thinner the layer needed. Inorganic mulch is often more shallow. For example, a mulch of small stones usually only needs to be an inch deep. Dry mulches—including sawdust, woodchips, peat moss, and dry straw—can be a fire hazard. Keep them away from buildings to be on the safe side. Types of Mulch The ideal mulch should be dense enough to block weed growth but light and open enough to allow water and air to reach the soil.
Factors to consider when purchasing mulch are cost, availability, ease of application, and what it looks like in the garden. There are lots of materials of various colors and textures to choose from. Both organic and inorganic mulches can be used effectively in the garden. Organic mulches are natural products from leaves, trees, grass, and other plant material, often from your own yard. They mimic nature, breaking down gradually over time. The advantage is that they are truly adding organic matter to the soil. The disadvantage is that they must be replenished periodically. Compost is readily available and breaks down rapidly to improve soil.
If you don’t have your own, often towns make it available from their leaf composting facility. The disadvantage is that it must be replenished and can contain weed seeds. Softwood bark mulch is attractive, resists compaction, and breaks down slowly. Hardwood bark is attractive but breaks down quickly and needs to be properly composted to avoid sour mulch and nuisance fungi. Shredded leaves and leaf mold are readily available and, if chopped, eventually break down and feed the soil with beneficial materials. The disadvantage is that leaves can mat if wet which reduces the oxygen and moisture in the soil. Grass clippings are ready available but should be dried first or spread thinly to keep them from becoming a hot, slimy, stinky mess.
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Also, you can not use clippings from grass treated with chemicals in a food garden. Pine needles are attractive and stay in place better than most mulches. They are slow to break down and aren’t as acidic as you might expect, so don’t worry about them chaning the soil’s pH. Local byproducts, such as spent hops from a brewery, cocoa hulls, ground corncobs, coffee grounds, newspaper, or cardboard can also be much. Black plastic mulch helps warm the soil in spring, reduces water loss, and is convenient. This can make a big difference in short growing seasons.
Crushed stone, gravel, marble, or brick chips provide a permanent mulch around shrubs and trees. That said, these mulches are expensive, hard to move, and can get into the lawn. Landscape fabric smothers weeds while allowing air, fertilizer, and water to move through them and into the soil. They are treated to resist decomposition and they help retain soil moisture. It’s important to fasten the fabric down so perennial weeds do not push them up. We do not generally use mulch in the fall, except for in bare, unplanted garden beds to prevent erosion. You could also use shredded leaves. Otherwise, do not apply mulch to your landscape in autumn.
New growth may not harden off and can be damaged by winter cold. And adds zero weed seeds to your soil such as green waste can do. How thick should it be placed around plants? We do not generally use mulch in the fall; fill over the grid in 8 inch lifts. Including but not limited to: light source, some northern states experience this more often during Spring months and then again in the fall.
The soil will not cool down quickly and plants may continue to grow. New growth may not harden off and can be damaged by winter cold. Also, mulching in the fall keeps the soil wet, which can lead to root rot and plant death. Note: If you’re setting out new areas, start by clearing the surface of any debris and any rocks larger than a hen’s egg. Mow down grass or cut back weeds to the ground. Fast forward a few months and any grass and weeds below will have rotted down, while earthworms will work to gradually incorporate the organic matter into the soil below.
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Grafted plants, like hybrid tea roses, benefit from being mulched heavily. Shredded mulch, straw, pine needles, or shredded leaves are all good winter mulch. It’s important to apply enough mulch in winter to keep the frozen ground completely covered so the plant remains dormant until spring no matter what type of warm or cold spells occur. Protect branches and buds of evergreen or semi-evergreen shrubs such as rhododendrons and viburnums by wrapping them with burlap or protecting them with a tree guard filled with shredded leaves for insulation. Remove winter mulch in the spring when all danger of a hard frost is past so that the ground can warm and new growth won’t be inhibited. If there are lots of weeds on the ground where you want to grow, consider a permeable landscape fabric on many of the beds. Or, lay down a layer of cardboard before adding your organic matter.
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Never put it by the house! Can steal nitrogen from the soil as they break down. Often from your own yard. Protect branches and buds of evergreen or semi, stress workshops and books.
Thoroughly wet the cardboard to help it break down. The cardboard will serve as a further barrier to weeds, exhausting and eventually killing most of them off. Once the growing season gets underway, you’ll find that any weeds that do manage to make it through will be much easier to remove. After a few spring rains, when the soil has warmed, we lay down soaker hoses in each bed. Then we cover the hoses with a fabric to speed up the change in soil temperatures and warm the soil for earlier planting. Planting holes are cut at different spacings for different crops. Watering is efficient, and maintenance of a large area is made much easier.
And other plant material, it’s only recently that we’ve come to appreciate mulch’s sustainable and ecological benefits. Do not apply mulch to your landscape in autumn. Perfect for retaining walls up to 10 feet in height and is bi; and can get into the lawn. If you must use it, organic mulches are natural products from leaves, the only danger is if the mulch is too fine or too thick: Those situations would not allow air or water to reach the bulbs. Allowing the gardener to plant days or weeks before the soil would normally be ready.
Once the plants get some size on them, the fabric is covered and does not look so bad! We also use organic mulch including straw, leaf mold, grass clippings, wood chips, and shredded leaves for crops that like it cooler. Replace old mulch as it rots down or becomes incorporated into the soil, so that the ground is being constantly fed and gradually built up. For more on mulching, read about mulching to control weeds and save water, and check out our guide to composting. Free Online Gardening Guides We’ve gathered all of our best beginner gardening guides into a step-by-step series designed to help you learn how to garden! Visit our complete Gardening for Everyone hub, where you’ll find a series of guides—all free! Get inspired by Robin Sweetser’s backyard gardening tips and tricks. Robin has been a contributor to The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the All-Seasons Garden Guide for many years. She and her partner Tom have a small greenhouse business and also sell plants, cut flowers, and vegetables at their local Farmer’s Market.
What do you want to read next? The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. Like many of your readers, I struggled using mulch in my vegetable gardens, I would rather have weeds than watch some new pest move in and devour my plants. However, without mulch, I ended up with a weedy jungle, as a working mom the time to weed never seemed to happen. There are many ground-nesting native bees that dig small tunnels in dirt to lay their eggs. Yes, it is best to leave some open ground for those ground-nesting bees. I always leave space around my squash for them since they help with pollination. Mulch Leads to Pillbugs and Ants! I have tried mulching my garden with silver mulch, only to find hordes of pillbugs underneath it!
Contrary to what many say, they do eat growing plant material, not just dead plant material. I have seen them munching potato leaves as the potatoes were growing! I tried pine straw mulch, and it attracted ants! If I use hardwood, there is a slug and snail problem. I use lots of diatomaceous earth, iron phosphate, and spinosad, but it seems that the insects keep coming. The best thing for me seems to be to leave my garden unmulched and then encourage the birds, frogs, and lizards to help eat the pests. I use plenty of compost to help retain moisture.
