Mulching is one of the best farming ways in which you can protect the soil from waterlogging during the rainy season or, alternatively, excessive evaporation in dry weather. The owners of household land plots for these purposes often use straw, grass clippings, sawdust. But still the most popular wood chips – soft and eco-friendly landfilling, which in addition to superior qualitative characteristics, is decorative, and therefore is widely used in landscape design.
The contents
Chips – not just a decorative element of the plot. The secret of popularity of this form of dumping is that she has a number of indisputable advantages, the main among which are:
- Environmentally friendly material. Wood serving base for producing chips, has no chemical additives and is completely harmless to plants and soil, and human health.
- Reliable protection of soil. Mulch helps protect the soil from rapid temperature changes, seasonal weathering and leaching rains. Chips inhibits excessive evaporation of moisture, so in hot season plants do not require such frequent watering.
- Ensure the inflow of fresh air. The soil surface is covered with wood chips, does not settle and never hardens, remaining soft and loose. Soil «breathing», creating optimal conditions for the development of the root system of plants.
- Variety of colors. Thanks to the wide choice of colors with dumping you can create spectacular paintings, which, harmoniously combined with floral compositions, highlighted the unique style of the plot.
We should also highlight the ability to upgrade without removing the base. The chips are almost not polluted and therefore does not need removal of the old layer of mulch to backfill the new. To preserve the decorative construction, it is sufficient only to update the flooring, adding a new layer.
Decorative chips – versatile material that is used as backfill for the decoration of the herbal compositions as a professional designers and Amateur gardeners
Technology of production of wood mulch
In the manufacture of wood chips in industrial scale as a raw material, often act so-called waste wood species. This, in turn, promotes waste-free wood processing, and is essentially a ecological and also profitable process.
Primary processing is grinding to chipper machine and then cleansing from fine fractions and sieving of wood chips. The subsequent is a grinding material to the required size and re-screening. As a result of this two-step treatment is a high-quality homogeneous raw material that can only paint in the desired shade.
In industries for coloring wood chips applied by a special apparatus called as «colorizer». Painted with it decorative wood chips has uniform colors and saturated hues.
As a starting material for production of wood chips wood stands deciduous and less often coniferous
Painted and carefully dried wood chips Packed in plastic bags and sent to shopping malls
Made in the production of chips resistant to aggressive effects of the environment: it does not leave traces of paint on his hands, doesn’t shed when wet. Chips preserves the saturation of colors in the next 2-3 seasons, after which it naturally decomposes, becoming organic fertilizer.
Applications of bark and wood chips in landscaping
Wood chips, which originally was used as a material for mulching, thanks to its decorative properties today are widely used landscaping to decorate the area. After all, it is like a brush in the hands of the artist who is able to build on the land paintings: geometric compositions, wave-like elements, thematic drawings.
Method #1 — making of flower beds
Every beautiful flower needs a decent frame. Color fill, edging of plant composition will emphasize the beauty of flowering plants variegated colors.
With floral chip designers successfully combine the disparate vegetational compositions in a single picturesque scene
Colored decorative chips can act as a liaison between the plants in the garden. Having the ability to smooth out or strengthen the color effect, it will function as a smooth transition from the variegated colors of one flower to the delicate shades of the other.
Wood chips are equally beautiful as when making rosaries, mixborders, conifers, and the tiered arrangement of plant compositions. Well established it and as a coating of spacing in the regeneration of ornamental vegetable beds.
Any plants on the background of the crushed wood chips or bark looks more neat and expressive, making the appearance of the garden tidy and attractive
Mulching the same tree trunks of plants contributes to the emergence in the soil for earthworms and beneficial microorganisms, thus increasing their fertility. Wood landfilling reduces time spent on garden maintenance, and significantly improves its appearance.
Method #2 — equipping playgrounds
In addition to the decorative qualities of wood chips above all safe for health material. Wood fill, created from soft natural rocks, will not cause any harm to the health of a child. That is why it is often used when building playgrounds.
Using color chips on the ground you can put a scenic pattern or a whimsical ornament that will be a bright decoration of the Playground
Chic colored carpet will delight in their appearance and others to protect from abrasions, bruises, and injuries to the kids during the outdoor games. After all, decorative chips, no scratches, no splinters.
Method #3 — decoration of garden paths
Chips – the perfect technical material. Covered wood stacking garden paths remain attractive throughout the year. A run and walk this coating is incredibly pleasant, even bare feet. The coating layer with a height of 5-6 cm is perfectly capable to retain moisture. Through this barrier will not break any weeds.
Even in rainy or dirty weather, the tracks remain clean, providing a comfortable environment to navigate the site
In areas where the dog wood chips and does help reduce the odor and easier cleanup.
Method #4 — the dumping as an alternative to lawn (video)
Independent production of decorative mulch
Material for decorating in a wide assortment in many gardening centers. The variety of colors allows dumping to build on the land rosy picture, made in bright colors. Since the production of decorative mulch – is not so difficult process to do it and their hands. Importantly, the source material was initially high-quality, and the paint did not react actively to water, remaining bright even after getting wet during rainy season.
For the manufacture of wood chips we need:
- The wood of deciduous breeds;
- Woodworking machine;
- An aqueous solution of colorant;
- Wide capacity for dyeing;
- Surface drying of wood chips.
Well when you have the opportunity to chop wood on woodworking machines. The easiest option to do this is to contact the factory for the production of wood products or to the sawmill. This way you can solve two problems at once: to obtain high-quality homogeneous material and save yourself the hassle of cleaning the home workshop of debris, which is shredded wood chips.
If in the household there is a woodworking machine, you can save money, cut their own wood
For lack of a woodworking machine, you can do a garden shredder. However, you should be prepared for the fact that the crushed material will be somewhat inhomogeneous.
Instead of caramel for coloring convenient to use regular stain for wood surfaces. To dye the crushed chips, you need a wide capacity to dissolve in water solution of caramel, and then put chips. For the uniform coloration of the material solution must be constantly stirred.
Some craftsmen to make wood chips of the desired hues using the means at hand. To get the wood dump is natural, but richer shades of brown they use onion peels. Wanting to the material is emerald green in color, are usually used green, but purple and pink undertones is infused with the decoction of beets or a solution of potassium permanganate. However, it should be noted that these methods do not guarantee the quality of dyeing the finished material. The saturation of colors under sunlight and rainfall gradually dims to the end of the season, getting more faded look. Chips painted in such a way, it is necessary to renew annually, adding fresh layers.
Painted chips remains only to be dried carefully, spilling on a flat surface evenly. Applying colored wood mulch can be quickly and inexpensively find original solutions, bringing out the beauty of the landscape of the site.
