Are Wood Chips Good Ground Cover

Using wood chips mulch or bark dust as playground bedding is a messy and splinter filled option.

Are wood chips good ground cover.

He uses the chips as mulch under shrubs and trees in the back yard as ground cover in the dog kennel and as filler for the ruts under his suv. Both mulch and ground cover plants have their good and not so good points. Because wood chips are natural they contribute a lot of nutrients to surrounding soil. It is essential that wood chips be used properly.

Every six months kim contacts a local tree company and asks them to drop off a load of chips when they are in the neighborhood. Even after the ground freezes the wood chips will help protect the roots of your winter harvest vegetables and prolong your growing season. Wood chips also help in winter gardening. Compare the benefits of both and see which one is best for you.

Most problems from using wood chips result from mulching too deeply. If you live in a region with the regular threat of cold extremes save up your wood chips and use them as insulation on the sides and bottom of your cold frame. As i mentioned of all the types of mulch we have used we have found wood chips to be the most unforgiving. Rock based ground covers are low maintenance because they aren t alive.

Towns and cities often have a mulch program where you can pick up your. Wood chips also regulate soil temperatures bring a natural feel to an area and can serve as path material to prevent muddy or dusty conditions. They do break down rather quickly and will settle after a few weeks. These organic chips also attract earthworms and tend to create healthy fungi and bacterial growth.

Wood chips decompose over time sending nutrients to the ground while strengthening soil structure and improving aeration. In order to get the optimum benefits from wood chips they can be applied at a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Using locally produced wood chips is a sustainable activity keeping a useful product out of the landfill which is both environmentally and economically a good thing. Wood chips are readily available and are quite useful in the landscape.

For example many types of wood chips and bark chips need to be replaced every few months because the wood s color fades. They are a mess. I have found that 2 3 is just right for wood chip mulch. Properly using wood chips as a mulch or to cover.

Okay now that we have that out of our system here are 5 reasons why you shouldn t use playground wood chips or mulch.