Putting chips down.

[McBain]

Hi folks,

My wife is wanting the garden all chipped. There is some grass and mud in the garden, so what's the best thing to do with this?

Many thanks Paul.

 

[rjm2k]

Err, most Gardens have Mud don't they?

I'm told you are supposed to dig the grass over, then cover with weed sheet then bark.

We did our previous garden like this, probably wont do much of the new one though, cats love the stuff if you know what I mean!

 

[joe-90]

then cover with weed sheet then bark.

Very loudly.

 

[McBain]

Yes I know gardens have mud!!!! Putting chips (stones) down are you not ment to digg up all the grass and mud?? Before you lay the ground sheet then the stones on top of that?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

If you dug up all the grass and mud surely you'd have nothing left?

 

[McBain]

No Am asking if you have to dig all the grass and mud up? As am not sure and i have been hearing mixed story. Some people where saying just put ground sheets down and then stones down. Then other people are saying to dig it all up till the hard ground not sure the name for it? So which way is the prob way?

Thanks Paul.

 

[r896neo]

You want to at the very least strip the turf. it would be best to dig about 5 inches off the area then put down 3 inches of compacted hardcore and 2 inches of your chosen gravel.

Personally if you use at least 3 inches of hardcore i don;t use a membrane as weeds do not grow from the bottom up, they grow from the leafs and so on that collect amongst the stone. By putting as membrane in this rotting organic matter just sits on it. With no membrane and occasional raking over it seems to be less problematic. I assume some of it degrades and leaches down but not really sure of the theory but in my experience it is better.

 

[foxhole]

Depends why you want it, to park car on? even with weed supression they still grow in the gravel as it collects wind blown soil etc.

 

[artificialgrass]

As you finish landscaping a garden area, a layer of mulch is often one of the last steps to finishing the task. Wood chips, a suitable and effective mulch, gradually decompose over time, enriching the soil with nitrogen. If you seek to block weeds beneath the wood chips, lay down a sheet of weed blocking fabric or black plastic before applying the wood chips.

 

[Mursal]

We found best results from bark as the stone chips get a bit dirty looking after a while. So stick with dark stone chips or mulch. Put down a good 100 to 150mm so that after time, you don't see the plastic sheet underneath. So if you have to take a bit off the top to allow for this depth of material, then yes, take it off.
If the garden has a slope, then it will need maintenance to keep the stone/mulch covering in place.

High foot traffic areas will need to be solid under the covering. Quite areas just plastic and cover.