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Ginkgo Tree Bed Tidying

The neglected bed under this Ginkgo tree has been dug over and all weed roots and bulbs removed to a depth of 1 spit. A couple of perenial weeds were dug out deeper. The bed edges were reinstated without enlarging the bed and the soil was profiled to try to minimise the steepness of the bed as it approaches the lawn. The bed was then left for a few weeks to ensure nothing unwanted was going to grow back. Two layers of weed mesh were applied and finally play grade bark chippings spread over the top to a depth of 3in (75mm) or so.

Useful To Know

• Weed mesh is very effective and also segregates the bark chipping from the soil which makes it easy to plant shrubs later on. However weed mesh degrades in sunlight so it must be stored somewhere dark and fully covered when it is laid.
• There are several different grades of bark chippings available, some are much prettier and long lasting than others.
• You will probably be surprised by the amount of chippings you will end up needing, even with the minimum depth of 2in (5cm). One way of visualising the quantities is: 1L is 10x10x10cm, so 1L will cover just 20 x 10cm to a depth of 5cm. Scaling this up implies 50L will cover 1m square.
• Buying in bulk can be highly cost effective. Some suppliers sell it in 1000L bags, others can deliver it loose.