Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 May 07, 2009 11:43 am Dear All, We have 2x 10m long, 40cm wide Garden Beds at both sides of our house, currently covered by weed mat to stop weed from growing and we are tossing between mulch or pebbles; 1). Redgum Mulch $65 per m3 2). River Pebbles $120 per m3 The river beds is surrounded by concrete floor and treated pine fences, will putting mulch there causing the fence to rot faster? Which one look nicer? Anywhere else do you know to get mulch/ river pebbles at a better price? Please comments, any advice is greatly appreciated!!! S& T Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 2May 07, 2009 12:19 pm When we shopped around for pebbles and dirt we found most soil places are pretty much the same cost give or take a few $$! l prefer pebbles only because i've been told mulch fades within 6-12months! so the money you save on buying it initially you end up paying down the track on up keep! l still like the look of mulch, just dont like the idea of the upkeep! we went pebbles because of it! that was our personal preferance! But of course the other thing to consider is mulch is the better option for giving plants moisture! Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 3May 07, 2009 10:28 pm No kidding I very nearly got a photo today to show how weed mat is used It is suitable for under pebbles to stop the pebbles working into the soil. However it is useless under mulch because it will no longer stop weeds. Weeds don't come from under the ground. They germinate on the surface from seeds that have blown in on the wind and found a crevice to live in. Weed mat on it's own has no suitable crevices for this to occur and therefore keeps nursery floors clean (which is what it for ) It will also reduce the amount of water entering the soil as it tends to channel it away from the roots. It does let some through but over all it channels a fair bit with the slope of the garden. A thick layer of "green" mulch (freshly mulched) will return loads of nutrients to the soil and promote the soils ecology to flourish. Provide there is no weed mat under it. A thick layer of mulch will still get weeds growing but they will be very easy to pull out. I reckon some nice pebbles will look great but pebbles and weed mat in a garden bed mean you will never be able to feed the soil organic material and that is what gives you lush healthy plants that don't cost you money and time. If you mulch, remove the weed mat. That is by far the very best thing you can do! Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 4May 08, 2009 8:15 am Hey there, We had pebbles/rocks in some of our tropical gardens and removed after a year. Replaced all of the gardens with a good thick layer of Red Cypress Mulch. + It makes the garden smell so good when it's first in + Deter's termites + Plants started to really thrive. + When it breaks down it adds back to the soil and the soil underneath was always very happy - Can look a little old after a few months. Just turn it with a fork, shovel and replace a little later on. Pebbles are great in places, but you can't beat nice thick mulch. I would often pull the mulch back to give the plants a good drink as the mulch often stops rain/hose getting right into the roots. Ozz Built 36sq Plantation "Retreat" on 4460m2 at Spring Mountain, Qld In Living and landscaping.. >>> ... http://retreatspring.blogspot.com Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 5May 08, 2009 11:43 am You are just so right oz roo It is the very principle that allows rainforests to grow! The shallow decaying plant matter feeds the soil that feeds the plants. The fertile soil laying is only inches thick in some cases. Look at what that produces! The Amazon! http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/content/hort ... in4628.pdf http://www.watercorporation.com.au/W/wa ... 1#Mulching Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 6May 08, 2009 6:06 pm Thank you so much for your advice, it helps a lot because we are new to landscaping. Thanks again, have a great weekend!!! S & T Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 9May 09, 2009 9:24 pm Is that cat called Chuck? or Cat of Chuck? GO WITH MULCH Please a good thick layer of organic mulch will feed the soil, encourage earthworms and micro-organisms (goodfellas), get better growth, retain soil moisture, even out soil temperatures, prevent weed growth... just keep it away from the plant stems, and it'll be luvverly. Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 10May 09, 2009 10:41 pm yeah the cats name is Chuck ... Chuck mulch on Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 11May 09, 2009 10:46 pm forget the weed mat and use cardboard or thick layers of newspaper instead. it does the same thing to stop weeds, is FREE and will break down over time to add to the soil. put your mulch over the top (get it for FREE from a treelopper) and your plants are all set. you dont need to spend $$$$$ on this, it's all out there FREE if you decide to go with the pebbles though I agree with fu that weedmat is good underneath them otherwise you can lose them into the soil, but weedmat and pebbles wont give your plants any nutrients or improve your soil texture like mulch will and why spend the $$$$ when you can do this for FREE (sorry I had to get one more in there) Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 13May 09, 2009 11:29 pm piscean forget the weed mat and use cardboard or thick layers of newspaper instead. it does the same thing to stop weeds, is FREE and will break down over time to add to the soil. put your mulch over the top (get it for FREE from a treelopper) and your plants are all set. you dont need to spend $$$$$ on this, it's all out there FREE Sorry Picean, I would strongly advise against using those things. I had this discussion with my brother from another mother the just last week. It really isn't cool and if you have had good results with it, that means they could have been incredible with out it These things can very much slow or even in some cases prevent the movement of moisture, oxygen and retard nutrients to the roots. It sounds good in theory but in reality is not very helpful to the soils ecology. If any of it drys it will become moisture repellent. If you were shred this stuff and apply it, you would change the dynamics of it and help feed the soil as it will then be able to be readily composted by microflora and return many other nutrients from the green mulch you mention to the soil. It is good to recycle the paper and cardboard in more traditional methods or into your home compost pile to help dry it in winter. Weeds don't come from under your mulch, they germinate in nooks and crannies of the soils surface or mulches. Often in the right sorts of mulches they are composted by the organisms there. In poor mulches they germinate readily. Either way they blow in on the wind and not from up under the soil. Sorry Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 14May 10, 2009 12:11 am Fu Manchu These things can very much slow or even in some cases prevent the movement of moisture, oxygen and retard nutrients to the roots. It sounds good in theory but in reality is not very helpful to the soils ecology. If any of it drys it will become moisture repellent. If you were shred this stuff and apply it, you would change the dynamics of it and help feed the soil as it will then be able to be readily composted by microflora and return many other nutrients from the green mulch you mention to the soil. no no no fu, newspaper will HELP hold moisture in the soil, I have seen it myself on Perth's sandy soil (which Im sure you are familiar with), it is much better than mulch alone and if you have rain or irrigation it breaks down quite quickly. Cardboard is the same, it rots down beautifully with moisture and the earthworms love it! you should see the worms when you put this down. It will only take a long time to break down without moisture, so if you use it in an area where there is no irrigation and at the start of summer (or the dry season in your area), you will get rid of the weeds and even kikuyu. If you put it where there is irrigation or at the start of the wet season, you will have no problems with it breaking down. I have been doing this for about 10 years and trust me it works much better than without it. Fu Manchu It is good to recycle the paper and cardboard in more traditional methods or into your home compost pile to help dry it in winter. not these days, companies are stockpiling things like newspaper because they can not sell recycled paper as cheap as new paper! there is an oversupply of newspaper for recycling and some companies have reported that if things dont improve they will start sending it to landfill! I can see why you would think it doesnt work, but the key is moisture, and if you are growing plants, then presumably, there will be moisture (plus the fact that you dont put the paper or carboard over the top of plants so it only covers the soil between the plants anyway). The BEST areas in my garden are where I used the newspaper under the mulch, rather than just the mulch on top. it smothers the weeds and breaks down so it has a big advantage over weed mat. Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 15May 10, 2009 12:19 am Fu Manchu Weeds don't come from under your mulch, they germinate in nooks and crannies of the soils surface or mulches. Often in the right sorts of mulches they are composted by the organisms there. In poor mulches they germinate readily. Either way they blow in on the wind and not from up under the soil. Sorry I forgot to comment on this bit, but weeds dont necessarily come from on top of mulch, the come from under the mulch and on top. If you have a weedy area there will definitely be weed seeds in the soil and weeds seeds can take years to germinate so you are smothering these to stop them germinating. of course if you get seeds blowing in on top of the mulch, they will also germinate but in a really weedy area that has gone to seed in previous years, and some times over and over gone to seed in consecutive years, there will be a whole lot of seeds in the soil waiting to pop up Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 16May 10, 2009 1:47 am mmmmmm???? sorry but I really beg to differ. Have a read of a book by a former CSIRO Ag Scientist named Kevin Handrek. You can get it from CSIRO publishing. It's called "gardening down under". It is now used as a text book for Hort students at TAFE. It is also an excellent read anyway Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 17May 10, 2009 8:01 am quite a bit of that book can be found here. I've just been browsing it and it looks like a brilliant book to get. Lots of really good detailed information about determining your soil type and improving it.Much more specifically than the standard stuff you read. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=NFdY04HS9oEC&dq=gardening+down+under&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=VvoFSpu2J5WQ6AOcy42QAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPA27,M1 Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 18May 10, 2009 10:00 am the first thing that comes up is the gypsum v's humic and fulvic acids debate that is an awesome find there I might post a link in the veggie garden one because that little snippet of it covers off quite well on topics relative to a good veggie garden It really is a no nonsense book that is straight forward to read. You'll wonder why other books have never mentioned what Kevin Handrek has and he is one of Australia's best. (He's retired now) Re:Is there such thing as pebble sealant? 19May 11, 2009 8:35 pm Dear All, We did one side with cream pebbles and the other side we try redgum mulch...sorry re this stupid questions, due to water restriction, the pebbles nowadays won't be washed thus does not shine, we washed them with recycle water before we put them in the garden bed. But when the water dries off, the pebbles look dull, is there such things as pebble sealant or some sort that we can spray on so the pebbles will be shinny again? Sorry re the dumb questions....embarassed Thanks again, have a great week!!! S & T Re: Mulch Or Pebbles For 40cm Garden Bed? Please Advise 20May 11, 2009 8:41 pm Oh I hate that, I have a large section of pebbles in my front yard and they look Faaaabulous when wet like you say but duller when dry... Guess it means the garden looks prettier in the rain? I am looking for someone who might have tackled a similar issue as me. 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