Benefits of a Retaining Wall

A retaining wall, like a house, is a utilitarian structure at its base. Retaining walls are used to prevent erosion, or to provide flat land for cultivation or other uses. But a retaining wall can be much, much more. Retaining walls can add curb appeal and raise the value of your home. A properly installed retaining wall makes for solid edges — there’s no awkward slopes that are hard to maintain and collect weeds and litter. Retaining walls give a space definition and weight. Steep yards can be made beautiful with terraced beds. Walkout garages or basements, sloping driveways and other altitude changes are also candidates for retaining walls. If the slope is very high or steep, the wall will have to be professionally engineered, but smaller slopes, such as mounded earth around a foundation, can be DIY jobs. Retaining walls have endless variations. They can be made out of wood, stone, brick or concrete; curved, round or straight. They can be mixed and matched with other design elements like patios, raised beds, decks or water features to make a truly unique and compelling addition to any landscape. The most important aspects of retaining wall design is proper drainage and a

Best Time To Topsoil

For many, a lush green lawn of your own represents the American dream come true. Like many dreams, however, reality doesn’t always stack up. Although re-sodding is certainly one answer to a lackluster lawn, it can be overkill if your lawn is large, or merely thin and yellow-looking. In that case, the answer may be to reseed. Reseeding The success of seeding depends a great deal on the hospitableness of the conditions that you provide for the seed. Although most tutorials focus on the need to keep the seeds evenly moist (but not too wet!), we’re going to take a different tack — add some topsoil before you begin. Topsoil is a great investment because it gives the seedling grass extremely healthy soil to sink its roots into. Oftentimes the reason your lawn is doing poorly in the first place is because the soil is not up to par. Adding an inch, or even two, of dark rich topsoil before seeding will allow the new grass to dig in without having to immediately compete with the existing grass. In other words, you are setting your reseeding up for success. When To Lay Topsoil Topsoil, with its rich nutrients and attendant microbial

JK Enterprises In Augusta County – National Forest

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  April 3rd, 2013 zero comments Blog
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Culpeper Young Life Mulch Fundraiser

Mulching Trees

Mulch is any material placed over the soil to retard weed growth, maintain moisture, and improve soil conditions. Mulches also add a polished and well-maintained look to plantings. Generally speaking there are two main types of mulch: organic, and inorganic. Inorganic mulches consist of gravel or small stones, and recently, recycled rubber. Because these mulches do nothing to improve the soil structure, they are generally only used in specific applications, such as paths, hardscaping, or other places where plants will not be desirable. Organic mulches, therefore, are preferred. For mulching under trees in particular, you will want a lot of mulch, but not, perhaps, for the reasons you think. Mulch will improve the quality of soil, and the number of nutrients taken up by the roots. For this reason, you will want a layer of mulch over as much area as is practical. Mulching as far as the dripline (the outer edges of where the rain sheds off the leaves) is a good rule of thumb, but tree roots generally reach much farther, and are only a few inches under the surface so the more you mulch (and reduce competition from grass) the more your tree will like it. When it

Topsoil Northern VA

Some people tend to think of topsoil as nothing more than dirt. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Topsoil is a vital type of dirt, and almost nothing will grow without it. “Dirt,” plain old dirty dirt that you might dig up with a bobcat in a basement excavation, is nothing but rocks and minerals in fine particles. Topsoil, on the other hand, is the very top layer of soil on the surface, and in addition to minerals, is full of organic matter and microorganisms. Without those last two items, only straggly weeds will grow. Topsoil is generally only 1-2 inches deep, rarely ever more than 8 inches. Topsoil takes a long time to “build.” It’s not just the dirt and organic matter; you also need the right microorganisms to colonize it. That’s why many people choose to buy topsoil. Topsoil, like what we offer at JK Enterprises, should be dark and rich-looking. It should be screened to remove any stones or sticks, and you can even get topsoil that’s been mixed 50/50 with compost. Healthy, rich topsoil is something that plants just love to grow in, and often your yard or garden soil is just not up

Patriot High School Mulch Fundraiser

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  April 16th, 2013 zero comments Blog
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Best Mulch for Landscaping

Gardeners and landscapers of all sorts love shredded or chipped bark mulch to create that ‘finished’ look in beds and yards. And it’s also good for keeping the weeds down. But there are different types of mulches for different applications. Mulching is a multi-purpose technique, and it helps to be aware of some of the other reasons you might want to mulch. In the first place, mulch is an excellent way to add nutrients to the soil without resorting to fertilizers. Plants — any plants — pull nutrients out of the soil in order to grow. They sometimes put nutrients back in as well, but not the same ones, and not as much. In the same way that if you grow carrots in the same soil over and over the soil will “wear out,” mulch refreshes the organic matter in the soil so that your trees, hedges and perennials will stay healthy. The second best reason to mulch is that bare soil erodes too easily. Rain washes it away, wind blows it away, and perhaps worst of all, without any mulch to hold the water there, precipitation merely drains off instead of soaking in, meaning that watering becomes a never-ending chore.

How To Put Down Mulch

Mulch is one of the quickest and easiest ways to transform your yard or flowerbeds. Although putting down mulch isn’t rocket science, there are probably a few tips and tricks you weren’t aware of. Why use Mulch? Mulch is nature’s miracle when it comes to reducing water usage and discouraging weeds. It makes flower beds look tidy and professional and makes maintenance a snap. It can also be used in decorative installations, for instance around a patio or fountain. If these are places you want to discourage living plants from, you can use decorative gravel or stone mulch as well (if you use it around plants, over a long period of time it will become very difficult to maintain, as the gravel will inevitably mix with the soil whenever it’s disturbed.) However, using gravel mulches in walkways, for instance, is cheaper and easier to maintain than some other materials, and still reduces water erosion while looking good. Putting Down Bark Mulch Bark mulch is by far the most common mulch to use, as it breaks down more slowly than leaves, the other common mulch material. Mulch is usually delivered by dump truck in bulk, but you can get it in bags