If you are in the process of landscaping your yard, then you have so many wonderful options. One great option to choose for your plant beds and plants in general are wood chips. You can find wood chips at most plant nurseries, or you can even make them yourself. However, if you are going to be using wood chips in your yard, there are some certain things that you should keep in mind. This article will discuss 3 great tips for using wood chips in your landscape design. 

Keep Wood Chips Away From The Base Of Your Plants

When you are placing your wood chips in your plants beds, it is important that you keep them from covering up the roots of the plants. It is advised that you keep the wood chips about 6 inches away from the base of the plant, but this can obviously vary a bit depending on how big the actual plant is. The reason for keeping the wood chips away from the base of the plant is the fact that the wood chips will trap the moisture inside. If the moisture is not allowed to escape from your plants' roots, they could start to rot, causing your plants to die. While you may initially leave space between the roots of your plants and the wood chips, it is important to do a quick check regularly to make sure that the wind, foot traffic, etc. hasn't moved your wood chips to cover the roots. 

Place A Double Layer Of Landscape Fabric Underneath Wood Chips

Before you ever put your wood chips down, it is crucial that you prepare the ground where they will be put down. To start off, you will want to remove all the weeds in the area. You can either do this by removing them all by hand, or you can use a weed killer and wait for the weeds to die. You will also want to remove any rocks or other debris left in the soil. The next step is going to be to place landscape fabric on the ground. Cut holes around all of the areas where your plants are or will be located, and make sure every inch is covered. You can do this by overlapping the landscape fabric pieces by a couple of inches. Once the first layer is down, you will want to then repeat the process with a second layer. This helps to reinforce the fabric and stop weeds from popping up and though the fabric. 

Use A Thick Layer Of Wood Chips

Rather than just spreading a thin layer of wood chips on top of the landscape fabric, it is better to place a layer that is at least 2 inches deep of wood chips. This not only helps them from spreading out and becoming sparse, but it also helps them to soak in and hold the moisture from the rain, snow, sprinklers, bubblers, etc. 

To learn more, contact a company like The Bushel Stop.