Whether in the rock garden, for the garden path or around the terrace: ornamental gravel has numerous applications in the home garden and is touted as an easy-care alternative to other materials. To ensure that the pebbles stay bright white for a long time, you should clean the decorative gravel at the start of the gardening season - and care for it afterwards.
Cleaning dirty ornamental gravel: What are the best remedies for green growth and moss?
Decorative gravel has established itself as an easy-care and inexpensive option for garden paths, patios or driveways. The natural material also has numerous applications in the rock garden. To ensure that it retains its typical white color, you should clean it at the start of the gardening season. In autumn and winter the material is exposed to weather conditions. Frequent rains and cloudy days encourage the spread of green growth and moss. It is often due to poor drainage under the gravel. If the water cannot drain away and the surface remains moist, then moss and green growth are the result. Often the gravel is in the shade.
You can get the education fromPrevent green growthby raking the gravel path regularly in the spring. If you do this once a week, the algae don't stand a chance. Raking allows the gravel to dry faster and better and significantly less green deposits form.
Clean gravel in the rock garden
You can also clean heavily soiled gravel in the rock garden as follows:
- Drill through the bottom of an old wheelbarrow so that the water can drain away.
- Gradually fill the gravel from the gravel garden into the wheelbarrow.
- Clean the gravel with a high-pressure cleaner or pour hot water over it and scrub well. Never use the high-pressure cleaner directly on the gravel in the rock garden, as it can also rinse off the surface and the bed can partially or completely sink.
- You can also use various organic cleaning products from the garden center or nursery.
- It is not advisable to use vinegar, denture cleaner and other aggressive household remedies - although this kills the algae, it is washed into the ground with the next rain and can damage plants. You need too much vinegar or denture cleaner for a gravel surface anyway.
- Lay the ground with geotextiles such as jute or with traditional permeable fleece. Scatter the gravel on top and let it dry for about 90 minutes. Then you can return it.
- For larger areas, you can use a bamboo broom and scrub the gravel with it. Then simply rinse with the garden hose on a sunny day and rake several times over the course of two or three hours so that the gravel surface can dry more quickly.
Remove weeds and moss from gravel paths
If you see moss on the gravel path, you need to act quickly. If it's in a few places, you can kill it with a steam cleaner. For large areas, special organic moss removers for the garden, which are available for purchase, help. In the worst case scenario, it can help if you remove the top layer of gravel and shake new gravel over it.
Clean dirty decorative gravel and make it white again
In spring the gravel is often dirty - the strong winds in winter have mixed dust and sand into the gravel. Luckily, the gravel can be cleaned quickly in the drilled wheelbarrow. You can also take a hard brush and moisten the gravel with the garden hose, then brush it off and then rinse away the dirt. Scatter the gravel on fleece or jute fabric in a sunny spot in the garden and let it dry there.
What else you can do to keep the gravel surface clean
There are a few things you can do to keep the gravel surface clean and save yourself the effort.
1. Rake the gravel path, gravel patio and rock garden regularly.
2. Remove dirt with a bamboo broom - it is best to “sweep” heavily trafficked areas such as gravel paths and seats in the garden twice a month.
3. Place weed fleece or gravel honeycomb under the gravel. Quickly remove weeds from gravel.
4. Wash the top layer of gravel every two months in the wheelbarrow with the garden hose. Then scatter it in the sun and let it dry completely.
5. After each cleaning, spray the clean gravel with organic weed killer.
6.Gravel areas only in sunny placescreate in the garden. Renew this every two years by adding a new, thin layer of gravel.
7. The quickest and easiest way to remove fallen leaves, flowers and grass clippings is with a leaf blower.
8. Rinsing gravel piles with a garden hose won't help. This way you can only clean the top layer and the gravel below will not dry.
