Soluform MSE Bagwork

SoluForm MSE Bagwork is supplied pre-filled with a high quality sand rich topsoil, supplied in a form that is ready to use and assemble on site once it arrives. The SoluForm MSE bags are unseeded so can be stored for long periods of time until needed, without the risk of germination being initiated. Once placed, the MSE Bagwork will need to be vegetated. Vegetating the MSE Bagwork serves several roles. Primarily, the goal is to improve the available habitat of the riverbank, wall or slope by adding vegetation and flora, such as grasses and wildflowers, providing habitat and also improving the appearance of the bagwork structure. Another role of the vegetation is that the roots of the plants also penetrate through the soil and bagwork to help bind all the soil filled bagwork together, improving the structural integrity of the wall or slope. And a final result of the vegetation is that the plant cover also helps to protect the geotextile bags from the degrading effects of sunlight on the geotextile polymers. There are several options available to vegetate the MSE Bagwork and this guide is intended as a means of both outlining the options available and highlighting the “pros” and “cons” of each option.

Hydroseeding

Hydroseeding is the preferred method by which the soil filled bagwork is established with vegetation and can add a covering of grasses and/or wildflowers to the bagwork. Hydroseeding is a spray applied pulp containing seed, fertilisers and other additives which sticks to the fabric bagwork, and provides a medium into which the seeds initially grow.

SoluForm MSE Bagwork Advantages

• Very quick and easy to establish
• Very cost effective for larger projects
• Good success rates
• Much wider seasonal window for application
• Large areas can be completed in a day

SoluForm MSE Bagwork Cover options

Pre-grown Wildflower Mats / Turf

Pre-grown mats or rolls of turf can be a very quick way of establishing a vegetated covering to MSE Bagwork. Pre-grown wild flower mats can be a great way of almost instantly covering bags with an attractive and biologically diverse habitat, that will give any wall, riverbank or slope a natural and aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Advantages

• Almost instant results
• Highly attractive appearance
• More suitable for smaller projects

Direct Planting

Typically plant plugs are inserted into the gaps between the bags, where they establish. To maintain the long term integrity of the geotextile bags, we recommend that the bags are not cut and that the plugs/ plants are not inserted directly into the bags themselves. Adding plugs /live plants to areas that have been hydroseeded can also be considered, to add specific additional species or concentrate areas of growth on any scheme or project. The type of vegetation or species used often depends upon local factors or regulatory agreement, for example coastal species, chalk-land species or woodland tolerant species. A regulatory agency may typically express a requirement for locally complementary species.

Advantages

• Quick initial results
• Ability to select specific species and tailor a particular planting regime
• Better suited to smaller projects

What makes SoluForm MSE Bagwork different from other forms of MSE Bagwork?

There are many competing versions and suppliers of soil filled MSE bagwork in the UK. What makes SoluForm MSE Bagwork different is:

• Smaller, Easier to Handle BagworkThis is obviously linked to manual handling, making the bags easier and safer to handle on site. Although this then requires more bags and shear keys for a given volume of bagwork, we have reduced our prices to make SoluForm soil filled bagwork comparable on a cubic metre basis, with larger 40kg alternatives.
• Better SoilOur prefilled bags are prefilled with the highest quality BS 3882:2015 compliant sand rich topsoil. This provides a more nutrient rich soil, whilst still ensuring the bagwork is free draining.
• More Practical Bag DimensionsImportantly, the length of the bag is close to being twice the width. This allows for bagwork to be rotated and better fit together to form a consistent width to a wall.
• Colour and Appearancerather than black or beige coloured bags, our SoluForm Bagwork is dark green. Ultimately, with any form of MSE bagwork, the aim is to “green-up” and vegetate the bagwork, so having a green appearance from the offset seems the most logical approach.