Guides · 27 March 2025 · Planted
Coir logs and jute mesh do different jobs on a site. A quick field guide to which one belongs where - creek lines, batters, drains and rain gardens.
Natural-fibre erosion products get lumped together, but a coir log and a roll of jute mesh solve different problems. Knowing which to reach for - and where - saves money and stops the kind of install that fails the first big flow.
Coir logs: slow the water, hold the line
A coir log is a physical barrier. Its job is to slow water flow and trap sediment along a line - creek banks, swales, drainage points, the toe of a slope - so vegetation can establish behind it. They work because they’re trenched in and pegged, not just laid on the surface. Sit one on top of the ground and the first decent flow goes under or around it.
Use coir logs where water is concentrated and moving: a creek line, a drain, a flow path across a batter.
Jute mesh: protect a surface that has to drain
Jute mesh is an open-weave fabric that protects a soil surface during planting and establishment while still letting water through. It’s the right call over sand in rain gardens and infiltration zones, and anywhere you’re planting through and the surface needs to breathe and drain.
Use mesh where you’re stabilising a surface, not damming a flow - especially in WSUD assets that are designed to infiltrate.
A quick decision guide
- Concentrated flow along a line (creek, swale, drain) → coir logs, trenched and pegged.
- Surface to protect that must drain (rain garden, infiltration zone) → jute mesh.
- Bare slope or batter to armour → that’s matting territory, not mesh.
The product is only as good as the install
Whichever you choose: trench it in, peg or pin to suit the soil, and respect the water’s direction. The right product laid wrong fails as fast as the wrong product.
We supply and install coir, jute and matting systems across NSW - erosion control on civil, council and riparian sites. Not sure what your site needs? Tell us about it.
