bark chipping

I am going to use bark chipping as a mulch over this winter on the front. I have penstemon and phlox and bush lobelia and dahlias in.

Do I have to let it rot a little for the acid levels to drop, or can I put it straight on?

 

The bark from shops is usually alkaline not acidic. It has no greater virtue part rotted that I know about, and certainly loses its longevity as a mulch. There has been some talk about this before, mostly by me :rolleyes: but I don't know how to find past threads so maybe one of the others can help.

 

I can't find past threads either!

I agree with Jazid. I value shredded bark chippings because
a. As a mulch they reduce water loss through evaporation
b. A good thick mulch keeps down annual weeds
c. Most of all - they help prevent re-infection of roses with black spot and rust. Let me explain - blackspot and rust disfigure leaves and weaken rose bushes. Diseased leaves fall to the ground and should be cleared away and burned BUT invisible spores will lie on the soil beneath the roses and will re-infect. A good mulch of shredded bark after you have removed all diseased leaves and pruned out diseased stems will smother the spores.

 

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002185#000002

I think this was the previous thread.

To find old threads, you click on search at the top of the page. And then search by a key word either in the body of the message or in the heading. You can also search by identity of poster. The difficult bit is remembering what the thread was called or who posted it. If you put in a common word in the body of the post, there will be millions of matches.

 

Hornbeam, how thick would you recommend the bark mulch to be? Maybe sound like a right thicko question but I guess if you have a large area to cover you have to think about economics.

Mind you, thats not to say that I don't fit in well to the "Right Thicko" category, after all...

Have a nice night...
Royster

 

The books tell you to spread it two inches thick, but that is so expensive. I make it go much further - about an inch or less.

 

hmm, i'm just about to mulch all my beds and am dithering about the merits of using cocoa shell over bark chippings.
Anyone got any experience of cocoa shell?

 

Hi Lynne
In my work, I have used cocoa shell mulch previously. It's an expensive option though you don't need too thick a layer - about an inch is ok. It "knits" together once wet to prevent weed growth - it isn't suitable for walking on as can be slippy. It will rot down & if your soil is very poor, it will use up nitrogen as it rots down - this is true of any unrotted organic mulch (I'd reccommend conditioning the soil before you mulch). Please don't use it if you have dogs though, as it is toxic to them (& they do like the smell!) Cats don't like it much & neither do snails. I don't use it anymore for environmental reasons, as it is shipped such a long way. I prefer to use locally sourced bark chippings or ground cover planting. It can look quite attractive though, but you do have to beware what you plant where you've used it to avoid uncomfortable colour clashes!

 

"uncomfortable colour clashes" :eek:

what sort of colour clashes are you thinking of?

 

Chocolate coloured cocoa and pink flowers would be a horrible colour clash in my view. Go for bark - it's native and smells lovely when wet. Good to walk on too.

 

i have only white flowers in my garden, and if cats don't like cocoa shells that's all good with me, as i don't much care for the poo they leave in my garden. They seem all too fond of bark chippings and it's jolly unpleasant when they use it as a litter tray :(

 

The bark chipping I get is free and comes from the local park after they have felled trees, so it is not always available. But I have secured myself a couple of lorry loads. I only use this bark as it is local and from a renewable source.

This means that I can put it quite thick, so I will be using it as a mulch and to line my paths.

Many thanks for your help.

 

I reckon it doesn't supress the weeds much unless its a decent couple of inches thick, though it will still conserve moisture..

 

Are you not supposed to let them stand for a year befor using?plus it has to be at least 2 inches to suppress any weeds etc

 

MacLeaf,
I personally don't know the science behind bark mulches (I probably did some time ago in the long distant past) but fact is that a client put down his own shredded bark chippings over an 80m squared garden around 18 months ago and he claims that his garden has never been better since doing so. Its kinda like - regardless of scientific argument, the reality of the process is - job done! (concisely speaking). Nevertheless, a scientific explanation is always welcome in my mind.
Kind regards
Roy