bark chippings
In this months Grow Your Own magazine, there is a photo of a marrow sitting on what looks like bark chips - is it OK to use bark chips as a mulch, and if so, can they be dug into the soil at the end of the year or what? I'v got some bark chips around my shed as it was very muddy there, but I was worried that they might have been treated with something that would affect the plants (having said that, the dandelions don't seem to mind, they still come up through the bark chips around the shed!!!)
Sue
Hi Sue
Our council use a lot of bark chippings round a lot of there flower beds etc and it must be okay but it is chippings from the trees they cut down or from branches they have pruned.
What you can do is if you go to a garden centre who sell the bark chippins read what it says on the bag just to make sure nothing that has been added to the bark could be harmful to your plants.Good Luck.Dave
hi sue, regarding yr queery for bark, lots of people use it for mulching including me its ideal for keeping weeds down but i remember reading in a magazine once its not advisable to dig it into yr soil as it contains some sort of harmfull stuff that stays in the soil for ages and it also takes a long time to break down so i would seek further advise b4 u dig it in, hope this has been some help to you ,happy gardening bob