Using Bark Chips as Mulch
We use bark chips as mulch to build good quality, loamy soil. Our soil is very poor, sandy and with few living organisms. Where I have been adding bark chip for the past 12 years we have loamy soil filled with worms. We have two and half acres of garden to care for so this is a big, all summer long, project for me. We have an Indiana Limestone house and a metal pole barn so we don't have to worry about termites. I have been working on weeding, fixing stones edges and replacing bark chips on all of my beds and just posted a piece about it on my blog The Small House Under a Big Sky. More details can be seen here. http://smallhouseunderabigsky.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/its-a-bark-chip-kind-of-summer/
The side of the pole barn garden. This area is planted with low-upkeep clumping ornamental grasses.
Our pole barn. This location received a.m. sun and p.m. shade and lots of water off the metal roof.
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I heard bark nuggets/chips (mulch) rob your your garden of nitrogen??? so I started using cocco mulch??? its very beneficial to the garden as it breaks down ,its weed free and it gives off a cocco aroma when wet,it is a couple more dollars but id rather pay to put something good into my garden than pay for something that's taking away from the garden.........
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I do not find this to be an issue for us. We have been using bark chips now for 15 years. We have VERY lean, sandy oak savannah soil and without the bark chips I honestly could not grow anything here. (I believe cocoa mulch is toxic for dogs. Visit my blog and look at the photos of my garden and judge for yourself.
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