Just wondering if you need to put weed mat down or can you just put the bark on the soil. I thought of putting polythene down. It is only going to have 4 African daisy plants in garden. Thank you.
loukirby,
Feb 5, 1:39pm
You can put the bark straight on the soil. I always water the soil first and then water after putting the bark on so the bark doesn't draw the moisture out of the soil.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 5, 1:50pm
It also takes nitrogen out of the earth as the soil micros work to break down and incorporate the bark mulch, so as you plant a good handful of slow release will help the plants not suffer from mineral deficiencies. I would avoid matting because I think it harms the ground long term, but if you want to avoid opportunistic weed growth it probably is the best solution.
lythande1,
Feb 5, 1:53pm
It's a terrible idea. Had it at 3 places I bought. already in existence. Weedmat or none, the leaves drop down, you get composting, weeds start, even through the weedmat, as it does break down. and it just becomes an absolute pig to weed, with that horrible lumps of bark jamming your fork etc. Or stones, even worse.
Just mulch your garden beds, that keeps moisture in, suppresses weeds a lot, and eventually improves the soil as well.
dbab,
Feb 5, 2:02pm
You also need to be prepared to have birds scatter it all over the place as they dig for bugs.
joyfuljoybell,
Feb 5, 2:08pm
Thank you for your comments.
crazynana,
Feb 5, 3:52pm
And spiders love to live in there too.
starseeker,
Feb 5, 4:15pm
I agree, had the same experience. I think people lay the stuff to cover a multitude of sins, & then put their place on the market. As you say stones are even worse!
starseeker,
Feb 5, 4:17pm
Yep, birds love digging in the bark, & also the native cockroaches thrive in it, before trekking in to your house!
gpg58,
Feb 5, 4:19pm
Its true blackbirds throw it about, and weed mat is useless, but i still like it. But it must be at least 6 inches(150mm) deep, preferably more, as it settles very quickly, and also thins as it decomposes. I go for 1ft (300mm) deep usually, so it is deep enough still in a couple of years time, and remains easy to weed, as roots are still in the bark, not in soil below. Weed mat just means weeds get imbedded in its mesh, and impossible to pull out without lifting all the surrounding mat, totally worthless stupid stuff. Other alternative to bark, is pebble's/gravel, but again, a thin coat is totally useless, the deeper the better, if you want easy weeding. Some like old news paper under, but mums old place had full saturday sections laid across it, which poisoned soil and stank something wicked, perhaps a lot thinner layer may be ok. Old carpet is sometimes ok too. If doing it on a tight budget, and thinking of just a thin decorative coat, don't waste your money, unless just tidying to sell.
nicc4,
Feb 5, 4:53pm
I put some larger bark peel pieces from wood splitting onto the garden thinking that being heavier the birds wont disturb them. That was partially true, but the bigger problem was they became a haven for slugs and snails.
oh_hunnihunni,
Feb 5, 5:12pm
I make my new gardens on old lawn by layering newspaper pages - separated - and then adding compost and soil and old potting mix. I then plant into that after adding sheep pellets and slow release general ferts. So far, no grass weed penetration, and the paper has disappeared without issue. Putting down whole sets of pages though might make an impenetrable barrier for water, worms, fungi and all the other hardworking living things that make our soil a good healthy growing medium. Like a plastic weed mat does.
rainrain1,
Feb 5, 5:50pm
I always lay down newspaper first.
joyfuljoybell,
Feb 5, 7:47pm
Thank you all. Food for thought
hezwez,
Mar 24, 11:05pm
I've had some trees pruned and have a heap of wood chip, which I want to use as a mulch once I've weeded. Does lime or similar help when I'm putting this down, to avoid the soil becoming too acidic? The gardens are basically flower, few vegetables.
trad,
Mar 25, 6:19am
How many pages thick please?
wine-o-clock,
Mar 25, 6:51am
around 6 minimum
wine-o-clock,
Mar 25, 8:02am
we put weedmat down first, then the 6 or so pages thick of newspaper
oh_hunnihunni,
Mar 25, 8:40am
I would avoid using wads of paper without separating the sheets. Layer them up, but do it separately, so that lots of overlaps are formed and air gets in between the paper sheets. Little crinkles and folds will make it easier for roots, and fungi, and other living things to penetrate and keep the decomp and renewal going towards healthy soil, while blocking off any light from initiating weed seed germination from below the paper layer.
rita197,
Apr 5, 9:35am
If using weed mat avoid plastic. There is a mulch weed mat that is cotton and is breathable and so allows rain through. The other alternative is put down 3 layers of newspaper and then mulch on top. This will reduce weeds by about 85%. Do this each year.
jan2242,
Apr 6, 8:47am
I did layers of cardboard as weedmat poisons the soil, then ddi a heap if bark. Luckily the bark was free, as between the birds scattering it, seed dropping and weeds growing etc, it was a waste of time. Maybe did 2 years if that.
gilligee,
Apr 6, 9:36am
Well two years weed free is a bonus.
joanie32,
Apr 9, 5:16pm
I’m in the process of removing a huge amount of old bark gardens, with weed mating underneath.
Nothing was growing well, and when I started removal, the ground underneath smelt like sewage and there was a weird slime over the surface.
PH test showed the soil was very alkaline, yet rest of my Gardens are quite acidic.
I’m not at all a fan of bark or pebble gardens.
freebutterflies,
Aug 2, 1:46pm
We just had our house sprayed for cockroaches, second time in under 2 years. Never had them before in the house. The pest contol guys said they are getting more work than ever before because people are using bark on their gardens. We are in the process of removing it. It was meant to control weeds but even with 6 layers of newspaper they still came through. Its just easier to spray or weed a couple times a year. No bark for us, ever again.
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