Garden Doctor > Mulches
Questions
I opened my last bag of bark mulch there was a very strong smell coming from the product. Is this normal?
Is it safe to use bark as a mulch on my vegetable garden?
My children have a swing and climbing frame in the garden. I'd like to cover the area with something to soften their fall in case of accidents, is bark suitable?
How much chipped bark would I need to buy for a border that is about 5m x 5m?
Answers
When I opened my last bag of bark mulch there was a very strong smell coming from the product. Is this normal?
Yes, this is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. It sounds like the bark has naturally fermented inside the bag, which can produce an unpleasant smell. Once you spread the bark out and the air is allowed to circulate through the bark the odour will disappear over the next few days.
Is it safe to use bark as a mulch on my vegetable garden?
Bark mulches are not the best choice for a vegetable garden. The very nature of a bark mulch means that it is intended to be a visual as well as a practical finish to a border. Bark mulches are deliberately slow to break down so that they remain visual and active for as long as possible. However they are continually being worked upon by naturally occurring fungi and bacteria and in the process of doing so the microbes involved in this decomposition actually need food to maintain their activity. They will snatch available nitrogen from the soil and use this to fuel their activity and although this is eventually returned to the soil when the bark is decomposed, this is not ideal when you are growing heavy feeders like vegetables. In a vegetable garden it is better to improve the soil and ensure that there is plenty of organic matter in the soil before you plant, this will hold the soil moisture and support a healthy soil environment. If you need to mulch permanent beds or other areas of the garden it would be better to use organic Farmyard Manure or Organic Garden Compost.
My children have a swing and climbing frame in the garden. I'd like to cover the area with something to soften their fall in case of accidents, is bark suitable?
Yes. Westland Chipped Bark is play grade approved by the British Standards Association BS EN 1177:1998. It is designed to act as a shock absorber for use in children's play areas.
How much chipped bark would I need to buy for a border that is about 5m x 5m?
The basic formula to give a 5 cm (2") layer is for 50 litres per m2. So for 5m x 5m = 25 m2 x 50L = 1,250 litres of bark; i.e 12.5 x 100L bags of bark.
