bark-chips fresh wood chippings or composted bark garden mulch does it steal nitrogen

QI’m putting down bark chippings in my garden – do I need to put weed matting underneath them?

Lester

AIt depends what you are using the bark for. If it’s to create a pathway in the garden, I would advise using weed blocking membrane to save yourself a headache later on.

Weed membrane is also ideal if you are planting a new border and want to use bark chips as a mulch. Put down the membrane, cut holes to put your plants and mulch over this. Make sure you use a permeable membrane that allows water through to the plants, rather than a plastic one.

However, if you’re putting bark in a rockery or a border that’s already planted, don’t bother with weed membrane. It’s really difficult to cut it around the plants.

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