On Apr 28, 6:14*pm, Janet Baraclough
wrote:
The message
from Malcolm contains these words:

I've lopped some branches off a Sitka spruce and have put everything
small enough through a shredder. I went on the Internet looking for
advice on whether these chippings could be used either as a mulch or
added to my compost heap. The advice was both conflicting and confusing,
so I thought I would ask here for clear, unambiguous answers :-)
The online advice so far can be summarised as:
OK as mulch but let it lie for 6 weeks to allow resins to disperse.
Don't use it as mulch as toxins will kill plants.
OK as compost if mixed with other material but may slow process down.
Don't use it as compost as it will make compost acid.
I also came across:
Don't mulch right up to the house walls as this will attract termites!
What experience here can I draw on, please?

* * There are no termites on the isles ... *I hope. (Incidentally, NZ

Hi Janet:
you do not even get them much in Europe outside of Mediterranean
regions. There is one introduced species in the north of Germany and
one on the Atlantic coast of France. This does not stop some pest
companies re-using US pest literature, either on purpose to generate
false concern about termites, or through sloppiness. Rentokil UK have
yards and yards about termites and here is a site that claims specific
treatment options for every large town in Northern Ireland.

http://tinyurl.com/d6waux
or long version:

http://articles.directorym.co.uk/Mak...n_Ireland.html

Des


* * Janet.