"Robert (Plymouth)" wrote in message
...
Jeanne Stockdale wrote:
: I have one bed which is particularly difficult to maintain - it was
: originally a grass bank and it is a continuous battle to keep the
: grass at bay. So this year I have decided to put bark chippings down
: but have been advised by a friend that I should put fertiliser down
: first as the chippings will leech the nitrogen from the soil. Is this
: correct? (I am putting lots of compost under the chippings)
:
: Jeanne

Anything organic that's not rotted down will take nitrogen from the soil
but
in the case of bark chips this isn't going to be a massive amount. It
wouldn't be worth thinking about especially with the compost under it and
may even assist with your control of the grass. In time the nitrogen loss
sorts itself out anyway

indeed, and if you are not going to grow anything there, the whole point of
mulch, why bother fertilising? Fertilise what? If you do put some plants in
you can fertilise their roots with a slow release fertiliser.

rob

I have one bed which is particularly difficult to maintain - it was
originally a grass bank and it is a continuous battle to keep the grass at
bay. So this year I have decided to put bark chippings down but have been
advised by a friend that I should put fertiliser down first as the chippings
will leech the nitrogen from the soil. Is this correct? (I am putting lots
of compost under the chippings)

Jeanne

Jeanne Stockdale wrote:
: I have one bed which is particularly difficult to maintain - it was
: originally a grass bank and it is a continuous battle to keep the
: grass at bay. So this year I have decided to put bark chippings down
: but have been advised by a friend that I should put fertiliser down
: first as the chippings will leech the nitrogen from the soil. Is this
: correct? (I am putting lots of compost under the chippings)
:
: Jeanne

Anything organic that's not rotted down will take nitrogen from the soil but
in the case of bark chips this isn't going to be a massive amount. It
wouldn't be worth thinking about especially with the compost under it and
may even assist with your control of the grass. In time the nitrogen loss
sorts itself out anyway

I have a large garden surrounded by trees, the borders are covered in a mixture of wood chippings and forest mulch (sweepings from the forest floor after felling) Covered depth about 3inches and it needs recovering about every three years. Before I do it I put down a layer of garden compost then cover over. It retains moisture, keeps the weeds down and gives the birds something to dig at. It reduces maintenance considerably. I dont feed the borders with any fertilizer and have no problems.