Winter gardening: how to use bark

With winter’s arrival imminent, it’s getting increasingly difficult to get out there and flex our green fingers. While it’s tempting to stop gardening during the colder months, it can leave us with a mountain of tasks to tackle come spring.
To avoid this and be able to enjoy your garden as soon as the warmer weather arrives, spend some time preparing your garden now. Garden bark chippings can help tidy up your outside space. Here, compost retailer Compost Direct shares their tips for using bark to spruce up your garden.

Tidying borders

Bark chippings are a gardener’s best friend when it comes to suppressing weed growth. Apply a layer to the top of your borders and the additional layer will help to keep them looking neat and tidy, while also working to insulate the roots of your plants — an essential once the temperature plummets.
Another benefit of using bark on your borders is that it helps to retain moisture within the soil. As water is fundamental to plant growth, putting bark on your borders can help ensure healthy plant plants through the winter and beyond.
Avoid using fresh bark on your soil as it can remove vital nitrogen. Because of how essential it is, adding bark could actually be more harmful to your plants, should you choose the wrong type.

Top your pots

You can use bark in your garden pots too — they’re great for keeping them looking neat and tidy. Because bark does compost, albeit at a very small rate, you might find that adding bark to your pots will increase the amount of vital nutrients available to plants, aiding plant growth.

Perfect on pathways

If you don’t have paved pathways in your garden, they can become muddy and soggy when exposed to winter rain. Adding bark chippings to your pathways can make them more stable.
To apply, make sure you line the pathways with a membrane, complete with drainage holes. Ensure the chippings are about 10cm thick — you may need to dig down deeper to make sure this depth can be reached.
As shown above, adding bark chips to your garden can bring great benefits to your garden if you use it right.

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