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| Pine Bark Mulch |
In the good ole days...
There was an abundant supply of pine bark for landscape garden use. It was a bi-product of the lumber/paper industry and there were few uses other than horticultural applications. Today, the supply of pine bark has dwindled and the way trees are harvested makes it difficult to separate bark from wood. This is important because bark has a narrower carbon:nitrogen ratio than wood - which means bark breaks down much faster. Wood has a very wide C:N ratio and may last in the soil for years, gobbling up available nitrogen as it tries to decompose and ultimately contributing little/nothing to the soil's physical attributes.
There was an abundant supply of pine bark for landscape garden use. It was a bi-product of the lumber/paper industry and there were few uses other than horticultural applications. Today, the supply of pine bark has dwindled and the way trees are harvested makes it difficult to separate bark from wood. This is important because bark has a narrower carbon:nitrogen ratio than wood - which means bark breaks down much faster. Wood has a very wide C:N ratio and may last in the soil for years, gobbling up available nitrogen as it tries to decompose and ultimately contributing little/nothing to the soil's physical attributes.
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| All Wood - No Bark |
The reason I bring this up is because, once again, some of the local DYI's are offering ALL NATURAL PINE MULCH at a very reasonable price/bag. First of all - don't think this is pine BARK, it's not!!! It's shredded wood, probably sawmill or construction wastes. I guess the term "All Natural" means there aren't any chemicals added - like pressure treated lumber. But the term "natural" is meaningless and nothing more than green washing BS.
So - buyer beware. Don't think you're getting all the benefits of pine BARK mulch at a bargain price when you purchase this material. Finding "real" pine bark mulch can be a challenge but well worth the effort!
