Mulch has become an essential part of gardening over the years due to its numerous benefits. When you apply mulch correctly, it benefits the plants and also the soil.
It protects the soil and plants during the winter and keeps the ground moist during the summer. In addition, it also controls weeds and mitigates their destructive effects.
What Exactly is Pine Bark Mulch
When you want to use pine bulk mulch, you harvest it from the bark of the pine plant—the bark shreds into small pieces that you use as mulch. The naturally occurring material has a pink or reddish-brown color and is typically all-natural.
Because the mulch is plentiful, a farmer can reap its benefits for an extended period. Furthermore, it improves the aesthetics of the landscape.
It is important to note that you can blend mulch from other plants, such as spruce and fir, with the mulch and still reap the intended purpose.
Types of Pine Bark Mulch
The mulch comes in different textures and forms, ranging from the finely shredded mulch to the large bark chunks known as the pine nuggets.
Finely Shredded Pine
This is the best type of pine bulk mulch for use in a garden with limited space. Small farms with tightly packed newly sprouting flowers or vegetable gardens are the best place for this kind of mulch.
Why is this so?
Because squeezing large chunks of mulch between tender plants can damage their delicate external cells, harming the garden while it is still in its early immature stage.
However, with fine pine bark mulch, it will simply be a matter of spreading it around individual plants, effectively covering them without harming them.
Premium Bark
When you have plants that thrive in acidic soil, premium bark mulch should be your go-to mulch. You will make it in two stages using the southern pine trees.
Pine Nuggets
Nuggets also vary in size; some are small, while others are large. Most people opt for the nuggets due to the decomposition factor since they take more time to decompose into smaller sizes.
When you expose these dense nuggets to the ideal conditions, the mulch can last for quite a long time, even for multiple growing seasons.
Pine nuggets are ideal for larger plants such as trees and shrubs. With a 2-3 inch layer of mulch, the plants will do well and benefit significantly from it.
Furthermore, these nuggets come in different colors. This means that it will contribute to the overall appearance of your garden by complementing the colors of flowers, leaves, and fruits.
Border bark
This is a hammer processed type of pine bark that has a golden dark shading. The good thing about it is that it can withstand solid breezes. It is suitable for use in areas where soil disintegration is rampant.
What are the Benefits of Using Pine Bark Mulch?
Last for long
The mulch can last for up to two years in a garden. Unlike other organic mulches that tend to fade after some time, it does not decompose quickly.
It is Exceptionally Lightweight
Compared to other mulches, the pine bark mulch is a lighter option. This makes it easy for you to spread it around your garden.
However, it would be best if you did not use the pine bark mulch in sloppy areas. This is because rain can wash it downhill, or the wind blows it away.
Holds Moisture in the Soil
This is a shared benefit throughout the mulch varieties, which is also valid for the pine bark mulch. They reduce the rate at which the soil’s surface loses water by forming a “barrier” that acts as a defensive obstruction to minimize water evaporation from the ground.
The dampness maintenance is key to a successful gardening spree; it ensures a constantly accessible stockpile of water for your plants. You will not have to water the garden as much!
Increases Soil Fertility
Pine bark mulch is organic. This means that as time goes by, it gradually decomposes, availing more nutrients in the soil.
Beneficial to Your Acid-Cherishing Plants
The pine bark usually is acidic, and this can gradually sip into the soil. Acid-loving plants such as azaleas, holly, gardenias, and ferns do well in soils with pine bark mulch. Additionally, the mulch also releases aluminum into the ground, promoting leafy development.
Prevents the Soil From Dissolving into Surrounding Zones
The mulch has proven to effectively protect the soil, mainly when applied a few inches down. This trait makes mulch a suitable option in gardens that have plain soil and sporadic vegetables.
Therefore, the mulch can come in handy on gardens along walls, tree trunks, and nurseries.
Mulch is a Compelling Weed Control
Pine bark mulch will control weeds and keep them off your garden, mainly when you apply a thicker layer. This is crucial because the fewer the weeds, the more the soil supplements present in the soil for your crops to utilize.
How to Make Pine Bark Mulch
Pine bark mulch is cheap and straightforward to create and has no effects on the environment. Moreover, you can use the creating process as a way of reusing plant waste effectively.
Below are some simple steps that you can follow to make mulch for your garden
Step1: Get a Shredder or Chipper
Currently, the market brims with shredders and chippers of different sizes that you can utilize to make mulch. They are primarily available in home improvement stores, but you can still rent one from a landscaping center. This is a more affordable solution to buying one that you will only use once a year.
Even though getting a large-sized shredder will be unnecessary and dangerous, getting one that is too small might be inconvenient too. Therefore, it is up to you to choose the most suitable one that suits your needs and ensures comfortability.
Step 2: Gather Yard Debris
In addition to your pine bark, collect other small pieces of wood and branches in one place.
However, ensure that the additional debris is not too much— gather a “just enough” amount. The size of the bark is dependant on how much area you are planning to cover.
Step 3: Shred the Collection
Once you have gathered all the material you need, it is now time for shredding. Switch on the shredder and once it is running at full speed, start dumping the wood pieces slowly and carefully into it. Be ready with a collecting bucket or wheelbarrow on the other side.
The bigger the collecting bucket is, the better since it minimizes the cleaning time.
One thing to note during this step is that you should always be wearing protective clothing such as eyewear and gloves. Additionally, ensure that every part of your body is away from the shredder’s input unit.
The difference between the result you want and the result you get after the first shredding will dictate whether you re-shred or not. For a finer mulch, feed all the shredded material into the shredder again.
Step 4: Clear your Spreading Area
It would be best to spread mulch in an area with no excess plant and weed material. Therefore, you should clear all foreign materials from the soil surface before you apply the layers.
If you spread the mulch and leave weeds underneath, its effectiveness as a weed treatment will decrease.
Step 5 Carefully Spread your Mulch
After the preparations, it is now time for the real deal. Spread your mulch evenly across your garden, paying extra attention to the tree bases and overexposed soil.
While spreading, do not cover young plants. This dramatically affects their growth to a point where they might even die.
For a better and easier spreading exercise, you can use a rake. It makes it easy for you and helps you spread the pine bark mulch more evenly.
Are There Any Dangers or Adverse Effects of Using Pine Bark Mulch?
The general answer to this question is yes. Just like any other type of mulch, pine bark mulch has a few disadvantages. The good thing about it is that the benefits outweigh the cons, so they should not be a cause of worry.
Below are some of them
1. When you use pine bark mulch constantly for several years, there is a high probability that your soil’s pH will change. The barks are naturally acidic, thus over time, the mulch will decompose and the acidity released into the soil. This will pose a threat to plants that only do well in neutral and alkaline soils.
Moreover, the acidity can prevent some nutrients from being available in the garden’s soil. Three vital nutrients like calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium levels drop. In turn, others such as manganese and iron will become more available, sometimes even amounting to toxic levels.
However, you can prevent these effects by switching to hardwood mulch after 2-3 years.
2. Pine bark mulch also uses up Nitrogen present in the soil, which can reduce its fertility. This happens when they decay. This mainly affects the plants whose roots haven’t matured enough to penetrate deep into the soil and get Nitrogen.
3. Due to the woodiness and size, the mulch cannot reach its maximum potential when used in areas that constantly receive heavy rainfall.
4. When used on a pine tree, pine bark mulch can spread pine wilt disease to the trees. Even though not so common, the disease mainly affects non-native pine trees such as the Pinus mugo.
The condition is due to a nematode spread by the pine sawyer beetle. The nematodes spread when a diseased tree is the raw material of the mulch. If it gets into contact with susceptible trees and plants, the disease worsens.
5. Sometimes farmers treat the mulch of the decorative pine bark using chemical dyes to enhance the appearance. Yes, some of the dyes might not be toxic. However, such mulch might be unsuitable for use in organic gardens. This calls for you to ensure that the mulch you buy is 100% natural.
6. When you buy bagged bark to make your mulch, you might receive it in non-biodegradable materials that will create unnecessary plastic waste.
7. The mulch inhibits the movement of some ground-dwelling insects and beetles, many of which might have pollinating capabilities. However, you can solve this by leaving exposed soil.
8. Pine bark mulch may attract subterranean termites that live below the earth’s surface. This makes them even more dangerous because they can cause a lot of damage before you notice their presence. The termites do not eat the mulch per se but use it to build their nests and tunnels underground.
What is Pine Bark Mulch Good For?
Pine Mulch bark acidity makes it perfect for growing plants that love acidic soil with a pH of 5.5. These plants absorb minerals like aluminum which is essential in promoting the growth of green, lush vegetation.
Some examples of shrubs that love acidic soil are Holly, Azaleas, and Fothergillas.
Flowering plants that would thrive in the same acidic conditions are Begonia, Caladium, and Trillium.
Trees that flourish here are Beech, Pin Oak, and Magnolias.
Summary
Pine bark mulch has numerous advantages for your garden, one of which is its ease of use. It is also long-lasting and gradually degrades, advancing the soil with its natural materials. It makes your plants flourish and protects the soil from dehydration.
This makes it a gardener’s best choice and the ideal choice for all mulching needs. The only thing you need to do is make sure you choose the appropriate size mulch for the plants in your garden.