How to lay bark mulch the right way
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- People often make this common mistake when laying down bark mulch. Watch the video and make sure you don't.
Good landscape practices are sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, and provide a high-quality solution.
Do a good job and enjoy your garden space.
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Thanks for the info Scott, you've just saved me a lot of time money and effort. I thought it was nessesary to lay membrane first, but now following your advice I fully understand the logic behind not using it.
Best wishes 👍
That's great to hear, I'm happy this video helped.
Best advice ever! Bark mulch does amazing thing to our native soils. My garden looks amazing & everything thrives.
Great to hear Sammy. Thank you for your comment.
Thank you! This is exactly the type of project im doing now.
You're welcome. I hope it works out well for you ❤️
If you pay attention, you'll notice the guy was on the verge of tears while talking about the issue. Very emotional for some reason.
So passionate ❤️
Thanks Scott! That’s actually a really useful tip 👍🏼
Thank you MrIrishDude, happy you got something out of it.
Man. I wish my life concerns were down to the level of laying bark mulch the right way. I'm just over here trying to stay alive.
Thanks for your comment.
Thanks mate that’s really helped me before I start my project. 🙂
Happy to hear it and you are very welcome
Appreciate that Scott Thanks 👍
You're very welcome Dave. Let me know if there are any other gardening-related questions that you have that I can make a video for.
Wish I would have seen this first I hate the look of the weed barrier. I want it for decorations and want it to look natural. I need to add more to hide the weed barrier. I may try pulling it up. It is taking a lot more time rather than just putting it down naturally.
Thank you for your comment. Yes the weed membrane must be regularly hidden because the bark blows off it. Good point. Thank you.
That a boiii scott was about to go with Weed barrier, but that makes way more sense, You're a natural in front of the camera.Keep up the work,💪
Thank you for the encouragement Tom. Happy to help.
Sounds like you’re in Ireland.. I’m in the Nashville area of Tennessee and I would have to agree with you 100%. That’s what has always worked best for me and I’ve noticed the soil amendment under the mulch over a long period of time.
Yes, I'm in Ireland. Happy to hear that we're on the same page.
Thank you so much!
You’ve just saved me a lot of money! 🙏🏾
You’re very welcome
Hi Scott, i am about to put spruce ornamental bark mulch along the side of my house, so glad i found your channel as other half was insistent on putting down membrane to which i did air my concerns about it gradually composting. We get a prolific weed problem there though, should i put weed killer down first and also do i need to run a small amount of membrane between the house wall and the mulch? Thanks for any tips you may have👍♥️✌️.
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your comment. There are chemical sprays on the market that you can put down for weed prevention, however, I haven't used any. If you are putting down bark mulch the area should certainly be weed-free first and the most effective way of doing that is with a weed killer because the weed killer will get right down to the roots. If you just dig them up, the fact is there may be some pieces of root left and this can be enough to cause a regeneration of that weed.
In relation to the membrane, I would advise you to run a damp-proof membrane between the mulch and the house. I know most people wouldn't but it just gives your house that extra layer of protection.
The most important thing to remember about using bark mulch is that it does not eliminate maintenance, it only cuts down on the maintenance needed making it much more manageable. Weeds will always get through, but with a heavy layer of bark mulch and annual top-ups, you will make your life so much easier.
If you require a more permanent maintenance-free solution then bark mulch is not ideal. You would be better off using a weed-prevention membrane/fabric and topping it off with a pebble, cobble, or stone chip.
I hope this helps you.
@@saslandscapes Thanks Scott❤️✌️
Thank you
You're welcome
So how do you avoid the weed then? The weeds will just grow everywhere if you dont use a barrier? I want to keep it as low maintenance as possible. I dont want to be picking weeds.
Thank you for your comment. If you want to use a barrier, we suggest not using bark mulch, but go for a pebble or stone chip. Weeds will grow on bark mulch regardless of whether you put a membrane on or not.
good to know...thank you!!
SAS Landscapes
1 second ago
You're more than welcome Robacon. How did you come across our video?
I use sheet mulch (cardboard) and it works fine. Good point you made!
Hi Rosie,
Interesting idea, however, it will just turn the compost as well, perhaps it just delays the process a little longer. If it's actual cardboard that you are using I'd just be wary of glues, tapes, dyes, and staples that may contaminate the soil.
Best of luck with it.
Yes, I remove everything toxic from the cardboard before placing them into the ground. Yes, it does delay the weeds from growing and snuff out sunlight from the weeds. Cardboard lasts a year or two and the soil is enriched. Earthworms love it much better than the weed fabric. I’ve tried everything.
@@rosiegold8562 thanks for sharing your experience with us Rosie. Sounds like you found a good solution there to prolong the bark as a weed supressent. Happy gardening :)
Thanks for the tip!
You're very welcome JeanGouesse. How did you come across our video?
@@saslandscapes I was looking on google if I made a mistake to put membrane under my bark. Going to remove it this weekend and add a few inch more of bark!
@@JeanGouesse I see thank you for that info. If you'd like to see any more questions answered in relation to the garden, let me know and we just might post a video about it.
good video , I will be putting cedar bark on grass , should I use a weed membrane to keep the grass from coming through ? thank you
Thank you for your comment. The first thing you should do there is to dig out that grass and then apply the bark mulch directly on top of the soil.
You can of course put down weed membrane directly on the grass itself, but as the bark mulch composts, it's not going to be able to integrate back with the soil underneath.
It's also not going to be good at drawing up the moisture from the soil to weigh it down, meaning on windy days you'll get bark mulch blowing all over the place.
Great video and tip. Without a membrane does this then mean it will be full of weeds with time?
Hi, and thank you for your comment. Bark mulch is there to suppress weeds and not to prevent them entirely. So yes over time weeds do become present but the task of keeping on top of them is significantly mitigated due to the application of bark mulch.
@@saslandscapes Thanks for taking the time to reply 👍
Just put down 4 cubic yards of red mulch. I have a lot of flower beds.
Hope that worked out well for you :)
Landscapers use the membrane if there are tough weeds growing in a new bed. There is no reason to use a membrane otherwise.
Thanks for your insight. Agreed.
Is spraying a weed/grass killer down before mulching necessary?
The site should be weed free and if you have a weed killer that acts as a pre growth weed killer then that will help as well.
Will the mulch alone be enough to prevent weeds from springing up?
It's a good question - the answer is no. Bark mulch is a partial barrier and by no means a complete barrier to weeds.
The idea is that it helps you stay on top of them and manage them, while also bringing other benefits like helping to control moisture levels and adding nutrients and microorganisms to the soil.
Bark mulch is definitely effective in slowing down and preventing heavy weed growth. It's a much more natural way of maintenance as opposed to using layers of plastic and stone chippings to achieve a similar result.
True
Thank you for your comment
How do flowers grow if I put barking chip down ?
Thank you for your comment. Flowers are use to pushing their way up through soil which is generally much denser than bark mulch, so if they can push through the soil, bark mulch won't be a problem for them.
Thanks mate really useful tip. I felt silly searching about this, im glad I did now. As my immediate thought was a membrane 😂
Cheers
Thank you for your comment. No membrane but maintenance and top up is important.
I've been told that putting bark mulch up to house foundation can promote roach and other insect infestation. Any truth?
Hi Mike,
It's a valid point. Putting anything up against a house foundation needs to be carefully considered, especially if what is being put up against the house is organic and decomposes over time. That certainly would attract insects which would attract spiders and in turn larger animals.
However, precautions could be taken such as putting a plastic sheet between the edge of the bark and the house foundation to act as an impermeable membrane. Ideally however best to keep the foundation of the house as clear as possible.
Thanks
How long does the bark mulch take to break down ?
Hi Sonia,
Bark mulch is always breaking down. That's what it is - decaying organic matter.
There is never a moment when it is not breaking down. Now perhaps your question is how long will it take before bark mulch breaks down enough to allow weeds to grow in it. Which is a slightly different question.
The answer to this depends on several primary factors:
Bark Type: Some types of bark, such as hardwood bark, can take longer to break down compared to softer barks like pine bark.
Particle Size: Smaller pieces of bark mulch will decompose more quickly than larger chunks because they offer more surface area for microbes to work on.
Environmental Conditions: Composting occurs faster in warm, moist conditions. If the mulch is kept consistently moist and exposed to warm temperatures, decomposition will be faster.
Microbial Activity: The presence of composting microbes and beneficial organisms can significantly speed up the decomposition process.
You may also consider that weeds can grow just about anywhere and do not require optimal conditions to grow. Therefore after just a few weeks seedlings can appear growing in and on the bark mulch itself, which in turn speeds up the overall composting rate.
I thought you were Charlie Day in the thumbnail
Interesting comparison 😃
Your now mulching your weeds helping them thrive I’d think
Thanks for your comment.
That is not going to work! If you have say ground elder, it is gonna grow right through the mulch, and the same with other weeds! No a membrane is the best way to go about it. And then do some weeding in the mulch once in a while!
The bark will break down to a compost and you'll be left with some prime growing medium for weeds all on top of your weed membrane. This will also leave you with a significant task of removal when it is time to freshen up. Removing the membrane is twice as hard because not only have you got a couple of inches of compost on top, you've got a network of roots that have penetrated the membrane holding it down to the lower level. It may seem like a smart idea in the short term but in the long term it's just a pain to deal with.
@@saslandscapes I have had this arrangement for the last 5 years now, (and even longer with other fabric that did not work, and I had to replace) and it works better than anything else I have tried. Once again, ground elder will grow through any mulch, regardless of how thick layer, especially if the bed is in a slope, like mine. But you need thick fabric, it will prevent the light from getting through, and the roots will not manage to grow through the fabric. The weeds on top are very easy to get rid of in loose mulch. Furthermore it is not necessary to replace the old mulch. You just put new mulch on top of the old and it looks completely fresh. So no, I know the landscaping connoisseurs on youtube really hate fabric, but it is the one thing that truly made me get in control against ground elder!
@@ragnarkisten you’re still left with the issue of the mulch decomposing on top of the fabric.
@@saslandscapes OK, and why is that a problem? You have a hole for your plants, and this issue is between the plants. So it will provide a more or less weed free space between your plants, where, as in my case, you'll gain control over the ground elder.