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Mulching vegetable raised bed with bark?

WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
in Fruit & veg
I'm installing a smallish (approx 2x2m but L-shaped) raised bed this month, in which I hope to grow some vegetables. Weeds are a constant source of irritation in my garden, so along with trying to stop weed seeds from landing and growing in the patch, I also was thinking a bark mulch would be good for slowing down water evaporation as it will be in the sunniest part of the garden (summer sun hits it from 7-8am to 5pm).

I used some bark in large planters this summer which definitely helped with preventing weeds and keeping the soil moist, but was wondering whether it was common practice to use wood bark in larger areas?

I'll be growing thirsty plants in the raised bed; courgettes and dwarf French beans, and some beetroot and radishes in where space allows.
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Bark mulch breaks down very slowly so is better for permanent plantings.

    Using it for annual veggies will be problematic when you come to clear the bed at the end of the season for the next crops.  We used grass cuttings as a mulch on our courgettes last summer and that worked well and then a quick hoeing proved effective for our other crops.  Just make sure you plant your rows far enough apart to let a hoe move easily.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    Thanks @Obelixx :) Just wondering why it would be difficult to clear at the end of the season. Can I not just pull/dig out the leftover plants (courgettes and dwarf French beans) and their roots quite easily? As for the beetroot and radishes, they're harvested as a whole plant as I go anyway, so little to tidy at the end of the season. I was thinking I would sow into clear soil, and only as they have germinated and are growing add some bark around the base.

    Sorry if I'm missing something here! 
    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    The bark will remain, get mixed in with the soil, be in the way of next season's plantings.  Messy.  Also radishes are small and started from seeds sown in place.   Bark chippings will swamp them.    

    How hard can it be to a do a weekly hoeing of a 4 square metre raised bed?   
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,089
    Slugs love a nice cover of bark to lurk beneath.
    Sunny Dundee
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    A weekly hoeing isn't difficult, I was just trying to explore all options including one that would help retain moisture in the soil, as my initial post mentions. Sounds like it's a bad bad idea though - definitely don't want to encourage slugs near the veggies!
    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I think there are better options and other reasons not to use it apart from those stated already. Bark chip is probably ok if rotted down, fairly fine and from deciduous trees, but fresh pine bark (or from any conifer) is a no no - these contain tannins and is usually too coarse for tender annual veg. As it rots down, it creates a fungal environment, which you want to avoid, plus temporarily robs the soil of nitrogen as it decomposes, just as leafy young plants need it.

    Bark is fine for established shrubs, woody perennials etc. Even so, weed seeds seem to still manage to self-seed into it and birds love to toss it around. You can mulch between rows of veg with straw, which is less harmful (I do it with potatoes) but these coarser mulches shouldn’t be in direct contact with the base of the plants or rows of emerging direct-sown seeds like radishes. Tbh with that size bed, bark or straw is probably more trouble than it’s worth. A thick layer of compost used as a mulch would do the job, radish seeds will push through that no problem and easy to weed. Don’t mulch around the necks of courgettes tho, it can rot them.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    Hi @Nollie. Thanks so much for your comprehensive response; that really helps. I expect that I won't need to mulch this year as I'm building the bed this month, filling with the top soil and manure mixture in February ready for the summer. I'll keep it covered with some cardboard before I plant out which should stop any weeds forming. I'll then just hoe any young weeds during the growing season and cover or mulch with straw over winter. Sounds like using straw in the summer between plants will be more hassle than it's worth, and as the soil mix will be new and (hopefully) weed free prior to planting out, I won't need to use additional compost as a mulch.

    Does this seem sensible?
    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Hi, yes it does, although I’m not sure I would bother with straw in winter as it will probably just get blown all over the place, a winter mulch of manure is better to replenish the soil (except where you plan to grow veg that don’t like the soil too rich). 

    The only advantage to mulching around young plants with compost is to do so after planting out and watering to maybe help conserve some moisture, but not strictly necessary as the veg will need regular watering anyway and once the plants grow and fill the space they will shade the soil more. 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • PhaidraPhaidra Posts: 582
    Nollie said:
    ... I’m not sure I would bother with straw in winter as it will probably just get blown all over the place

    It certainly does.  Absolutely irritating.  I've learned that lesson!
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