Could I mulch my beds with this stuff?

As I've been woodturning silver birch which was only felled last year I can't really burn this stuff and have been putting it in the compost bin to rot down. However I am making so much of it I am concerned it may affect the C:N ratio.

Anyone think I could possibly mulch with it instead?

 

Personally I wouldn't simply because it takes too long to break down.
I use wood shavings for lighting the fire or reviving it when it has been allowed to almost go out.

 

I agree with Longk

I always think what fungus and such it may attract which may not be beneficial to the surrounding plants , and it tends to just sit there doing nothing for ages , mixing in with the compost bin would be fine if you do a thin layer every two weeks.

 

I'd rot it down separate from the compost heap, just keep a heap of it nice and moist, the fungal spores will soon find it

 

Why would wood shavings be a bad idea, when wood chip and bark chips are sold commercially as mulch? Is there a difference?

 

They're usually composted before being sold, could be a lot of tannin in the fresh stuff.

 

I'm not overly keen on them either. To be fair they are really sold as soil cover and not a mulch.

 

As I've always understood it fresh wood shavings rob the soil of nitrogen as they start to rot down.
I have used shavings as a winter mulch on tender root plants, but would scrape them off in spring.

 

If you had enough,could you use them for paths on your lotty?