Bark Chippings

I was chatting to a friend today who has a large garden & wanted to put down some bark chippings - or similar material - to supress the weeds & it got me thinking. Whilst it may suppress the weeds could it be detrimental to certain plants depending on the type of soil on which the bark/material is laid. My friends soil is acidic. Is there different types of bark etc. depending on the soil type it is to be laid on?

 

I don't really know, but I wouldn't have thought that it would be detrimental. I suspect that bark chippings are pretty inert as they will take several years to rot.

 

I have acid soil and have used bark chip on occasions over the years with no ill effects that I'm aware of. Unless you put down bark really thickly it doesn't work that well as a suppressant but does work reasonably well for a while at least if you lay about 3 sheets thick of newspaper down and then a load of bark on the top.. It doesn't last for ever but I found it gave me a bit of time to get other things sorted before weeds returned with a vengance.Do not attempt the newpaper laying if windy....sure fire way of ending up in a very bad mood!