Sawdust as a temporary weed-suppressing mulch

Nick, conflicting advice indeed ......it’s all a learning curve. Go with your instinct Nick ...not the end of the world if it didn’t work out
As a context I don’t use sawdust now....I’ve used many types of compost....coir, bark, mushroom compost, garden compost, fresh manure, fresh seaweed, council produced compost,leaf mould, green manure, grass clippings, cardboard. So I have experience of it all.
The big difference between your situation and mine is prob the soil....here it is sandy. A good sandy loam, warm, free draining soil. Your soil is the opposite. I have though worked heavy clay soil and transformed it into something pretty good. If I was to choose the ideal compost on any soil it would be fresh seaweed.

I would add though if you have a supply of organic material then use it. I had contact with a sawmill for a year or two, hence the supply of sawdust

On a personal level I learned a lot from my grandfather who had a small holding, then from a couple of friends who were allotmenteers....one was an onion growing champion....so picked up some great info. Plus trial and error, plus experimentation and trying things out. Works for me.

 

Ample supply of the stuff where I live in Nottinghamshire, Verdun! Seriously tho, just my luck!

How did you transform the heavy clay? Someone else on here who previously lived locally mentioned horse manure bringing significant improvement.

Haha! Glad I'm not the only one who finds all this confusing! Sawdust, bark (there seem to be larger and smaller types available for sale in my experience), wood chippings, wood shreddings (the RHS seem to make a distinction between the last two, don't judge me or ask LOL) wood shavings, any more? This forum needs a photographic guide!

Nick

 

I used tons of mushroom compost Nick but manure too. Regular deep digging and mixing generous amounts of compost throughout the soil. Then thick mulching
I think any compost or manure or organic material will eventually transform all soils incl heavy ones. It has to be continued with though

 

Pete. I always get the dirty end of the stick. Just my luck.

 

As Verdun commented. For me, as always, I take advice from everyone, listen, experiment and then make up my mind as to what works for me.

I support this. Gardening is not only a hobby/passtime, it is also a science. What works for 'The expert' doesn't alway work for you and me.

Using sawdust has it's advantages, I waiver regarding, it's benefits. Sawdust, woodchips etc will of course suppress anything underneath it. However a natural destroyer of trees, timber etc is fungi. Applying the aforementioned can provide you with an abundance of fungi, toad stools etc. These can be beneficial as the micro type roots will penetrated almost anything and break it down. At the same time, sawdust etc can, due to damp/dry conditions become clumpy. Such clumps need to be broken down asap, otherwise they become a haven for soil borne bacterium and viruses.

 

I would have thought that if sawdust was good for any use in the garden it would be available in garden centres ready bagged.

Blackstart

 

It’s not really about sawdust being good for the garden....it was about it serving as a mulch and it does do this very well. A weed free smothering of the ground to prevent weeds germinating
Ok, not the best mulch in the world and I choose other materials now but it is effective. As I said, I have actually used it and in my experience if you have it then use it.
I wanted straw earlier in the year...not available in my GC
No profit in selling sawdust I think

 

The common slugs that we see here are what I think are called Spanish Slugs in the UK. For some reason, they dont seem to bother with my strawberries. Initially, I had put this down to the fact that some birds, notably the blackbirds that are nesting in my Thuja eat them. I've actually watched them doing this. How they do it is interesting! I was told a while ago (and dont know if this is just a myth or falsehood) that both slugs and snails dont go near older varieties of strawberries.

Maybe it isnt available in Garden Centres, but it is available bagged in Pet Shops. Its as @Verdun wrote, theres no profit in GC's selling sawdust. There is for pet shops though. When I am doing some woodwork, and have plenty, its normal for me to trade it with pet owners. Normal rate for a 125 litre bin bag full is a case of German beer. After the way I expressed myself once when I heard the price being asked, I was given a crate of this in exchange…Who says swedes dont have a sense of humour? (I'll remove the photo if it gives offence and I am asked to).

 

Oh yes they do! Oh no they don’t!
I think putting down straw is an old fashioned deterrent for slugs. The allotmenteers swear by it down here.
I like the exchange for beer sandy.......

 

I wish you could get a crate of beer for a bag of sawdust over here, our stuff all goes for incineration, but most of it is hardwood dust which nobody seems to want.

And it takes a long time to rot down in the soil.

Occasionally get the odd horsey person wanting a bag of softwood chippings, but I tends to get mixed so not easy to keep it separate.