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Consensus on using Bark/Wood wastes in soil mixes?

BACKCOUNTRY

BACKCOUNTRY

Mourning the loss of my dog......
Veteran
Hey there! I did a seach and found nothing on this subject here, so here we go!

What is the consensus on using Bark from conifer type trees (Redwoods, Firs, Ceders, Pines, etc), in soil mixes? I've heard a few things...yes and no :confused:

One thing I do know is that they can lower the PH alot, but I have also heard that toxins in some barks may be bad for Cannabis. I have used soils with wood products wastes in it in the past, and planted amoung evergreens on many occaisions, all with no noicable effects.

Anybody?
 
G

Guest

My only input is 2nd hand, from a trusted grower friend with 25 years of experience.

- Redwood, in his opinion, likes to kill cannabis plants. Not conifers in general... redwood in particular.

- Having a reasonable amount of "chunks", bark etc in your organic soil mix is a good thing.
 
Suby

Suby

**AWD** Aficianado
Veteran
Well typically coniferous soil is very acidic and very high in fungi, so if you where groing organic in this type of soil you woiuld have a hard time balancing the bacterium in the soil for MJ.
To me bark is simply filler that won't contribute to the soil quality, it's filler and will just take up space better used for a healthy rootmass.

If you gather alot of this bark and pine needles and mix in some greens like lawn clipping you could COMPOST them, google compost piles and you will find it easy to turn everyday organic matter into a healthy compost for your soil.

Remeber organics are all about feeding the soil so bacteria can feed the plants.

Sub's
 
jaykush

jaykush

dirty black hands
ICMag Donor
Veteran
im with suby, pine needles and some bark really fuck up your soil. they deff. need to be composted first for best results. hell i try and keep pine needles out my compost they take 10x longer to break down i learned it the hard way. by the time everything was composted the pine needles were still fine and dandy i had to sift them out before putting the compost to good use.
 
minds_I

minds_I

Active member
Veteran
Barks also have water retaining properties. They also provide airation and texture. They are cheap and are used a lot in pre-mixes. Even the exalted FFOF has composted forest products in the mix.

As a matter of point- I emailed FF and asked if the Composted forest products are redwood bark. I have not received a reply.

Its hard to say really when you have results such as those obtained from others that use FFOF.

It would seem to not be an issue.

minds_I
 
BACKCOUNTRY

BACKCOUNTRY

Mourning the loss of my dog......
Veteran
Its still interesting to to get imput on odd subjects, especially when there is still no real guide lines as to which are good, and which are bad. It is indeed a gray area issue I believe. Even though I do not use bark in my soil, and probably never will, I still think it is worth opening the subject up to the community.
 
I

irie-i

bark uses N when it breaks down. i dont think uncomposted bark or needles is a good ammendment
 
OXOSSI

OXOSSI

Member
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I just ground up a bunch of pine bark mixed it with perlite and a soilles rich medium 1:1:1. Will test germination rates of shwagg bagseed (so far coco fiber perlite 30% looked promising). The pH of the pine wash was low (<6.5) and I'll know in acouple of days. :joint:
 
G

Guest

Pine wood and bark will use up nitrogen, correct Irie-i. It also tends to lock-out nutrients just like if the ph was off. I recomment composting it or using it as a top dressing only.

Hope this helps,
Seed
 
muddy waters

muddy waters

Active member
only as a mulch (top cover), yeah. probably best to treat it by boiling or something to sterilize it if it's coming straight from the forest. or you can play roulette and see if the bug equilibrium is in your plants' favor.

i think oak has growth inhibiting properties, too, but i'm famous for overstating these kinds of things just based on shit i heard. i think this oak thing is true though.
 
OXOSSI

OXOSSI

Member
After reading a couple of articles, this is what i learned. Pine bark is excellent for bonsai, it absorbs phosphorus and may be used as a runoff filter to remove the phosphate fertilizers. It contains antioxidant/antitumor phenolics which would probably be good for root protection from parasites (the publication studied its anti-mold properties). How similiar weed is to bonsai; both like dry; Could it be used in hydroponics? In small quantities I assume its good. It smells lovely! Peace :joint:
 
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