?? Pine Bark for pH regulation?

[Derald]

Anyone have experience using pine bark for long-term pH control? I'd be interested in reading about your technique/method, quantities needed, and long-term results.

[Gunner]

WSU is our land grant and Dr. Chalker-Scott is the local Master Gardener POC. Research her articles for background and to see if they answer your questions and then email her with any specifics. She has answered questions in the past. Either of the below will get you started:

or We have Tokul soil here in the Sound area of the PNW, moslty Doug fir but evergreen nevertheless. Your pH is going to vary with the type bark, the stage of decomp and depth and of course, the amount of rain and what kinds of debris, dust and pollen you collect. Mine in the sampled garden in Feb was 6.2 w/ a buffer of 6.5, the OM sampled @

14% if you need that info. Last year I put 2-3 inches of bark on the sampled garden after it was tilled in the early fall before the rains in Mid Oct. The sample was taken at a 4-6" depth, This year will have more chip than bark. I do have mushrooms pop up every so often but not near the weeds as I would have suspected.

Most years I also get a yard of fine "beauty bark" to spread on my lawn's soft spots around mid June. I also use a bark media in certain of my bonsai and still occasionally in hydroponics media but those are more overly manipulated examples.

[Derald]

Thanks for that. I'll give it all a close read, for sure. I'm diagonally opposite you on the N.A. continent: Peninsular Florida. Geologically, this was seabed about 15 minutes ago. Native soil is sand, sand, and more sand over limestone. My well water is "soft" but alkaline. Iron chlorosis is a chronic problem and there is a limit to just how much sulfur one can dump on the garden; vinegar is fast-acting but fleeting. Down here, highbush blueberry cultivars are grown commercially directly in pine bark atop the soil and, since I have ready (and inexpensive) access to bulk pine bark

-- several of my neighbors are small blueberry farmers -- I thought I'd look into pine bark as acidification amendment. Still do.

[Derald]

Alas, saw only one reference to pine bark in your citations and that was regarding its use as mulch which, from the above, I infer also is your application. I don't ever use mulch in my raised beds. I'd just chip the bark to a finer texture than it comes from the sawmill and incorporate it directly into the beds. I think I'll set one aside next spring for experimentation. If I cop bark -- it's bark only, no wood chips -- from a neighbor blueberry farmer, it'll be freshly peeled. I figure, if I can get some this spring, it will compost sufficiently by next spring. It may be too late this year to do that, although, one of the you-pick operators still may have bark available. In the meantime, I'll look around for some quantitative guidance. As a rule, I add 2 cubic feet of composted cow manure, from a nearby dairy, mixed with whatever other compost is on-hand (not much) to each 3'X8' bed before planting, of which, there generally are at least two per year. Worst case, I guess, I can just incorporate an arbitrary volume in ½ of a bed, give it time to stabilize, and see whether A-B comparison shows any significant difference but won't get obsessive about it. I'm open to any suggestions that don't involve body orifices.

have >suspected. If I have "weeds", my garden truck ain't planted close enough; LOL! Seriously.

[Gunner]

search "ramial chipped wood ".

The study: