What do you do with loose bark pieces in your yard

[olsonbri]

left over from splitting. I just wanted some suggestions of any uses there may be. I can always toss it in the trash. I don't figure it would make good kindling, but I don't know that. Burn it with the wood? If I burn it do I need to store and season it as well? There's not much but the messy bark does at up over time. Thanks --Bri

 

[golfandwoodnut]

If you get it really dry it is not bad kindling, I use it. Also I use it around the wood stacks or other places to keep the weeds down. It is free mulch in my opinion.

 

[northwinds]

I use it to start fires in the outdoor firepit.

 

[Hunderliggur]

I use it in muddy areas on my farm

 

[olsonbri]

Great... thanks for the info! --Bri

 

[velvetfoot]

I have this crappy chipper/shredder that I wouldn't recommend to anyone, but after considerable effort it managed to shred the bark I had to make a path in my wife's garden.

 

[Wood Duck]

I spread it around under shrubs as mulch.

 

[kbrown]

For the most part, I toss it in the yard waste for pickup. There gets to be just too much even when I use it just like most of the comments; firepit, muddy areas, etc. If I notice it to have bugs, then right into the yard waste can. Sometimes I have used it in my stacking to help tie in rows or areas where the splits just are too uneven. Then it comes in as a nice surprise during burning season for a quick hot fire!

 

[zzr7ky]

I split in an area that's been muddy in the past. It's fairly paved with bark. Pieces that are annoyingly thick, twisted get burned on the rare day I clean the area up.

On occasion I burn off several wheel barrows full. Bark just isn't high enough quality fuel for me to invest any time/effort in.

ATB,
Mike

 

[firefighterjake]

Kindling or I just rake it up and throw it down in areas where I want to keep the weeds down.

 

[Thistle]

Mulch for a path or two and/or it gets scattered in a low spot in backyard where most of the processing is done.Any Hickory bark in decent sized pieces is saved for kindling & the smoker or Weber kettle.

 

[Jack Straw]

I use it in muddy areas on my farm

x2 I wish I had a farm though

 

[Dune]

I spread it around under shrubs as mulch.

Plus one.

 

[billb3]

I stack mine up and with some white ink and a turkey quill have been scribing my Mainifesto on the smooth inside for all of mankind and posterity.

 

[gpcollen1]

They get $40 / yd for nice bark mulch around here. I have been spreading some of it in my shrub beds for mulch and leaving some around where i am splitting as it has been wet and muddy. In the wood stove, the bark generates too much ash for my liking.

 

[Agent]

Ditto on the mulch idea. Ponderosa bark looks pretty similar to the chunky bark mulch that they sell by the bag at most places.
You just need alot of landscaping to rotate where your bark goes every couple of years.

 

[onetracker]

um....ok don't laugh
i built a small crib with chicken wire on the sides to hold it all and use it as kindling or a quick fire inside to take the chill out in oct.
plus, i could probably heat my whole house with all the bark just laying around the logging yard.
i watched an old timer 40 years ago save every scrap of wood and burn all of it.
guess that kinda stuck with me.

i like the idea of mulching it tho and using it in the garden and around trees.

OT

 

[Flatbedford]

I dump it in the woods across the street. There is lots of it too. Seems like a cord of Black Locust makes nearly a yard of bark and other waste when split. I have a small land fill operation going on across the street.

 

[joefrompa]

Depends what type of bark. Ash bark makes phenomenal kindling and comes in huge chunks. Pine bark either sucks (because it holds so much moisture) or rocks (because its full of pitch/sap and burns VERY hot) - pine bark also tends to harbor more insects.

 

[maplewood]

If I have loose bark:

1. Gather it in a cardboard box, dry it, and use it to start a camp fire, box and all.
2. Put it with my other waste (branches, leaves, sawdust) and burn it in a brush fire.
3. Dump it in the woods, in a hollow / hole as land fill.

I don't like to burn it in my boiler, only because it takes up so much space in my wood room.
Happy burning!

 

[PapaDave]

Kindling. I don't use the pine/spruce bark though....well most of it.
I'm trying to get a chipper/shredder running so most can be used as mulch.

 

[madrone]

I mulch it into my bagging mower and compost it.

 

[Duetech]

bark is wood that just looks different. There is some data that says most woods yield very close to the same btus per pound. I have found bark to burn quite well in a gasifier and because it is already thinner than msot splits are it dries fairly fast. I might throw some in to the garden but usually it gets into the boiler first. I would lke to know if bark is on the same par as the wood it comes from. Oak bark and hickory bark are thicker than red pine bark and maybe barks have an average btu per pound....? Unless the wood used in the btu per pound tests is scraped of the bark the bark is part of the equation.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I'm still experimenting. Lots of oak, doug fir and thick cedar accumulating. I like putting the large plates of bark on the ground to stack my firewood on. Like pallets only free and already here. A fresh layer each year. Also putting the cedar bark in walkways, letting it break up and break down gradually.

Craig

 

[csierotnik]

I mow over it