Difference in bark and play bark

NIMAN

I know there is likely little difference, but any play bark I see in kids play areas tend to be totally dry.

When I buy standard bark from the big hardware stores, it is always darker, damp or wet and generally mushy.

Is there any difference when it comes to using on your garden verges?

Sgt Pepper 64

NIMAN wrote: »

I know there is likely little difference, but any play bark I see in kids play areas tend to be totally dry.

When I buy standard bark from the big hardware stores, it is always darker, damp or wet and generally mushy.

Is there any difference when it comes to using on your garden verges?

none whatsoever, just how fine they chop it

NIMAN

How come the bark I see in kids playgrounds is a nice light colour and bone dry, whereas all the bark you buy in garden centres is really dark and wet?

_Brian

NIMAN wrote: »

How come the bark I see in kids playgrounds is a nice light colour and bone dry, whereas all the bark you buy in garden centres is really dark and wet?

Often what you are seeing in play areas is wood chip rather than bark. It absorbs less water and remains solid longer and so cleaner.

my3cents

_Brian wrote: »

Often what you are seeing in play areas is wood chip rather than bark. It absorbs less water and remains solid longer and so cleaner.

Think its the other way around. Wood chip is full of splinters - its wood - so isn't used so much in play areas. Good quality bark which doesn't absorb as much water is used in play areas.

Bark can include a lot of wood because of the way its harvested better quality bark is just that mainly bark.

NIMAN

So would it be ok to buy the playground bark to use for my garden borders?
I assume it will do the same job as the cheaper stuff (the wet, mushy stuff).

Lumen

NIMAN wrote: »

So would it be ok to buy the playground bark to use for my garden borders?
I assume it will do the same job as the cheaper stuff (the wet, mushy stuff).

Wet chippings dry out quickly enough (within a couple of weeks) so I assume the bark is much the same.

I wouldn't spend more for a drier product.

my3cents

NIMAN wrote: »

So would it be ok to buy the playground bark to use for my garden borders?
I assume it will do the same job as the cheaper stuff (the wet, mushy stuff).

I don't see any reason why not.

The sh!te they sell as bark now is nothing like it used to be unless you pay a premium price.

The very best you can get is bark in really large peices (up to 15cm or so long) because it has less surface area so rots down slower. With that type of bark its really obvious that its bark most of the wood products you get for mulching aren't bark at all.

GreeBo

The speed at which the bark will dry out also depends on whats underneath it.
Bark on soil will take longer to dry than bark on sand or gravel, or even just a deeper layer of bark.

Also the garden centre stuff is likely sitting in a plastic bag for weeks with small holes that let water in but dont do much to aid drying.

NIMAN

The stuff I prefer would be more like this:

https://goo.gl/images/LM7MKe

As opposed to this:
https://goo.gl/images/36Fakr

my3cents

And this one is nearly pure bark https://www.pavingsuperstore.co.uk/melcourt-playbark-10-40.html but much more expensive.