[EzLou]

I have just started creating a cottage garden/herby type border sort of thing - bearing in mind we have dug up what was just grass/docks and nettles - I guess I ought to put some sort of covering [like wood chippings/mulch - am I using correct words here?] over the ground around my plants to suppress weeds. A bit skint however [due to extortionate cost of deposit to rent our new place] so do you think I could use the wood shavings from the guinea pig cage? If watered down they will quickly go dark and not look so dodo - plus organic pig poo will obviously be mixed in.

[muntjac]

if you put them down thick enough . rotting wood takes plant fuel from the soil .and be carful with the pig poo unless its processed as it can be very strong stuff  call your local council and ask if they have any free mulch as they make it when choppijng up trees bushes etc when going about there work  

[EzLou]

I meant guinea pig poo rather than real pig poo.

Thanks for the tip though I'll look into that

[WG.]

How many pigs ya got???  Mulch needs to be min 2-3" deep to be effective, & like Munty says, don't incorporate woody waste into the soil as it will rob nitrogen.

Did you happen to notice the mulching fabric that I posted in the Swop Shop yesterday?

[muntjac]

the ginny pig poo will be great  

[EzLou]

only two pigs - surprising how much poo they create. To clarify - I'm using pine wood shavings - the usual sort of pet bedding - in their cage and thinking of putting the used stuff around the plants.. I didn't know it would be a problem? Should I not be putting it in the compost bin?

I thought people used bark/wood chippings to lay around plants in borders to suppress weeds which is what gave me the idea? - is that not a good thing?  Am I making any sense at all?

[EzLou]

ps whisky gulf - thanks for the swaps heads up - but I don't have anything to swap!

I can get ad-lib horse poo if you want it but it might be tricky to post...

[muntjac]

its ok to compost it in abin with other stuff .but large volume will spoil tye soil .just use it as a mulch but plastic binliners down first