What to do with loose bark?

[azsteven]

I just bought almost 2 cords of 2 year seasoned oak -- 11-13% moisture content. The seller was not a wood vendor, just some guy who decided to give up on his fireplace but knew how to season the wood.

Anyway, after unloading the 5 truckloads and stacking it all up, I'm left with a bunch of loose bark (maybe 1/4 of a yard, enough to fill the wheelbarrow) that came off. Is this good for kindling? Should I just compost it? What do you do with that much loose bark?

 

[rathmir]

i burn it personally, im not sure how long it would take to compost if you didn't beak it into smaller bits

 

[mkt1]

I would get some wood glue and put it back on the logs. Just make sure it's waterproof glue of you store your wood outside.

Actually I use it as kindeling,

 

[joshlaugh]

I burn it.

 

[bogydave]

Compost sounds like a good use. Bust it up as small as you can.
A real PIA to throw in the stove & it probably has dirt & would make a mess inside.
Or use as mulch.

 

[hareball]

i used to use it as kindling if I was short but now burning 24/7 so it all goes in the trash. I got picky about what goes in the stove now because of the ash factor and hot clean outs.

 

[azsteven]

I would get some wood glue and put it back on the logs. Just make sure it's waterproof glue of you store your wood outside.

I bet liquid nails would do the trick! And then I could sink some deck screws in it to be sure.

 

[dougstove]

If I get decent slabs of maple bark, I use it as mulch under shrubs. It very gradually composts in place and helps keep the weeds down.
Oak bark is high in tannin though, so it will take a long time to decompose.

 

[Gunks]

When there is a good fire going, I throw the bark in.

 

[Bootlegger]

I use it for mulch around the yard. Works great on muddy, high-traffic spots.

 

[Bobbin]

Kindling, baby! works slick.

 

[Wood Duck]

i use it for mulch. Lasts a while, looks nice (at least I think it does)

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I do both, when I need to start a fire I rake the old coals forward, put in a homemade lint/egg carton fire starter and a little bark or kindling and I have fire. When splitting wood I am always left with alot of bark/wood chips. I shovel them into the wheel barrow and have some free mulch.

 

[LLigetfa]

I spread it around my wood processing area to keep my wood from picking up dirt.

 

[KeepItNatural]

I actually pry some bark off of wood when I don't have any loose because I think it makes such a good kindling.

 

[wood spliter]

Throw it out it makes to much ash.

 

[billb3]

mulch

 

[FLINT]

yeah, mulch

either chop our pound on it with a sledge/axe/maul, or rent or borrow a chipper shredder and run it through. I chipped a bunch last year, but unless you get a big chipper/shredder it really does take forever. I have big piles now that I'm going to let start to compost itself I think and then as it breaks down it should be good mulch.

 

[Cazimere]

Loose bark can sometimes be a harbinger of serious internal maladies. I'd get that pup to the vets asap.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Mulch. I'll even take some back into the woods and spread out in wet areas so that when we are walking on the paths we don't have to walk in mud or water.

 

[firefighterjake]

Big pieces = kindling

Smaller pieces = mulch . . . or simply scooped up and tossed into the woods to become tree food for my future firewood

 

[NH_Wood]

Benefit = good kindling; con = can add A LOT of ash (depending on species) - I find ash bark (can be very think and light) to leave excessive ash). Your choice!

 

[Flatbedford]

I dump it in the woods with my leaves, small branches, Christmas trees, and other larger organic waste.

 

[CrawfordCentury]

The bigger pieces get tossed into a 50 gallon rubbish bucket and saved for quickie fires in May to get a little heat going without having to commit to a full fire. odd sized bits of wood, cookie cuts, etc. all get their time in those intermediary weeks between real heating season and full out stove dormancy.

What's too small to mess with gets hauled away with the wood chips from sawin' and splitting wate in a wheelbarrow. Gets dumped either in an area we're trying to level off, or else in the veggie garden to keep the weeds down.

 

[Larrys land]

Bigger chunks burn well. Smaller Ispread around my stacks.
The rest I give to the cat really freaks the mailman out.