I am in the process of relandscaping. I have about 4 inches of bark mulch that has settled and composted over the years. Is it ok to work this into the soil underneath or do I need to remove it? If I work it into the soil, do I need to be adding anything to balance the soil? As you can tell I am a newbie. Your help is greated appreciated! Linda
Linda--Brian Minter likes to recommend adding bark to ornamental beds, as a good way to increase porosity/drainage. Personally I think this is pretty temporary, but it certainly doesn't hurt things. I would just add a bit more fresh bark on top once you're done, this is the natural sequence in the forest, with organic stuff falling onto the surface and slowly decaying into the underlying soil. If the old stuff gets worked down into the soil, it will be fine, and according to Brian will be a good thing... It will use up a bit of nitrogen as it breaks down, but you may already be fertilizing your beds and have this "covered"...(I would recommend alfalfa meal as one excellent addition that will handle the nitrogen hunger of the decaying bark).