Conifer shreddings - deadly poisonous?

[cafecreme]

Hi everyone,

A newbie here. Love the forum - have been lurking for a while. Tried advanced search and didn't find anything so please be kind!

We recently moved into a new (rented) house and are taming the garden to grow some veg this summer. With permission from the landlords, we've taken down a huge conifer that was stealing most of the light from the future veg area. We've made five bags of shreddings and there's more to go... now, what can we do with them? My dad reckons they'd be good mulch for weed killing on areas around new beds and we can put them on straight away, but I've read this is a bad idea due to the resins. But then conversely, I read somewhere that the shreddings might be good for potatoes?

It's not just bark, it's actually mostly the green stuff. Don't know if this makes a difference.

I'm really confused, thanks for any help you can give!

[roitelet]

Conifer shreddings turn the soil acid so be careful where you use them. Round acid loving plants, some in the compost or for paths is what I would recommend. Better to keep them for a season in a heap before you use them as as they rot they can take nitrogen from the soil and also if they are green they can heat up.

[Capsid]

I shredded my Leylandii hedge and then let the shreddings rot for a few months then sieved it. It made a great soil improver.

[Jeanied]

I seem to remember they are good for mulching strawberries!

[cafecreme]

Thanks guys. I'll leave them to mature for a few months then and decide what to do with them.