[Siloam]

Can anyone tell me if mulch from Fir trees ie. branches and needles will allow shrubs and trees to grow?

[verge]

In what way Siloam? Well a mulch of fir bark which may contain fir needles will keep weeds down resulting in less competition for your shrubs and trees. However if you are thinking of using branches from your trees which have been shredded up as mulch then this will absorb nitrogen from your soil as it breaks down. This diverts the nitrogen away from your plants so you will have to supplement the shrubs and trees with extra nitrogen.
Is it the shredded material you are using Siloam?
Its also worth noting that Pine/fir needles are reknowned for making soil more acid so this may affect what you can grow.
Pine needles are reknowened for making soil more acid, below 7 in PH. Since different plants can grow in different pH levels, you will want your soil to be as close to neutral PH (6.2-7.0 )as possible. This way, you will have more variety in terms of the kinds of plants and flowers to use in your garden. This will save you money and effort when looking for plants and amending the soil.
See here..... Your Garden - Testing the Soil.

[Siloam]

HI Verge, Thanks for the information. Yes, we have a large number of fir trees to cut down and thought if I mulch the branches and used them in the garden I paln to develope from scratch, it would be a good method of disposing of them. Thanks again. Siloam

[ormondsview]

I use everything from the garden as recycle by putting it in an open pit and letting it rot. Once the earth gets black with lots of earthworms and good beetles working it over, I put it under shrubs. It helps when there's a drought to retain soil moisture, but is trouble when it's damp, often leading to mildew. However, if you have good windy open conditions, then that blows away the spores and it would not be a problem. Unless, too, you use around roses etc. My neighbor uses pine needles and his butterfly bush is twice the size of mine. There's great value in a compost pile and good fun making a better soil composition.
I also use a lot of bloom builder with a large middle number - so probably there is an offset to the ph balance in doing this. Our soil is largely peat and little topsoil due to rock. I need all the help I can get in amending one acre. I even put branches around shrubs to stop the weed wack damage and create a bolster to build up the soil around the plant. Sometimes people will deliver the tree clippings for free if they have a shredder. I use it to cover up bad spots of invasive plants with this groundcover, first putting newspapers down to choke them.[/url]