I would. You can also use a couple of sheets of newspaper under the cedar shavings if you like. I also use grass cuttings and pondweed as mulch in my veggie garden.

Linda

Cedar is great as a mulch, but be aware that it breaks down a lot more slowly than other mulches. So if you want to keep it on top as a weed suppressant, that's great and it'll last a long time, but if you dig it in, it'll be there for many years undecomposed. The newspaper you might want to eventually dig in at the end of the season, but if it's mixed with the cedar, that might be hard to do. Cedar mulch is thought to discourage insects, which might be nice, except it probably discourages beneficials as well.

As to the cleanliness of the mulch, that really isn't an issue. Well used shavings used by an animal would be great as well.

Great! Thanks for replying. I may just lay newspaper sheets. I am thinking that the cedar may be good deer repellent as well.

I was all ready to put down newspaper covered with cedar shavings and now am concerned about something in the cedar that would get into the plants and/or fruit. I know that walnut shavings will kill the plants they are near.

This thread is two years old. Has anyone tried using cedar for a mulch? BTW. the cedar I am considering is Easter Red Cedar like you would use in a cedar chest or closet.

Cedar is a common mulch. Loads of people use it. Can buy it as mulch in the big box stores. Nothing in cedar that's going to hurt anyone.

I am aware that cedar mulch is available in bags, but is it labeled for use in a vegetable garden?

If anything else it should keep the moths in check ;)

Not sure why something that is good mulch for asters and peonies would be bad for squash and tomatoes.

Or maybe you're worried about contaminants? You can buy mulch that has an artificial dye, for those, I guess who want red or purple beds. I'd avoid that. Check the label to make sure it wasn't ground up from old arsenate-treated (CCA) wood. There is a Mulch and Soil Council certification logo that you might look for that indicates safe mulch.

Since there is no definition for a mulch that goes beyond " a protective covering spread or left on the ground to reduce evaporation, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds, enrich the soil, or keep fruit clean", anything can work anywhere :-) And to my knowledge, none are labeled as to a specific usage. However, wood shavings (regardless of source) or any other wood based mulch product would not be my first choice of a veggie garden. Read this similar discussion HERE.

Woody material is excellent for perennials, because you never dig it in. It just sits there, on top of your soil, year after year. If you dig it in, it will suck nitrogen out of your soil. If you use it for annuals, where you dig up the bed each season, you'd be advised to scrape it back before doing so. Abrasiveness? No one is rubbing it up against the plants. Veggies grow around sharp rocks just fine.

I'm not worried about contaminates per se, but rather was concerned about the resin in cedar, What I am planning to use are shavings marketed for pet bedding-- a 1:1 mixture of cedar shavings and (finer) pine shavings, My thought is that I will rake what is left this fall and remove them from my beds before I put the garden to bed for the winter. I'll bag them in some heavy duty trash bags and hopefully reuse next spring. I'm not planning to turn them into the soil--although I know that some will be left behind. I'll just need to follow-up with a little more N than usual.

That sounds like a smart plan. Not clear that you even need to bag them. Just rake into a pile and leave them there, maybe with a cover.

I am confused as to why you would choose to remove them in winter. Unless you are replacing the mulch with a living mulch, aka cover crop, leaving the mulch in place would help ward off erosion from winter rains and keep the weeds down. In fact, I would argue that winter, with no plants growing, is when a mulch is most required!! Bare, exposed soil all winter long is just an invitation to the deterioration of the planting area via other factors.

That's a fair point. I usually till in compost in the fall after removing plant debris. But if you wait until the spring to do that, then leave the cedar mulch on until then.