Signet - The nitrogen replacement is in the fertilizer that I would be using anyway. The whole point of using the pine fines is to make rich, fluffy soil. I have sand and hardpan soil here. Probably the only thing it is good for is cactus. The pine fines used in a raised bed or even used to replace soil in a dug hole, creates food for earthworms & fungi and breaks down into good soil. I use additional pine fines and oak leaves as mulch all around my garden beds and I have notice a positive difference there, too!
