Well, Hollie, bark chips are used more as a decorative weed suppressant and don't actually improve the soil, as such, but they can alter the soil's ph. You are probably better to dig in a couple of bags of good multi compost to help with the moisture retention. If you collect leaves this coming autumn to make leaf mold you will be able to dig that in to the really heavy soil after a year to help loosen the ground more. Leaf mold is good for veggies aswell. It's easy to make - just rake up the autumn leaves and run the mower over them to chop the leaves smaller. Put them in a black bin bag, water them, then pierce some holes in the bottom of the bin bag. Tie up the top of the bag and put somewhere out of the way for 12 months - then dig in the beds.
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