What gardener couldn’t benefit from free wood chips? Just imagine what you could do with an unlimited supply of mulch for your yard and garden. Even at its lowest price around $2.50 a bag for mulch, it still would put a significant dent on your pocket if you tried to fill up your entire garden with it. It becomes so expensive that the average person wouldn’t even bother.
Why are wood chips so beneficial?
Even if you’re not familiar with the Back to Eden method of gardening, you should at least be aware that wood chips or mulch help keep the soil moist, breaks down into compost and adds nutrients to the soil, and discourages weeds – it’s a triple threat! A layer of mulch conserves water, but it doesn’t trap it in unwanted areas, it keeps moisture available in the soil where your plants need it most: near the roots.
Where should you use wood chips and where shouldn’t you use them?
- Wood chips can be used as a mulch layer that you spread on top of your soil after your crops have been planted and are at least a few inches tall. Tomatoes love wood chips!
- You can also place several inches of wood chips around fruit trees, berry bushes and raised beds.
- You can place them directly on the ground in places where you want to create walkways in your garden or simply want to discourage weed growth.
- You should AVOID placing wood chips directly up against your home, to reduce the risk of inviting termites. (If you use wood chips near your home, be sure to get regular termite treatments, but it’s totally worth it!)
Free wood chips are easier to get than you think!
So how can you get a free and potentially unlimited supply of wood chips that could take your garden to the next level?
Watch the video to find out how a quick chat with a tree trimming company turned into so many loads of wood chips that we had to eventually turn them away! You can try the same strategy and reap the same benefits. Try it and let us know how it works out for you!
Kiesha, thank your for this article! Love the video – too funny! Most people don’t know that they can get wood chips this way. I agree with you on the great value that wood chips have to offer as mulch. I have many customers here in Columbia that often ask me to leave the wood chip pile to use in their gardening. That being said, anyone looking for wood chips can always call up a tree company such as mine. If we are in the area with wood chips, we will try and deliver!
Hi Cheryl,
I will definitely keep your company in mind!
Alternatively, you can call and ask a few local tree surgeons. We have tonnes of wood chip / mulch that we struggle to get rid of / recycle each day from tree work. I donate it to the local stables and recycle it but if I received a call asking for some, I’d be happy to give it away for free on collection. 🙂
Hi Mark! Thanks for stopping by and sharing this info. If you’d like to share your contact info id be happy to pass it on to people who might need it. Have a super day!
Hi Kiesha,
What a great idea!! We are in KY so I don’t know if that is something that varies by state, however, I am going to have my husband check into it. We often see the wood chipping machines busily grinding away but I never thought to check into what they do with all that wonderful mulch.
I continue to think about you, hoping all is going well. Every time I see anything to do with bees I wonder how you and your husband are doing with the bee traps. Such an interesting endeavor and one that I would definitely be trying if my circumstances were different. Though I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your “bee adventure!”
I look forward to more gardening tips.
Peppy
Hi Peppy! It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!! I’m sure there has to be at least one tree trimming company or even utility companies such as electric companies that will give away wood chips. Another good place to check is with your city government, especially after Christmas tree season – they offer free wood chips from the recycled trees.
Anyway, our bees are doing well despite being hit hard by the flood back on October. We lost all except 1 hive (we had 5 that had multiplied from the 1 we started with). So far we’ve split that into 2 strong hives and are confident that this year will we finally get a large honey harvest. I’ve also got an experiment going with Queen bee rearing and will be posting about that soon, so stay tuned… 🙂 Thanks for chiming in!
Great idea! I didn’t know that they would do that. I live in north GA and the electric company dumps there ground up stuff in a lot next to them and it is free to anyone who wants to use it. Great post!
Thanks for stopping by, Peggy! Glad to hear you have found a great source free wood chips in your area. Hope your garden is off to a great start!