Getting Free Woodchips

The same place I get free compost from also has free wood chips. I have been hauling them home by the bucket load several times a week. The buckets work great because they are easy to haul around the yard to where they need to be. Filling them is also very easy. I typically walk up the pile and use the fork to just push the chips into the bucket. Each one takes about 10 seconds to fill. Much faster than scooping into a trailer.

I have two uses planned for the wood chips. The first is to replace the paths in my garden. I put some new cardboard down and then the wood chips on top. The cardboard should prevent weeds from growing up under the wood chips for a while. It is starting to look nice in the backyard.

The second use is mulch. I re-mulched most of my flower beds, fruit trees, and bushes. I will also mulch the raised beds in the photo above once the plants are in and a bit more mature. The mulch really cuts down on the amount of water I need to use to keep my plants alive since the wood acts as little sponges. They also do a great job suppressing weeds. A little work now hopefully means I will have less to do later.

I am also thinking of experimenting with composting the wood chips with used coffee grounds to make my own hot compost pile.

Do you use wood chips in your garden?