I looked at Menards and Lowes. I didn’t see any ay Lowes. Menards had them, but they looked like skinny shreds of wood and not chips.
Most recently from an arborist. I have also utilized the free wood chip piles my city offers.
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Local arborists give away chips for free. It saves them a long trip to the dump, where they pay fees. I use chips to mulch trees and berries. I use at least a half dozen full truckloads per year. All free.
Of course, you’d need a place to dump the chips and store them until you’ve used them.
It’s best to get chips in autumn after leaves have fallen. Chips will partly compost over the winter. We’re talking chips as functional mulch not as decoration.
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Keep in mind the following advice works better if you are on an area with an abundance of trees and if you have a working relation ship with a tree guy.
So here in the Pacific Northwest when I want wood chips I just call the guy “tree guy” who takes care of any trees we need cut down. I just tell him “ next time you’re working in our neck of the woods I’ll take a truck load of wood chips”.
Key thing here. I take a whole load of wood chips. And I let him do it on his timing. This makes it worth his while as he can get rid of a whole truck load when he happens to be in the area, saving him time and money. We also throw a $20 to the guys who drop the chips off.
You can also Google ChipDrop and see if they are active in your area. Chipdrop being a service that allows you to get wood chips from arborists
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We have chipdrop.com in our area.
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We supposedly do too- I’ve been on their list for a few years and I never got a drop!
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I got mine from chipdrop.com. the arborist had several loads they dropped off so it lasted several years. when I signed up I had the option of adding a tip and that helped in getting chips faster.
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Call your local electric company they should bring you some
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Must be arborist availability. We’ve gotten chip drops within days of requests for chips and logs.
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Arborists are the best source if you can get them. I put my number out to a couple of local tree surgeons and now get calls when they’re working nearby. Takes a bit of patience to get the first load but after that it tends to sort itself out.
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I thought actual wood chips were what was used for trees.
That shredded wood in your photo was what they sold at Menards. Are you all using actual chips or the shredded material?
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Wow, that Chipdrop is a good source if you need bulk material.
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I don’t understand stand your question. The arborist cuts up a tree. He throws the pieces into a big machine called a “chipper.” This is what comes out.
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I was on chipdrops waiting list for a year before I finally was able to just cold call an arborist that said yes
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I got a chipdrop for free within weeks of signing up in 2018. I’ve had another request going through them since 2020 now with no bites…even with a $20-40 tip to cover their cost and more.
The place these arborists usually dump their chips sells them for retail and wholesale…I’ve filled up my truck from there before.
There’s an arborist in town I’ll probably call soon since I need more for my chicken run, but I need to clear a bunch of plants out of the driveway first.
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There are actual wood chips and shredded wood. You can see the example in this thread of both. Wood chips would be chunky and rectangular, something like mini pine bark nuggets.
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That is bad. I’m old…as I’ve told you time and time again. Evey day counts when you are a fossil. I could not screw around like that.
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I like the no float Cypress mulch blend It is cost prohibited if you don’t combine it with something else to block the weeds. I use cardboard pallet covers as a outside ring then I only need to use a small amount of the Cypress mulch blend closer to the tree
I can do three trees with one 2 ft.³ bag it’s a little over three dollars a bag. It is not really chips. It is shredded and great for moisture control and it does not move around.
I’m pretty sure that the chipper has a heavy duty rotating blade. What comes out probably depends on the diameter and age of what goes in. Probably, branches up to 3-6" in diameter get chipped. Logs that are thicker may be crushed and shredded somewhat. Older decaying wood may shred too.
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