5 (Five) Benefits of wood chips :- 1) Improve soil nutrients, 2) Weeds suppression, 3) Maintaining soil moisture, 4) Moderate soil temperature during summer and winter, 5) Holding soil in place preventing erosion. Mr. Scott, thanks you very much for your informative sharing.
@ Gardener Scott 🌿🍀🌲🌲🌲 I am enthusiastic about all you said, but I'm worried about getting a load of wood from trees that were sprayed for a certain insect or caterpillar. I wonder how long it would take for all traces of any pesticide to completely disappear. Otherwise, the wood you spoke about is wonderful, but I always need a few bags of pine bark mulch for up close to the house, just because it smells and looks so heavenly!! There again there's a chance of getting some with traces of pesticide.☹️
Even if you do get a loss of nitrogen from the chips either from contact or mixing them in, you can easily amend that loss by adding urine to the garden. It will put a ton of nitrogen back into the soil. I produce 2-3 gallons of urine a day, so when I need a lot of it for nitrogen-loving plants, I have a specific watering can that becomes a de facto urinal for a few days.
Ewwwww. Me too. My dwarf fir/pines love it from time to time. Burt used to apparently water his lemon tree every morning. So that’s at least three of us.
@@gibbyrockerhunter Well, it's actually been my secret elixir for years on dawn redwoods. When people contact me regarding their dawn languishing with certain signs, I tell them to pour a fast food soft drink cup full of it around the base of their tree once a month for three months, If it starts growing too fast, stop for the year. Most are leery at first, but everyone has always emailed me back with glowing reports. So yes, your conifers are going to love it as well.
I have let my husband add to my compost pile but then I recently read that it might not be the best idea if you are on certain or a lot of medications. Thoughts?
@@heidiweinert3260 Yes, like certain cancer meds, but it all boils down to how long it takes for all of those to break down. When in doubt, throw it out! Your doctor would be able to tell you how long that stuff stays active, or your pharmacist. Excellent question!
Scott: Your videos are absolutely brilliant, perfectly clear and detailed, informative and inspiring. I have been leading garden workshops for almost ten years, and you are clearly one of the best garden educators I have encountered. Thanks so much. Keep up the good work, which is helping hundreds of gardeners understand what they are doing and do an even better job.
I use arborist chip exclusively at my own house and my flowers and shrubs love it and the bio activity is off the charts, worms everywhere mycorrhizal Fungi, shoot I want to live in my soil. Great content love to watch people that know what they are talking about. Keep up the great work.
I have been doing this for the last year and the increased fungal and microbial activity is a joy to behold. From having horrible clay soil, digging into chocolatey, hummus rich soil is so uplifting
Thanks! I never knew about Chipdrop. Signed up and within a couple weeks we now have enough to get a good start on keeping weeds out. I can use the hours I save from weeding to watch more of your videos!
I talked the arborist doing my neighbors trees into dumping their full load in my driveway. I know the trees and their health and was happy to get cherry Laurel and camphor chip for my yard, garden, driveway and Chicken run for my Florida Sandy soil.
So excited to have gotten 10 cu yards of wood chips dropped off earlier this week. I am using it to gradually kill off my lawn and build the soil.I got the same last year too. I will say though that in my dry California weather wood chips take a long time (many years) to fully break down. But I am in no hurry. Seeing the explosion of mycorrhizal fungii in the soil from the wood chips last year makes me happy! It is vastly improving my clayey soil, and what used to be dry and cracking earth just last year is starting to turn into black gold. One huge benefit also is that wood chips are typically safe since, unlike green waste compost or manure, there usually aren't pesticides and herbicides to worry about. And think about those nutrients that the deep tree roots mined and brought into the tree trunk and branches and leaves. Woodchips are truly amazing for your garden!
Hi! Since I found your channel this past weekend I have been binge watching!! I retired last year in August with full intentions of starting a garden. I finally have some land of my own and all the time in the world. With all the other You Tubers my mind was going every which way and I could not get started!! Then came You!! You calmed my mind down and helped me focus. So if I won't eat it, I won't grow it!! (At least for now.) This video is the one that gave me the push to at least get started. I have a delivery of Chip Drop on the way. (They don't give you a specific time so when it gets here it's here!!) I will take picks and let you know how it's going. Starting with raised beds and tires for containers. So while I wait on the chips, I'm starting a worm farm!! Thank you for giving me the push and the confidence to know I Can do this! Your voice is so calming. I'm going to rewatch this video while I wait. (And more of your other videos). God Bless you Sir!
I mix in different sizes of pine cones and pine needles in regular store mulch-to keep out cats and squirrels-and it makes a huge difference in helping the mulch break down, which yes-improves fertility. So, if you can't get these arbor chips, plenty of people really want to get rid of the needles and cones everywhere. I throw in leaves too. He's right-this combo is perfect! 💗
Arborist here...very good info and all very important assets of wood chips. I'd like to add another benefit to the list. Adding 4"-6" of Arborist chips under the dripline of trees (preferably mostly hardwood) does all the things you mentioned but also eliminates root scalping from lawn tractors. Just make sure to keep the mulch off the root flares (or root crowns). In a month or two you'll have earthworms galore, time release organic fertilizer, and vastly improved soil texture. Also I'd avoid cypress and cedar chips. They're touted by marketers for insect resistance near homes but they're both woods that are rot resistant and rotting is exactly what we want with chip mulch.
MULCH IN PLACE! I agree with this video and also really support the practice of mulching in place...that means when you thin, trim, prune, etc just chop the material up and leave it to mulch the area it came from. It is a brilliantly simple and sustainable practice. It will quickly fade and blend in with your chips.
I just got a free load, way more than i know what to do with it. Over $100 worth of mulch. Glad to hear all the benefits. Using it around all my trees and borders
Great video. I have been using wood chips in the garden beds for years and have observed massive awesome results. I also deposit all my grass clipping in the less utilized areas of my yard and use the wood chips to hide the decaying grass and add carbon content to the “green” content to balance the compost mix ratio and thus break down the free nutrients faster. I mostly appreciate the free wood chip application site. This is a fantastic resource to actually get entire trees that have been chipped. Bagged chips are mostly just the outer bark, which is still good, but a chipped tree is optimum. Thanks for your grassroots effort to impact our earth in a sustainable and provide an earth far better than we started with. I am so glad to see people like you show that nature can provide a net gain to our human efforts, when we do the things that nature does without us messing it up. The forest does not have a sprinkler system or bags of fertilizer being spread out, and it appears to be majestic to me.
Gardening for many years but only recently discovered the benefits of wood chips! But, I love your explaination on 'cover' vs 'amendment'... big difference in what the do in your soil & take away from plant growth! BUT..the benefits..weed suppression, moisture retention, erosion control, slow soil amendment FAR outweigh and are better than tillage/disturb & uncovered soil!
Wood encourages mushrooms, the great decompers; great for trees. Compost encourages many good molds, great for many plants. I like to use both methods and sometimes a layer or blend. Adding a sprinkle of mushroom compost prior to mulch, will help balance the beginning nitrogen loss but will balance the phosphorus well. Happy growing!
We get several truck loads a year from Chip Drop, Ranger Texas is very rural and lots of power lines are trimmed of trees every year. We have 4 piles in various stages of breaking down and we use the final stage as soil amendments since it's dark black the earthworms and nature have done their work, we till about 4-6 inches every year in late winter, does wonders for the garden and the chips are free.
I use wood chips in all my Perennial Gardens. I also spread wood chips in the chicken run in the Spring. The chickens dig through them all year and I mix the half composted mixture w/ enough greens to finish composting them over the Winter. This allows me to produce about 3 yards of compost a year.
Well done! Been preaching this as a Master Gardener for almost 40 years. I've seen people buy the bark chip mulch, and when you get a "toad strangler/gully washer" they become little boats that float away
Several weeks ago a large tree was getting a major trim so the questions came out about the wood chips....I ended up with a small load of them which I will happily be using over time....so happy to get a load dropped of on my driveway. It was from a maple tree!
Having trees cut back today because my homeowner's insurance doesn't want any trees/limbs overhanging roof. Already arranged for arborist to leave the chips but needed to know exactly what you've explained here to be sure this was a good way to go for weed suppression in much of an overgrown yard. You answered all my questions, put any concerns to rest. Subscribed to learn more. And he'll bring me as many chips as I want from future jobs. Saved me $ as he doesn't have to haul any of my stuff away, too!
This is why I bought a used chipper from a tree service. I trim a lot of trees and also get landscape waste dropped off for a fee, which I chip into mulch I use to compost my property. Have chipped tons of landscape waste and spread chips all over the 5 acres here. It is also a good idea to have a tractor or skid steer if you deal with a lot of chips.
last week chipdrop gave me 19 cubic yards. it was awesome! a lot of neighbors came to help with the load. now i have a huge pile in my front yard, it's heating up, can't wait till my composting thermometer so i can see how hot it is. i'm going to sharing your video with other neighbors, hopefully they'll get on board so we can take turns hosting chipdrops in our neighborhood.
Can't get Chip Drop here as I am rural. However, just today I heard chain saws and a chipper. Jumped in my car and found them trimming trees at the school. Talked to the guys and 2 loads of chips have been delivered so far and they will be here a week trimming trees! My new BTE garden is going to be perfect and will have all winter to sit and start breaking down. I am doing the happy dance!
Love your detailed explanations. I was concerned about disease by getting chips and mulch from the community garden but I'm going over tomorrow. My garden will be happier.
Been using Arborist chips for years. Xeriscaped my front and back yard with chip and stone. Received may rave reviews and it was FREE. Also works great as weed control on back and side lane of my property. Also used it in my dog run. Neutralizes urine and fecal smells.
I feel like the luckiest gardener #1 getting truckloads of free fresh wood chips delivered anytime I need them from a tree service contracted by my power company. And #2, every day getting 4 to 10 big boxes of expired produce from my local grocer to mix with the chips. =Free Black Gold 🌱👨🏼🌾🌾
We have a small wood chipper and have also embraced the wood chip concept. We are clearing forest to make orchard, as well as clearing to reduce fire danger. Our best wood is milled to lumber. Second best becomes firewood. And the "scrap" becomes chips. We're currently using it in our berry patches, and LOVING the results
Wow! Again another great vid Gardner Scott! I was blessed to have an arborist with a big boon next door in Mich. I had him drop all his pine jobs by the barn. Now in FL. i just hooked up with a tree trimmer, who is happy to do the same! They are happy to have a place to dump it free! After soil prep. I’d say woodchips are next! It’s enriched the soil, and saved countless hours of weeding! You give the BEST advice! I give your links to anyone considering a garden! 👍
Recently bought a small house in Cyprus (Mediterranean). Old owner used a weed suppressing membrane everywhere, with decorative rocks on top of that. The soil looked barren, plants were dying, many diseased. We were told to spray and add fertilizer. No. Instead we’ve hauled away all the rocks, ripped out the membrane, and added a thick layer of mainly wood chip mulch throughout our garden from a local supplier, similar to what you showed in this video. Two months later and there are now a ton of worms in our garden, we see more small lizards, bugs and butterflies (life!), our plants are already looking happier. Our wood chips here in Cyprus weren’t free, but the cost was minimal, and it’s totally transforming our garden. Thanks for the great videos!
Modern Homesteading did a soil analysis on this. Tilled plants no compost vs woodchips on second garden plot after two years. The woodchips plot had almost no nitrogen but did have other nutrients at moderate levels. I think woodchips are mostly for our convenience of weed suppression.
There are intelligent ways to account for the nitrogen loss that may come from accidental mixing of wood chips and soil. For example when I work my mostly-annual beds I add composted chicken manure that I buy in bags, and that is very rich in nitrogen as well as lots of bacterial life for my soil. Blood meal is another easy option to add nitrogen.
Thanks for the video, v have different mathods of farming. in my country (india🇮🇳) I never saw that mulching on the soil, but I m going to use that in my farms🚜🐄🌾, your videos are helping me to learn more about healthy soil. Thank you again. 🙏
Such an incredible resource. It took me five long years to find a good source - where I used to live, the city and tree companies had a contract where they dropped the chips off at a private firm, then that company charged homeowners and gardeners for them. I could afford to buy some from them, but not as many as I would have liked. But after moving to a different location, I finally stumbled across an arborist crew at work, and they were very happy to drop the fresh chips off at my place. It saves the arborist money, fuel and time, because they don't have to deal with the municipal dump and I'm closer than the other property where they were dropping them before. And I am *thrilled* as you can imagine. Extra bonus: the person who runs the arborist crew taught me all sorts of things about forestry and land management with an eye to sustainability, without using synthetic poisons. He's a real wealth of knowledge and experience. I ended up hiring that crew to cut down and chip up a few old trees on my property that had become safety hazards - and he gave me a steep discount because I was allowing him to dump those other chips here. He even brought me a free couple truckloads of large oak branches and trunk chunks that I can cut to size, split and season for use in my woodstove. The lesson here is, if ChipDrop or your city/county isn't coming through for you, just keep trying, and keep your eyes peeled. Network with people in your community. It will definitely be worthwhile when you do find a free or inexpensive source! 😊
I used chip drop. Fantastic deal Gave the person $20 tip. he was happy, I was ahppy, It was a pine tree that smelled so good over thear it took me to spread it out.
Great video. My neighbor put a sign on his pile of woodchips. FREE. I've been over there many many times. People are constantly looking at me gathering the wood chips. I can't believe people aren't in line grabbing all they can.
Oh man, Scott thank you for the Chip Drop suggestion! I never knew!! I’m so excited, we’re gardening on a budget and this is just what I needed in time to prep my garden beds for next spring!
I hope ChipDrop works out for you! It didn't for me, but eventually I just happened to be driving past a tree crew at work and formed a friendly relationship with them directly. Keep your eyes peeled for that; it can turn out fantastic if you just network a little. The crew I talked to was thrilled to drop their fresh chips at my place rather than take them to the dump. When I mentioned that i wanted mulch for my gardens they knew exactly what I was talking about and they were very happy to help.
@@kathynix6552 I've gotten many loads of arborist chips through chipdrop and it's always been great. I would never ask for a photo first. In our area free chips are in high demand and that would be an instant disqualifier if you asked for photos of your free chips first. Re. photos, perhaps you're thinking of commercially purchased chips rather than free arborist wood chips? With chipdrop / free arborist chips you can specify that you don't want logs.
As the wood chips decompose in my walkways, I find Nettles LOVE this environment, and as hard as I try to pull them up, their roots just spring back twice as spunky in the wood chip mix (it was 12 inches deep when I first put it down, and I added 3 inches every season)
I got one my neighbor was tossing out last Spring. Works well enough but it takes hours to get a few cart loads when I can get 100 carts from a typical truck load so I'm may get rid of 5hp chipper. I burn my brush piles and quench the coals for "biochar" for the most part.
@@karenlatham4053 Understood. Nothing clean organic leaves my land, I'd pile logs and brush to rot first, shovel some dirt on 'em to speed the process, way outback, sort of ultra slow composting, it works but takes a few yr.s. Also can be used as bottom fill for high raised beds, I'm saving large limbs for that...use some 6 to 8" diameter limbs for temporary low raised bed rimming for containment and definition. I'm just out of city limits for good reason. Learned how to stack burn pile taller than wide using canted in limbs around the outside, high density 8 to 10 ft high, top down ignition, DRY material....hot mostly smoke free burn. Several times per yr. I simply have too much to chip and half of it wouldn't even fit in the chipper. A pile that takes 90+ min to burn would take me days to chip. Plus I get a couple cart loads of biochar, a permanent forms of soil enhancement, of course white ash is also used. It's ALL good fun. :D
Just signed up! First time gardener and home owner here! This video is just in time, I need lots of mulch for our landscaping and our first garden! thank you!
So glad you mentioned Get Chip Drop. It is one of the best sources I know. Make sure to give good directions so you don't have to quickly move a drop off the neighbors property.
A company that trims trees for the power company is always begging for a place to dump the chips. I have received tons of chips the last two years for free. I give the chips time to "cool off" and then put them to work. Great video and great information.
You answered all of my questions, I was quite concerned with introducing foreign bugs and eggs in larvae of infestation into the property such as Japanese beetles. 🐞🦗🌳🌲🌴🍁 Thank you very much for this video information that's exactly what I need to know & appreciate it very much👍👩🌾🇨🇦
Watching from south of France ... been researching on buying my own wood chip machine as have quite a lot of grounds including woodland that I am always clearing and end up having huge bonfires... loved this video and as soon as c19 lock is over off out to buy a machine! Thanks for all the insights! One new subscriber happy!
I had six pecan trees trimmed this last year and did not know. I should’ve kept the chips. I am kicking myself every day. Because now I am waiting and waiting for somebody to bring me chips. I’ve tried hitting up every tree trimmer in the area that uses a chipper and even signed up with Chipdrop but so far no takers.!
Hi! Oh my Gosh!!! Three years ago I talked to the guys who were cutting tree limbs out from around the powerlines in my area and offered to let them dump all their wood chips on my farm. Now I have a full acre of wood chips piled over 3 feet high! Yes! An acre of wood chips piled over 3 feet high! I use them everywhere I need to improve the soil!
Hi woodchips are great, I first learned about it from the back to Eden with Paul Gautschi, on utube I've had 2 drop offs and it's great for plant's and I put them on my plant pot's.
Weed suppression is a must..great video! Excited to check out your other videos! Free wood chips definitely available in many places. I love your emphasis on "for FREE!"
Turning 'trash' into black garden gold! Love ur video. Just remember not to cut down any trees just for woodchips! It would defeit the whole purpose of attempting to sequester carbon from our atmosphere. Trees are miracles from nature that we'll never fully uncover. Happy gardening! ❀
Love this channel ...Love wood chip too. Here in west of England is very wet, but then very dry periods in summer (and global weather extremes increasingly affect), but wood chip also soaks up excess water to protect soil from water logging, as well as from drought. First time tried wood chip as mulch, but since then partially composting it first works really well.
I get 2 cubic meters for $50 from a local arborist. Lasts me a couple of years, and the last 1/4 of the load has turned to fine black compost by the time I get to it.
I have used wood chips for many years. Excellent advice. I also get the municipal wood chips and run them thru my old leaf chipper shredder. Chops it up even finer to add to my manure/compost pile. Only takes about 3 months to break down to usable compost. The larger chips that I use straight from the municipal landfill usually last about two to three years in my very wet environment. Good video. Subscribing.
Hope you have a big yard. I got a drop of about 20 to 25 yards and I'm having a heck of a time hiding the excess. Don't get me wrong, I am happy I have this problem In fact it should be called GetChipAwesome.com
I appreciated this video so much! I'd heard that wood chips take the nitrogen out of your soil and stopped using them . I can't wait to start back with wood chips and I have an unlimited supply. So excited! Thank you.
Thank God I watched this video to the end 😆 and looked at the description box and clicked on the chip drop website. Cause we need this in our garden. Tired of pulling up weeds, cant wait to lay down 6 INCHES 😁🤣 of wood chips.
I just want to add to your great speech that if someone will be planting directly into wood cheaps they have to add firstly some compost leaves or manure and than wood cheaps as a mulch. Reason woodcheaps needs to to breakdown so if you want some harvest in a first year do that. Best from Poland
I also bag up fresh grass dumped at the city place makes great mulch behind stuff and spread/mix on my compost scraps. Nothing like a couple bags in the car trunk when exercising the pooch!
I bought several loads of woodchips from our county dump which takes in tree branches and stuff. Some of it broke down good, but it had lots of super hard wood chips in it too, that after 3 years still haven't started to get soft.
I've just become an addict and I need help!! Addicted to your amazing videos G Scott. I recently moved from Cape Town (winter rainfall) to Mpumalanga summer rainfall on a large citrus farm where my brother has a lovely home up on the mountain. Orange clay on solid bedrock but it seems pretty fertile. Very high temps in summer and frost in winter. I'm planning a vegetable garden but will have to do a raised bed as it's impossible to dig here. I've watched many many of your videos and spent many happy hours learning so much. I've started my first compost pile and hoping that it's a success, am saving every bit of organic matter for the precious stuff. My brother does the framing of exotic wood tables which are spectacular, the largest one sale price R45 000! Wish I could show you the photos. Last week he brought a couple of bags of chips from the workshop so excited. The slabs of wood which are approx 100mm thick have to be baked till dry in a special room to prevent warping and the boilers are stoked night and day. I don't imagine that the wood is treated at least I hope not so am very excited to cover the soil in the vast flower beds surrounding the property. During summer the temperatures can reach 38 to 42degrees C and the clay dries hard as rock but am certain that the chips will sort out the problems. Thank you so much for the dedication, passion and commitment that are evident in every one of your videos it's greatly appreciated! Gardening is my absolute passion and I think I have green blood LOL and there's nothing that brings me more joy than to see a tiny green speck of life peeping through the ground. We're situated in an area called Schoemanskloof and it is so beautiful it takes your breath away! Mile upon mile of citrus, macadamia nut , avocado trees and the surrounding forests cannot be described. I shall get the names of some of the wood used and update my comment, perhaps if you'd be so kind to give me the okay, I'd value that so much. I just checked and mostly they use Pod Mahogany, Matumi, Wild Teak and Lead Wood. Do you think I could use these chips?. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with the world!! Oh my goodness I see that I did message you when I first watched this video...it isnt sawdust, it's fairly coarse but I'm just concerned about it being exotic wood. Thanks for your previous reply
Thanks, Felicity. It sounds like you have a great adventure ahead. The wood chips will be fine for mulch but will take a very long time to decompose. I would use them in paths and on perennial beds.
i re-landscaped a large commercial/industrial property in South Seattle with all west coast native plants..... the site was originally bark mulch with ivy and other worthless commercial landscape plants.... i used wood chips as mulch over a couple thousand square feet and the soil turned from hydrophobic garbage to gold. The native plants thrived and i didnt need irrigation after they were established. Seattle actually has very dry summers, dryer than almost anywhere in the country except California. I love wood chips.
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
5 (Five) Benefits of wood chips :-
1) Improve soil nutrients,
2) Weeds suppression,
3) Maintaining soil moisture,
4) Moderate soil temperature during summer and winter,
5) Holding soil in place preventing erosion.
Mr. Scott, thanks you very much for your informative sharing.
Good information
Very good summary
@aNgÉlica dEl ciELo Wood chips are mulch
@aNgÉlica dEl ciELo - Wood chips are a type of mulch, and they are indeed better than many other types.
@ Gardener Scott 🌿🍀🌲🌲🌲
I am enthusiastic about all you said, but I'm worried about getting a load of wood from trees that were sprayed for a certain insect or caterpillar. I wonder how long it would take for all traces of any pesticide to completely disappear.
Otherwise, the wood you spoke about is wonderful, but I always need a few bags of pine bark mulch for up close to the house, just because it smells and looks so heavenly!! There again there's a chance of getting some with traces of pesticide.☹️
Mr. Scott really knows his stuff. I'm a long time master gardener myself, and even I am able to learn new things. Nice presentation.
you are not a master gardener
Even if you do get a loss of nitrogen from the chips either from contact or mixing them in, you can easily amend that loss by adding urine to the garden. It will put a ton of nitrogen back into the soil. I produce 2-3 gallons of urine a day, so when I need a lot of it for nitrogen-loving plants, I have a specific watering can that becomes a de facto urinal for a few days.
Ewwwww.
Me too. My dwarf fir/pines love it from time to time. Burt used to apparently water his lemon tree every morning. So that’s at least three of us.
@@gibbyrockerhunter Well, it's actually been my secret elixir for years on dawn redwoods. When people contact me regarding their dawn languishing with certain signs, I tell them to pour a fast food soft drink cup full of it around the base of their tree once a month for three months, If it starts growing too fast, stop for the year. Most are leery at first, but everyone has always emailed me back with glowing reports. So yes, your conifers are going to love it as well.
I have let my husband add to my compost pile but then I recently read that it might not be the best idea if you are on certain or a lot of medications. Thoughts?
@@heidiweinert3260 Yes, like certain cancer meds, but it all boils down to how long it takes for all of those to break down. When in doubt, throw it out! Your doctor would be able to tell you how long that stuff stays active, or your pharmacist. Excellent question!
3 GALLONS a day? How much are you drinking?lol.
Scott: Your videos are absolutely brilliant, perfectly clear and detailed, informative and inspiring. I have been leading garden workshops for almost ten years, and you are clearly one of the best garden educators I have encountered. Thanks so much. Keep up the good work, which is helping hundreds of gardeners understand what they are doing and do an even better job.
I use arborist chip exclusively at my own house and my flowers and shrubs love it and the bio activity is off the charts, worms everywhere mycorrhizal Fungi, shoot I want to live in my soil.
Great content love to watch people that know what they are talking about. Keep up the great work.
I have been doing this for the last year and the increased fungal and microbial activity is a joy to behold. From having horrible clay soil, digging into chocolatey, hummus rich soil is so uplifting
Thanks! I never knew about Chipdrop. Signed up and within a couple weeks we now have enough to get a good start on keeping weeds out. I can use the hours I save from weeding to watch more of your videos!
I talked the arborist doing my neighbors trees into dumping their full load in my driveway. I know the trees and their health and was happy to get cherry Laurel and camphor chip for my yard, garden, driveway and Chicken run for my Florida Sandy soil.
So excited to have gotten 10 cu yards of wood chips dropped off earlier this week. I am using it to gradually kill off my lawn and build the soil.I got the same last year too. I will say though that in my dry California weather wood chips take a long time (many years) to fully break down. But I am in no hurry. Seeing the explosion of mycorrhizal fungii in the soil from the wood chips last year makes me happy! It is vastly improving my clayey soil, and what used to be dry and cracking earth just last year is starting to turn into black gold. One huge benefit also is that wood chips are typically safe since, unlike green waste compost or manure, there usually aren't pesticides and herbicides to worry about. And think about those nutrients that the deep tree roots mined and brought into the tree trunk and branches and leaves. Woodchips are truly amazing for your garden!
Hi! Since I found your channel this past weekend I have been binge watching!! I retired last year in August with full intentions of starting a garden. I finally have some land of my own and all the time in the world. With all the other You Tubers my mind was going every which way and I could not get started!! Then came You!! You calmed my mind down and helped me focus. So if I won't eat it, I won't grow it!! (At least for now.) This video is the one that gave me the push to at least get started. I have a delivery of Chip Drop on the way. (They don't give you a specific time so when it gets here it's here!!) I will take picks and let you know how it's going. Starting with raised beds and tires for containers. So while I wait on the chips, I'm starting a worm farm!! Thank you for giving me the push and the confidence to know I Can do this! Your voice is so calming. I'm going to rewatch this video while I wait. (And more of your other videos). God Bless you Sir!
Hi, Venita. I'm so glad to hear that. You're taking a good approach to gardening. Enjoy it!
I mix in different sizes of pine cones and pine needles in regular store mulch-to keep out cats and squirrels-and it makes a huge difference in helping the mulch break down, which yes-improves fertility. So, if you can't get these arbor chips, plenty of people really want to get rid of the needles and cones everywhere. I throw in leaves too. He's right-this combo is perfect! 💗
Arborist here...very good info and all very important assets of wood chips. I'd like to add another benefit to the list. Adding 4"-6" of Arborist chips under the dripline of trees (preferably mostly hardwood) does all the things you mentioned but also eliminates root scalping from lawn tractors. Just make sure to keep the mulch off the root flares (or root crowns). In a month or two you'll have earthworms galore, time release organic fertilizer, and vastly improved soil texture.
Also I'd avoid cypress and cedar chips. They're touted by marketers for insect resistance near homes but they're both woods that are rot resistant and rotting is exactly what we want with chip mulch.
Excellent point. In my mulch video I mention mulch as a way to avoid injuring bark with trimmers, but root scalping is also a concern. Thanks.
MULCH IN PLACE! I agree with this video and also really support the practice of mulching in place...that means when you thin, trim, prune, etc just chop the material up and leave it to mulch the area it came from. It is a brilliantly simple and sustainable practice. It will quickly fade and blend in with your chips.
I just got a free load, way more than i know what to do with it. Over $100 worth of mulch. Glad to hear all the benefits. Using it around all my trees and borders
Great video.
I have been using wood chips in the garden beds for years and have observed massive awesome results.
I also deposit all my grass clipping in the less utilized areas of my yard and use the wood chips to hide the decaying grass and add carbon content to the “green” content to balance the compost mix ratio and thus break down the free nutrients faster.
I mostly appreciate the free wood chip application site. This is a fantastic resource to actually get entire trees that have been chipped. Bagged chips are mostly just the outer bark, which is still good, but a chipped tree is optimum.
Thanks for your grassroots effort to impact our earth in a sustainable and provide an earth far better than we started with.
I am so glad to see people like you show that nature can provide a net gain to our human efforts, when we do the things that nature does without us messing it up. The forest does not have a sprinkler system or bags of fertilizer being spread out, and it appears to be majestic to me.
Thanks! I appreciate your comment.
Gardening for many years but only recently discovered the benefits of wood chips! But, I love your explaination on 'cover' vs 'amendment'... big difference in what the do in your soil & take away from plant growth! BUT..the benefits..weed suppression, moisture retention, erosion control, slow soil amendment FAR outweigh and are better than tillage/disturb & uncovered soil!
Wood encourages mushrooms, the great decompers; great for trees.
Compost encourages many good molds, great for many plants.
I like to use both methods and sometimes a layer or blend. Adding a sprinkle of mushroom compost prior to mulch, will help balance the beginning nitrogen loss but will balance the phosphorus well.
Happy growing!
We get several truck loads a year from Chip Drop, Ranger Texas is very rural and lots of power lines are trimmed of trees every year.
We have 4 piles in various stages of breaking down and we use the final stage as soil amendments since it's dark black the earthworms and nature have done their work, we till about 4-6 inches every year in late winter, does wonders for the garden and the chips are free.
Signed up for Chip Drop after seeing this video. Got my first free load of chips in 6 hours. Fantastic! Thank you for the great info!
That's great. Thanks for letting me know.
I’ve signed up and just had to confirm I still want the drop been 7 weeks so far
gene snyder I probably won’t ever get a load live in a very rural part of the country. Still if I get lucky I won’t have to hall them all my self.
i wish! im quite a few months in, but we are coming in to fall, so i hope i will get a drop!
I just signed up for a chipdrop yesterday. I'm so excited. I hope I don't have to wait to long
I use wood chips in all my Perennial Gardens. I also spread wood chips in the chicken run in the Spring. The chickens dig through them all year and I mix the half composted mixture w/ enough greens to finish composting them over the Winter. This allows me to produce about 3 yards of compost a year.
Gotta love chickens
Well done! Been preaching this as a Master Gardener for almost 40 years. I've seen people buy the bark chip mulch, and when you get a "toad strangler/gully washer" they become little boats that float away
Several weeks ago a large tree was getting a major trim so the questions came out about the wood chips....I ended up with a small load of them which I will happily be using over time....so happy to get a load dropped of on my driveway. It was from a maple tree!
Having trees cut back today because my homeowner's insurance doesn't want any trees/limbs overhanging roof. Already arranged for arborist to leave the chips but needed to know exactly what you've explained here to be sure this was a good way to go for weed suppression in much of an overgrown yard. You answered all my questions, put any concerns to rest. Subscribed to learn more. And he'll bring me as many chips as I want from future jobs. Saved me $ as he doesn't have to haul any of my stuff away, too!
The Chip Drop was a great suggestion for me. I also bought a couple of straw bales. It’s wonderful. Thank you
This is why I bought a used chipper from a tree service. I trim a lot of trees and also get landscape waste dropped off for a fee, which I chip into mulch I use to compost my property. Have chipped tons of landscape waste and spread chips all over the 5 acres here. It is also a good idea to have a tractor or skid steer if you deal with a lot of chips.
last week chipdrop gave me 19 cubic yards. it was awesome! a lot of neighbors came to help with the load. now i have a huge pile in my front yard, it's heating up, can't wait till my composting thermometer so i can see how hot it is. i'm going to sharing your video with other neighbors, hopefully they'll get on board so we can take turns hosting chipdrops in our neighborhood.
Can't get Chip Drop here as I am rural. However, just today I heard chain saws and a chipper. Jumped in my car and found them trimming trees at the school. Talked to the guys and 2 loads of chips have been delivered so far and they will be here a week trimming trees! My new BTE garden is going to be perfect and will have all winter to sit and start breaking down. I am doing the happy dance!
That's awesome! I'm joining you in your happy dance.
Love your detailed explanations. I was concerned about disease by getting chips and mulch from the community garden but I'm going over tomorrow. My garden will be happier.
I’ve just had my first chip drop delivered, what a great program!
Been using Arborist chips for years. Xeriscaped my front and back yard with chip and stone. Received may rave reviews and it was FREE. Also works great as weed control on back and side lane of my property. Also used it in my dog run. Neutralizes urine and fecal smells.
That's great!
I love the mini-arched trellis from cattle panels at 10:18 in your video. Thanks for your video!
Thank you for clarifying the difference between wood chips and mulch.
very infprmative, rhank you! im a farmer here in the Philippines! god bless! ❤️
I feel like the luckiest gardener #1 getting truckloads of free fresh wood chips delivered anytime I need them from a tree service contracted by my power company. And #2, every day getting 4 to 10 big boxes of expired produce from my local grocer to mix with the chips. =Free Black Gold
🌱👨🏼🌾🌾
I had tree work done and had tons of wood chips from it. I piled it up in big mounds for this spring. Perfect timing for finding this video!
We have a small wood chipper and have also embraced the wood chip concept.
We are clearing forest to make orchard, as well as clearing to reduce fire danger.
Our best wood is milled to lumber. Second best becomes firewood. And the "scrap" becomes chips.
We're currently using it in our berry patches, and LOVING the results
Good for you! My berries are the first to receive the wood chips.
Wow! Again another great vid Gardner Scott! I was blessed to have an arborist with a big boon next door in Mich. I had him drop all his pine jobs by the barn. Now in FL. i just hooked up with a tree trimmer, who is happy to do the same! They are happy to have a place to dump it free! After soil prep. I’d say woodchips are next! It’s enriched the soil, and saved countless hours of weeding! You give the BEST advice! I give your links to anyone considering a garden! 👍
I couldn't agree more! Great advice . I keep a lot of pikes. Some i use readily for a cover, some i let sit for awesome compost. Best stuff ever!
Recently bought a small house in Cyprus (Mediterranean). Old owner used a weed suppressing membrane everywhere, with decorative rocks on top of that. The soil looked barren, plants were dying, many diseased. We were told to spray and add fertilizer. No. Instead we’ve hauled away all the rocks, ripped out the membrane, and added a thick layer of mainly wood chip mulch throughout our garden from a local supplier, similar to what you showed in this video. Two months later and there are now a ton of worms in our garden, we see more small lizards, bugs and butterflies (life!), our plants are already looking happier. Our wood chips here in Cyprus weren’t free, but the cost was minimal, and it’s totally transforming our garden. Thanks for the great videos!
Great example! Thanks for sharing.
From Australia, very good presentation of the benefits, it’s what I use on my native garden that I put in to replace my lawn, excellent.
Thanks! I did this over the spring and we had about 140 cubic yards delivered for my fruit orchard.
Thank you!
Modern Homesteading did a soil analysis on this. Tilled plants no compost vs woodchips on second garden plot after two years. The woodchips plot had almost no nitrogen but did have other nutrients at moderate levels. I think woodchips are mostly for our convenience of weed suppression.
There are intelligent ways to account for the nitrogen loss that may come from accidental mixing of wood chips and soil. For example when I work my mostly-annual beds I add composted chicken manure that I buy in bags, and that is very rich in nitrogen as well as lots of bacterial life for my soil. Blood meal is another easy option to add nitrogen.
Thanks for the video, v have different mathods of farming. in my country (india🇮🇳) I never saw that mulching on the soil, but I m going to use that in my farms🚜🐄🌾, your videos are helping me to learn more about healthy soil. Thank you again. 🙏
Such an incredible resource. It took me five long years to find a good source - where I used to live, the city and tree companies had a contract where they dropped the chips off at a private firm, then that company charged homeowners and gardeners for them. I could afford to buy some from them, but not as many as I would have liked.
But after moving to a different location, I finally stumbled across an arborist crew at work, and they were very happy to drop the fresh chips off at my place. It saves the arborist money, fuel and time, because they don't have to deal with the municipal dump and I'm closer than the other property where they were dropping them before. And I am *thrilled* as you can imagine.
Extra bonus: the person who runs the arborist crew taught me all sorts of things about forestry and land management with an eye to sustainability, without using synthetic poisons. He's a real wealth of knowledge and experience.
I ended up hiring that crew to cut down and chip up a few old trees on my property that had become safety hazards - and he gave me a steep discount because I was allowing him to dump those other chips here. He even brought me a free couple truckloads of large oak branches and trunk chunks that I can cut to size, split and season for use in my woodstove.
The lesson here is, if ChipDrop or your city/county isn't coming through for you, just keep trying, and keep your eyes peeled. Network with people in your community. It will definitely be worthwhile when you do find a free or inexpensive source! 😊
I JUST signed up for a CHIP DROP!! Thank you SO MUCH for letting us know about this service!! 🤗
That's great!
I used chip drop. Fantastic deal Gave the person $20 tip. he was happy, I was ahppy, It was a pine tree that smelled so good over thear it took me to spread it out.
That's great!
Back to Eden with Paul Gautsche is a must watch on this subject.
Thanks !
I just added a layer of wood chips to my garden.. I’m excited to see how well it works
Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for all the tips, Scott. The production team did a fantastic job with this video.
Our pleasure!
This video inspired me to look up chip drop.. I signed up two days ago. Today I have 18 cubic yards of arborists mulch!
So many good learning lessons in 14 minutes. Great job!
Great video. My neighbor put a sign on his pile of woodchips. FREE. I've been over there many many times. People are constantly looking at me gathering the wood chips. I can't believe people aren't in line grabbing all they can.
Thanks. You're lucky so take full advantage of it.
Oh man, Scott thank you for the Chip Drop suggestion! I never knew!! I’m so excited, we’re gardening on a budget and this is just what I needed in time to prep my garden beds for next spring!
I hope ChipDrop works out for you! It didn't for me, but eventually I just happened to be driving past a tree crew at work and formed a friendly relationship with them directly. Keep your eyes peeled for that; it can turn out fantastic if you just network a little. The crew I talked to was thrilled to drop their fresh chips at my place rather than take them to the dump. When I mentioned that i wanted mulch for my gardens they knew exactly what I was talking about and they were very happy to help.
Hint: It would be good to see the wood chips before you agree to a drop off. Good companies will send through a photo or two.
@@kathynix6552 I've gotten many loads of arborist chips through chipdrop and it's always been great. I would never ask for a photo first. In our area free chips are in high demand and that would be an instant disqualifier if you asked for photos of your free chips first. Re. photos, perhaps you're thinking of commercially purchased chips rather than free arborist wood chips? With chipdrop / free arborist chips you can specify that you don't want logs.
I love wood chips. They really tie the yard together.
As the wood chips decompose in my walkways, I find Nettles LOVE this environment, and as hard as I try to pull them up, their roots just spring back twice as spunky in the wood chip mix (it was 12 inches deep when I first put it down, and I added 3 inches every season)
I bought a small wood chipper for my birthday 😁. We always have branches and this way I can use them in my gardens.
That's a great gift. 🙂
That's a great gift. 🙂
I got one my neighbor was tossing out last Spring. Works well enough but it takes hours to get a few cart loads when I can get 100 carts from a typical truck load so I'm may get rid of 5hp chipper. I burn my brush piles and quench the coals for "biochar" for the most part.
We aren't allowed to burn here :( . I wish I could.. So it's off to the land fill or I grind them up. Every little bit helps.
@@karenlatham4053 Understood. Nothing clean organic leaves my land, I'd pile logs and brush to rot first, shovel some dirt on 'em to speed the process, way outback, sort of ultra slow composting, it works but takes a few yr.s. Also can be used as bottom fill for high raised beds, I'm saving large limbs for that...use some 6 to 8" diameter limbs for temporary low raised bed rimming for containment and definition.
I'm just out of city limits for good reason. Learned how to stack burn pile taller than wide using canted in limbs around the outside, high density 8 to 10 ft high, top down ignition, DRY material....hot mostly smoke free burn. Several times per yr.
I simply have too much to chip and half of it wouldn't even fit in the chipper. A pile that takes 90+ min to burn would take me days to chip. Plus I get a couple cart loads of biochar, a permanent forms of soil enhancement, of course white ash is also used. It's ALL good fun. :D
Just signed up! First time gardener and home owner here! This video is just in time, I need lots of mulch for our landscaping and our first garden! thank you!
Hi, Emily. welcome to the channel. I'm glad I could help.
Hi, Emily. welcome to the channel. I'm glad I could help.
i use wood chips as the brown material for my compost bins. it works very well.
It does. Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely love Woodchips and mulch 😄
So glad you mentioned Get Chip Drop. It is one of the best sources I know. Make sure to give good directions so you don't have to quickly move a drop off the neighbors property.
I never fail to learn incredible valuable information on how to improve my knowledge of my gardening skills 👌
I was surprised, it was legitimate and I received a delivery.
A company that trims trees for the power company is always begging for a place to dump the chips. I have received tons of chips the last two years for free. I give the chips time to "cool off" and then put them to work. Great video and great information.
Thanks. You have a wonderful treasure there.
You answered all of my questions, I was quite concerned with introducing foreign bugs and eggs in larvae of infestation into the property such as Japanese beetles. 🐞🦗🌳🌲🌴🍁
Thank you very much for this video information that's exactly what I need to know & appreciate it very much👍👩🌾🇨🇦
Thanks Gardner Scott For Your Informative Videos.
Watching from south of France ... been researching on buying my own wood chip machine as have quite a lot of grounds including woodland that I am always clearing and end up having huge bonfires... loved this video and as soon as c19 lock is over off out to buy a machine! Thanks for all the insights! One new subscriber happy!
I think that is a good plan. I bought a wood chipper many years ago and used it a lot. Welcome to the channel!
I had six pecan trees trimmed this last year and did not know. I should’ve kept the chips. I am kicking myself every day. Because now I am waiting and waiting for somebody to bring me chips. I’ve tried hitting up every tree trimmer in the area that uses a chipper and even signed up with Chipdrop but so far no takers.!
Just signed up for the chipdrop, thank you so much for informing us of such a thing, we had no idea! Blessings to you sir
I'm so glad to help.
Hi! Oh my Gosh!!! Three years ago I talked to the guys who were cutting tree limbs out from around the powerlines in my area and offered to let them dump all their wood chips on my farm.
Now I have a full acre of wood chips piled over 3 feet high! Yes! An acre of wood chips piled over 3 feet high! I use them everywhere I need to improve the soil!
That's a lot of chips and a great idea for your soil.
My park just chopped up a bunch of trees and left all the wood chips, I'm gonna be stocking up on free wood chips now lol thank you so much scott
We have used Chip Drop for 3 years now. We LOVE free woodchips.
I wish they were available everywhere.
Hi woodchips are great, I first learned about it from the back to Eden with Paul Gautschi, on utube I've had 2 drop offs and it's great for plant's and I put them on my plant pot's.
I’m in! It will kill the weeds, improve the soil and reduce dust from the non weedy exposed dirt... can’t wait to try these!
That's great!
Weed suppression is a must..great video! Excited to check out your other videos! Free wood chips definitely available in many places. I love your emphasis on "for FREE!"
Fantastic information.. especially the explanation on disease transfer common non-transfer. Be blessed and happy gardening..
Thanks for addressing the nitrogen issue, I was wondering about that.....
Signed up for Chip Drop after seeing this video. Got my first free load of chips in 6 hours. Fantastic! Thank you for the great info!
Turning 'trash' into black garden gold! Love ur video. Just remember not to cut down any trees just for woodchips! It would defeit the whole purpose of attempting to sequester carbon from our atmosphere. Trees are miracles from nature that we'll never fully uncover. Happy gardening! ❀
Thank you. I agree with you.
This is the best video I’ve seen on this subject yet. Thank you!
Thanks for clarifying that for me, as thought the wood chips would steal TOO MUCH NITROGEN FROM SOIL AND PLANTS. Love your show.
Love this channel ...Love wood chip too. Here in west of England is very wet, but then very dry periods in summer (and global weather extremes increasingly affect), but wood chip also soaks up excess water to protect soil from water logging, as well as from drought. First time tried wood chip as mulch, but since then partially composting it first works really well.
Thanks. Thanks for the info about your chips.
As always... an excellent job on this video.
I get 2 cubic meters for $50 from a local arborist. Lasts me a couple of years, and the last 1/4 of the load has turned to fine black compost by the time I get to it.
This video was so concise and helpful, thank you so much!
I have used wood chips for many years. Excellent advice. I also get the municipal wood chips and run them thru my old leaf chipper shredder. Chops it up even finer to add to my manure/compost pile. Only takes about 3 months to break down to usable compost. The larger chips that I use straight from the municipal landfill usually last about two to three years in my very wet environment. Good video. Subscribing.
Thanks. Welcome to the channel and thanks for sharing your experience.
Just signed up for chip drop gonna do my whole backyard
That's awesome!
How?
I signed up with ChipDrop and got a huge load 4 days later. Pine chips that smell wonderful. Totally worth it especially since it costs nothing.
Hope you have a big yard. I got a drop of about 20 to 25 yards and I'm having a heck of a time hiding the excess. Don't get me wrong, I am happy I have this problem In fact it should be called GetChipAwesome.com
I signed up too but the 20 yard load scared me off, I don’t need nearly that much, small yard
I appreciated this video so much! I'd heard that wood chips take the nitrogen out of your soil and stopped using them . I can't wait to start back with wood chips and I have an unlimited supply. So excited! Thank you.
Mixed into soil there can be some nitrogen loss, but as a mulch it's not an issue.
Thank God I watched this video to the end 😆 and looked at the description box and clicked on the chip drop website. Cause we need this in our garden. Tired of pulling up weeds, cant wait to lay down 6 INCHES 😁🤣 of wood chips.
I just want to add to your great speech that if someone will be planting directly into wood cheaps they have to add firstly some compost leaves or manure and than wood cheaps as a mulch. Reason woodcheaps needs to to breakdown so if you want some harvest in a first year do that. Best from Poland
Good suggestion. Thank you.
I only have access to sawdust/wood shavings from the sawmill. Can I use them as mulch even when I don't know the type of wood used?
I am glad that I found you in RUclips . Thank you so much
Just signed up for chip drop, can’t wait for first load
Just got a pile today super stoked!
I received 22 load wood chips, I am happy
yup mulch or wood chips... best kept secret and environmentally friendly...
I also bag up fresh grass dumped at the city place makes great mulch behind stuff and spread/mix on my compost scraps. Nothing like a couple bags in the car trunk when exercising the pooch!
Thank you so much for doing this, you got it right... IT WORKS. Wish I could Post Pictures.
I bought several loads of woodchips from our county dump which takes in tree branches and stuff. Some of it broke down good, but it had lots of super hard wood chips in it too, that after 3 years still haven't started to get soft.
Great video! Thanks for the shoutout!
So glad to help. Many gardeners have already benefited. I'm looking forward to when it is available in my area of Colorado Springs.
I've just become an addict and I need help!! Addicted to your amazing videos G Scott. I recently moved from Cape Town (winter rainfall) to Mpumalanga summer rainfall on a large citrus farm where my brother has a lovely home up on the mountain. Orange clay on solid bedrock but it seems pretty fertile. Very high temps in summer and frost in winter. I'm planning a vegetable garden but will have to do a raised bed as it's impossible to dig here. I've watched many many of your videos and spent many happy hours learning so much. I've started my first compost pile and hoping that it's a success, am saving every bit of organic matter for the precious stuff. My brother does the framing of exotic wood tables which are spectacular, the largest one sale price R45 000! Wish I could show you the photos. Last week he brought a couple of bags of chips from the workshop so excited. The slabs of wood which are approx 100mm thick have to be baked till dry in a special room to prevent warping and the boilers are stoked night and day. I don't imagine that the wood is treated at least I hope not so am very excited to cover the soil in the vast flower beds surrounding the property. During summer the temperatures can reach 38 to 42degrees C and the clay dries hard as rock but am certain that the chips will sort out the problems. Thank you so much for the dedication, passion and commitment that are evident in every one of your videos it's greatly appreciated! Gardening is my absolute passion and I think I have green blood LOL and there's nothing that brings me more joy than to see a tiny green speck of life peeping through the ground. We're situated in an area called Schoemanskloof and it is so beautiful it takes your breath away! Mile upon mile of citrus, macadamia nut , avocado trees and the surrounding forests cannot be described. I shall get the names of some of the wood used and update my comment, perhaps if you'd be so kind to give me the okay, I'd value that so much. I just checked and mostly they use Pod Mahogany, Matumi, Wild Teak and Lead Wood. Do you think I could use these chips?. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with the world!! Oh my goodness I see that I did message you when I first watched this video...it isnt sawdust, it's fairly coarse but I'm just concerned about it being exotic wood. Thanks for your previous reply
Thanks, Felicity. It sounds like you have a great adventure ahead. The wood chips will be fine for mulch but will take a very long time to decompose. I would use them in paths and on perennial beds.
Thanks for all of the awesome tips and thorough explanations. Can’t wait to use Chipdrop!
I've been registered and waiting for a year
i re-landscaped a large commercial/industrial property in South Seattle with all west coast native plants..... the site was originally bark mulch with ivy and other worthless commercial landscape plants.... i used wood chips as mulch over a couple thousand square feet and the soil turned from hydrophobic garbage to gold. The native plants thrived and i didnt need irrigation after they were established. Seattle actually has very dry summers, dryer than almost anywhere in the country except California. I love wood chips.
Thanks for sharing!