You know what they say right? Free? If something is free then it probably has no value. When it comes to gardeners nothing could be further than the truth. What could be valuable to a gardener? Both compost and mulch are like gold to a gardener. And they both can be quite costly if you have to buy them. Usually between $20 and $32 per cubic yard!
Just about every community has a free source for both of these items. You might have a recycling center near you that collects tree branches etc. grinds them up and either gives them away or sells them fairly cheap. Usually they charge for them because they have to invest a great deal in equipment and time to make this stuff.
But in this post that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about wood chips. Tree trimmers are out there working every day trimming trees, taking trees down, and they grind up all the smaller branches and blow them into the back of their big box type dump trucks.
The problem is, those dump trucks only hold so much and once the truck is full they can’t keep working until they empty the truck. Most tree trimmers have places lined up where they can dispose of, or stock pile the wood chips that they generate.
But time is money and gasoline is expensive! I’m guessing those trucks get less than 10 miles per gallon, especially loaded! So it’s important to the owners of these companies to have multiple dump sites so they can quickly and easily get rid of those wood chips so they can finish the job, get paid and go home.
The catch? The catch is that you have to have a suitable place for them to dump the wood chips. The ground has to be solid, not wet and soggy and they have to have plenty of room to turn around and even a place where they can unhook the wood chipper. They have to unhook the wood chipper before they can dump the truck.
So if you are on a small lot in a residential neighborhood it’s going to be challenging but not impossible. Let’s say there is a tree service working on your street. That would give them a really high incentive to dump in your driveway because you are so close to their job site.
Here’s what you do. Make up a few homemade business cards that say;
Wanted! Wood chips.
You can dump them right in my driveway.
0000 Your street address.
Your cell phone number.
If you have a larger piece of property then you want to say that on the business cards;
Wanted! Wood chips.
You can dump them on my property.
Solid driveway all the way back, lots of
room to turn around.
0000 Your street address.
Your cell phone number.
When you see a tree service working in your area simply give the owner or the foreman one of your cards and ask them to hang on to it.
I have two or three tree companies that come to my place and drop off free wood chips. They are happy to have a place to get rid of them and I am happy to get them.
What do we use them for?
We most definitely do not use them in our potting mix. The chips are too fresh and too big, they would rob the potting mix of much needed nitrogen. But we do use them to mulch some of the bed around the nursery and if you have a muddy garden path that you’d like to make less slippery and less dangerous they work good for that.
But I also just let the wood chips sit in piles and before you know it a year or two has gone by and those piles on the inside are pretty well broken down and I take my front end loader and turn the piles.
The photos on this page show piles of wood chips in various stages of decomposition. Last spring, 2019, I started turning the piles, actually moving the material because the piles were too big to turn and creating a number of smaller piles. It was a great idea and the goal was to keep those piles turned. But now it’s been almost a year and the piles are covered in weeds!
Think about that? Covered in weeds? Weeds are not going to grow in a fresh pile of wood chips. So if these piles are growing weeds like crazy they are broken down and ready to be used in a bed somewhere on the property. But before I do that I’ll turn them again, mixing those weeds to the inside of the pile then I’ll keep them turned on a regular basis so the weeds all completely decompose and the only left is good, rich soil that I can use in grow beds.
I will turn all of the piles in spring of 2020 and by summer I’ll have piles and piles of really good, really rich, usable compost.
As always, by any and all means, stay inspired!
Questions, comments or mean things to say?
Two years ago, I saw a truck cutting pine trees.. The same year, we had a couple hardwood trees taken down on our property. In both cases I asked them to drop the mulch off. They dumped it on the side of our large driveway truckloads.Mountains of mulch. It’s been there for two years and today our neighbor will bring his dozer to push the pile off our driveway because part of one pile (the pine) is on our driveway. The hardwood piles are further back off the driveway by the woods.. I’m not sure when I can start using these piles for actual soil, I have a very big vegetable garden and always need more soil. I’m constantly expanding and planting and trying to improve our (Pennsylvania) clay soil, The piles still look a lot like mulch and there’s not much growing on it.. When should this be usable soil? The piles were several feet higher two years ago they have become much smaller. I am wondering if underneath them deep inside there might be usable soil. I tried turning the soil by hand with a shovel but it was too hard to. It did look darker inside. I regretted requesting them to dump this on our property for two years as it sat doing nothing but obstructing part of our drive. I’m wondering if my “mistake” could be turned into a blessing. PS I do not want to use it as mulch in my vegetable garden, one year I put mulch in that garden and I had all these horrible cucumber beetles and things I’ve never had before. They hide in the mulch. It was a nightmare, completely ruined our cucumber harvest which was always great, in the past, and attacked our cucuzza.. No more mulch for me! I only use mulch in my ornamental flower beds.
Thanks.
Eva,
The inside of the piles are probably darker and more broken down. I have piles of bark like this that are basically just soil now. Covered with weeds, I need to turn them often to keep the weeds down.
I have an opportunity to get 1000 cu yards of hardwood mulch and the compost under the massive 15 ft deep pile. The freshest is 3 yrs old and the bottom 2/3 is 5-10 years old and a has more a soil look..
Can I plant directly in this, if not what is the best use.? With turning will it become a soil or will it need a soil added even after composting..
The reason I want it is, my property is full of rocks and I have no soil for a yard or garden/orchard.
Absolutely full of worms.
Thank you in advance. Dan
Dan,
Sounds like really good stuff and once you get it spread out let it air out for at least a week or so, turn it if possible. Sometimes bark that is piled too high and too tight for too long because anaerobic, very toxic to plants. But once it airs out it’s usually okay. http://www.freeplants.com/free-article-toxic-mulch.htm
I have just picked up leaves with my sweeper, and have a pile 4′ X 4′ X 20′. I have no greens to add for compost. Can I add a high nitrogen liquid to speed decomposition. I usually drive over with riding lawn mower to make smaller bits. it can get dusty, but I wear a mask.
Norman,
Sure, the fertilizer should speed up the composting and grinding them as you do really helps.
The trees around here and the power line are all ceder hard trees are much harder to come by. I am have a electric company come out so we can take down a live oak that if blows over will take the poser line with it and I will asked if I can have it chips. What I want to know is about the ceder. We have ceder chips all over our property can I use them in my compost pile?
Susan,
I say yes, others might have a different opinion. Just allow them to decompose well.
This is kind of old, but most Walmarts sells Tecnu, it is a lotion like soap that will wash poison oak and poison ivy oils off your skin. It is very safe and even works if you skin is broken out a little. We always have it on hand, because you often find out you were in it, after you got the reaction! It was actually developed to wash radioactive particles off your skin, but did not sell, until the inventor used it on poison oak…I have used it on other irritating sap as well and it saves days and days of itching!!!
Any soap will remove poison ivy and poison oak oils. You need to wash thoroughly, and best before you start to itch. I don’t have any advice for removing radioactive particles.
Mike An orchardist nearby is chipping the thin prunings from his fruit trees, and afterwards spreading them under is fruit trees with amazing results. He uses only the smaller diameter nutrient loaded branches. What do you think of this?
Patrick,
I think it’s a great idea. Not only will those wood chips decompose, they are not likely to rob the trees of any nitrogen since they really can’t pull nitrogen but only from the top layer of soil. But mulching around those fruit trees will do them a world of good and eventually enrich the soil.
I’m not on board with getting wood chips from a tree trimming company. They usually are trimming a tree for a reason and disease is a common reason. In the south oak wilt is a big problem, you could end up killing all your oak trees if you get wood chips from a tree with oak wilt. It won’t show up for about 5 years and then it is too late, bye-bye oak tree!
DW,
In most cases they are removing trees or trimming trees that are just in the wrong place or encroaching into an area where they are unwanted. I’m sure your concern is legit about the oak wilt so you would have to be mindful of that. But there are many other ways for oak wilt to spread to other trees. Each of us has to decide what is best for us.
I agree, Mike. Our electric company sends tree trimmers around every few years. They go down both sides of the street, and into everyone’s back yard, and cut limbs away from the cables and wires.
Yes this is true where I am, in Pennsylvania they constantly trim or cut down trees by the side of the road to protect the power lines.. In New Jersey they don’t do this they just takeoff some branches or they cut the trees into a bizarre shape around the wires. Anyway here in Pennsylvania, its usually healthy trees. Not diseased..
I am on file with the local power and phone companies plus the city. If they are trimming trees I will take their chips. City gets to bring bag mow trimmings as well from the park and a few other places they collect the stuff. I don’t have to hand out the cards, I just made friends. Only thing I have to do is answer the phone call or text when the crew shows up on where is the pile this year, and I will tell them I’ll put the arrow out. (a yard sale sign with an arrow on it, I put next to the pile they can gift). It’s good to make friends.
Dee,
Making friends for sure!
for beds I buy used Bill Board signs. They are 14’x 48′ ( heavy plastic cloth) Put down 12″ of green wood chips. Then add some High Nitrogen fert. Now add your soil 8-10″ .Water the chips real well so they start to work. The Fert helps in the breakdown decay and BOTTOM heat is created. My 1000 Daylilies
love it. In3-4 yrs the chips are gone and you have great soil for other places. The sign keeps the grass out and helps to hold water. I put 2×8″ boards on Half cinder blocks. put a stake thru the block hole and screw the 2×8 t0 it . The sign comes up on each side and is open on each end for drainage.
This is a basic idea and you can use any plastic from shopping bags to rolls of plastic and size to for a raised Veggy bed. The heat gives you a great head start. Any fresh animal waste works as a heat starter and when the roots get to it they don’t burn.
Great info Ed, thanks for sharing.
Just curious why you would use wood chips on muddy areas. The chips rot down and create more mud!
Our area does not have free chips, in fact they get $90 a truckload to deliver them. If you pick them up you can load them yourself for free, or they charge about $30 a pickup load. My solution was leaving my info at Home Depot and other places that rent chippers, to let people who rent one know if they want the chips disposed of I’ll take them and even bring a large enclosed trailer they can blow them into.
I would be cautious about using a lot of pine bark in potting soil, as it can create an overload of carbon and rob nitrogen from the little bit of soil that is in there. It also creates a very acidic soil mix which some plants don’t like.
Julie,
Not sure where you live but tree trimming companies usually give away wood chips because they need to get rid of them immediately. They need the truck empty so they can keep working. It’s far smarter to give them away to somebody close by than it is to drive 30 or 50 miles to empty the truck. The city might charge for them, but I am inclined to believe that there are tree companies that still give them away. Pine bark in potting soil? I hate to disagree but pine bark is probably the best thing in the world for potting soil. That’s why nurseries like me have it trucked hundreds and hundreds of miles just to get it. It decomposes very slow and therefore does not rob nitrogen from the plants. And of course container grown plants need a slow release fertilizer to keep them fed all season. More about potting soil here;
Okay, let me see if I can make the important points.
My most recent video on potting soil, this one is about pine fines or pine bark mulch; https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2018/03/potting-soil-can-use-make-potting-soil/
Just in! This mix is actually pretty good, https://www.amleo.com/berger-bark-growing-mix-3-cu-ft/p/BM7/. If nothing else gives you an idea of what a good mix should be.
1. First of all, it is confusing because there are so many options that make for a good mix. A lot of it has to do with what is available to you in your area.
2. Pea gravel. I used to add pea gravel to my well rotted hardwood bark mulch but I’ve learned that adding pine bark is really a better option. In small quantities pine bark is often sold by the bag and called soil conditioner in the box stores.
3. Rotted hardwood bark mulch is still a good option, I used it for years with great success. It only failed me when I tried to really stock up (50 yards worth) then it rotted too much and didn’t drain well. That’s when I started mixing in large amounts of pine bark.
4. Growers actually use pine bark fresh because even as it ages it really doesn’t change a lot.
5. So right now my ideal mix is very heavy in pine bark and to that I add either commercial compost or well rotted hardwood bark mulch.
6. But what I really do is buy a load (90 yards) of pine bark then I start working that into the potting mix that we are current using. I think it’s important for me to stay ahead of the wave by adding more pine bark before I am out of soil. Right now I have a large pile of pine bark that’s been sitting here since ???? early summer I think. And there is a part of my potting soil pile that is far too aged and compacted so on my to do list is to blend these two piles together before spring.
7. Yes, I now have a front end loader that makes this easy. But at this place, https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2016/03/mikes-first-backyard-nursery/, I used a shovel, a wheelbarrow and a rototiller. I usually kept about 10 yards on hand and always replenished my pile before it ran out using the old to mix with the new.
8. But back then I never turned the entire pile. That would have been crazy. I’m too lazy to turn compost! Or as I like to think of it, I value my time more than that.
9. Instead when I added fresh material, bark mulch, commercial compost or pea gravel to my pile, I simply put it on top. I’d use a two by twelve as a ramp to get the wheelbarrow up on top of the pile. I built the pile like a “Dagwood Sandwich”, you might have to Google that. Layers of materials. Then when I needed soil I would simply rototill one corner and get an awesome mix that I’d shovel on to the bench by hand.
10. And that’s where the legless potting bench came in. I’d rest one end on the pile so it would be nice and close for shoveling, then the other end on blocks or a saw horse. https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2014/01/homemade-mobile-potting-bench-it-has-removable-wheels/
11. So yeah, today I do things very differently, but I started exactly where all of you are today.
No matter what you use, it doesn’t have to be my mix, just pick a potting soil that somebody else here is using with great success. Bagged soil? Sure if that’s what you want to do. I have no idea how much it costs to fill a one gallon with a bagged mix but I am curious about that if anybody wants to share than number with us.
Here are some tips on getting good potting soil;
Looking online for mulch is probably not the best place to look because many of the dealers who sell mulch really have little to no web presence at all. I’m sure there has to be some hardwood bark available in New Jersey.
I’d pick up the phone and start calling around. Garden Centers, landscapers and excavators will know who sells bulk hardwood bark mulch. These dealers are often hidden away on some side street.
I’d take a full day and visit as many garden centers and nurseries in your area that you can. Browse, ask some casual questions.
1. Do you know of anybody in the area that sells bulk mulch.
2. Do you know of anybody in the area that sells bulk potting soil.
3. What do most growers around here use as a potting mix.
Bulk potting soil is available, usually around $55 a yard, but worth it. But it’s not readily available in all areas and in most cases you need to send a truck to get it.
But it won’t cost anything to ask these questions. You’ll either get really good, answers, might get the brush off, or you might find somebody who loves to talk about growing plants and will bury you in valuable information.
Good info here about potting soil, https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2014/12/mike-mcgroartys-secret-bed-building-and-potting-soil-recipe/
and here;
https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/10/how-to-make-your-own-awesome-potting-soil/
Hi Mike, I have a tree company that is dropping off wood chips two doors down. My question is I know you can’t use the wood chips to make my potting soil BUT there are a couple of piles completely decomposed that are about a year old? IF they are decomposed really well could I not just use some of it in my potting soil?
Laurie,
Basically those chips are now compost. Compost is great in a potting mix but most of it is pretty sticky and does not drain well. I add compost to my potting mix so it will hold moisture. My mix is probably around 75% pine bark fines and 25% compost. Also that compost is great for grow beds and display gardens. See this about potting soil. Okay, let me see if I can make the important points.
My most recent video on potting soil, this one is about pine fines or pine bark mulch; https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2018/03/potting-soil-can-use-make-potting-soil/
Just in! This mix is actually pretty good, https://www.amleo.com/berger-bark-growing-mix-3-cu-ft/p/BM7/. If nothing else gives you an idea of what a good mix should be.
1. First of all, it is confusing because there are so many options that make for a good mix. A lot of it has to do with what is available to you in your area.
2. Pea gravel. I used to add pea gravel to my well rotted hardwood bark mulch but I’ve learned that adding pine bark is really a better option. In small quantities pine bark is often sold by the bag and called soil conditioner in the box stores.
3. Rotted hardwood bark mulch is still a good option, I used it for years with great success. It only failed me when I tried to really stock up (50 yards worth) then it rotted too much and didn’t drain well. That’s when I started mixing in large amounts of pine bark.
4. Growers actually use pine bark fresh because even as it ages it really doesn’t change a lot.
5. So right now my ideal mix is very heavy in pine bark and to that I add either commercial compost or well rotted hardwood bark mulch.
6. But what I really do is buy a load (90 yards) of pine bark then I start working that into the potting mix that we are current using. I think it’s important for me to stay ahead of the wave by adding more pine bark before I am out of soil. Right now I have a large pile of pine bark that’s been sitting here since ???? early summer I think. And there is a part of my potting soil pile that is far too aged and compacted so on my to do list is to blend these two piles together before spring.
7. Yes, I now have a front end loader that makes this easy. But at this place, https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2016/03/mikes-first-backyard-nursery/, I used a shovel, a wheelbarrow and a rototiller. I usually kept about 10 yards on hand and always replenished my pile before it ran out using the old to mix with the new.
8. But back then I never turned the entire pile. That would have been crazy. I’m too lazy to turn compost! Or as I like to think of it, I value my time more than that.
9. Instead when I added fresh material, bark mulch, commercial compost or pea gravel to my pile, I simply put it on top. I’d use a two by twelve as a ramp to get the wheelbarrow up on top of the pile. I built the pile like a “Dagwood Sandwich”, you might have to Google that. Layers of materials. Then when I needed soil I would simply rototill one corner and get an awesome mix that I’d shovel on to the bench by hand.
10. And that’s where the legless potting bench came in. I’d rest one end on the pile so it would be nice and close for shoveling, then the other end on blocks or a saw horse. https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2014/01/homemade-mobile-potting-bench-it-has-removable-wheels/
11. So yeah, today I do things very differently, but I started exactly where all of you are today.
No matter what you use, it doesn’t have to be my mix, just pick a potting soil that somebody else here is using with great success. Bagged soil? Sure if that’s what you want to do. I have no idea how much it costs to fill a one gallon with a bagged mix but I am curious about that if anybody wants to share than number with us.
Here are some tips on getting good potting soil;
Looking online for mulch is probably not the best place to look because many of the dealers who sell mulch really have little to no web presence at all. I’m sure there has to be some hardwood bark available in New Jersey.
I’d pick up the phone and start calling around. Garden Centers, landscapers and excavators will know who sells bulk hardwood bark mulch. These dealers are often hidden away on some side street.
I’d take a full day and visit as many garden centers and nurseries in your area that you can. Browse, ask some casual questions.
1. Do you know of anybody in the area that sells bulk mulch.
2. Do you know of anybody in the area that sells bulk potting soil.
3. What do most growers around here use as a potting mix.
Bulk potting soil is available, usually around $55 a yard, but worth it. But it’s not readily available in all areas and in most cases you need to send a truck to get it.
But it won’t cost anything to ask these questions. You’ll either get really good, answers, might get the brush off, or you might find somebody who loves to talk about growing plants and will bury you in valuable information.
Good info here about potting soil, https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2014/12/mike-mcgroartys-secret-bed-building-and-potting-soil-recipe/
and here;
https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/10/how-to-make-your-own-awesome-potting-soil/
Hey Mike! My wife and I have been arguing about this topic. Can you chime in on this?
We have had a compost heap in our back yard for a number of years and the output can grow some stuff probably because of the dirt it’s mixed with. I’m thinking about boiling some of it in water to put it up for sale. My wife is horrified at the thought because of how it would kill the worms crawling in it.
I am worried that potential buyers will balk at picking up compost loaded with live worms. My wife says it shouldn’t matter, and the buyer would be happy to receive an added bonus of worms in the package. Mike, who is right on this subject? Should I sterilize my compost before selling it or leave it as it is? Thanks!
Frank,
I would think the more natural the better and let people know exactly what they are getting. But you could sell it both ways and charge more for the sterilized. Greenhouse growers will often sterilize soil to be used for starting seeds, mostly to get rid of any soil bacteria that might be harmful as well as weed seeds. They often use devices like this; https://www.usgr.com/soil-sterilization/electric-soil-sterilizers/
But me? I’d sell it as, the more natural the better.
If you’re concerned about hurting the worms, and you’re not dealing with a large amount of soil, this could work. You could spread the soil out in the sun. The worms should burrow down to get out of the sun, and then you can scoop off the top inch or two of wormless soil.
Hi
I have a question
I have been receiving free wood chips from a tree company and I think I have poison oak I have studied the what it looks like and now I feel certain it is.
I’m feeling very upset only because the workers not the owner/manager never mentioned this to me:(
I have a cat that brings it to me and it seems to be spreading from my cat coming in contact. I have received about 6 loads I’m reading it will be affective without growing from the ground.
I feel regretful and very discouraged on what I should do!!?
Is this illegal? Please help I’m so overwhelmed….
Marsha,
I really don’t think this is a big concern. When you get free wood chips you get whatever was on those trees, but decomposed it should not be an issue.
Oh good! I’m using the chips to fill in big puddles from the rains. And it also looks much nicer. It’s much appreciated reading ur reply. Thanku so much…😁