I'm assuming this is wood chips since it's from tree cutting and certainly wouldn;t work inside the garden. But might be able to use it for garden paths, etc. Seems like a good idea though.

Many people in my neighborhood use this for their yards and gardens as well as schools, churches in the area. I'm sure there are different grades i.e. clean uniform wood chips but ramial chipped wood (twigs, leaves) is more nutritious for the soil. Good stuff for mulching, also used in Back to Eden gardening.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ramial chipped wood

I heard the local tree Co that took care of most of the chipping etc in unincorperated areas would love to dump their stuff anywhere BUT the dump (even though they make compost with some of it!)
I have over an acre and would LOVE to have some chips to keep weeds down!
Started researching, and they aren't listed in the book! Couldn't find them on line!
I'm right on the way to the dump, just about 1/4 mile off the beaten path.
I finally parked next to one of the trucks and tried to ask the guy about dumping chips on my property, even gave him my address and marked the area, but he didn't speak English!
I give up! I'll just go to the place that's $10 per yard down the street! Nancy

Nancy,

Some have better luck than others I think. You might just ask for the chips if you see one of the chipper trucks in your area. You can call local arborists or the larger ones that work for the city e.g. Davey Tree and ask to be put on the list for wood chips. You may have to wait a while, depending on location, but you should find something. One place also told me that they have plenty available for free if you bring a truck.

Nancy, the link I provided is a national list. Why not just sign up, who knows? I'm not vouching for how the company will respond, but I need enough mulch that I am hoping there will be a response and mulch soon for me.

I had to cancel the national free mulch program, the local tree company emailed me and said they would have a load of mulch for me this weekend or next weekend.
I appreciate the tree companies for doing this and they actually appreciate requests as the alternative for them is either to pay to dump locally or to have to travel to some central place; if you get their wood chips their trucks are immediately available for the next job they have.
The mulch I'm getting is for the paths between the vegetable gardens in back and the dog area too, so I can use a whole truckload.

I use the same type of ground limbs, but they are ground twice by the county at the transfer center. I put on about 4-5 inches of the ground limbs and top that with 1-2 inches of shredded hardwood for appearance. Works great and the only draw back is that I have to hawl it.

Dave_f1 clearly you have not seen the Back to Eden film.

One thing to remember though those wood chips old or fresh are not suitable for veggies beds. But perfect other landscaping uses, walkways, around trees, especially when delivered free of charge. ..

And why do you think that these chips are not suitable for veggie beds?

I do not use the chips for veggie beds, but I do use them for landscaping where I plant tomatos, peppers, eggplant, basil, sage, and rosemary among my flowers and bushes. The veggies/fruit/herbs grow fine. However, in my view it is better to use leaf mulch on a garden that you will till so that the mulch can be turned into the soil after it has served its purpose as mulch.

I was just reading about straw bale gardening in various articles on the internet where straw bales with minimal preparation are used to grow veggies.
My own experience with purchased mulch was that the veggies grew fine.
I did read at one time that if one uses high carbon materials like chips that one should add nitrogen.
I have hay bales decomposing, they have seeds but there is all sorts of advice about dealing with that.
I take advice here on gardening with gratitude, because people are volunteering their time and experience. But I also read different advices and make up my own mind.
Anyway, for me, one truckload of chips is probably only enough for pathways around the beds and for the dog area, but if some was left over I would consider using it in the beds as a top mulch.

I just got my mulch delivered. I was expecting chips/branches but was prepared to accept whatever I got, after all it was free. But it is real mulch, like the kind that comes in bags at Home Depot.

Do you have website contact info? Email or phone #.
The system cannot verify my street address, I am in new home community. Thanks

I use the wood chips (1/4-inch sized or so) in the veggie garden routinely. I think the trick is not to overload the soil with them, since they'll take some time to decompose completely. You don't want to have your plants growing in a thoroughly "pebbled" medium. But after a year or two, they're mostly gone, and while they're there, they greatly improve soil aeration and resist compacting. In fact, since they take some time composting there, you don't get a nitrogen deprivation shock like you would with something like sawdust.

Wood chips come in "decorative" size, which is definitely not for digging in to gardens. I like the smaller stuff. So I think a lot of the argument about wood chips in the garden depends on how big and how much.

JCTsai, I just filled out the form, I think if you go to their home page they might have contact info.

I've been hauling mulch all day, I'll do 3 loads then rest. I'm trying to polish it off by tomorrow afternoon since there will be rain the day after tomorrow and I don't want to move damp mulch.