Find a friend who is doing some tree-trimming. Offer to take the chipped wood. Other than that, I've never heard of free mulch.

I'm not in your area, but I usually just stop tree guys working in the area and ask if I can have a load. I've never been turned down yet. I think it's a lot easier for them to drive down the street and dump them than have to bring them to wherever it is they do so. I actually just got a load this way two weeks ago.

If no one is working in the area, and I really need them, I call a local tree service and ask if they will be in the area and can they then give me a load. Again, they've come through for me.

Good luck!

P.S. - these wood chips were all free! I'm not sure, but tree services may have to pay to dump them, so I think they would rather give them to someone in the neighborhood - saves them time and money.

What Dee said is what I do. I have been turned down, but only because someone else had asked first! I do think that they have to pay dumping fees, at least around here.

i have so much poison ivy to dump the chips on... :)

I would just be careful about what they've been putting through the chipper. There are some crews that cut back road sides. One time I saw a crew cutting back Japanese knotwood and putting it through the chipper.

Fresh chips won't kill plants. That "arborist" doesn't know what he's talking about. If you put 8" down on top of grass, that will usually kill it after a few months. But the claim that wood chips "rob nitrogen" is a myth. This is the best mulch available. It will improve your soil, prevent weeds, and keep your soil evenly moist. Wood Chip Mulch

Steve

The robbing nitrogen myth is a myth, but sometimes fresh wood chips with lots of greens mixed in from foliage will heat up - hot compost - and this heat can damage or kill plants if the layer is deep enough to actually start the composting process.

Babs, I believe that scenario was what he was referring to. He didn't elaborate on it, but I don't believe he is incompetent. But thanks for additional info, folks. Very helpful. I sure am glad to have the stuff, and never would have thought to ask before reading nightmart's thread!

Susan

Sometimes I've seen ads on CL. But I've done better with free chips by going up to tree workers and asking, persuading. A few years ago while creating a perennial bed in Maine, I begged some off some tree workers and also used the chips from several large spruce tree stumps we had ground. They sat for a few months in the yard, then we incorporated them into the free-form bed to help mound it up and give some oomph to the very lean soil. I knew the mounds would sink down after a while, but by then, the mixed border would be established. It worked well.

I've also begged and received some from workers around here. Tough because there is a energy plant that buys them within 10 miles. I convinced the guys that they didn't have much of a load for their trip to the power plant and I had a place all ready to take them ;)

I got lucky twice that way. Once batch was of large, irregular chips, so we've just let them break down a bit.

Recently someone gave us a nice 10 HP chipper, so we plan to grind up a lot of branches from some trimming we've had to do. In the past I've bought bark mulch, but it can add up with the delivery charge. We also "Mow-Vacuum" shred the many hardwood leaves in the fall and use those the next year.

Has anyone been tempted to pickup bagged leaves in suburban areas? I've opted not to because I haven't wanted to take a chance on getting any lawn chemicals.

We have a similar pile of chipped wood form some Norway maples we took down last year and used it as mulch in our perennial beds with no issues.

As for leaves, we have plenty for our needs. I wouldn't take them from random homes, but maybe ask a friend who you know doesn't use chemicals to take theirs away.

We used to pick up leaves in suburban areas, but haven't for something like 30 years. We chose an area that didn't have perfect lawns, so there was a low chance of weed-and-feed or other herbicides. I don't think I would do it any more - it seems like with the ready availability of lawn and garden chemicals along with the advertising of companies like Scotts that chemlawns may be more common now.

I have almost 50 oaks on my acre, so I have leaves coming out my ears! But I have heard that people take the bagged leaves - on the compost forum I think folks wait for this time of year so they can cruise the neighborhood for bagged leaves, smashed pumpkins, and discarded hay bales from decorations, lol.

I agree with babs & suza, though - I don't think I would risk taking the leaves nowadays, but would definitely ask folks I know - heck, I'd go help them rake if I had to!

Chips are work! We got a truck full and it was mixed: "real" chips and some big hunks and splinters that are suitable only for rough areas. I used an iron rake over and over on piles and was left with a relatively small pile of hunks and splinters. Chips are heavy and we must have wheelbarrowed 40 loads over a big area. My shoulders and back couldn't handle much shoveling and my dh was a-huffin and puffin.(and gripeing a bit)

Nevertheless, I just called the arborist and asked for another truckload.

The area we covered 4" inches deep would have taken at least 10 yards...at least. At 38-40 bucks a yard....you can do the math. (not that rough arborist chips are comparable to much finer pine mulch)

Our "in" with this arborist is an appointment to get a number of trees pruned and removed in November. It will cost over 2K, but that's an investment we've made about 5 or 6 years so old maples don't come down on the roof or other garden areas.

Unfortunately, I've never been able to persuade our town tree workers to drop a load here. They truck it off to the town yard, where we go and re-shovel it into our own small truck and bring it back to the house. It seems kind of silly.

Marie, you can always hire one of those young folk you sometimes mention to help with the hauling and shoveling. Chips are heavy.

I pick up bags of leaves at the town compost site and along the side of the road every year. Leaves are very unlikely to contain herbicide residues - after all they fell off the trees from X feet off the ground, and trees are generally not sprayed with pesticides. Grass clippings are another story - when I collect those, I look for the bags that have broadleaf weeds mixed in - which likely means the property owner did not use herbicides.

Also have used wood chips as mulch forever - nearly 30 years - either from tree work on my property, or I beg for them from nearby tree companies. Great mulch, and they get better with age! And free (can not understand the crazy mentality to expend $ and fossil fuel to have obsessively tidy and ugly mulched areas).

Marie, our town won't dump the chips any more - I asked one time when they were doing some chipping RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET! Some resident must have sued the town when a town truck somehow caused damage on their property.

NHB: pure inertia. I even spoke to a young man two weeks ago.....

Interesting viewpoints about leaves and woodchips. I think we'll have enough leaves this year. I forgot to say that when we use the (Honda) mulched nagger to vacuum up the fallen leaves, we also get grass and some weed leaves included in the mix. Every year we make a huge mound and after a season or so it settles down. Good for mulch or working into soil.

One thing I considered about people's yard leaves is that even though the trees don't get sprayed or treated, they might take in lawn treatment chemicals.

I used to go and collect feed bars full of pine needles. I loves those and they smelled great.

The chipper needs a bit of tweaking as its backfiring too much. When it's fixed, I'll resume chipping more of that arborvitae brush. The chips smell great and the size is perfect. Still, I appreciate that I'm burning fuel in exchange for some woodchips. So not Eco or $ free.

Marie, I hear you about the uneven sizes of some chips and the hard work. I love physical work like that if its not in hot and humid weather, but I also have back issues that get roaring. Still, I try to pace myself. Using an 8 x 8 ft tarp can be helpful in sliding things like bark, leaves and shrubs from one location to another.

Don't hurt yourselves lifting and raking through heavy loads. I second what nhbabs suggested about getting help.