I use a lot of woodchip in my garden, especially for pathways and for mulching the ground around trees and shrubs. The soil is very depleted here, and woodchip on the ground eventually decays and releases useful nutrients to the soil. I realize that over time, the ground coverage gets thinner and needs to be replenished, but that’s the whole point.
Most of the woodchip that I have used here has been offered free by the City of Seguin to its residents — we just have to haul it away ourselves.
Lately, the City of Seguin woodchip supply has been dwindling, and so I was glad to hear that a nearby friend had recently received a “ChipDrop” delivery and would I like to take some? Yes!
ChipDrop is a service that connects arborists who need a place to offload their woodchip with gardeners who need that material. There is no charge for the recipients (unless you choose to add a payment to get a speedier delivery), and arborists pay less to release their loads because the delivery is usually local and dump fees are reduced.
When I got word that a fellow native plant gardener had received a ChipDrop pile in his driveway, I went over with my trusty reusable bags and scooped myself a couple of car-loads.
The quality of the ChipDrop material was much greater than what I had been getting from the city, so this was a fantastic gift.
Here are some ways that I used the woodchip:
Replenishing the mulch ring around a young Mexican Buckeye tree:
Mulching around a newly planted Crucita shrub:
Mulching around a newly transplanted Cenizo shrub:
Tidying up a space between the wood pile and the rock pile:
Reshaping a pathway after extending the rock pile and to accommodate a widening tree (Mexican Olive):
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