A few years ago I heard about Chip Drop, a service that connects homeowners with arborists. You offer to take a truckload of wood chips, the arborists get to unload their goods without driving them to the dump, and the environment is happy for both of you. I initially thought that it sounded kind of iffy - what kind of garbage were they going to dump on my driveway. But I did my first Chip Drop and I was hooked. Back then I only had 10 fruit trees and four garden beds in my yard. I figured I would see what I could do with that mulch, between topping the garden beds and mulching the fruit trees. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to spread out a load of wood chips.
One of the cool things about Chip Drop is that you can specify what you are/are not looking for. You can opt in for all logs, some logs, or no logs. You can specify what types of wood chips you do or do not want (I put no palm tree, cactus, or African sumac trimmings). Usually within just a couple of days I get a notification about a load of wood chips. And inevitably I come home to a pile of wood chips in my driveway.
"Pile" is probably not the correct word. Mountain, heap, mass... It is a lot.
I enthusiastically shovel, wheelbarrow, and dump the chips into my garden beds, by fruit tree areas, and everywhere I can find space for them. My garden transforms into a moisture retaining bed of awesomeness. I pile the mulch around the fruit trees, feeding, nourishing, and keeping the moisture in the soil.
 |
| More mulch... |
"Pile" is probably not the correct word. Mountain, heap, mass... It is a lot.
I enthusiastically shovel, wheelbarrow, and dump the chips into my garden beds, by fruit tree areas, and everywhere I can find space for them. My garden transforms into a moisture retaining bed of awesomeness. I pile the mulch around the fruit trees, feeding, nourishing, and keeping the moisture in the soil.
And inevitably, the pile seems Sisyphean, with mulch remaining after all of my areas are covered.
Then I reach out to my friends, fellow gardeners, or anybody I think might be interested in mulch. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are great locations, and with the word "free" attached, you will be surprised at how quickly the pile decreases.
Then I reach out to my friends, fellow gardeners, or anybody I think might be interested in mulch. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are great locations, and with the word "free" attached, you will be surprised at how quickly the pile decreases.
In the past several years I have received four loads of wood chips. I continue to build up my soil, nourish my garden beds, and cover the bases of my fruit trees. This free service is great to use, combining my desire to keep things out of the land fill with my love of gardening. It's a win/win situation for my psyche!
So to anybody contemplating using Chip Drop for your garden... I highly recommend the service. It is fantastic, free, and exciting (in that "free-mulch-for-your-garden" kind of way). But, I would also make sure that you have several neighbors lined up to take some of the wood chips as well. Unless you'd like a mound of mulch in your driveway for...well...ever.
You could always consider throwing some Christmas lights over the pile and decorating for the holidays!
So to anybody contemplating using Chip Drop for your garden... I highly recommend the service. It is fantastic, free, and exciting (in that "free-mulch-for-your-garden" kind of way). But, I would also make sure that you have several neighbors lined up to take some of the wood chips as well. Unless you'd like a mound of mulch in your driveway for...well...ever.
You could always consider throwing some Christmas lights over the pile and decorating for the holidays!
No comments:
Post a Comment