Mulch can cost about $11 for a 2-cubic-foot bag, but some gardeners may have a free alternative hiding in plain sight: wood chips arborists and power-company tree-trimming crews produce while trimming trees.
Here's what to know
According to House Digest, gardeners may avoid buying bagged mulch by asking arborists or tree-trimming companies for wood chips. Branches chipped during pruning or tree-removal jobs don't have to be hauled off; they can be reused in home landscapes instead.
Used as mulch, the chips can help protect the soil, limit weed growth, reduce moisture loss, support healthier plants, and attract beneficial insects.
In other words, homeowners may avoid both retail mulch prices and the work of gathering and chipping branches themselves.
If no one nearby wants the material, crews may dump it; keeping those chips in local gardens helps keep organic matter in circulation.
For households maintaining flower beds or home gardens, cutting one recurring yard expense can make it easier to keep growing spaces healthy season after season.
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More background
Many neighborhoods already have this material passing through them. The opportunity is about linking gardeners who need mulch with tree crews that need somewhere to unload chipped prunings.
Store-bought mulch adds up quickly when someone covers multiple beds. Free chipped prunings can stretch a yard budget while naturally suppressing weeds. The same approach can also include controlling weeds without chemicals.
What can be done?
When crews prune nearby trees, homeowners can ask them to drop the chips in their yard instead of hauling them away.
Some tree-service websites note that chipped prunings are available for free. That means homeowners may not need to wait for a crew to show up on their street and can instead contact companies like ChipDrop directly to ask about availability.
It may also help to ask nearby gardeners whether they know of local sources or community options for getting chipped tree trimmings.
Where can I learn more?
These stories highlight other ways homeowners and communities are putting mulch, compost, leaves, and other natural materials to work in the yard.
• In California, wildfire survivors used organic mulch against runoff as El Niño approached.
• A mower can turn fall leaves into mulch that feeds lawns and saves labor.
• In Grand Rapids, residents can join a free compost program fed by local food scraps.
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