Asplundh Free Wood Chips – Worth It For You?

Asplundh is a tree services company that prunes trees so they don’t fall on the power lines and cause power outages. The pruned branches and trees are then shredded into small pieces called wood chips. Asplundh has a free wood chips program which allows gardeners to collect free wood chips and mulch from them. They provide doorstep delivery.

Wood chips mulch are tree limbs, green leaves, twigs, branches, and dried leaves. They are great a mulch for gardening. Another name for these kinds of wood chips is arborist wood chips. An arborist is a person you pay to chop down trees, grind them and dispose of them. Arborist wood chips mulch is the best kind of wood chips compared to store-bought wood chips.

Store-bought wood chips undergo processing; thus, all its pieces are the same size, mostly Finger-Sized Chips. These are best used for decorative purposes rather than mulching. The wood chips from Asplundh are suitable for gardening. They have different particle sizes and take about four to six weeks to decompose.

These varied sizes holds soil in place. Rain does not carry topsoil, that is rich in nutrients. The ground will stay moisturized, thus favoring plants. Mulch helps in controlling soil temperature. They also help in preventing Soil erosion. Improvement in soil nutrients, and weed suppression. Waste such as plastics, fiber, and rocks is picked out before grinding the mulch. Delivery of wood chips mulch from Asplundh to your yard is at no cost. They, in turn, save time and expense since they won’t drive far to go pay to dispose of the wood chips at the landfill.

A past study by The Understory puts the number of trees cut down yearly to be between 3.5 billion to 7 billion. This is a considerable number and lots of waste if the wood chips and mulch are not used well. Tree branches, leaves, and grass trimmings were estimated to be 35.4 million turns in 2018. EPA estimated that 22.3 million tons of wood waste were mulched in 2018. Municipal solid waste(MSW) received close to 10.5 million turns of yard trimmings.

Wood chips create a fungal environment that makes orchard trees thrive. Orchard trees and other forest trees survive in soil with a fungi-bacteria ratio of 10:1- 50:1. Instead of dumping wood chips in landfills, we can use them to grow orchard trees. We should use yard trimmings and wood chips mulch for our tree nursery, gardening and farming needs. That way, we will have saved tons of wood chips mulch from landfills.

Here are steps of how I get the free wood chips:

The Asplundh tree service company’s website is a great resource to start. Send them a query and ask them to give you free wood chips. Include your street address and working phone numbers. They will contact you when they are in your area. They also have a Facebook page which you can use to track their activities and to contact them. Approach them when you see them in your neighborhood and ask for the free wood chips.

If you want to get free wood chips from Asplundh, make sure the drop-off point is away from power lines. Asplundh has big trucks. Power lines will be a major hindrance when pouring the wood chips. Ensure the trucks have access to your property. The wood chips are only placed on private property and not along the road. Check whether there are trees along the passage. Trees would block the truck from entering and pouring the wood chips.

Prepare an alternative drop-off point in case your property has no good road access. You should note that wood chips will only be delivered in places with good truck access. Clear the ground of any objects like toys or gardening tools not to get covered in load of chips.

Note that only a full truckload of wood chips is delivered. Make sure you have adequate space where the truck will drop the wood chips. You should have sufficient storage space. If the wood chip mulch load is excess than your need, you can share with your neighbors. Be specific about the drop-off point because after dropping the chips, they won’t be picked back up by the crew.

Your family members should be notified of a possible delivery of wood chips. Answer any call from an unknown number. It could be the crew from Asplundh’s free wood chip program trying to reach you. Receive the delivery of free wood chip service by yourself or authorize someone on your behalf.

Don’t forget to than the tree crews for the great job!

When you add wood chips mulch to the soil, they decompose over time and become dark, rich soil full of nutrients. This wood chip mulch is better than rubber or stone mulch. It provides a home to beneficial organisms in the ground, such as earthworms, beetles, and fungi, which burrow through the earth to make the soil aerated, improving the soil’s PH and fertility. Wood chips mulch are beneficial in the garden as they reduce water and soil erosion. This ensures the rich soil is intact. They are also used for aesthetic purposes as they improve the appearance of the garden.

Mulch insulates the ground during winter and keeps the soil moist in summer. This means the plants have regulated temperature that is favorable for their growth. Wood chip mulch enriches the soil with nutrients. They will be Providing a thriving root system for the plants, which helps to prevent soil erosion. Pulling out weeds is easy as the root system is not deep because wood chips hinder its growth.

The wood chips mulch from Asplundh comes in different sizes. Providing air pockets that ensure adequate circulation of air in the ground. Whenever it rains or water your garden, the different wood chips’ different sizes will soak and retain water—guaranteeing a moist environment for your plants. The soil under the mulch will remain humid compared to the surrounding soil. Mulch should be raked often to ensure adequate circulation of air in the soil. When applying wood chip mulch to your garden, it is good to put it about 5 centimeters away from the tree’s bark. This will prevent the tree from harm during the decomposition process.

Wood chips tend to discolor with time and become unattractive. Especially if you use them for their aesthetic value, you will need to add fresh wood chips to restore their attractive appeal. This needs to be done yearly. Wood chips that are store-bought tend to decompose faster as they underwent processing. Those given by Asplundh take longer to decompose as they were only chipped.

The amount of Nitrogen in the soil reduces as organisms help in decomposing the wood chips. For this reason, it is good to put mulch some inches away from tree barks to prevent the trees from decaying.

Some wood chips may contain herbicides and pesticides. These may be toxic to your soil as the chemicals may sip into the ground. Ask the arborists if the trees were sprayed before chipping them.

It isn’t recommended to use wood chips near your house or wooden structures. Termites and other insects will invade your house if you put wood chips near the house. They thrive on dead wood plants.

As wood chips dry, they can be ignited readily and cause fire hazards. It is not recommended to have them near houses.

Nature loves it when we take care of it as it takes care of itself. Using mulch for gardening helps to restore nutrients in the soil. This translates to higher yields in our gardens. It has an aesthetic appeal when applied in the garden. It also Suppresses weed growth in your garden. Your pocket will thank you as you will save money by taking advantage of the Asplundh free wood chips mulch program. You will notice mold on your wood chips pile, and this is what helps in the breaking down of the mulch. Always fluff out your wood chip mulch to air when you want to use it.