This post talks about How to get Free Wood Mulch from Tree Trimmers also known as free mulch. These are the chips from the tree companies when they are taking down a tree and mulching up the smaller branches and trees.
Free Mulch
I now have two free loads of mulch sitting in my driveway. One of the loads came from my own yard! I had a tree die over the winter and just had it taken out. When the tree trimmers were done, I asked them to leave the mulch that they had in the back of the truck as a result of grinding the tree.
Later that same week a neighbor was having a dead tree taken out and I asked for and received that much as well. The second load of mulch was much better chipped than the first load. The first load had a dull blade on the trimmer, so the chips were much larger and there were a number of branches that were not chipped at all.
How to get Free Wood Mulch from Tree Trimmers
But What Does Mulch Do?
Mulch helps keep the roots of plants cool and moist which will reduce the amount of watering we have to do to keep the plants alive. It also keeps down the amount of weeds competing for nutrients. It also is an inviting environment for soil microbes, fungi, and worms. Eventually the mulch will break down and become compost thereby feeding the plants.
Where do I get Free Mulch?
As I did, you can ask a tree cutter to leave the wood chips if they are working on your place. You can also seek them out when you hear the wind of the tree trimmers grinding machine. In most cases they are more than happy to give them to you because they usually have to pay to dump their loads at the landfill. There is also a website: https://getchipdrop.com where you can sign up to receive a load. I have not had much luck with this website at my rural farm. Most people in a suburban area have pretty good luck with this web site.
How to Load the mulch…?
I use to use a pitchfork and a rake. But I have found that a snow shovel works well on my blacktop driveway. You can also use a flat head shovel. I like the snow shovel because I can get a lot more than other implements. Just scoop what you want and put it in a wheelbarrow for transport. Out at the farm I use a lawn cart behind my 4×4.
If the mulch has been sitting around for a while or has been through a couple of rains, you may need to loosen the pile up. I do that with a flat shovel, loosen the pile, then I go back to the snow shovel.
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The Video
Check out the video below titled Free Mulch.
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