free wood chips!

hungrynurse_2

wood chips, whether for mulch, or for childrens play areas can be saught for free! this time of year, as farmers trim hedges at sides of roads, most will simlpy put waste cuttings through chipper & leave on verges. Ive now collected about 3 tons from 2 sites which has saved me a fortune! simply find a pile, drive up & shovel into your car!

sirbrainy

And it's not theft!

Finder's keepers!

Sublime_2

Good idea, just watch out for poop.

kazschow

Be very careful if pets or children are going near the chippings, there's a good chance there will be hawthorn, blackthorn and brambles in the chippings, jaggy on paws and tootsies

Lotus-eater

kazschow wrote: »

Be very careful if pets or children are going near the chippings, there's a good chance there will be hawthorn, blackthorn and brambles in the chippings, jaggy on paws and tootsies

I would have thought that was a definite tbh.

kazschow

Lotus-eater wrote: »

I would have thought that was a definite tbh.

So would I

valk_scot

Hedgerow chippings from verges are covered in pollutants from car exhausts too, so not for organic gardeners. Also depending on what else got scooped up when cutting there can be a lot of weedy waste in there too, with attendant seeds. If you're really unlucky there might even be a bit of horsetail/mares tail/Equisetum mixed up in it.....;) Oh, and bramble chippings and bits of ivy can root....

I don't use chippings myself though, so the problem doesn't exist for me. But really, you do need to be a little bit careful about what you import into your garden from unknown sources. For example many of my very kind neighbours will offer me grass cuttings for my allotment bins and I must seem pretty ungrateful when I start asking them if they've used any sort of weed killer on it lately? Similarly I won't take bags of weeds for the bins as anyone that doesn't compost their own weeds tends to mix up all sorts of weeds in the bags, including perennial ones. Oh, and there's diseased plant materials too. I do say no thanks very nicely, but I expect they think I'm far too fussy.

Somerset

How long does it take for wood chips to be safe to use ? I had a feeling they were toxic (to plants) for six months ish, but I may have imagined that. Thing is, we've had two tree's down and a huge amount of chips from the foliage etc. We've got two huge piles of the stuff which I kept cos a) it was cheaper as the tree surgeon charges to remove, and b) I can use the stuff in the border's. But how long do I have to wait for it to detoxify ?