What to do with Wood Chips

Here are 12 ways to reuse wood chips as an eco-friendly alternative to sending them to a landfill

Landowners with wood chippers and other forestry equipment often have an abundance of wood chips after tree removal, major pruning or stump grinding.

Far from being waste, wood chips are a useful resource for gardening, landscaping and other applications around your property. They can supply carbon-rich material for compost, cover vegetable gardens and pathways, provide animal bedding or even fuel a suitable biomass heating system.

Landowners with Woodland Mills forestry equipment know the value of repurposing your lands resources, and there are many great examples that show the versatility of wood chips.

Here are 12 practical ways to put wood chips to work, along with the equipment that can help you produce and move them.

Why Is It Important to Reuse Wood Chips and Tree Waste?

Branches and wood chips are natural resources that have already been collected and processed. Reusing suitable material may reduce what must be burned, hauled away or taken to a disposal site. It may also reduce how much mulch, pathway material or carbon-rich compost material you need to purchase and transport.

This closes the loop on tree maintenance: branches removed during pruning, storm cleanup or land clearing become a resource for another part of the property instead of creating a disposal problem.

How Do You Make Usable Wood Chips?

A wood chipper such as the TF810 PRO can turn suitable tree waste into useful chips. To get the most from the material:

• • Keep nails, wire, plastic, tarps and other foreign objects out of both the chipper and chip pile

  • Store chips in a suitable location where they can drain and receive airflow

  • Let chips dry or age when required for their intended use

  • For immediate or short-term transport, collect chips in an ATV trailer

  • For long-term storage select an open area that's easy to access

12 practical ways to put wood chips to work

Wood chips offer a number of benefits in landscaping, gardening, and environmental management. They're a versatile, renewable resource that can improve soil health, conserve water, and reduce waste, and here's a few examples of how to use them:

1. Wood Chip Mulch for Moisture Retention

One of the most effective uses for wood chips is as organic mulch. Wood chip mulch provides several significant benefits to plants and soil:

• • Moisture Retention: A layer of wood chip mulch acts as a protective barrier, reducing water evaporation from the soil. This helps maintain consistent soil moisture levels, which is crucial for plant health.

  • Temperature Regulation: Wood chips insulate the soil, keeping it cooler in summer and warmer in winter. This temperature moderation can be especially beneficial for plant roots.

  • Weed Suppression: A thick layer of wood chip mulch can effectively prevent weed growth by blocking sunlight from reaching weed seeds in the soil.

  • Soil Improvement: As wood chips decompose, they add organic matter to the soil, improving its structure and fertility over time.

2. Pathways and Vegetable Gardens

Wood chips are an excellent material for creating attractive garden paths and enhancing garden beds. Applying wood chips offers several advantages:

Pathways:

• • Permeability: Unlike solid paving, wood chip paths allow water through, reducing runoff and supporting natural water cycles.

  • Comfort: Wood chips provide a softer walking surface compared to gravel or concrete, enhancing the garden experience.

  • Low Maintenance: Wood chip paths require minimal upkeep, needing only occasional replenishment as the chips decompose.

Garden Beds:

Wood chips can significantly improve both raised and ground-level garden beds:

• • Soil Enhancement: As wood chips break down, they add organic matter to the soil, improving its structure and nutrient content.

  • Moisture Management: A layer of wood chips on garden beds helps retain soil moisture and regulate temperature.

  • Aesthetic Appeal: Wood chips give garden beds a consistent, finished appearance.

3. Erosion Control

Wood chips serve as an effective tool for erosion control, particularly on slopes or in areas prone to soil loss. Their application in erosion prevention offers several benefits:

• • Soil Stabilization: Wood chips form a protective layer over the soil, absorbing the impact of raindrops and reducing soil displacement.

  • Water Flow Reduction: By slowing the flow of water across the land's surface, wood chips allow more time for water absorption into the soil, decreasing runoff.

  • Root Support: As wood chips decompose, they contribute to soil structure and encourage root growth, which further stabilizes the soil.

4. Composting and Soil Amendment

Carbon-rich wood chips play a valuable role in composting and as a soil amendment, contributing to improved soil health and structure:

• • Carbon Source: Wood chips are an excellent source of carbon in compost piles, balancing out nitrogen-rich materials like grass clippings and kitchen scraps, creating a healthier environment for the surrounding soil

  • Aeration: The size and structure of wood chips help maintain air pockets in compost piles, promoting aerobic decomposition.

  • Moisture Regulation: Wood chips in compost help retain moisture while preventing waterlogging.

You can also consider topping your potting soil with some wood chips, to maintain moisture inside the pot and create an aesthetically pleasing look.

5. Animal Bedding

Wood chips are an excellent bedding material for animals, offering several advantages over traditional options like straw bedding:

• • Absorption: Wood chips, especially from hardwoods, are highly absorbent, effectively controlling moisture and odor in animal enclosures.

  • Insulation: Wood chips provide good insulation, helping maintain comfortable temperatures for animals.

  • Pest Deterrent: Some types of wood chips, particularly cedar, have natural pest-repelling properties.

  • Compostability: Used wood chip bedding can be composted, creating a valuable soil amendment.

6. Playground or Play Area Cushioning

If you have a swing set, slide or other play structure for children on your property, you may want to use your wood chips to create a soft padding around the base in your own yard. Wood chips serve as a natural, effective cushioning material for playgrounds and play structures, offering several benefits:

• • Impact Absorption: Wood chips provide a softer landing surface, reducing the risk of injury from falls.

  • Accessibility: When properly maintained, wood chip surfaces can meet ADA requirements for playground accessibility.

  • Drainage: Wood chips allow water to drain, reducing water pooling and mud puddles.

  • Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to synthetic materials, wood chips are often more economical for large play areas.

7. Fuel for Biomass and Energy

Wood chips can be an efficient and renewable source of energy when used in wood-burning stoves or biomass heating systems:

• • Renewable Resource: When sourced sustainably, wood chips represent a renewable energy source.

  • Cost-Effective: In areas with abundant wood resources, wood chip fuel can be more economical than fossil fuels.

  • Efficient Burning: Modern wood chip boilers can achieve high efficiency rates, often over 80%.

It's worth noting that the use of wood chips for fuel is most sustainable when using waste wood or chips from sustainable forestry practices.

8. Fresh Wood Chips For Mushroom Cultivation

Wood chips provide an excellent substrate for growing various types of mushrooms, particularly for outdoor cultivation.

• • Natural Habitat: Many mushroom species naturally grow on decomposing wood, making wood chips an ideal medium.

  • Moisture Retention: Wood chips help maintain consistent moisture levels, crucial for mushroom growth.

  • Nutrient Source: Partially decomposed wood chips provide nutrients for growing mushrooms.

It's important to use untreated, chemical-free wood chips for mushroom cultivation. For most mushroom species, hardwood chips are preferred over softwood.

9. A Natural Insect Repellent

Certain types of wood chips, particularly cedar, possess natural insect-repelling properties that can be beneficial in garden and landscape settings.

• • Cedar Oil: Cedar chips contain natural oils that act as a deterrent to many insects, including moths, ants, and some types of beetles.

  • Aromatic Properties: The strong scent of cedar can mask scents that typically attract insects to plants.

  • Physical Barrier: A layer of wood chips can create a physical obstacle for crawling insects.

10. Water Management in Rain Gardens

Wood chips play a valuable role in the construction and function of rain gardens, which are designed to capture and filter stormwater runoff:

• • Water Infiltration: Wood chips help slow water flow, allowing more time for infiltration into the soil.

  • Filtration: As water passes through the wood chip layer, it helps filter out pollutants and sediments.

  • Erosion Prevention: Wood chips protect the soil surface from the impact of heavy rain, reducing erosion in the rain garden.

Wood chips in rain gardens not only serve a functional purpose but also provide an attractive, natural appearance to these eco-friendly landscape features.

11. Build a Bug Hotel

Wood chips can be an essential component in creating bug hotels, which provide habitats for beneficial insects.

• • Varied Habitat: Different sizes of wood chips create diverse spaces suitable for various insect species.

  • Moisture Retention: Wood chips help maintain humidity levels necessary for many beneficial insects.

  • Food Source: As wood chips decompose, they attract insects that feed on decaying wood, forming the base of a mini-ecosystem.

Bug hotels support biodiversity in the garden and can help with natural pest control by attracting predatory insects.

12. DIY Smoker or Barbecue Grill

Wood chips can enhance the flavor profile of foods in smoking and grilling.

• • Flavor Infusion: Different types of wood chips impart distinct flavors to food during the smoking process.

  • Moisture Control: Wood chips can help maintain moisture levels in smokers, preventing food from drying out.

  • Temperature Regulation: When used correctly, wood chips can help maintain consistent temperatures in smokers and grills.

What Equipment Do I Need for Wood Chipping?

The right setup depends on what you already own, where you work and the material you process most often.

Choosing a Gas-Powered Wood Chipper

A gas-powered chipper may suit landowners who do not own a tractor, need the tractor for another task or cannot easily bring it to the chipping site. The TFG55 GAS has its own engine and operates independently. That adds another engine to fuel and maintain, but the tractor does not need to be part of every setup.

Choosing a PTO-Powered Wood Chipper

A PTO chipper uses a compatible tractor as its power source. It can appeal to landowners who want to make more use of their tractor and avoid maintaining a separate chipper engine.

Woodland Mills offers models for different tractor sizes and material capacities, including options for compact and subcompact tractors. Start with your tractor’s PTO horsepower and three-point hitch specifications, then compare the diameter and type of branches you routinely process. Models such as the TFG55 PTO and WC46 support smaller tractor setups, while larger machines can power higher-capacity chippers like the WC88.

What Other Forestry Equipment Can Help With Property Maintenance?

A chipper processes branches, but it may be only one part of a complete tree-maintenance workflow.

Stump Grinders

After the trunk and branches are removed, a Woodland Mills stump grinder can address what remains. Models such as the WG24 PRO connect to a compatible tractor and grind the stump below ground level.

Stump grindings contain wood, bark and soil, so they differ from clean chipper chips. Depending on their condition, they may be aged, composted or used for pathways, filling low areas and other suitable landscaping jobs.

Off-Road ATV Trailers

The chipping site may be far from where the material is needed. The Pathlander provides a compact way to move chips, tools, soil and other materials. The higher-capacity Multilander supports larger hauling jobs and can also carry logs and firewood.

Positioning a trailer safely near the discharge chute allows chips to collect directly in the box, eliminating a shoveling step.

Portable Sawmills and Log Splitters

Not every part of a tree should become chips. Straight, sound logs may become lumber on a Woodland Mills portable sawmill, while other usable sections can be bucked and processed into firewood with the LS218 two-way log splitter. The goal is to direct each part of the tree toward its most useful purpose.

What Are the Cost Considerations for Wood Chipping Equipment?

Equipment ownership has a higher upfront cost than renting a chipper for a weekend, but it may become more economical when pruning, storm cleanup, woodland management and landscaping are recurring tasks. The initial price is important but don't forget to include include fuel, maintenance, storage and transportation costs as well.

Here are some things you should consider:

• • What does local equipment rental or contractor work cost?

  • How often do your trees and trails require maintenance?

  • How much do you spend purchasing and delivering mulch?

  • Do you already own a compatible tractor?

  • Could the chipper support other property or income-producing work?

Renting or hiring a contractor can remain sensible for a one-time cleanup. Ownership becomes more compelling when the work returns each season and the resulting chips have value around the property.

Why landowners trust Woodland Mills' wood chippers and forestry equipment

With tens of thousands of five star reviews for wood chippers like the TF68 PRO or WC46, customers express satisfaction with every part of their Woodland Mills products, from the rugged build quality that thrives in everyday use, to excellent engineering and renowned customer service. Ask any Woodland Mills customer why they love their wood chipper and they'll explain that the customer support goes above and beyond what other brands offer.

Landowners frequently highlight the help they receive when choosing compatible equipment, easy-to-understand instructions, ordering replacement parts or help maintaining it over time.

It's what sets Woodland Mills above the rest and makes it the definitive source for wood chippers, log splitters, log hauling equipment and other forestry gear needed for everyday property maintenance tasks.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I Chip Sawmill Off-Cuts?

A: Clean, untreated off-cuts may be suitable if they fit within the chipper’s stated capacity and can be fed safely. Never chip lumber containing nails, screws, wire, paint, preservatives or other contaminants.

Irregular slabs and short pieces may behave differently from branches. Follow the Woodland Mills manual, use the prescribed protective equipment and never place hands or tools inside the infeed chute.

Q: Can I Discharge Wood Chips Directly Into a Trailer?

A: Yes, provided the trailer is positioned safely outside the chipper’s operating hazards. A Pathlander or Multilander can collect chips near where they are produced and move them elsewhere on the property. Follow the manual and make sure no person is in the discharge area.

Q: Are Stump Grindings the Same as Wood Chips?

A: No. Stump grindings usually contain finer woody material mixed with bark and soil. They may be suitable for aging, composting, pathways, filling or landscaping, but they do not have the same consistency as clean wood chipper chips.

Explore ways to use stump grindings on your property for more ideas.