ChipDrop for mulch and logs

Don't know if there's been a thread on it already, but there's a great service called ChipDrop that will link up arborists with gardeners and send free wood chips, logs, or a combo of both to you for free. Or you can choose to pay $20 to cover the delivery fee and get free wood chips delivered a little sooner. Average wait time is something on the order of 2-3 weeks. Check it out at www.getchipdrop.com. Pop in your address and then check the Area Map to see how many deliveries have gone out in your region in the last 30 says and how long each took from initial request to delivery. Pretty great deal of you ask me: you get you Back to Eden and your Hügelkultur in one convenient web service!

I hope they get established. It would definitely be nice to have a service like that.

Jordan Holland wrote:I hope they get established. It would definitely be nice to have a service like that.

I think they already are. There have been a ton of drops near me and I'm in rural Massachusetts.

D.W. Stratton wrote:

Jordan Holland wrote:I hope they get established. It would definitely be nice to have a service like that.

I think they already are. There have been a ton of drops near me and I'm in rural Massachusetts.

They are operational, but haven't spread here yet. I've been waiting 7 or 8 month. No blips on the map here at all last I checked :(

it’s got to be awesome to just get delivered wood, chipped or not. for what it’s worth, though, i’ve been registered on chipdrop and offering $25 for a load for about 2 years and i haven’t received a delivery yet. i don’t think i’m all that remote, either. so i suspect that chipdrop’s usefulness varies a lot by location. worth a try, though.

greg mosser wrote:it’s got to be awesome to just get delivered wood, chipped or not. for what it’s worth, though, i’ve been registered on chipdrop and offering $25 for a load for about 2 years and i haven’t received a delivery yet. i don’t think i’m all that remote, either. so i suspect that chipdrop’s usefulness varies a lot by location. worth a try, though.

I'm afraid where I'm at, there's just too many places where they can dump, and they are already used to them and are not looking for something like chipdrop. But here's to hoping! We have plenty of wood here, it's just a hastle to haul it to the house.

Jordan Holland wrote:

greg mosser wrote:it’s got to be awesome to just get delivered wood, chipped or not. for what it’s worth, though, i’ve been registered on chipdrop and offering $25 for a load for about 2 years and i haven’t received a delivery yet. i don’t think i’m all that remote, either. so i suspect that chipdrop’s usefulness varies a lot by location. worth a try, though.

I'm afraid where I'm at, there's just too many places where they can dump, and they are already used to them and are not looking for something like chipdrop. But here's to hoping! We have plenty of wood here, it's just a hastle to haul it to the house.

The whole reason ChipDrop works is that dumping costs them money and time and gas that local dropoffs do not.

I will definitely post here once I get wood from them. There have been dozens of dropoffs near me in the last 2 weeks so I think it won't be a problem. And since 22yards of wood chips just set me back $262.81, I reckon free is a hell of a better deal!

Also, if $25 isn't bringing them in and you see from the Area Map that there are active drops going on in your area, you might consider offering a bit more. Not free, but still way way cheaper than paying full price for chips!

I signed up for this.  I live in a rural area and it took a month and a half to get a load, but I got 15 yards of chipped pine for $20!  Now that's a deal!  And I found a new arborist in the process that knows what he's talking about.  Yeah!

Jen Swanson wrote:I signed up for this.  I live in a rural area and it took a month and a half to get a load, but I got 15 yards of chipped pine for $20!  Now that's a deal!  And I found a new arborist in the process that knows what he's talking about.  Yeah!

What kind of stuff does an arborist due that might be of use to a permie? I don't really know what an arborist is.

Hey D.W.  An arborist trims trees.  I can't climb way up in a tree to prune it or fell 100 foot trees that are situated too close to eachother or to my house so I need help with that.  A good arborist knows how to prune a tree to make it healthier and bring light to other plants needing it, know what to cut and what not to, and can identify diseased or otherwise unhealthy trees to help you address any issues. A good arborist is very knowledgable about plants and an artist as well.  

Any concern for chemically sprayed tree mulch being added to your garden? I did not see any mention of such on their website.

pamela darcy wrote:Any concern for chemically sprayed tree mulch being added to your garden? I did not see any mention of such on their website.

They have standards for what they can and cannot deliver.

You can specify what you do not want.  For example, I asked that I not get delivered poison oak or black walnut chippings.  You can also ask for logs or not. If you will accept logs, I'm sure it ups your chances of getting chips delivered sooner.

Yeah, logs could be a blessing,  but if your not ready,  they could be areal problem.
The site says they are very large,  presumably they are  the ones too large for a industrial chipper.
If, (hopefully when) I'm set up to process them , getting chips and logs will be fantastic.


My whole food lot is powered by wood chips.
Adding log rounds would be great.
Rough milled boards even better.
There's room for raised beds made with whole logs, but pallets are a whole lot easier to move into place.
Fresh logs would be ideal for mushroom inoculation.
I plan on a  TLUD  Mass Heater for the yarden greenhouse , run on woodchips.

But right now I have an inherited  homeowners chainsaw, no safety gear and a fear of bleeding out,  so no logs for me.

Yes, I've used them, and every time it's been fantastic.  Two thumbs up for ChipDrop.

Here in greater Los Angeles county, there are hundreds and hundreds of tree-trimmers, so the wait time is only a day or two before you get a confirmation.  Once, I logged in and requested chips, and I had a load delivered less than 4 hours later.  Crazy.  But supply far outweighs demand.  Those guys otherwise would be driving them to a landfill and paying to dump them.

As for the concern of sprayed trees, I don't know who would do that.  These are landscaping companies trimming trees from yards and along the street -- not trimming sprayed orchards.  Over the years, I've had at least 100 loads of wood chips delivered (perhaps as many as 150), and I've never once had reason to suspect that the chips and wood were anything but normal trees that we sent through a chipper.  I've never had a problem in my garden and orchard, and I put down 8 inches of wood chips every 6 months or so.

William Bronson wrote:Yeah, logs could be a blessing,  but if your not ready,  they could be areal problem.
The site says they are very large,  presumably they are  the ones too large for a industrial chipper.
If, (hopefully when) I'm set up to process them , getting chips and logs will be fantastic.


My whole food lot is powered by wood chips.
Adding log rounds would be great.
Rough milled boards even better.
There's room for raised beds made with whole logs, but pallets are a whole lot easier to move into place.
Fresh logs would be ideal for mushroom inoculation.
I plan on a  TLUD  Mass Heater for the yarden greenhouse , run on woodchips.

But right now I have an inherited  homeowners chainsaw, no safety gear and a fear of bleeding out,  so no logs for me.

Get some chainmail pants, should save your femoral artery.