Wood Chips Everywhere!

I recently ordered five cubic yards of mulch as part of our soil restoration project. We've neglected our yard over the past several years, and are now doing something about it. Our hope is to create a wildlife- and people-friendly sanctuary here in the Oakland hills. See Soil Restoration and Horse Bedding to learn more about the transformation. 

Fresh delivery of wood chip mulch

I researched several free sources of mulch, including ChipDrop. They match up arborists with homeowners, to recycle mulch for free (or a donation). I love this idea. But the quantity could vary from three cubic yards to 12 cubic yards, and delivery could be at any time the landscaping team is in the area. Between keeping people from parking in front of the delivery zone, coordinating with gardeners, and the unpredictable quantity, it seemed more sensible to start with a trial run on a smaller scale. 

Expert delivery

We used BeeGreen Recycling & Supply, located right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. BeeGreen has a good selection of landscape materials, including bark, mulch, rocks and aggregates, soil and amendments. They also recycle local materials, and they schedule a two-hour delivery window. I chose a small bark in a nice earth tone, and used the Material Calculator to determine the quantity we would need to cover the area. I'm hoping the small-sized bark decomposes more quickly than the larger size, releasing nutrients into the soil.

Wood chips along the patio wall

Wood chips covering the historical lawns

Our gardener spread the wood chip mulch over the former lawn area, and in a strip along the patio wall. Now we're hoping for rain to help speed decomposition and soil restoration process!