When we talk about wood chippers, we focus a lot on what they get rid of — thick branches, storm damage, nasty brush piles, and on and on and on — but not so much on what they give us in return.  And they give us something incredibly valuable — wood chips!  When you put your pesky branches through a DR Chipper or DR Chipper/Shredder, out sprays nice, natural wood chips that you could pay a fortune for at a garden supply store.  Here are 5 things you can do with your wood chips that make your wood chipper an even more worthwhile investment:

1.  Mulch your Gardens and Flower Beds

When you spread mulch over a flower bed, around the base of a tree, or in landscaped areas with shrubs or other plants, it helps the soil retain moisture, keeps the weeds down, and keeps the soil from eroding.  And it can be expensive if you have to buy it instead of making it yourself.  Depending on the size of the area to be mulched, how thickly you want to spread it, and what type of mulch you get, you could easily spend a couple hundred dollars covering a few flower beds and landscaped areas.  And that adds up year after year, let me tell you.

2.  Use it for Livestock Bedding

Wood chips are great as livestock bedding, too.  Cattle, horses, chickens, sheep, and almost any other creature will enjoy having a comfy place to sleep, and you’ll enjoy being able to change the chips out as they get dirty.

3.  Cover Muddy Spots

Here in Vermont, we have what we call ‘mud season’ in late spring that makes walking on dirt trails and walkways pretty darned messy.  Another use for your wood chips is to cover these muddy spots so that walking over them doesn’t ruin your shoes and track mud into the house.

4.  Enrich your Garden Soil

In nature, tree limbs fall to the ground and decompose on the spot, enriching the soil and making a great growing place for plants.  You can emulate this natural process by adding wood chips to your veggie or flower garden.  Sprinkle them on top of the soil, or mix them in below the surface — or both! — to give your soil an extra nutrient boost.

5.  Smoke Some Tasty Meat!

If you have a meat smoker, then you know how enticing hickory-smoked ribs or maple-smoked ham is.  My mouth is watering just thinking about ’em!  Depending on the type of wood that you have available to chip, you may be able to make some wood chips that can be used in your meat smoker.  If you have hickory, maple, mesquite, apple, or oak wood to chip, strip them of their bark, send them through your chipper, and then let them dry in the sun.  In no time, you’ll have homemade wood chips perfect for injecting some major flavor into your meats!