Why use organic peat mulch if tree companies offer free wood chips? I don’t recommend wood chips unless someone has composted them from work performed at your own property. Think about it — why did the crew cut those trees down? Did they perform reduction pruning, or did they remove diseased trees? Did rot, carpenter ants, or termites infest those trees? You may be introducing fungus and disease directly into your landscape.
Always pile and compost wood chips before you use them in the landscape. If you choose to use wood chips from your own property, compost them first and keep them away from your home or other structures. As wood chips decompose, they can host carpenter ants or termites. Wood chips also steal nitrogen from the soil during decomposition, starving your plants of a critical nutrient until the process completes.
Mulch moderates soil temperature, retains moisture, reduces erosion, prevents weed growth, and looks great. Many mulch varieties exist, but I highly recommend organic peat mulch. High-temperature composting eliminates weed seeds from organic peat mulch before it reaches your yard. As peat mulch decomposes, it releases valuable nutrients directly into the soil, making them readily available to your plants and trees.