Are wood chips a natural product?

Not at mulch scale. Wood itself is natural, but chipped or shredded wood spread across a bed is a processed, manufactured material. In nature you only get the occasional fallen branch or flake of bark, never a bed's worth of uniform chips.

What mulches actually occur in nature?

Dead plant stems and stalks that dried and fell over, grasses that turned to hay and lay down, and leaves that drop from trees every autumn. All of them cover the ground with no processing at all.

← All postsMarch 19, 2024

Are Wood Chips Natural?

A large mulch bed showing more wood chips than plants

No. Wood chips are not a natural product. You don’t find beds of chipped or shredded wood anywhere in nature — only the occasional fallen branch or a flake of bark. Wood is natural; wood chips at mulch scale are a processed, manufactured material.

Many gardeners use wood chips as mulch, sometimes in huge “mulch beds” where you see more mulch than plants. Some love them, and one reason they give is that chips are natural and mimic nature. I disagree.

Why wood chips aren’t “natural”

There are no wood chips in nature — certainly not in that quantity in one spot. What you find on the ground is a branch that broke and fell, or a whole tree that came down. No animal comes along, chops the wood into small chunks, and spreads them evenly over the soil surface. Turning wood into chips takes a machine.

A mulch bed with far more wood-chip surface visible than plants

What actually occurs in nature as mulch

Dead plant stems and stalks. They die from frost or age, shrivel, dry out, and lie down on the ground. All over the place.
Grasses. They turn yellow or brown, dry to something like hay, and cover the soil.
Leaves. They fall from the trees every year and blanket the ground — no processing needed.

So the next time someone tells you they use wood chips because they’re natural or they’re mimicking nature, ask them to show you wood chips in nature, and see what they say.

This is also part of why I’ve stepped back from chips in my own garden — the full reasoning is in Why I Don’t Like Using Wood Chips in My Garden.

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Common questions

Are wood chips a natural product?: Not at mulch scale. Wood itself is natural, but chipped or shredded wood spread across a bed is a processed, manufactured material. In nature you only get the occasional fallen branch or flake of bark, never a bed's worth of uniform chips.
What mulches actually occur in nature?: Dead plant stems and stalks that dried and fell over, grasses that turned to hay and lay down, and leaves that drop from trees every autumn. All of them cover the ground with no processing at all.