We just received two truckloads of wood chips, and when I get big shipments like this I like to use them for sheet-mulching, filling gaps, and making the garden both prettier and healthier. Wood chips are mostly carbon — they’re a slow, steady food for the decomposers in the soil — and because they break down slowly they give us long-lasting benefits. 

When the chips are chipped down to smaller sizes they make great walkable pathways that stay firm underfoot, and they provide a soft, natural ground cover for open spaces. As a mulch they help keep moisture in the soil, quiet down weeds, and protect plant roots from temperature swings. Over months and years, the chips slowly transform: fungi and microbes start to colonize them, worms and other creatures move through the layer, and the tiny pieces of carbon are gradually turned into humus that feeds the soil. 

For beds where I want the chips to become soil faster, I’ll mix in some green material or finished compost and let the pile age so microbes have the nitrogen they need. When using chips, I keep a few rules: spread them a couple of inches deep on pathways and a little thicker where I want heavy weed suppression, but don’t pile fresh chips right up against plant stems or tree trunks to avoid moisture problems. And remember — because chips are carbon-heavy, they’re best balanced with nitrogen-rich materials if you’re mixing them into soil. 

In short, wood chips are beautiful, practical, and a patient way to grow soil health: walkable now, and soil-building over time.