Green Tips From the Community - March 2026

 Okay Haller Lake Community… here is a woodchip challenge for you…

Drought is happening, more than ever. Please help our trees, shrubs and landscapes by adding arborist woodchips to your yard. The chips are free and ready to be picked up at Harkness Park (on Ashworth between n 122nd and n 125th St). They help reduce weeds, restore soil and hold more moisture in your landscape for longer. When I say holding moisture, I mean in a health way. If you have areas that are already too wet, use the woodchips and it will help manage your water better by improving the soil drainage. It’s an easy, fun and affordable way to improve your yard. Put 1 to 2” of woodchips under your trees, shrubs and/or covering any exposed soil in your landscape.

People get concerned about woodchips being a fire hazard or hurting their trees. If you’re using the ones from the store that have dyes, chemicals, rubber and other things added… they are! If you use raw arborist woodchips they have a very low risk of being a fire hazard. Again, they are holding moisture. It is recommended not to put them right up against a wood siding or a wood fence. For your tree and shrub health concerns, put woodchips all around the base of your trees but not piled up on the trunks.

For grass areas that you would like to convert into paths or planting patches, you can easily do this by covering your grass with well overlapped cardboard and then top it with a thick layer (around 3”) of woodchips. That’s it, that simple! These areas can then be planted in by creating little pot shaped hole, cut a hole in the cardboard, add soil and plant. These transformation yard projects can be done in a very short amount of time and with little or no money. If you’re doing a large grass area, I recommend ordering a load of woodchips to be delivered to your house. You can order for free with getchipdrop.com.

Have fun and send us photos of your project!

Thank you,

Kippy Irwin

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