fresh wood chips

we had a maple tree cut down 7 months ago. it sat in our yard all winter in big pieces and branches. we finally got it cut up and the branches chipped into mulch. now my husband thinks we have to get rid of the wood chips because there is no place to store it and that it is too fresh to use. is he correct? or can we use it in the garden? thanks for your expert advice!

 

Go ahead and use it as a mulch. It will be just fine.

 

There is some controversy about using fresh wood chips. Decomposing wood chips will heat up and can cause damage to plant stems and promote disease. They also take nitrogen from the soil as they decompose and you may have to add nitrogen. If you use fresh wood chips, eradicate all weeds before mulching. Keep mulch at least 2" away from plant stems. Most of my gardening books do not recommend fresh wood chips, indicating that they should be composted at least six weeks. Allowing chips to cure (keeping moist & turned) will help kill pathogens and stabilize the chips for use as mulch.