Branches go in one end, and mulch comes out the other - sounds amazing - but this magic act does not come cheap. Are woodchippers worth the money? Read on to find out!
For me, one of the big benefits of a chipper was that I have a constant stream of yard waste, and I'd rather keep the material on site. Our trash service includes "free" (*) compost collection, which includes yard waste, so I could trim the material to fit in the compost bin and send it out to the curb. But I'm trying to live in more of a permaculture fashion than I have in the past, and to me that includes both home composting and mulching my larger yard waste. My only complaint is that it is good at chipping branches, but just spits out smaller "twiggy" material. I may break down and invest in an electric version that is intended for smaller material, but so far, I haven't been motivated enough to spend the extra money.
* I put quotes around "free", as that just means that they've hidden the cost in the overall price. Still, even though I don't take advantage of it very often, I appreciate that other people do, and their yard waste is getting chipped and/or composted rather than going to the landfill.
For me, one of the big benefits of a chipper was that I have a constant stream of yard waste, and I'd rather keep the material on site. Our trash service includes "free" (*) compost collection, which includes yard waste, so I could trim the material to fit in the compost bin and send it out to the curb. But I'm trying to live in more of a permaculture fashion than I have in the past, and to me that includes both home composting and mulching my larger yard waste. My only complaint is that it is good at chipping branches, but just spits out smaller "twiggy" material. I may break down and invest in an electric version that is intended for smaller material, but so far, I haven't been motivated enough to spend the extra money.
* I put quotes around "free", as that just means that they've hidden the cost in the overall price. Still, even though I don't take advantage of it very often, I appreciate that other people do, and their yard waste is getting chipped and/or composted rather than going to the landfill.