That sounds like a fun place to grow up. Thanks for sharing!

That was a lot of work, but it was a good winter project that kept me active outdoors. I've been expanding the trail with extra paths here and there, which makes walking the property a little more fun to explore.

Thank you! It was physically demanding, but it did seem to get easier with each new day. I'd start about 9am and go until about 3pm. I kind of enjoyed the exercise, but I'm glad it is done.

Thank you! I'd love to get a skid steer for projects like this, but I haven't got one yet.

Thanks! it was a lot of work with just a wheelbarrow, but the trail has held up ok so far. A bobcat would’ve been nice!

Thanks, it was a lot of work, but it is so much nicer to walk on.

Thanks, glad you liked it! It has been really nice to have the chips to walk on this past year.

It sure was

Thank you, glad you got something out of it! I’d be interested to see your video when you get yours complete. I’ve been thinking about doing a follow up video, kind of like a 6-month review to see how it’s held up so far.

Yes definitely. A follow up video would be very interesting to see how well it has held up.

The trail I started is about 30’ long and has been there for about a year. It doesn’t get much traffic but it has settled a lot and already needs to be refreshed. I’m not sure what the best type of wood to use is as far as lasting the longest on the ground but I’ve just been chipping random limbs and brush from my property with a DR chipper.

I hadn't seen a motorized barrow, but that sounds pretty awesome. Thank you for sharing your experience with the chips. I'm guessing my environment is a bit drier than yours, and the chips may not break down quite as quickly. I'm not too concerned about the unwanted weeds too much since the whole property is basically full of them. I didn't lay down the chips very thick, and I'm finding a lot of weeds came up through them. I'm thinking I'll need to refresh the path with new chips annually just to try to smother out the weeds. I've enjoyed having the path so far.

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment West Texas: Yup a lot less rain than NJ. I spread the chips about 6" deep and that keeps down most weeds. I do this every other year to try to keep the 6". But it is a mulch so it keeps the moisture in too. Yardmax will ship a Brigs and Stratton motorized barrow for about $2K with four wheels or, as I have, with caterpillar tracks. Makes the job much easier.

Actually the weed pressure gets less. I have done this and you won’t regret it. Just cover deep and thick. The weeds that do come through pull out like butter. And I’m ordering a motor wheelbarrow also. 👍

@@blueskye991178 I used the packing crate the barrow came in to build sides I bolted on so I can load 500+ pounds of chips each time. Not recommended for uneven ground, but saves the number of trips. Mine has caterpillar tracks so it is very useful over soft wood chips.

Thank you! If you have local tree companies, they might be willing to bring you chips for free. Another resource I haven’t tried is getchipdrop.com.

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment I just got a load of woodchips from chipdrop. It took a while, 3 or 4 months, but I'm happy to have them now.

Sweet, good luck!

Sorry, I just found this comment in my 'Held for review' comments section; No idea why. Glad you like the video! Personally, I don't think it is too big of a deal to leave the tape on the cardboard, especially if it's just going to be where you walk. I would think the tape would get brittle after a while and just kind of fall to pieces over time. You might check out my 'Wood Chip Fever' video. Towards the end I talk about ways to make wood chips last a bit longer'. That might help you with your pathway some. Thank you

I use cardboard with tape and labels. After about 6 months to a year as the cardboard breaks down. The tape will stick up and a little pull and it comes away clean 👍👍👍. No muss no fuss.

Hello, I did not blow any leaves first, but we just had thin little mesquite leaves and long with native grasses and such. The leaf layer might actually help to suppress any weeds or grasses from popping up through the mulch, so I'd suggest "leaving" them, haha. I want to say one big truckload was probably enough to do a 3ft wide quarter-mile trail for me, so 12 truck loads should get you pretty far depending on how wide and thick your trail will be. Renting a bobcat with a front end loader would probably make it go much quicker. Good luck!

Renting a front loader is a great idea! We don't have any experience in it but can learn. Thank you. 😊

The wood chips are holding up pretty well, but the grass has started popping up amongst the chips. I haven't added anymore chips.

I carved out the trail initially through the mesquite, cactus, and brush using basic garden tools: loppers, handsaw, machete, shovel. I made the path wind around plants vs removing them entirely as much as I could. I'd toss cut branches and such off to the side out-of-site. Each year requires a bit of maintenance to take care of low hanging branches, encroaching cactus, etc. I walked that dirt path for a few years until I started to receive the free arborist wood chips. So far, the chips have cut down on the amount of weeds in the pathway, but some weeds still poke through. Laying down the wood chips was a lot more work than cutting the path initially. Using a cheap measuring wheel, I found the path was about 1/4 a mile. I divided that up into 4ths and placed stakes, so that I could start at any point on the trail to do laps and I'd know how far I'd gone (4 times around would be a mile). I find it much more fun to walk my own little forested path instead of just walking up and down the road.

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment awesome. we just bought 5 acres and want to be able to use it for walks. it would also be nice to be able to access the entire property and keep an eye on everything. we are up in the blue ridge so its mostly brush and trees to go around. Thanks again 👍

When I first started messing with the wood chips, I did look into getting a tractor with a front end loader and back hoe. Now that I look back, all of that work was a good bit of exercise for me. Perhaps when I get older I'll get me a machine to do the bulk of the work, but for now, I am the machine!

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment Haha. That’s a good attitude. I hear you about the exercise!!

Hello, I’m guessing any chipper would work. The more expensive ones allow you to chip thicker pieces of wood. I just get my wood chips for free from local tree service company’s who would normally have to pay to unload the chips at the dump ground.

Hello, are you asking how the trail is going since I placed it? If so, I'd say it is still there and serving its purpose for the most part. It has suppressed the weeds quite a bit, but not totally. I've added more shortcuts along the path, and have spread a lot more chips since that video was made. I just re-watched the video for the first time since I posted it, and I saw that I made the comment that I'd do an update in the spring. I forgot to do that, but I can do another update at some point soon maybe. Are you interested in making your own wood chip trail?

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment yes, I was thinking that maybe A nonwoven filter fabric might help separate the wood chips and mud. They often use it to separate rocks when building a driveway. They have a 3-ft wide roll on homedepot.com My cousin has a tree service so that part is easy.

I haven’t noticed an issue with wood chips getting into mud here, but it stays pretty dry here. I bet that roll of material you put down will help with weeds.

With all the wood chips I've spread out, I'm definitely feeding some fungus. I remember a show from the 90s called 'Parker Lewis Can't Lose'.

@@WestTexasGardenExperiment i dont 😂