Safe to use acid wood chips for paths?

[Dottie]

A local tree service guy was chipping some trees in town today, so I asked about the possibility of a free delivery. I had hoped for just wood chips, but his truck was full of chipped eucalyptus leaves and conifer bits shredded with the branches etc. He said this was the mix he usually ends up with and is happy to give it away.

However, he also said it was fine for paths as the acid kills weeds, but as it was so acid it was not safe to use on beds. I only want it for paths, but my concern is:- Will the acid chipped pathways seep (over time and as they rot down from the weather) into the roots of fruit bushes/soil which are in the raised beds?

I raised my concerns to him and he said it shouldn't be a problem as the acid was likely to only go into the top 6" of soil under the paths. But what are your thoughts on such matters? Is it safe to use?

Is it safer to hold out until I find someone who only shreds wood? Although having seen them working, it's not that likely, as trees do have lots of leaves. They didn't seem to be shredding the trunk of the eucalyptus, so really the mix is mostly leaves and the wood from branches. I think the logs were taken off for wood burning stoves, as they give off a good smell when burning.

I've previously emailed local tree folk, but as they were bigger company's they all had systems set up to take all there chips away, so all said none was available.

At the moment I have mostly carpet pathways, but wood chip would obviously look so much nicer and at one with nature. Most of my paths have cardboard under the carpet, a couple with plastic, to stop the weeds growing through the carpet. So I could put the wood/leaf chips on top of the cardboard or plastic, or remove with the carpet.

What to do? Is it too risky having so much acid material on the pathway? Or is it something I need not worry about and just accept as much of it as he's happy to deliver?

[rana]

A mate of mine swears by the use of acidic wood chips/material for paths in his garden. He reckons it is a better weed suppressant and takes longer to break down than regular chips. There is no apparent damage to the shrubs and veg in his beds due to acid leach even though his plot is on a fair incline. It also looks a lot better than bits of carpet (which can contain volatile chemicals), cardboard and plastic

[Snadger]

I have woodchip like these on my lottie paths and they are fine!

If you want too, after a couple of years when the woodchips are well worn and composted you can strip them off the path and use them as a soil conditioner, replacing with new.

[Dottie]

I have woodchip like these on my lottie paths and they are fine!

If you want too, after a couple of years when the woodchips are well worn and composted you can strip them off the path and use them as a soil conditioner, replacing with new.

So when you take delivery does it looks green rather than light wood coloured? Because the stuff I saw yesterday was only 10% actual wood from the branches, the rest was leaves and conifer.

I always thought woodchip paths were chipped wood, not lots of leaves. But I suppose that's when you buy it, as you're paying for exactly what you ask for.

As the guy said it will change the PH levels of anything it covers, have you noticed any difference? Do you use it between raised beds or just along rows?