Fresh Wood Chippings-Are they OK as a mulch??

I have a choice.......bark chippings from the likes of B & Q at £5 per 75L or as much wood chippings as you can shake a stick at from the local tree sugeon for not a lot of money!!
As I have a large area I wish to mulch the cheaper option has an obvious attraction. Question is are 'fresh' wood chippings ok to use for this purpose??

 

Fresh woodchippings will take the nitrogen from the ground
They should not be used as a mulch until they have been well composted for about a year or so

 

Bark is OK, wood chippings need to be stacked / composted.

I'm planning to put uncomposted wood chippings on the paths between my raised beds though.

 

That is how I used up a small load left for me by the Electricity chaps when they cut down some branches that werre interfering with the supply
Works well

 

well You could always spread a high nitrogen fertilizer on the ground before applying the mulch which is what we do at college when
composted ones aren't available :D

 

that sounds like a good solution......thanks

 

ps....................could you give me an example of a 'high nitrogen' fertiliser??

 

"could you give me an example of a 'high nitrogen' fertilise"

Sulphate of ammonia. Look at the "NPK" rating; the first is "Nitrogen". So something which is

big-number - tiny-number - tiny-number

will do the trick. There are seaweed products (like Maxicrop) which I think are high in Nitrogren (if you are looking for something organic).

The tar and winter-application mentioned by Marley Farley is important too.

Bark would be better all round if you can get it.

Or stick the wood chippings in a heap, with Nitrogen (or layer it with grass clippings and/or Pee on it) to speed up the composting.