Where I live in the central valley of California 2 inch almond chips are readily available, from orchard removal. They make an excellent top dressing for weed control, but they have 2 drawbacks. 1 It takes a lot of water to wet the soil below the chips. 2 Invertebrates live in the mulch, and will cut off soft stemmed herbaceous plants at ground level under the chips. Woody plants do not seem to be affected by these same invertebrates. JIM