Garden shredders ?

[sarahkeast]

As I am digging thru my compost piles I am wondering if a shredder is worth the investment ? The privet hedge branches are still intact, as are broccoli and other stalks. I am still new to compost cooking, but am wondering if this happens for everyone. I dont think I will have an awful lot to shred; hedge, veggies and a few bits for elderly neighbour so not sure if it is worth it. Storage isnt abundant either.

or what about rental ? £20 a day or £135 to buy, Bosch AXT 2200. Reviews throw up blades blunting quickly....

Or do I just get creative/use the mower/get better at making compost....

[boboff]

I wouldn't bother, unless you really want to.

Why not just dig your runner bean trench early and put your woodier stuff in the bottom? Or Burn them and use the ash.

I bought one from Lidl for £70, and it's really good, but it is a faff.

[wulf]

I've got a wonderful old hand-cranked Rotocrop shredder that my parents gave me (I think they either use an electric one or borrow one from neighbours). Alas, I've no idea where they got it from and a quick search didn't turn up any sources (well, a second hand one in New Zealand but I don't think that counts from here!). It does take up a bit of space but I consider it worthwhile.

Even with a shredder though, you will still end up with woody bits in the compost (I've got lots of privet stalks in mine that I didn't get round to shredding before adding!). My plan is to use my riddle to get the finer bits of compost from the well-rotted pile and then run the twigs through the shredder (either to return to the heap or to use as a surface mulch).

Wulf

[Odsox]

Broccoli and other brassica stalks can be smashed to make them compost quicker.
Lay them on a plank or similar and hit them with a hammer .. preferably a club hammer if you have one.
That disintegrates the structure and allows you release your pent up anger all in one go, and is a darn site cheaper than a shredder.
Mind your fingers though.

[MKG]

I think it depends upon the kind of material you're dealing with. For the normal amounts of stuff you get from a garden, a shredder is a bit of a luxury. But for the past two years I've been producing an awful lot of waste wood, and my shredder has been indispensable for reducing that lot down. So it's horses for courses.

If you do get one, I'd avoid the types with blades which resemble and operate in the same way as a rotary mower - they last about two seconds. The mill type (a big cog rotating against a huge block of metal) is the one to go for.

Mike

[Green Aura]

Just to change the subject slightly (who moi? ) my Dad wouldn't put privet in the compost - said it was poisonous to other plants. I've no idea if that's true or not. Just thought I'd mention it.

[dave45]

I had a "Liquidiser" shredder for years but it was impossible to sharpen, and jammed frequently. Unjamming it was a royal PITA coz of the safety interlock. It eventually gave up after about 12 years. I now have a cog-wheel shredder which will munch broom handles. The cog-wheeler gives much bigger resulting lumps but rarely jams. When grunching tree branches I bung the woody lumps into a cardboard box to dry and use them as kindling for the wood-burner. The thinner stuff I use as mulch. It is amazing how a huge volume of tangled twiggy branches can be reduced to a small pile of mulch/kindling. I know they are "toys" but they work and I can't think of a better way of converting "waste" stuff into useful stuff. Drawback with my cog-wheeler is that it draws 2kW and my garage circuit is only 10 amps, so needs a longer extension lead.

[MKG]

Just to change the subject slightly (who moi? ) my Dad wouldn't put privet in the compost - said it was poisonous to other plants. I've no idea if that's true or not. Just thought I'd mention it.

I think that's not true - it's poisonous to horses, so don't plant those anywhere near it. I think it's the fact that you don't get any light at all beneath a privet that means no plants will grow there. I think. Anyway, for those who live south of the Humber, if you don't have privet, you'll never get a Privet Hawkmoth - and they're rather beautiful and large and hiss at you if they feel a bit disturbed. Also quite good battered and deep-fried.

Mike

[wulf]

Just to change the subject slightly (who moi? ) my Dad wouldn't put privet in the compost - said it was poisonous to other plants. I've no idea if that's true or not. Just thought I'd mention it.

I can't find any reference to privet being allelopathic online. The nearest I got was that it may be sensitive to juglone, which is the chemical produced by black walnut (and, even there, there were conflicting bits of information). More information on allelopathy (plants that poison other plants) here:

http://agropedia.iitk.ac.in/?q=content/allelopathy

Observing my own garden (privet hedge at the front), there isn't much growing directly under it but that may be due to the shade it creates and the water it sucks up. Plants (mainly weeds, to be honest, but some of them are pretty so I'm not too harsh) do grow along the base and the honeysuckle I planted right by it (to weave through the branches and give me a flowering hedge) seems to be doing okay.

So, I'm fairly confident that your Dad wasn't spot on with this one. I hope so anyway - plenty of privet trimmings in my compost heap!

Wulf

[becks77]

We have the ATX2200 and it is good for doing exactly what you would want it to do, however, its noisy and time consuming and think of the electric consumption. It was purchased on a special or with vouchers or something like that so cost about half the price you quoted. Not sure I'd get another one as Boboff says might be better off burning and using the ash.

[Thomzo]

I have one but it is such a faff, I rarely use it. It's really slow to feed stuff into it. The resulting mulch is brilliant straight on the garden (careful not to put in weeds in if you're using it for mulch) but it's just so much hard work. I usually end up burning woody stuff instead or piling it up into mini log piles around the edge of the garden.

Zoe

[Peggy Sue]

Broccoli and other brassica stalks can be smashed to make them compost quicker.
Lay them on a plank or similar and hit them with a hammer .. preferably a club hammer if you have one.
That disintegrates the structure and allows you release your pent up anger all in one go, and is a darn site cheaper than a shredder.
Mind your fingers though.

The dog does this for me- loves shreddign them to pieces