Shredding it!

I’m not one for “boy’s toys” but a recent arrival in the garden has made me a happy boy. My garden shredder/chipper of almost ten years gave up the ghost and needed to be replaced. The new model was simply the same under a new name and with a different colour. Otherwise, it was more or less the same as what I have become used to using.

The new shredder, ready for action!

Our garden produces quite an amount of material for the compost bin and I have found that shredding or chipping it before adding it to the heap leads to far better results than simply piling in all on and leaving nature take its course. The softer material – herbaceous plants that have been cut down – are shredded and woody material is chipped. I add any paper, cardboard and vegetable trimmings from the kitchen along with the grass cuttings and it quickly leads to a heap which is steaming hot and is ready for use again in the garden in six to nine months. So, a happy boy indeed!

Compost heap, uncovered.  I’m not sure if you can see the steam which is rising from the heap after I uncovered it. 

When another layer is added, the heap is covered up again and these old duvets provide insulation and help increase and hold the temperature – it becomes so hot that you could not hold your hand on it. 

And the result of the process is a supply of compost for use as a mulch, to add to the soil when planting and as a compost for use in pots. 

[Just in case!  This is not a promotion, not an endorsement, not an advertisement – simply my gardening event of the week! Yes, it’s been a slow week!]