Garden waste handling ideas - big volumes.

[Pancho]

I have a horrendous volume of branches, leaves and general garden greenery to handle.

On the one hand, I have 15 years worth of accumulation shoved out of the way under the trees that surround the house and garden. I am getting concerned that in dry weather (ie not now!) this is a fire hazard.

Mainly this consists of a 3 foot bed of fallen leaves mixed with grass clippings. I suppose there's nothing for it but to spend days & days & days of manual labour and either apply it to beds or at least collect it in a usable & accessible heap.

However, the accumulation includes branches of various thickness - from twig sized to small tree. Some are fallen deadwood or dried cuttings and some are the results of pruning. What can I do with this stuff - there's a lot of it?

Finally, I need to get some sort of production line in hand to deal with this stuff in future. There's nothing unusual to cope with; normal garden & household compost, lawn clippings, loads & loads of leaves, and then the bigger prunings and fallen wood.

It's the sheer scale of the task and the required production line that I'm finding hard to work with.

Any tips?

[border-rider]

Shredder for the branches - reduces the volume considerably and makes them compostable

I had a similarly daunting task at former Volio Towers in prepration for us moving.  You just have to pile in and start putting it into heaps to rot down.

[Woofage]

Shredder for the branches

+1. I hired a total MF of a shredder last year. Fantastic . Chippings make good mulch and the greener stuff that came out we piled in the chicken's enclosure for them to spread around.

A word of caution: piles of green waste will attract vermin. Get rid of it. Burning is good

[Pancho]

Can the chippers/shredders handle dried wood or are they strictly for fresh green prunings?

Any recommendations for brand or model? I'm supposing the petrol jobs are more manly than their wimpish siblings. Recollections of visiting tree surgeons tells me that the petrol ones are going to be Loud.

What should one do with the resulting chippings; should they be composted for a year or chucked straight on beds?

[border-rider]

Can the chippers/shredders handle dried wood or are they strictly for fresh green prunings?

Any recommendations for brand or model? I'm supposing the petrol jobs are more manly than their wimpish siblings. Recollections of visiting tree surgeons tells me that the petrol ones are going to be Loud.

What should one do with the resulting chippings; should they be composted for a year or chucked straight on beds?

They'll handle dried to a point.  Obv if it's bone-dry it'll be tougher

We have an electric shredder because, as you say, they are much more quiet.  It manages branches up to about 4 cm.  Bigger than that you'd need a professional one, I'd think.

If it's bone-dry can you burn some of it ?

And yes it'll need composting unless you want a fine crop of fungi.

[rdaviesb]

+1 for a shredder. We've about 200ft of hedge and elder to deal with an it's the only way to get the clippings down to a manageable volume. Electric will do; any bigger than that and you've got a piece of wood that you can stack and use later.

We hired one for a weekend and were so impressed that we bought our own.  It was secondhand; the chap who sold it to us has completely blitzed his garden!

[Bledlow]

We have an electric shredder because, as you say, they are much more quiet.  It manages branches up to about 4 cm.  Bigger than that you'd need a professional one, I'd think.

Bigger than that is excellent firewood.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Bonfire!

[Mrs Pingu]

Can I suggest you don't do anything until the hedgepigs have finished hibernating?

[MSeries]

Loads of information on the internet about composting. From wooden bins to plastic ones to simply covering a heap with carpet.

I have a couple of plastic compost bins sold by Yorkshire Water/Leeds City Council for a couple of quid. Not really big enough at present since we just had a pruning spree. With my Dads borrowed shredder I have shredded lots of the branches and filled the bins. Still lots awaiting shredding and three bags full of shreddings composting away in the garage. Once done they'll be spread on soil.

Think I need a bonfire too though as there is some old fencing that also needs disposing of.