Charlie Pridham wrote:

"nambucca" wrote in message
...

"H Ryder" wrote in message
...

Can I spread "raw" shreddings out of a garden shredder as a mulch or do
need to compost it first please? I had some idea that spreading it
uncomposted would affect teh nitrogen content of the soil but was not
sure.

It is better to compost it with grass if you have the space. Take all
the US sites obsessing about N to C ratios with a big pinch of salt. My
heap will run hot with anything between a cubic metre of hedge clippings
or grass cuttings irrespective.

If you spread shreddings raw they will indeed rob the soil of nitrogen etc
Compost them with grass cuttings, weeds, shredded paper /carboard and
horse

manure/ stable clearings plus lashings of night water ............mix well
and turn into another compost bin in 3 months then again in another 3
months

............then by a year you should have pretty good compost which you
spread .........Jan /feb is the best time to pile it on


I always spread mine green and am far from convinced that much nitrogen is
robbed from the soil as its on the surface surrounded by air which is around
70% nitrogen. And it is a lot less work! It may well be different if buried.
but it does make lovely compost if you have the energy :~)

Air is 75% Nitrogen, but in an inert form that plants cannot use. It
take symbiotic bacteria in legumes and clovers to fix nitrogen into
soluble nitrate form. Or the industrial Haber process...

Your soil may tolerate this sor tof mulch but fertility will suffer.

Regards,
Martin Brown