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shreddings
Can I spread "raw" shreddings out of a garden shredder as a mulch or do i
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. Thanks, Hayley |
"H Ryder" wrote in message ... Can I spread "raw" shreddings out of a garden shredder as a mulch or do i 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. Thanks, Hayley 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 can spread .........Jan /feb is the best time to pile it on |
"nambucca" wrote in message ... "H Ryder" wrote in message ... Can I spread "raw" shreddings out of a garden shredder as a mulch or do i 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. Thanks, Hayley 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 can 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 :~) -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs) |
On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 15:13:47 +0000 (UTC), "nambucca"
wrote: "H Ryder" wrote in message ... Can I spread "raw" shreddings out of a garden shredder as a mulch or do i 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. Thanks, Hayley 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 can spread .........Jan /feb is the best time to pile it on All good advice if you've got enough other stuff. But if, like me, you tend to have a large amount of shreddings from a woody hedge or large shrubs that are being cut back hard, just bag it all up in old peat or compost bags (I use the big so-called 'dumpy bags' that builders get their sand delivered in, roughly 1 cu.m. I guess; I've just filled three!), keep them six months to get the decomp[osition going and then spread it on, thickly. This morning I just pushed my hand quite deep into one of the bags filled last week. I had to withdraw it sharply; was it hot in there! -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
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 |
"Chris Hogg" wrote All good advice if you've got enough other stuff. But if, like me, you tend to have a large amount of shreddings from a woody hedge or large shrubs that are being cut back hard, just bag it all up in old peat or compost bags snip This morning I just pushed my hand quite deep into one of the bags filled last week. I had to withdraw it sharply; was it hot in there! Shredded prunings certainly can heat up fast. The first lot we ever shredded had to sit in a pile on the veg plot for a few days while space was being cleared to build compost bins. When I came to move the heap I was amazed to find it had turned to ash in the middle. |
On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 22:03:58 +0100, Martin Brown
wrote: 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 But eventually the nitrogen used by the bacteria will return to the soil as they themselves die and decompose. The nitrogen removal isn't permanent. If one regularly mulches with green shreddings (or whatever) eventually an equilibrium will be established and the soil won't suffer, but can only benefit. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
"Martin Brown" wrote in message ... Charlie Pridham wrote: "nambucca" wrote in message ... "H Ryder" wrote in message ... 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 I quite agree plants can not use the nitrogen direct, but we are not talking about plants but about the bacteria that break down the shreddings and since they will "compost" the shreddings in an open bag on concrete with no contact with the soil they Must be able to get all the nitrogen they need from the air, I have done soil samples before during and after surface mulching with green material and soil fertility increases not decreases during the process. In short the books are wrong on this one. -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs) |
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