If you have the time, you can take a hammer to them and simply bang them "open"
so the pulp is going to touch the compost. The organisms can more easily get
into the branch and break them down.

When I cut down my ornamental grasses and perennials I put them in a shallow
pile and run over them with the lawn mower. I don't put anything larger than a
pencil twig in there, but it greatly reduces the bulk and it breaks down rather
quickly. I put this all back on the bed so it can break down slowly around the
plants and I cover it with fresh mulch every year. I get my mulch free when
they shred xmas trees.


On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 01:58:30 -0500, "Noctaire" wrote:

I have a pile of sticks and tree limbs from some trees we cut down along a
fenceline. I had a chipper shredder on loan for a while but could not get
the time to get through them all -- I've left 'em in this pile for over a
year and they're still intact.

I'd REALLY like to encourage these puppies to break down so I can add some
topsoil and even the area out for some PLANNED plantings rather than the
unexpected ones (like pokeweed, which by the way has taken over a large area
of my yard these days). Any suggestions on how to get these breaking down
without renting a chipper shredder?

James