"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..

"rivergarden" wrote in message
...

This is my first ever post about my first ever garden and I have to
begin by confessing I know next to nothing about gardening. Conversely
my partner and I have just moved into a home by the Thames with a
beautiful mature garden attached so many stupid questions to come. My
first is this. I have just cleared out a load of ivy which has
obviously been growing for some time and contained, between the stems,
a large amount of semi rotted twigs - a builders bag full to be
precise. Whats the best use for this? I dont want to just burn it as it
looks like it contains a lot of nutrients. Should I compost it?




--
rivergarden

It makes good compost, but there is one problem (in addition to making
sure it does not contain poison ivy, which someone else mentioned). That
is, even the tiniest stem of ivy will often root. That means you could
find lots of little ivy plants -- which can be difficult to eradicate --
if you use it for compost and there are any stems or roots left.

MaryL


If composted in a pile for a year before using, the chances of stems still
containing living parenchyma cells is very low. Also composting reduces
many associations that fresh chips can pose regarding diseases.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.