Hi all.

I have recently taken early retirement and invested in a 1 acre back garden
that is covered in shrubs and conifers and has honeysuckle miles long
growing through it. The shrubs and confiers are all overgrown and some
are absolutely massive, for example I have discovered a flat growing conifer
that is 30 yards in diameter and it had rooted along it's branches. The
decision I have taken is to clear the whole lot and start again. The soil
although clearly exhausted is quite deap and fairly light.
I have started the clearance with a chainsaw and brushcutter and have
cleared around a third of it so far. I am digging out the roots as I go.
I have invested in a shredder and I am only buring the roots and think
branches, the rest has been reduced to chippings with the shredder. As you
can imagine I have a fairly big pile of chippings. I have built half a
dozen large compost bins (48" square and 60" high) as I was thinking of
trying to compost the chippings.

The question is if I compost the chippings will it be of any use.


Bob

In article , Bob
writes

The question is if I compost the chippings will it be of any use.

Yes you can compost chippings, shreddings or sawdust providing you mix
them with plenty of other material - and providing you give them
sufficient time to bio-degrade. Once they have composted properly, they
can be used in the same way as any other composted material.

Some hints on making and using compost can be found in the urg FAQ at:
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/organic.html
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In article , Bob
writes

The question is if I compost the chippings will it be of any use.

Yes! :-)
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Yes you can compost chippings, shreddings or sawdust providing you mix
them with plenty of other material

Thanks for this, Mixing with other stuff is a problem initially although I
have been adding layers of horse manure and droppings from a local parrot
breeding breeding outfit (this is a mix of wood shavings, droppings and seed
shells, nut shells and large amounts of frut and vegetable matter. The guy
who raises parrots is happy to deliver a trailer load of this stuff every
month to get rid of it, it tens to be a bit wet though.

I now have eight full bins of shredded chippings and I am about half way
through, leaving them for a year or so is not a problem as I have a long way
to go - at least it is keeping me fit.

Bob

I'm jealous! Woodchip is great stuff once it's mostly broken down and I'd give my right arm for a few tons at the moment!

On a similar note, is chicken muck acidic or limey? I thought lime, but can't remember. Our local chicken farmer employs me to sort out his hedges and orchard every year and has kindly said I can help myself to the straw and wood shaving heap he has from the hens free range sheds and paddocks. It's not the stinky pure chicken muck that normal farms would have, more a sort of mix that pet hens kept on a small scale would produce - mainly bedding. I was considering getting a few trailer loads and mixing it with our horse muck to compost over a year or so and use when potting the young trees up. Does that sound sensible to everyone?

Could any spare go straight under the newish (5 year old) hazel and quickthorn hedges?

Hazel,

Try asking a local tree surgeon, most of them shred the waste to reduce bulk
as they have to pay to dump it.
I have no doubt that they would drop off a load or two if you have the
ability to handle it.

Bob


"Hazell B" wrote in message
s.com...
I'm jealous! Woodchip is great stuff once it's mostly broken down and
I'd give my right arm for a few tons at the moment!

Hazel,

Try asking a local tree surgeon, most of them shred the waste to reduce bulk
as they have to pay to dump it.
I have no doubt that they would drop off a load or two if you have the
ability to handle it.

Bob


"Hazell B" wrote in message
s.com...
I'm jealous! Woodchip is great stuff once it's mostly broken down and
I'd give my right arm for a few tons at the moment!

Cheers Bob. As it happens there are lots of tree surgeons around here and I see them working quite a lot. However, all the locals also have horses or live near someone with horses, so all the chip seems to go to cover the all weather arenas and muddy paddocks - which is exactly what I want it for! There's a factory that mixes the chips with chopped electric cables, too, again for horse arenas and they buy it up. Great idea, shame about the location!

"Hazell B" wrote in message
s.com...
Cheers Bob. As it happens there are lots of tree surgeons around here
and I see them working quite a lot. However, all the locals also have
horses or live near someone with horses, so all the chip seems to go to
cover the all weather arenas and muddy paddocks - which is exactly what
I want it for! There's a factory that mixes the chips with chopped
electric cables,

That sounds like a pretty irresponsible thing to do! Are they really
distributing small cut up pieces of copper and PVC all over the place? It
sounds like the proverbial kicking the shit around till it is lost. Do they
have a licence to do so? Does the local authority condone it?

too, again for horse arenas and they buy it up. Great
idea, shame about the location!
--
Hazell B

Franz

"Hazell B" wrote in message
s.com...
Cheers Bob. As it happens there are lots of tree surgeons around here
and I see them working quite a lot. However, all the locals also have
horses or live near someone with horses, so all the chip seems to go to
cover the all weather arenas and muddy paddocks - which is exactly what
I want it for! There's a factory that mixes the chips with chopped
electric cables,

That sounds like a pretty irresponsible thing to do! Are they really
distributing small cut up pieces of copper and PVC all over the place? It
sounds like the proverbial kicking the shit around till it is lost. Do they
have a licence to do so? Does the local authority condone it?

too, again for horse arenas and they buy it up. Great
idea, shame about the location!
--
Hazell B

Franz

"Hazell B" wrote in message
s.com...
Cheers Bob. As it happens there are lots of tree surgeons around here
and I see them working quite a lot. However, all the locals also have
horses or live near someone with horses, so all the chip seems to go to
cover the all weather arenas and muddy paddocks - which is exactly what
I want it for! There's a factory that mixes the chips with chopped
electric cables,

That sounds like a pretty irresponsible thing to do! Are they really
distributing small cut up pieces of copper and PVC all over the place? It
sounds like the proverbial kicking the shit around till it is lost. Do they
have a licence to do so? Does the local authority condone it?

too, again for horse arenas and they buy it up. Great
idea, shame about the location!
--
Hazell B

Franz

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
That sounds like a pretty irresponsible thing to do! Are they really
distributing small cut up pieces of copper and PVC all over the place? It

Just a guess but they probably recycle the copper as it's useful and just
chop up the plastic sheath?

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 09:50:22 -0000, "Martin Sykes"
wrote:

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
That sounds like a pretty irresponsible thing to do! Are they really
distributing small cut up pieces of copper and PVC all over the place? It

Just a guess but they probably recycle the copper as it's useful and just
chop up the plastic sheath?

they still shouldn't be disposing of the sheath in this manner.
--
Martin

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
That sounds like a pretty irresponsible thing to do! Are they really
distributing small cut up pieces of copper and PVC all over the place? It

Just a guess but they probably recycle the copper as it's useful and just
chop up the plastic sheath?

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 09:50:22 -0000, "Martin Sykes"
wrote:

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
That sounds like a pretty irresponsible thing to do! Are they really
distributing small cut up pieces of copper and PVC all over the place? It

Just a guess but they probably recycle the copper as it's useful and just
chop up the plastic sheath?

they still shouldn't be disposing of the sheath in this manner.
--
Martin