RE: Advice on shredders
- To: "'Medit-Plants'"
- Subject: RE: Advice on shredders
- From: T* D*
- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 21:10:26 +1300
Anthony wrote:
>1) how can I work out what sort of green manure will take nitrogen away
from my plants ? Have I
>understood the issue properly by thinking that it is the wooden part of
shreddings which should be
>used sparingly for this reason?
>2) do I really need to spend about 500 US dollars to get a decent shredder
(i.e. something that will
>shred twigs/branches of up to an inch in diameter?
1) I recall we had a recent thread on this subject and that somebody told
us that scientific tests had actually disproved the theory that green
manure would rob nitrogen from the plants. I use shreddings from my
chipper/shredder all over the garden and have done for years. This keeps
the weeds down and it really does keep the moisture in and reduce the need
to water in the summer.
2) It surely depends on the size of your garden and the quantity of
prunings. I have a very large garden and produce 15 to 20 cubic metres of
mulch from it every year. You wouldn't believe how large a pile of prunings
it takes to make 1 cubic metre of mulch. If I didn't have the shredder
(which has a 5 hp petrol motor and can do up to 2 inch diameter branches) I
would need a truck to get rid of all the prunings. That, of course, would
not keep the weeds and watering down.
The bad bit, it IS very noisy and it can be tiring work. If your
neighbourhood would not appreciate a lot of noise (and a very unpleasant
noise it can be), I suggest you don't buy one and keep the neighbours
happy.
Tim Dutton
"Raindrops", Main Road North, Kaitoke, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
(Latitude 41? 5' South, Longitude 175? 10' East)
