Re: Advice on shredders
Tim, do you consider bark chips take away nitrogen, whether used as a soil
lightener or in pots- I see it is used extensively mixed with other items
in some proprietory mixes, for example, for cultivation of citrus in pots.
Edward
----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Dutton <timdut@xtra.co.nz>
To: 'Medit-Plants' <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Sent: 11 October 1999 9:10
Subject: RE: Advice on shredders
> 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)
>
>
