non-compost menace

Cliff_Johns · Oct 16, 2004

Here's our compost bin. We didn't need a container because it held it's shape pretty well.

Actually, I built a bin, but we just used it as a dump for brush. We aren't allowed to burn and we just don't know what to do with the branches and weeds and brush, so we just dumped it in the bin. Note the racoon sized cavities. The bin was under a tree so I got no rain and I didn't turn it over. Stick don't work in compost bins anyway. Preserved the stuff remarkably well though.

We have another brush pile which is much larger right next to it. Any ideas? I don't think a chipper would do much good would it? I guess I'll just have to pay someone to haul it all away (except for the foot or so of good ground at the bottom).

Cliff

Cliff_Johns · Oct 16, 2004

Another photo of the amazing square brush pile.
Cliff

MossRoad · Oct 16, 2004

A chipper really helps. I'd run it through and keep it in a pile near the composter. Then as I add green material to the composter, sprinkle in a shovel full or two of the chips. You will use it up in no time.

Cliff_Johns · Oct 17, 2004

I wondered about a chipper, as I said, but I rented a small one and it wouldn't chop squat. Seems to me I should have been able to feed it anything under two inches (3" chipper) -- from green brush trimmings to fallen branches -- and it should have choped it up and dumped it in a pile. That doesn't seem to be how they work. Instead, this one at least, just bent the green stuff sideways and got jammed up. I wanted to push the thing in fornt of a bus after futzing with it for an hour. Anything over 2" I'm willing to saw up and burn.

Are there small chippers that actually work for anything other than leaves and perfectly straight dry twigs? Next step up seems to be more than $1000.

Cliff

Bird · Oct 17, 2004

Cliff, it sounds to me as if you rented a worn out chipper with very dull blades. Several years ago, my brother bought a little Craftsman with a 5 hp Briggs engine and we chipped/shredded many, many tons of limbs and vines with it. A little slow, but did a great job. Here is a picture of it after some cusomization, but most of the work was done with it before that.

JJT · Oct 17, 2004

If you cannot burn it, do you have enough space that you could bury it? I personally wouldn't waste my time or $ on a chipper. I can get decent compost free for the hauling from any number of farms within a mile or 2. A few years ago I hauled in 60 yards of material and I'll use the last of it with the next growing season. I made 1 large windrow 6-8 feet high and ~30 feet long and turned it over a few times every year.

shvl73 · Oct 17, 2004

I bought a 10hp unit from Home Depot & it works great. It's a little slow on the 3" stuff but, the smaller stuff it eats right up, green or dry. Bird's statement about the blades is right on, they weren't real sharp out of the box but, I took them out & sharpened them. Now it eats anything that will fit in. Stuff composts much quicker if you chip it.

JerryG · Oct 17, 2004

Cliff,
I don't know how much land you have, you don't have it in your profile. But, if you have a good spot you could use your backhoe to dig a hole to bury all of it. It would decompose pretty quick that way.

jinman · Oct 17, 2004

One way to speed up decomposition is to add a little dry molasses. That encourages biological activity. From what I have seen, composting is a whole lot more complex than throwing trimmings and brush into a pile and let it sit. Most of the people who do it regularly will even put their table scraps into the pile to accelerate the process. Personally, I think it's a lot of work, but also very rewarding if you have the right equipment. Everyone I know who does composting on a regular basis also has a chipper. Golf is not the only sport with expensive equipment. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

shoppintractors · Oct 17, 2004

Flipping and blending the pile monthly speeds up the decomposition process. Aeration is one of the keys to successful composting. The small sticks take a long time to break down however, they would aid in keeping the air circulating throughout the pile, once blended in.

Don

EastTexFrank · Oct 17, 2004

If you can't burn it, shredding or burying it are going to be your only options. I'm a composter but have never been a big fan of chipper/shredders. I have a Troy-Bilt Super Tomahawk sitting in the garage and I don't even know if it still works, it's been so long since I used it. It always seemed like so much wasted labor to pick a stick off the ground, feed it through a chipper to have it scattered back on the ground in smaller pieces that are even harder to pick up the second time. Maybe I need a set up like Bird's.

Hedge trimmings, brush and branchy/twiggy stuff I put in the burning pit. It's just too much of a hassle to compost. It takes far too long to break down even when you keep it damp and turn it regularly.

RonR · Oct 17, 2004

Several years ago, I thought I would be really green and rented a large chipper when I trimmed some hedge trees. This thing had a 4 cylinder gas engine and was pretty heavy duty.

What you could feed in chipped well, but with the twisty old hedge branches, I kept having to cut it to fit into the throat.

Got all done, it was $40 rental and I had about 70 gallons of chips. Hardly worth the effort.

NOW, our city has a treecycle place. You take your limbs there to drop off and they give away the chips. Chips are free to anyone. Probably costs us some in taxes, but it sure is a nice service.

I'm just curious if they would be upset if I took my Bota and FEL out there to load up some in the front of my trailer????????? Guess I'll ask next trip.

Ron

Cliff_Johns · Oct 17, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( . . . you could use your backhoe to dig a hole to bury all of it. It would decompose pretty quick that way.)</font>

It's a nice idea, but I'm basically on a surburban lot (albeit a large one) and while burying it sounds appealing, it's not really an option.
Cliff

Cliff_Johns · Oct 17, 2004

I am thinking what I really need is a very large trash compactor. My brush pile is about 15'X15'X5'. I think I could compact it down into a #1000 brick, then I could just truck it somewhere.

I just can't picture dragging all this stuff around the front of the house. Makes me wish I had a set of upper teeth for my FEL.

I really just let it go too long and now I'm paying the price for it.

Cliff

DocHeb · Oct 18, 2004

I'm seeing a BrushHog being lowered onto the pile, showing the pile who's boss.

EastTexFrank · Oct 18, 2004

Now there's an option.

MossRoad · Oct 18, 2004

Just take some lopping shears to it and get it down to 1 foot pieces or smaller. Makes for an hour of excercise a few nights a week. Then toss them into the compost pile layered with the other green stuff, kitchen scraps, grass clippings and some dirt. Turn the pile every 3-4 weeks. Makes another hour of excersice once in a while. They will rot down sooner or later. When you want to use the compost, just screen it through something. Anything that won't fit through the screen goes back in the pile. Composting is fun and rewarding. Fresh veggies are tastey. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif