Re:garbage and composting
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ladelfina
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Re:garbage and composting
Ours looks like this:
It's electric and 1.5 HP. Things being the way they are here, it cost us close to $500 as it was and we weren't willing to spend more for a more powerful one, nor did I want the smell, noise or maintenance of a combustion engine model.
It works fine, but it's a pain to set up and get the loooong extension cords out. I would love to have a semi-protected space where I could leave it covered but set up for "spur of the moment" shredding. It does create kind of a dusty mess in a 10'-12' zone around the machine.
I can't say for sure, but I think that a more powerful one would still have most of the same issues ours does, number one being WET material. Since the yard clean-up season here is also a very humid time of year, we have to stop the machine frequently to clean leaf paste that is stuck to the blades. (I don't think palm leaves are going to get cut cleanly by ANYTHING short of a surgical scalpel, if that; I even have trouble using a handsaw or big clippers to trim our palm.) Stopping the machine takes a while because of the safety "features" that make it nigh impossible to open: three verrrry loooonnngg screws that hold the cutting chamber halves together. There may be other designs but we didn't have a choice of model lines so I can't say..
I am not interested in chipping thicker branches, since we can use those for kindling; I just wish there were a way for it to deal better with wet/damp leaves since here there is always a heavy dew even if it doesn't rain.
Our "piles" are currently three 5-6' diam. free-standing chicken-wire cylinders, about chest height. This has been our first year and they are now (in their reduced state) all about 1/2 full. I plan to combine them to make room for new material, and will spread the "seasoned" year+-old stuff in the spring. Thanks for the tips on spreading.. I hope the worms won't be stranded up there, though, on top of the clay.. Samclem.. that is a great system your county has. It would be too logical for them to implement here!
Ours looks like this:
It's electric and 1.5 HP. Things being the way they are here, it cost us close to $500 as it was and we weren't willing to spend more for a more powerful one, nor did I want the smell, noise or maintenance of a combustion engine model.
It works fine, but it's a pain to set up and get the loooong extension cords out. I would love to have a semi-protected space where I could leave it covered but set up for "spur of the moment" shredding. It does create kind of a dusty mess in a 10'-12' zone around the machine.
I can't say for sure, but I think that a more powerful one would still have most of the same issues ours does, number one being WET material. Since the yard clean-up season here is also a very humid time of year, we have to stop the machine frequently to clean leaf paste that is stuck to the blades. (I don't think palm leaves are going to get cut cleanly by ANYTHING short of a surgical scalpel, if that; I even have trouble using a handsaw or big clippers to trim our palm.) Stopping the machine takes a while because of the safety "features" that make it nigh impossible to open: three verrrry loooonnngg screws that hold the cutting chamber halves together. There may be other designs but we didn't have a choice of model lines so I can't say..
I am not interested in chipping thicker branches, since we can use those for kindling; I just wish there were a way for it to deal better with wet/damp leaves since here there is always a heavy dew even if it doesn't rain.
Our "piles" are currently three 5-6' diam. free-standing chicken-wire cylinders, about chest height. This has been our first year and they are now (in their reduced state) all about 1/2 full. I plan to combine them to make room for new material, and will spread the "seasoned" year+-old stuff in the spring. Thanks for the tips on spreading.. I hope the worms won't be stranded up there, though, on top of the clay.. Samclem.. that is a great system your county has. It would be too logical for them to implement here!
Re:garbage and composting
By the time the worms have done their thing that clay won't be so much clay anymore. They take months but I'm not going anywhere. I'm really enjoying gaining a decades-long view of what we're doing to our yard. By the time I'm 80 I want this place in autopilot with no watering, pruning, or weeding required!
Our property is bordered by a chain-link fence, against which I stood four wooden pallets on end at a five-foot spacing. Then I just fill the three bays in sequence. By the time I've filled the third bay (a few months later) the first one is ready for harvesting. I scoop the first bay's undecayed stuff onto the third bay, dig out the rest (especially the worms!) and spread it.ladelfina said:Our "piles" are currently three 5-6' diam. free-standing chicken-wire cylinders, about chest height. This has been our first year and they are now (in their reduced state) all about 1/2 full. I plan to combine them to make room for new material, and will spread the "seasoned" year+-old stuff in the spring. Thanks for the tips on spreading.. I hope the worms won't be stranded up there, though, on top of the clay.. Samclem.. that is a great system your county has. It would be too logical for them to implement here!
By the time the worms have done their thing that clay won't be so much clay anymore. They take months but I'm not going anywhere. I'm really enjoying gaining a decades-long view of what we're doing to our yard. By the time I'm 80 I want this place in autopilot with no watering, pruning, or weeding required!
Goonie
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Re:garbage and composting
I've been working in our yard/gardens for the past many years to achieve the same results as you, Nords.....but I'd like it to be on autopilot by the time I'm about 55!
Nords said:
I've been working in our yard/gardens for the past many years to achieve the same results as you, Nords.....but I'd like it to be on autopilot by the time I'm about 55!
ladelfina
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Re:garbage and composting
One of the composting advantages of living in Hawaii (right?).. nice heat & humidity year-round. We have a cold winter and mostly oak leaves that take a loong time to break down.
I even bought the Rodale book on composting and it really got into all the different 'flavors', chemistry, and architectural techniques. We opted for the circles as being easiest to set up, and with the possibility of easy dismantling and moving. Though I liked the 3-bin system, I didn't have an optimum wall site for this more dedicated structure.
BTW, over the holidays I read an excellent book called "Noah's Garden; Restoring the Ecology of Our Backyards" (from memory, I left the book in the US with my sister who lives in CT, as does the author-- a lot of the plant references are specific to that zone). It talks about re-establishing (to the extent possible) forests, underbrush, marsh zones and meadows that not only require less maintenance, but provide a habitat for local fauna (right down to insects, bacteria and so on) that makes the overall landscape healthier. Bluebirds, butterflies, and fireflies return.
Basically, ditch the sterile suburban sameness, reduce the amount of lawn and lawncare to a minimum, forget the pesticides and chemical fertilizers and Home Depot Japanese yews, and instead encourage a diversity of autoctonous bushes, grasses, and wildflowers, water features and plants that can provide sustenance for birds & smaller critters through the winter. While one or two of these oases may not be enough to attract larger predators like hawks and owls, the author's hope is that, if enough people undertook some of these measures, adjoining properties would end up with larger common 'reserves', where nature can do its thing.
A hopeful book, but also a depressing one, as we can see the trend has ever been in the opposite direction. The lawn is king (and many are his slaves).
One of the composting advantages of living in Hawaii (right?).. nice heat & humidity year-round. We have a cold winter and mostly oak leaves that take a loong time to break down.
I even bought the Rodale book on composting and it really got into all the different 'flavors', chemistry, and architectural techniques. We opted for the circles as being easiest to set up, and with the possibility of easy dismantling and moving. Though I liked the 3-bin system, I didn't have an optimum wall site for this more dedicated structure.
BTW, over the holidays I read an excellent book called "Noah's Garden; Restoring the Ecology of Our Backyards" (from memory, I left the book in the US with my sister who lives in CT, as does the author-- a lot of the plant references are specific to that zone). It talks about re-establishing (to the extent possible) forests, underbrush, marsh zones and meadows that not only require less maintenance, but provide a habitat for local fauna (right down to insects, bacteria and so on) that makes the overall landscape healthier. Bluebirds, butterflies, and fireflies return.
Basically, ditch the sterile suburban sameness, reduce the amount of lawn and lawncare to a minimum, forget the pesticides and chemical fertilizers and Home Depot Japanese yews, and instead encourage a diversity of autoctonous bushes, grasses, and wildflowers, water features and plants that can provide sustenance for birds & smaller critters through the winter. While one or two of these oases may not be enough to attract larger predators like hawks and owls, the author's hope is that, if enough people undertook some of these measures, adjoining properties would end up with larger common 'reserves', where nature can do its thing.
A hopeful book, but also a depressing one, as we can see the trend has ever been in the opposite direction. The lawn is king (and many are his slaves).
