Been on a job today - garden clearance for an elderly couple. They had a huge bramble patch - I have the cuts and splinters to proove it - which I hacked down. There were also several large sloe trees which they wanted out - shame, and a couple of wild roses which I had to remove. We spent this afternoon passing it all through a heavy duty shredder and bagging it. I was offered it, but declined as I thought the brambles might grow again.........should I have said yes and poured it on the compost heap to rot down over winter? It will be there tomoz as I am taking delivery of a skip and have to load it on it (the things I am doing in this new job!!)
Say Yes and use it as the base in your runner bean trench. I've done this several times and never had any root. Personaly I would not put the shreddings in the compost bin, takes too long to break down. (About two years.)
Quotetakes too long to break down. (About two years.)
Built myself a separate compost bin for stuff like this that takes a while to rot down, I have another that I filled with docks & couch a few years ago, it'll be usable eventually............I hope
I wouldn't have thought it would give you any trouble once it's been shredded. Pile it, cover it, and leave it for a couple of years.
Couch is OK after a year; docks can survive the first winter but are so weakened that they'll be dead by the following year.
QuoteCouch is OK after a year; docks can survive the first winter but are so weakened that they'll be dead by the following year.
I'm not taking any chances :-\
When clearing land like that, and on our twelve acre site there are always one or two plots to tackle that tenants have let get out of hand, I shred and compost all top growth and bag up big roots seperatly to rott down slowly. Couch makes a great top dressing once it is fully dried out...
;D
EJ My first job on the plot earlier this year was to cut back the brambles, I shredded about half of it and it all went in the darlek and there is now no sign of anything resembling a bramble, just lots of dark brown stuff ;D
I alway use it if I have any, to mulch the tulips, blown straight on from the shredder.It stops the squirrels digging them up.
Yippee yipee yippppeeee! I shall load them into the motor at the end of work tomoz! ;D Thanks chaps!