Leaf Shredders

[tnokie]

Anyone have any experiences with shredders? I'm thinking about getting one,but need to know a little more about them. Can they be used to shredd all the flower and tomatoe stalks or just leaves. Can green materials be shredded without clogging it up. I generate a huge pile of garden waste(stalks,vines, weeds,etc. I'm thinking if I could shredd them it would be good mulch and compost quicker. Any ideals?

[Siryet]

Went to your site but no pictures are showing?

Also, I always bury my leaves, tomato stalks etc in the garden by discing
at the end of the season.

also just chop up any leaves on the lawn area, by using my riding tractor.

I guess I am not much help. Sorry

[hunter63]

Pic's wouldn't come up for me either?
Anyway, I currently use a Craftsman 8 hp shredder, but I have to tell you that even though I have had it awhile, the thing keeps cracking the sheet metal, good thing I know some one with a mig/tig welder.

Does a good job on small limbs, leaves tend to get plugged up.
Garden waste is fine, but not too much green stuff at a time, gotta mix in some dry or it gets real "juicy".

I had an old IH, was more of a hammer mill, than shredder, no blades to get dull, could even "shred" clods of clay, newspapers, cedar shingles
Finally had all the hammer bushings wear out, and it so sorta beat it self to death, too bad, really liked that one.
I use a lawn mower w/bag for the leaves, as the shredder seems to take too long.

Be careful of the ads, "will shred 3" limbs!", that is circumference, not dia. I believe.

I do believe that I have gotten my moneys worth, and it feels good, thet most everything on our place is re-cycled.
I guess I could never figure out why the neighbors cut the bushes/garden stuff, into 2 ft lengths, bundle them haul them to the special landfill site, then stop at the garden center on the way home, to buy mulch? Of course mine isn't a pretty dyed red or brown..................

It is fun to just stick stuff down the chute and away it goes, "More power, ar, ar, ar"

[Windy in Kansas]

I have a 10 horsepower chipper/shredder that does pretty well. Cardboard is the worst offender for clogging the screen and not feeding properly.

In addition to stalks, leaves, grass, etc. I even do small ½ to 1 inch limbs through the hopper. On the side is a chipper which dulls quickly and is slow.

In addition to yard wastes I have also shredded a lot of paper goods including old books with the hardbooks removed. They and magazines are tedious as you must rip them apart and feed in smaller doses.

If you build a proper compost pile using shredded material you can push the process to be done quickly. 10 days was my minimum with all conditions being exactly right.

[teresab]

Just kind of thinking to myself....wonder how it would work to put leaves and stuff in a garbage and "shred" with a weed eater. Does anyone think this would work??

[Paquebot]

Originally Posted by teresab

Just kind of thinking to myself....wonder how it would work to put leaves and stuff in a garbage and "shred" with a weed eater. Does anyone think this would work??

Dry leaves in a garbage can and a weed eater indeed has been around for a long time. Do wear eye protection if you do that as bits of "shrapnel" are apt to be flying everywhere.

Martin

[Beeman]

I've got a Troy-Bilt chipper shredder. Basically totally useless for anything more than a couple of bags of leaves. It would take weeks to shred the leaves I want for my garden and it constantly clogs if there's any dampness.