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Tool or technique for cutting up autumn prunings.

UsFourUsFour Posts: 49
in Problem solving
Hi all ..... I have a very small garden so have no extra space to put to use.

I have always cut up non woody prunings into reasonably small pieces, (Montana / grasses /herbaceous etc) to help them rot down more quickly in my two plastic compost bins. I also cut down woodier stems so that I can take them to the tip in bags. This was always previously achieved quite satisfactorily with secateurs.

Recently I am finding my wrist can't take the continued use of secateurs.

Does anybody have experience of any tools or techniques which may help overcome this?

Thanks in advance.
UsFour 

The older you get, the more you realise that it is OK to live a life others don't understand.

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    We’ve had a Bosch chipper for 8 years now, it’s been very good, only replaced the blade once, all the clippings then go on the compost heap. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Use the lawnmower if you have one on the softer stuff and even the smaller woody bits. There are ratchet type secateurs which are easier on the hands but maybe loppers would also work for you.
  • parrotfeather*parrotfeather* Posts: 188
    I find Jakoti shears (cheapest on line from agricultural suppliers or from Mole stores as they are also used for sheep-shearing but you can find them on Amazon and eBay) easier to use for this, and quicker, than secateurs as they are very sharp, have long blades and make short work of stuff like Hemerocallis leaves and long grasses as well as tackling the thinner woody prunings. I have arthritis too and have to be careful not to overdo it but I cut the prunings as I add them to a trug when weeding and clearing, rather than trying to do a big pile by the compost heap. I have also paid for garden waste bins from the Council recently and it has saved a lot of effort with shrub prunings and pernicious weeds for not much expense, here at least.
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    I can sympathise with the wrist problem and secateurs. We've had a Bosch shredder for ages and it deals with all the hedge trimmings and woody prunings. You can either put everything on the compost heap or leave it in a quiet spot to rot down and then use it for mulch.
    If you want something a lot smaller then ratchet secateurs can be a help when dealing with woody stems though it won't entirely stop the wrist pain.
  • UsFourUsFour Posts: 49
    Thank you everybody.

    After seeing a video on YouTube, where a pair of ratchet hedge clippers were used on a small pile of prunings before adding to compost, I decided this was probably the way to go. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYIZvp32baA

    I have to say I don't put it on the top of a large pile, has he is doing, meaning that you are having to stretch in an awkward position, rather than just let the shears hang down in front of you into a tub, which is what I do.

    Being on a budget I looked at lower end ratchet hedge clippers but most had a plastic ratchet instead of a steel one and in reviews, the plastic tended to break. So I've finished up with a cheap plastic garden trug/tub to contain a small amount of prunings at a time and am using some Wilkinson Sword hedge clippers. They are really light and sharp and seem to be doing the job just fine. Using them means that I am using my lower arms to chop the prunings rather than my wrists. 

    Of course I am only using them on green prunings with no woody stems and I only have a small garden so it is doable.

    Just thought an update might help somebody in similar circumstances.

    UsFour 

    The older you get, the more you realise that it is OK to live a life others don't understand.
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