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Shredding brambles for compost?

2

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I use the  Gold leaf tough touch gauntlets to handle them.
  • zugeniezugenie Posts: 831
    Thanks all, I won’t risk it then! I’ll burn them like I normally do :)

    @LunarSea they’re wooden compost bins and turned about once a month
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I use the  Gold leaf tough touch gauntlets to handle them.
    @fidgetbones , they look good, but rather pricey. How long do you find that they last, if you don't mind me asking?
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LunarSeaLunarSea Posts: 1,923
    edited February 2023
    zugenie said:
    @LunarSea they’re wooden compost bins and turned about once a month

    In which case, if you have an impact shredder, you should be able to compost them without any problems :)

    @hiacedrifter posted a really useful summary of common shredder types here, on page 2:

    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1068776/shredder-recommendations#latest
    Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border

    I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Gold leaf gloves last for years so long as you don't drag them on concrete picking up leaves. I wore out the stitching on one finger that way.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Perhaps they'll go on my birthday wishlist, if they come in a small enough size.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • zugeniezugenie Posts: 831
    LunarSea said:
    zugenie said:
    @LunarSea they’re wooden compost bins and turned about once a month

    In which case, if you have an impact shredder, you should be able to compost them without any problems :)

    @hiacedrifter posted a really useful summary of common shredder types here, on page 2:

    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1068776/shredder-recommendations#latest
    That was an interesting read, thank you! I’m not sure what type we have, it was the cheapest one from screwfix!

    I do have a pic of what it produces though:


    I think I’ll stick with burning the brambles for now, at least until I can get a council green bin, I’ve been very careful with my compost so far, bagging up all the weeds and taking them to the tip (for the green waste) I wouldn’t want to risk it!! 


  • I glyphosate any brambles as I am constantly attacked by them crawling over the banks from the fields next door. I also burn a lot. I also burn a lot.
    Just to make sure. 
    I have a lot of trouble with them growing all over my garden, I assume birds eat the fruit and release the seeds in my garden.
    In the fields on the other sides of the banks, there are banks, several feet high and wide of brambles growing so it is a never-ending battle.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Been there too @Joyce Goldenlily, and even small pieces will root, especially if they're wet. They'd have to be really well shredded and dry for me to risk using them other than a mulch somewhere it didn't matter too much. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Been there too @Joyce Goldenlily, and even small pieces will root, especially if they're wet. They'd have to be really well shredded and dry for me to risk using them other than a mulch somewhere it didn't matter too much. 
    Although I enjoy the fruit, brambles are nightmare, real ankle breakers. looping along the surface, just waiting for me to catch my foot and tip me A over T, or worse, break my ankle again. They root wherever they touch the soil, hiding in undergrowth unseen.
    As well as ripping bare legs, or fingers and hands to shreds, as I try to remove them. They will even rip my face or tangle in my hair as they climb up and hang down from convenient hosts.
    I loathe them with a vengance even if they are a massive food supply for the birds.
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