wait until it hasn't rained for a couple of days or chuck a tarp over the pile to keep it dry, then get it started with some old dry pallet wood, once its nice and hot most things (even when fresh and green) will burn, just little bits at first but then you can really start piling it on.
I have to admit to being surprised and a bit bemused by how common burning garden waste is. Wood fires, including bonfires etc lead to smog. I come from a dry place so this kind of fire would be extremely unsafe, but I also come from a place where in my life time, I've seen the positive effects of stringent air pollution rules: In Southern California as a child in the 1970s, we used to have to go home from school early and stay inside. After 25 years of things like limiting barbecues and getting rid of lighter fluid, emission-catching petrol nozzles and limiting diesel fuel, you could again see the mountains. Certainly the smell of a wood fire can be pleasant (now that I've overcome my lifelong panic from thinking "Wildfire") but if everyone with a garden is burning their waste, in addition to people with wood-burners for warmth/comfort, it adds to overall air pollution. Sorry to slop this on this thread. It's just been on my mind for awhile. Last year I was trying to swim in a pool in a leisure centre and their neighbour had a massively smoky bonfire (that seemed to be more than just wood) blowing directly into the centre and I couldn't believe they weren't able to do anyting about it. I don't have respiratory issues but I had to leave. There were lots of kids swimming and doing other exercises and it seemed so dangerous.
Quite right Watery. Bonfires are pretty unnecessary as a way of getting rid of garden 'waste' and cause a lot of local pollution and nuisance.
Careful trimming and lopping can go a long way to reducing the volume of a brash pile. The key is to trim 3D branches to more of a 2D flat shape so they can be piled up neatly, rather than just thrown together in a heap with a lot of air spaces.
The sort of material in the photo above will take quite a while to rot, but if it can be piled neatly somewhere out of the way then that isn't necessarily a problem. It the meantime it does provide very good potential habitat for hedgehogs and lots of other wildlife. Ideally it wants to be somewhere where it gets at least some rain as being too dry will really slow down the decay process. Larger logs are probably best at the bottom in contact with the ground.
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Garden bonfires are now forbidden in France, not that people take much notice.
wait until it hasn't rained for a couple of days or chuck a tarp over the pile to keep it dry, then get it started with some old dry pallet wood, once its nice and hot most things (even when fresh and green) will burn, just little bits at first but then you can really start piling it on.
I also recommend marshmallows on sticks!
I have to admit to being surprised and a bit bemused by how common burning garden waste is. Wood fires, including bonfires etc lead to smog. I come from a dry place so this kind of fire would be extremely unsafe, but I also come from a place where in my life time, I've seen the positive effects of stringent air pollution rules: In Southern California as a child in the 1970s, we used to have to go home from school early and stay inside. After 25 years of things like limiting barbecues and getting rid of lighter fluid, emission-catching petrol nozzles and limiting diesel fuel, you could again see the mountains. Certainly the smell of a wood fire can be pleasant (now that I've overcome my lifelong panic from thinking "Wildfire") but if everyone with a garden is burning their waste, in addition to people with wood-burners for warmth/comfort, it adds to overall air pollution. Sorry to slop this on this thread. It's just been on my mind for awhile. Last year I was trying to swim in a pool in a leisure centre and their neighbour had a massively smoky bonfire (that seemed to be more than just wood) blowing directly into the centre and I couldn't believe they weren't able to do anyting about it. I don't have respiratory issues but I had to leave. There were lots of kids swimming and doing other exercises and it seemed so dangerous.
Watery, that is why bonfires were banned in France.
Quite right Watery. Bonfires are pretty unnecessary as a way of getting rid of garden 'waste' and cause a lot of local pollution and nuisance.
Careful trimming and lopping can go a long way to reducing the volume of a brash pile. The key is to trim 3D branches to more of a 2D flat shape so they can be piled up neatly, rather than just thrown together in a heap with a lot of air spaces.
The sort of material in the photo above will take quite a while to rot, but if it can be piled neatly somewhere out of the way then that isn't necessarily a problem. It the meantime it does provide very good potential habitat for hedgehogs and lots of other wildlife. Ideally it wants to be somewhere where it gets at least some rain as being too dry will really slow down the decay process. Larger logs are probably best at the bottom in contact with the ground.
I notice the OP of this thread is trying to be considerate to her neighbours and wildlife and I hope she finds a solution that works for her.