Lawn mowing, trimming plants in the vegetable patch and ornamental garden, fruit trees, hedges, as well as picking up dead leaves generate plant debris which are revealed quickly bulky even in a small garden. It should be noted that the maintenance of an average-sized garden generates a good half a ton of green waste each year. No question therefore of letting yourself be invaded and to divide this volume by 5 or even by 10, the crushing of the plants is the best possible solution. The icing on the cake, the shredded material can be widely used in the garden. let’s see how recycle green waste after passing them through the grinder.
Recovery of shredded plants: what you need to know
To be able to use green waste after subjecting it to grindingit is absolutely fundamental that they are sciencethat’s to say disease free. It is therefore necessary to burn all the parts of the diseased plants, which implies to start by separating them from the healthy parts because only the latter must be passed through the shredder. The reason is simple: as the shredded material will be used later in the garden, it is absolutely necessary avoid any risk of contamination. Note also that the plant parts intended to be ground must be dry.
Grinding your plants: the advantages
More and more gardeners are opting for the shredding of plants because it represents a advantageous solution at different levels. This limits the back and forth between the garden and the recycling center. As a result, we save fuel, we reduce the number of trips to the recycling center and therefore the bill to pay to the municipality, we also buy less mulch, weedkillers, slug repellent and we water less frequently. Consequently, the gardener who uses his shredded plants earns in fine precious time and money while limiting its carbon footprint.
We all know that the mulching is very useful in the garden. Using plant debris from shredding to cover the earth allows for example:
- to feed the soil,
- To reduce the budget devoted to the purchase of fertilizers,
- To reduce the evaporation process,
- To keep the soil cool in times of drought,
- To reduce the number of waterings and therefore to promote savings in drinking water,
- To slow down the growth of weeds,
- To reduce the number of hoeing sessions,
- To no longer buy chemical products for weeding,
- Aerate the homemade compost used during planting and improve its quality,
- To produce a lot of humus and thus to stimulate the life of the soil, the various organisms living in the soil of the garden being of indisputable usefulness.
Another not insignificant point much appreciated, the crushing of plants makes it possible to obtain a aesthetic element who enhances green spaces or not. Shredded material can in fact be used to enhance certain areas of land, such as flowerbeds, rock gardens, paths in the vegetable garden on which you can also walk after a heavy rain without the risk of getting bogged down.
How to use vegetable shredding in the garden
Depending on the origin of the green waste, the shredded material is used at a specific time or throughout the year.
One month before planting
This is the moment chosen to spread the shredded material from the hardwood trimming and pruning. You should know that it is possible to have your own shavings of fragmented ramial wood (BRF) on condition that the branches generated by the hardwood pruning when they are fresh, that is to say as soon as the pruning has been carried out, then to incorporate this BRF superficially in depleted soil.
We avoid using coniferous wood to prepare our homemade BRF because it is too acidic. It is a wood to be ground separately to obtain a mulch intended to cover a garden path for example or an uncultivated area.
In spring
From the month of May in general, the gardener can use the shredded material from the pruning carried out in January and February as homemade mulch. This avoids buying expensive wood chips.
January to December
We take advantage at any time of the green waste passed through the shredder such as dead leaves, branches of fruit trees, vegetables from the vegetable garden, waste from mowing… They are the ones that make it possible to obtain a qualitative compost to be spread as needed in the ornamental garden and the vegetable patch.
How to grind your plants?
If you have very little green waste to shred because you are growing a few plants on the balcony, a simple manual pruner is enough, or at most you can opt for an electric pruner. Otherwise, you must be able to have a vegetable shredder. There are different models. The choice must therefore be dictated by the volume of green waste that your garden generates throughout the year.
The thermal grinder
This is the perfect model for a garden of more than 500 m², planted among other things with various species and fruit trees. This thermal device is capable of shredding branches with a diameter greater than 45 mm as well as extremely hard wood. The greater its power, the more it can tackle branches with a larger diameter. For information, a thermal shredder with a power of 11 kW (15 hp) is recommended for branches of 120 mm in diameter (i.e. 12 cm!).
Admittedly, one must plan a substantial budget, of the order of €2,200, to afford this type of device. Before buying a shredder, you must of course compare prices and features, but also list your needs.
The electric grinder
It is sufficient if one has a garden with very few trees. Let’s say that it is perfectly suitable for shredding branches of moderate diameter, of the order from 32 to 45 mm, provided it is not hardwood. Of course, this shredder can handle grass clippings and dead leaves. The prices are very variable, from 170 to more than 500 €.
If this type of device is only needed for a very low volume of green waste or for very occasional use, it is not useful to stretch your budget by investing in equipment that will only be used very little. Better to opt either for the garden shredder rentaleither for theGrouped purchase. Some people even prefer call a professional specializes in the service of shredding plants at home rather than taking care of it itself.
Anyway, the garden shredder is the ally of the professional or amateur gardener wishing to make serious savings by recycling its vegetable waste which it is now forbidden to burn.