Faced with a mountain of yard waste and an average-sized compost bin, the Sergeant and I looked into renting a chipper-shredder. It's a shame to throw organic stuff in the dumpster, but a lot of it is just too big to compost easily.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQnFry32NocozBx0oZgl6KboyvyT-fxm1nTz4CX4QkHrWfhnagAaFmbfxTcpvPOJ0l20gtNwx1PAi62YmYAZ-DvIGKy4jIovfu2mhJBLnPS6cfuvg-aTutJWEwNH57WMxOr-S/s400/shredder.jpg)
Home Depot only had the industrial-sized kind used by tree services, and the cost was more than $100 a day. After I asked for advice on my gardening listserv, a member offered to sell us her 10hp model. She'd hardly used it, and stopped altogether once Boulder started a city composting program.
It started up just fine and the Sergeant got to work feeding in the tree branches, raspberry canes, fennel stalks and tomato vines. Here's what came out:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_Q-Wu0ayUiDe0LSDRDiTOGL2lxcM1uvtBgRv0Wzs4PKAo5hpgPQ9V1jmJjffRpwhM5_hSFymqyTkYHP_lovQJSrKW7cWSHQpdNufklHFoimBoL_LoYI81bpKe9ZPMfnp4bK_/s400/shredded.jpg)
This stuff will make great mulch and break down nicely. The shredder's chutes come off, so it won't be hard to store.
It's a very satisfying thing to have.
You seriously lucked out there.
ReplyDeleteWow I didn't even know you could rent those. Learn something new every day! It would be nice to have a small one. Great deal for you!
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