My Garden Journal

Originally Posted by dannyboy602

^^^outstanding way to put those unwantd leaves to work. leaf compost is great. you can put piles of shredded leaves directly onto flower and vegetable beds. or pile it up somewhere and let it sit for a summer. by autumn it will be beautiful and dark.

I intend to put a whole bunch of leaves to work this fall! This shredder works effeciently enough to handle a few trash cans full of leaves in a short amount of time compared to the leaf blower/vacuum style shredder. Those things aren't designed to handle the heavy workload! I'm going to try to use the leaves in multiple composting projects. 1 will be just leaves, another will be leaves and rabbit manure another may be experimental with a variety of soil amendments added in small amounts! I'm thinking I may also apply the leaves right on my garden beds like you said! ......But that's a while away - this shredder is gonna sit in storage while I do my summer gardening! So, we'll meet another day, shredder....! LOL!

nice machine over there , i could really use one of those ,

Here's a video that shows the leaf shredder working + you can hear how it's a little loud! This thing operates at high RPM's!

Fantastic garden journal. You need a bigger compost bin! Btw rabbit manure is considered a cool manure and can be used right away, but if it has allot of urine in it its a good idea to compost it some.

^^^ How's this for a bigger compost bin? This bin is outdoors and is specifically for leaves and grass clippings only! It's 8 feet wide, a little less than 3 feet deep and 3 1/2 feet tall. I made this myself with cedar wood & outdoor screws! Cedar is very resistant to rot and since I also put some water seal on it, this thing will last a long time! I need to get a stepping stone under each corner, cuz the weight is pushing the feet into the ground. I managed to get the worst one on the right up on a stone! - when this batch is finished I'm gonna have someone help me get the other 3 done!!

The bin is in a seldom used secton of my yard - behind the garage and under a tree



These leaves are whole and there's only a small amount of grass clipping since I started this in the Fall...next time, my shredder posted above wil make this project happen much faster! Shredded leaves compost much faster

I'd like to show you my compost bins and ask a few questions about yours if you don't mind?

^^^ Feel free to post any pics or other content in this thread! I'll try to answer any questions you have, too!

This is a 4 bin set-up but only 2 are built. Iv long been used whats in the picture (dated 1-29). It was lab tested upon finish with great numbers , best 10$ you can spend on a garden. I used wire mesh so the pile can breath and I can also stab holes in it to help with getting o2 to the bennies.
Each bin is 4x8x4 so 4.7 yard capacity in the beginning but eventually breaks down about 1/3. This mixture was oak leaves and horse manure with a little donkey manure.
My question about your bin was, whats the drainage? Do you cover it? What makes it just for leaves and grass clippings?