yard waste 1

One of my goals as an Ecohouse demonstration project manager: process all yard waste on site.

Ecohouse promotes bushy gardens. Bushy gardens need trimming. Something must be done with the trimmed branches.

I handle it by trimming off, with hand size pruners, all the leaves and small soft branches. I cut them into short bits ... in effect, I shred them. (I shred the branches. I don't need to shred the leaves, obviously.)

I stack the larger twigs and limbs to dry. Eventually I plan to burn them ... unless I use them to build something, first. Some of them might turn out to be compostable ... soft woods that start to decompose on their own. Others might be quite tough, and last practically forever.

I have a big clay fire pot that I use to burn dry twigs and branches. I break or chop them into short pieces, especially the fine brushy twigs, and stuff them into the pot, and when it's somewhat full, I light them. They burn fast and hot, so some caution is called for. Don't do it indoors or under a roof!!!

I just trimmed a Chinese Elm by the house, removing several clustered branches. I piled them next to the tree, then got my garden basket, and started shredding. The leaves piled up in the basket, but not very high. I stacked the tidied, deleafed branches in another basket. I worked at it for about a half hour, until finally my forearm cried out for a break. I got about half the branches cleaned up, and stacked the rest more neatly, ready for a final push.

I wanted to get this done asap, before the leaves dry up. It's nicer to work with fresh green ones.