Hi Jane,

I posted a similar question about a powered shredder awhile back - you may have already seen this post, but here is a link in case. I never did make a purchase... I watched them on Craigslist for awhile... still want one...
How do you like your Leaf Mulcher/Shredder?

I never heard of a manual shredder - on first thought, that sounds like it might be too much work (and I'm not afraid of work!). I found some discussion and instructables:

Hand cranked shredder/chipper?

Quick made hand cranked compost shredder

Eager to hear what others say and what you do!

Carol in Jacksonville

I have an electric 1 I bought years ago & it's still working quite well - only had to have the switch repaired a few years ago. It chips branches too - up to 1 1/2" dia. Needs a 14 amp cord. Top comes off to clear jams.

It looks like this:

Hi Jane

I've always used my shears disposing of larger stuff I gave up on palms take to long and too hard to cut. Think I'd get a powered one the hand crank sounds like a lot of work!! lol I started a compost pile around 3 years ago but couldn't resist putting tomatoes in it this year. One drawback I've found is it sets up an ideal seed bed , EVERYTHING sprouts !! lol gary

The only reason I don't use one is because I don't have one. If I had one I would likely be using it twice a month if not once a week. Really good for people who would be into making their own compost and/or mulch.

Carol, what is the name of your shredder?

Gary, you are too funny but soooo true! I'm a lazy gardener and clip bushes and trees and throw them under bushes and those suckers sprout. I remember my brother started a compost pile years ago and told me he had pumpkins, tomatoes, squash growing all over from the pile. I thought he was exaggerating, not so!

I'm living here a little over 2 years and am amazed how everything grows. Its a bit scary!

Jane

jane

Starting a compost bin was about the only "smart thing I've done in 35 years lol

Not only gets rid of some of the debris but gives you good soil for free lol

Funny story about the "germination " Started some silver joey seeds and waited 20 months for gemination . Got disgusted threw them on the compost and within a week had 3 sprouts!!lol Grew them on for another 15 years and were still under 4 feet!! seem to be only two kinds of plants .Those that eat the house or those comparable to the formation of the universe?? lol gary

Think mine is McCulloch.

Thank you. I'm going to look on line. After reading all the posts, I think the electric shredder is the way to go. I have so many leaves which are thick and just don't seem to decompose.

When I lived in NY I had large gardens and composted everything. I had about 6 piles around a 1 acre lot. The leaves and grass clippings and other garden debris broke down quite fast and I always had beautiful soil for my garden beds.

In Florida, this is a real challenge. First of all, no grass clippings. The guys who mow the small lawn don't collect the clippings. I have a large Oak which dumps leaves all over. I also have 3 Guava trees (I think) which drop their leaves and a few other I don't know what they are. I also have a large Loquat which had dropped a ton of old leaves. Then there are the Palm trees with their huge fronds. I have two areas with large areca palms which are always dropping fronds.

Nothing seems to break down. They are smothering the beds. I rake them up and pile them and they look the same a year later.

I'll shop around and see what I can find to help me shred these leaves. The soil here is so sandy (Sarasota) I need good mulches which I could use if I could get some compost going. I know it will improve the soil.

Carol, thanks so much for the info. I guess Palm fronds are not going to work in a small shredder so I'll keep cutting them up and putting them out for the Town to pick up.

Jane

You're welcome - I shred palm fronds all the time, as we have lots of sabal palm fronds - banana leaves too. I wait for them to dry out before chipping & process palm leaves & stalks separately, cutting banana leaves into shorter pieces lengthwise. Both are so fibrous when fresh that they clog the chute.

I ordered mine online. I had to buy the heavy duty power cord for it separately.

Jane, from your accounting, it sounds like a lot of 'brown' material and little to no 'green' material. The microbes responsible for composting need nitrogen and if all they have is lots of dead brown stuff, then the only nitrogen they get will be from rain and it will take far longer to break it down. You need to either find some source of green material or find another way to 'inject' nitrogen into the piles. I have seen where some people will use high nitrogen fertilizers if they are short on green material. Bloodmeal is one favorite and fish emulsion is another.

FYI, kitchen scraps are good, free source of Nitrogen. But with or without a lot of nitrogen, compost happens.

Thank you. Yes, I have experience composting. I have enough green due to house hold waste and outdoor shrub pruning. I do a lot of gardening and can balance the green/brown. I might run into problems later in the season, but will figure it out at that point.

I'm wondering though, if the small shredders can handle small branches?

Thanks for all the great information,
Jane