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Garden Needs Sorting - HELP !!

Ok, so Ive just bought a house and got the keys last week, house was a repo and has been left unnattended for about 5 months. Anyway the back garden is a monstrosety (I think thats how you spell it). Weeds everywhere, have managed to get most of them out and beginning to make inroads.

However the next stage I have at least 3 trees in the garden which are obviously overgrown, Ive attempted to cut them back as well as I could but now I have a very big mound of tree cuttings (some quite thick) with a bit more to come. Whats the best plan of action for these cuttings.

Ive looked into hiring a wood chipper and using them myself somewhere but unsure what to hire (some quite expensive) and what the end product will come out like for me to use. Or to just get rid with various tip to the local council using a trailer from a friend.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Comments

  • mummybearx
    mummybearx Posts: 1,921 Forumite
    I know HSS Hire Stations hire out wood chippers, we have hired one before from them. Don't know the costs though as my husband works there so he gets it very cheap.

    Not sure what you can do with wood chips though, sorry x
    Can't think of anything smart to put here...
  • angelavdavis
    angelavdavis Posts: 4,714 Forumite
    Mortgage-free Glee!
    You can add fairly fresh wood chippings as a path mulch but I don't advise using them as a border mulch as they tend to leech nitrogen out of the soil as they compost down. You can stack it up in a corner of the garden for a year and then use as a border mulch though.

    You can always chip them up and offer to people free on freecycle if you are feeling neighbourly or, as mentioned, take the unchipped branches to the tip.

    Personally, if you have time, I would shred them up and stack them up - using them over weed suppressing fabric for cheap path surface.
    :D Thanks to MSE, I am mortgage free!:D
  • gardenroute
    gardenroute Posts: 232 Forumite
    Make sure the chipper is up to the job. Most tree surgeons will use diesel-powered machines; the smaller electric ones just aren't up to the job.

    If you can burn - you might find this is the easiest option. It wil only release as much carbon dioxide as the wood absorbed in the first place which is greener than having a chipper and running it on fossil fuels.

    Fresh wood chippings will take nitrogen out of the soil, but this is only temporary and it will be released back into the soil after a period of time.
  • I would head for the tip, our local one has a container just for garden rubbish and tree trimmings
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