Wednesday 11 October 2017

Strawberries For Sale In October And An Electric Shredder For The Smallholding.


We went To Cork on Monday with my brother for an hospital appointment and we killed two birds with one stone and did some shopping as well.

I was amazed to see strawberries for sale in October!  I bet they are from somewhere foreign like Dunmanway.  That's my attempt at humour.  Dunmanway is a West Cork town.  
 We drove to Mahon Point  shopping centre and we had a look round B & Q.  I have been doing quite a bit of shrub pruning over the last few days.  We get ten months growth here next to the Gulf Stream.  Plus it rains a lot too.  Not forgetting the copious amounts of farm yard manure that gets placed around our plants.  So I saw this  elctric 2500W impact shredder (that's what it says on the box)  for the kings ransom of 77 Euros.  Which converts back to 68 Pounds Sterling.  Or a night on the lash for one self.
A wheelbarrow full of shrub shreddings waiting to be added to my compost heap.  I found it very good when I worked the shredder for 4 hours yesterday.  It shreds up to 44 mm no trouble.  Which is about one and a half inches.  Anything bigger jams the shredder.  So I cut the thicker lengths and use them for pea sticks and for markers for my potato rows before I earth them up in early summer.  

I think the shredder is a bargain and I reckon that its half paid for already.  Especially if we had taken the branches to a recycling centre and paid to get rid of them.  You can't use them when its raining or your prunings are wet.

Do you have a garden shredder?  Please tell us about it.  How long should I leave the shreddings in my compost heap before I can mulch with them?  

8 comments:

  1. I'd like a shredder, and keep thinking of getting one but I think I need somethign fairly industrial, just becasue I expect things to work at a fast pace and would kill anything else by shoving too much into it!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kev. You can hire bigger shredders from tool hire centres. I find its easier for me and the shredder if I prune one shrub and shred it one at a time. I was very pleased when I shredded brambles yesterday and we have found another compost source. I think a shredder would make a great Christmas present for any gardener. Thanks for your comment!

      Delete
  2. I thought I left a comment last night but obviously not! I enjoyed reading about your visit to Cork. Your garden should grow well with the Gulf Stream and all that rain. Hopefully the shredded foliage will make good compost and mulch. My experience of a relatively cheap sander from B&Q is that its motor soon burnt out. I hope you have more luck with the shredder Dave!

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  3. Hi Rachel. Its a mizzle day here today for a change. We like visiting Cork for the big stores from the UK like B & Q, Tesco, Iceland, M&S. We miss Sainsbury's and Asda too. Sorry to read about your cheap sander experience. I hope the shredder manages to shred my twenty shrubs or so. Thanks!

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  4. we need a shredder. The garden here is like a jungle right now! It is going to be a long slog to get it right. everything grows like the dickens here with all the rain as well. I have plenty of mud as well!

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  5. Hi Sol. I would love to see some pictures of your new garden. It rains every day here too at the moment. Are there any shrubs or plants worth keeping? A good pair of loppers will soon get you started clearing the jungle. I like to compst my garden waste. I don't see the point in paying for skips to go to landfill when it can make great plant food and compost. I am sure other keen gardeners who blog will help you with advice Sol. Good luck with the new garden and house.

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
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