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redsun9

How Do You Dispose Tree Cuttings & Trimming

When I cut down a unwanted tree, I normally cut off the limbs, drag the limbs into the wooded area and left them there. I have a garden Troy-Built shredder chipper. But I've not used it much. The considerations are mainly extra work, cost of gas and air pollution. The dead limbs and wood can just decompose rather quickly by themselves in the woods.

I think for the folks who do not have a lot of wooded area, then shredding is needed to dispose the trimming and make the yard look nice.

Do I miss anything. What do you think?

Comments (13)

  • aegis1000
    9 years ago

    I live in a suburban setting.

    I have my tree/shrub trimmings hauled away ...

  • j0nd03
    9 years ago

    Tree trimmings -------> brush pile ------> fire out here in my rural setting

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    9 years ago

    I burn anything I can move easily. I have given the trunks to ppl who heat with wood before.

  • RedSun (Zone 6, NJ)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Burning is new to me. I thought it is not environmentally friendly. I just let them rot by themselves. Of course it takes time and they do not look very neat.

  • alexander3_gw
    9 years ago

    I make a hugelbeet. Dig a hole one shovelful deep. Pile the wood in the hole, put the dirt back on top. Plant squash or other vegetables in the resulting pile. The first year it's nothing special. For the next several years, the slowly rotting wood soaks up water and releases nutrients, and it's a very productive raised bed. People make these with small branches all the way up to 2' diameter logs, from a foot high to 6 feet high.

    Alex

  • Huggorm
    9 years ago

    Everything down to one inch goes into my wood-burning stove. The best firewood in a tree is actually in the limbs, especially conifers. The rest is either piled up if it is out in the woods, or cut to 4" pieces if it is closer to my cabin. Makes good soil after some years.

  • hortster
    9 years ago

    My community has a "chip site" where folks can haul their branches and trimmings to. The city has a chipper/shredder and hires a big grinder for large chunks. The resulting mulch is left in a pile for citizens to use in their yards as they see fit.
    Everything the size of my pinkie or smaller goes into my compost pile.

  • lou_spicewood_tx
    9 years ago

    Worrying about air pollution over shredder chipper is pretty silly. It's way overblown... Go use it... carefully... Then just use them as mulch in the wooded area. They just break down faster that way.

  • mikebotann
    9 years ago

    I do exactly as Huggorm except I cut the smaller pieces in longer lengths. Less cutting and it still makes a nice rough mulch in the out of the way places. Sometimes I throw chips on top to speed the decaying process.
    Bo

  • oldfixer
    9 years ago

    The city hauls away all yard debris. In the country I would burn it. Or offer free firewood.

  • ctnchpr
    9 years ago

    Brush fences.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Link

  • bengz6westmd
    9 years ago

    I toss everything where it would be useful as cover and/or soil improvement. Anywhere that's not mowed. Much goes underneath two sugar maples where grass can hardly grow. Most fallen leaves catch in the brush there & a natural mulch builds up slowly. Stuff breaks down to litter in a few yrs (but more is always being added).

    Interesting plants have popped up underneath the sugar maple like a couple of alternate-leaf dogwoods that can survive the shade and root-competition. Black cherries too, but those get cut.

  • terrene
    9 years ago

    I have had such a huge amount of brush every year for 12 years of living on this property, that I burn every Spring (even though I HATE burning - it is hot, dirty, and a PITA). There was so much brush because this 1.25 acre lot was horribly overgrown with mostly invasive woody plants, including oriental bittersweet, both common and glossy buckthorn, honeysuckle, HUNDREDS of Norway maples, Rosa multiflora, etc.

    I have been working on removing invasives and preserving/planting natives since 2005. It is pretty well under control, except for the back 1/4 acre or so, which is mostly wild and still has some invasive overgrowth. In lieu of burning, I am planning to create wildlife brush piles in the way back.

    I have used a number of buckthorn and norway maple trunks to build a 20 foot trellis. Ctpnchr, I like the idea of brush fences!

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