Hi All I'm thinking of getting a small chipper/shredder for my garden. Does anyone have any information on what types of good inexpensive chippers are available and where I should shop for them? Any suggestions are welcome! thanks, Larry
As with home greenhouses, get a much bigger and more costly one than you think you will need. Tree services use gas-powered models the size of a tractor for a reason. The little electric ones are OK if you have lots of patience (and time), and not much material to process at any one time. I borrowed a friend's one - once - and it gagged on anything and everything that was not of a certain size and texture. Before letting me scuttle off with it he showed how material had to be selected and cut beforehand to be suitable. Even having this information beforehand I found the results quite unsatisfactory. If I was going to be so limited by the chipper I might as well be cutting prunings up into fragments by hand and throwing them onto the beds.
Larry - why don't you rent various ones for a while and see what works for you. As Ron said most sold for the homeowner are useless! barb
Hi guys Thanks for the replies. Ron, do you recall what kind/brand you borrowed that was so ineffective? Barbara, I don't even know where to rent them from - have you done this? I've really just started looking into the idea - I just think it would be nice to be able to chip branches as I prune them and put them down as mulch as I work. Thanks! Larry
Larry, I realize that your post came out some time ago, but my recommendation would be to look at 'Bear Cat' Chippers. We have one which is driven off the PTO of a 30-year old Kubota and it does a great job. The engineering of this brand is good. Steve Mitchell
I got one free, thinking I would use it a lot. But really, about 30 minutes once a year. Leaves gum them up, so forget the shredding. Branches over 3/4 inch, or crooked don't go through well. So I gave it away to another person who "just had to have it." Clarification question. For what in your garden do you need it?
Hi Larry, Over the year, we generate piles of prunings from fruit trees, ornamental shrubs, and the clean-up from winter blow downs of Douglas fir and maple. We use the chippped material as mulch, and as a surface to walk on, mostly on the trail system that we are developing on our property. Steve
Thanks for the suggestions folks. I don't have a big garden and probably wouldn't use a chipper that much. But I really liked the idea of being able to chip branches as I need to and use the chips as mulch rather than send it off as garden waste. I have a eucalyptus that would make such nice smelling mulch for my path!
