Mulch

[Vince G]

So I recently invested in a garden shredder. It wont be long before it goes to work shredding the asparagus and sweetcorn stems. Just wondering what people might think as regards the vaule of the shredded material as a mulch. Can anyone see any pitfalls?

[roitelet]

I use all the shredding on the flower beds, never had any problems. For the veg plot I use straw and grass cuttings.

[Jay-ell]

The shredded stuff either goes under the fruit trees or gets used as browns in the compost

[rary]

All my shredded material goes straight on to the beds, at this time of year a lot of woody material is used as well but come the spring it is easy to plant through it

[Jungle Jane]

Ive always put my chopped up sweetcorn waste on the bed it was grown in,to add back the nutrients it’s taken out,never any problem except big bits don’t rot down much,they stay tubular but insects can use it as a house,I just move those bits to the back of the bed when planting out. It’ll be good with a shredder getting smaller pieces how exciting,I’d be pruning everything I don’t think I should be allowed one

[ameno]

All my shreddings go straight on the compost. I have gallons of them in the spring.
I should think they'd be fine as a mulch, but it's not really the time of year for a non-nutritive mulch like shreddings. You don't really need to retain water or suppress weeds over winter, they don't really have much nutrient value to speak of, and if you apply now they'll be mostly gone by spring, so would need topping up, anyway.

[rary]

ameno I don't want you to think I wish to argue with you though I would ask you why you think material on a compost heap is any better than the same material on top of the soil, surely any nutrients from the material will go into the soil just as any nutrients from the material put on the compost heap will go into the soil below the compost heap

[Jungle Jane]

I don’t want to argue either but gardeners have different ideas & ways. The plant waste all decomposes over winter,suppresses weeds until spring when it is supposed to be ‘mostly gone’ & ready for planting. It’s not to retain moisture,there’s plenty of rain in the winter,any leaves that aren’t brown/dead holds some nutrients & feeds the soil.

[ameno]

ameno I don't want you to think I wish to argue with you though I would ask you why you think material on a compost heap is any better than the same material on top of the soil, surely any nutrients from the material will go into the soil just as any nutrients from the material put on the compost heap will go into the soil below the compost heap

Shredded sweetcorn stems have very little in the way of nutrition. It's essentially straw. It's value is in its organic matter content and in its usage as a mulch to retain water and suppress weeds.
Whilst the organic matter would be added to the soil either way, adding it as a mulch now means that it will hold no value as a mulch when you actually need it (next spring and summer), as it will have disappeared into the soil by then. Whereas if you compost it, you can then use the compost next year as an effective mulch.

I suppose if you have more than enough mulching materials anyway then it makes no real odds, but if, like me, you have limited quantities and often have barely enough to go around, then it is surely better to try and preserve its usefulness as a mulch.

One other option could be to dry it out after shredding then store it somewhere dry. That way, it won't rot over winter and can be applied directly to the soil in the spring.

[bario1]

I think either way works tbh - I find a thick winter mulch of dead leaves or other such 'low nutrient' material stops beds from getting waterlogged and muddy, keeps down the few weeds that do germinate, and breaks down into a lovely soil conditioner by Spring.

[quanglewangle]

Shredded stuff with some added nitogen (i live in rural area so get farm-type fertiliser from the farmers coop) really heats up and rots down quickly at this time of year. So hot if you leave a fork in it you can't grasp the tines.

Looks just like bought multi purpose compost after month or two. We use it for conainers and in spring, for squashes.

[ESBkevin]

We have a crush type shredder and all the hedge trimmings etc. go through it and are bagged, this includes brambles and fruit tree prunings. If they had leaves on they break down over time, also I add some of this woody/brown to my composting affair.
Beware of mulching with anything not composted, it can encourage slugs and snails, having it ready composted still gives you the value and reduces the risk. Green mulch on flower beds is fine IMHO.

[quanglewangle]

If you dont have a shredder a good rotary mower set to high works pretty well. Spread the stuff to shred on a hard surface and take a couple of passes. Wear eye and foot protection.
(Makes a lot of mess)