Composting conifers

[Matt84]

Hi,

I have recently cut down 2 medium sized conifers as i'm creating a wildlife garden and was wondering how easy it is to compost them? I have a book which gives advice for keeping a wormery and this suggests that they should be avoided in a wormery as they are a key ingredient in making turpentine however would they be ok in a composter? My bin is thriving with worms and I don't want to irritate or kill them off so I'm wondering what I should do and what is the best use for them?

Many thanks,
Matt

[Germinater]

I would not attempt to compost them .as your book says they are used to make Turps..and are very oiley and would kill the worms .they wouldn't compost down very well anyway. If you have room just burn them they burn very easily and quickly ..

[mothhawk]

Conifers take a forever to rot down. I would suggest either shredding them and leaving them in their own heap for 6 months or so, after which use them as a weed suppressant mulch, or let them dry out a bit and burn them if you have room. The pine resin in them gives them a very satisfying crackle and whoosh of flame when you toss them on a bonfire.

[rustylady]

How big is medium sized?

[Capsid]

I cut down a Leylandii hedge of about 20 x 8 feet high trees. Then cut all the side branches off and shredded them, then I left them in a big pile for at least 6 months and sieved it. It made lovely compost which really helps break up my heavy clay soil and gives it plenty of structure.

It looks like this.

[solway cropper]

If you shred the smaller branches then let them rot down they will give you a mulch which is slightly acidic. This is perfect for acid-loving plants. Can you not use some of the branches as pea sticks or support for climbing veggies? If you grow blueberries the needles of conifers also make a good mulch for them.

[endymion]

If you shred the smaller branches then let them rot down they will give you a mulch which is slightly acidic. This is perfect for acid-loving plants. Can you not use some of the branches as pea sticks or support for climbing veggies? If you grow blueberries the needles of conifers also make a good mulch for them.

We did the same