Disposal of brassicas.

[mrbadexample]

Hello all.

How do you get rid of your brassicas? I mean the stem left after you've picked your prize cauli. I want to chop them up and compost them, but they're so tough it's flippin' 'ard work!

I thought about investing in a cheap shredder (i.e. from Freecycle or eBay if I can get one very cheaply), but don't think it would get that much use, and don't know how well they'd handle it when the stems are a bit green and a bit wet. Anyone know if this is a viable option?

I've tried chopping them up by hand, but they tend to be too tough / wide for normal secateurs, so I end up whittling them with a sharp knife. There must be an easier way?

Cheers,
MBE

[FoxHillGardener]

Bash them with a big hammer. You don't need to chop them into bits, just break down the fibres a bit to allow all the composting whatnots to get in and start work

[Thelma Sanders]

mine go in the bean trench

[zazen999]

Mine never get that hard; they just get chucked in the compost pile and battered with a spade when I'm turning it [I turn it with a fork, before anyone asks].

Any stuff that is taking a long time to break down gets buried.

[veggiechicken]

Turn them into short walking sticks? or if you're my height, full size walking sticks!

[Potstubsdustbins]

The only ones I have trouble with are my PSB stalks, they get the meat cleaver.

Colin

[hollychap]

the garden shredders would do the job i bought a b&q home brand one of ebay it was advertised with no picture and badly worded i was the only bidder £5 it was used once and like new its quite powerfull

[Aberdeenplotter]

I just chuck mine into the compost heap. If they aren't broken down when I come to use the compost, they get chucked back in.

[Alison]

I used to cut up with a saw if they were very tough but one year I couldn't be bothered / hadn't got the time so just threw them in. Was surprised to see that they'd disappeared by the following year when I was using the compost so don't bother anymore. As AP says if anything is left you can always chuck them in the current pile and save yourself the effort.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I see there's a shredder on ebay standing at 99p with less than a day to run. Says it's not running but is suspected the blade may be stuck. I'd be taking a chance on that as that's exactly what happens with mine. It can even happen if wet material has been passed through as the mechanics can seize up with rust although it's very easy to free it off.

p.s. Whatever happened to I before E in seize?

[The Large One]

Now all of a sudden it will have 200 watchers ...LOL

[Two_Sheds]

I put everything in my daleks. When I turn my daleks (once or twice a year) everything that's not decomposed yet (sprout stalks, branches, corks, chestnuts etc) gets put back in the next dalek. No problemo

You can't rush compost

[mrbadexample]

You can't rush compost

I'm not sure I agree! I've chucked brassica stalks in before, and they hang around for ages. My compost wasn't doing great when I first started, but now I shred everything, and it progresses much faster.

I'll have to see about a cheapie shredder then I think.

[chris]

My sweetcorn stalks took a year to break down into fiberous like strands, my PSB stalks I chopped with a spade and just stuck them in the compost bin.

[SarzWix]

I just stamp on them a bit and put them in the compost bin. Even if I wanted to shred everything, I couldn't do it on the allotment with no electricity! I've never found them still intact when I come to use the compost, so breaking down the fibres a bit must be be enough.