Can You Use A Wood Chipper To Shred Leaves?
For many homes that have a lot of yard trash, a wood chipper is a necessary piece of equipment. It enables you to recycle yard waste into beneficial mulch/ compost or reduce its size for disposal. But what can you put in a wood chipper without endangering the environment or yourself? Continue reading to get all the answers you need.
As a safety precaution, remember to keep your hands, fingers, and clothing away from the wood chipper’s teeth when using it. Everything that comes into touch with the teeth of a chipper will be grabbed and held onto. Additionally, keep in mind to put on the appropriate safety gear, such as safety glasses, earplugs, and gloves.
In this post, we’ll describe the benefits of shredding leaves for mulch and compost, and items you can safely put in a wood chipper.
Can Wood Chippers Shred Leaves?
The simple answer is Yes. But, wood shredders are more effective in shredding leaves than chippers are. Leaf clogging is less likely since leaves can be more easily ground up by shredder blades.
The best approach to shred leaves in a chipper is to stack them as high as you can on the machine. The leaves will gradually drop into the hopper on their own and the presence of twigs on some of the leaves won’t affect the process.
The Benefits of Shredding Leaves for Mulch and Compost
You might be accustomed to leaves being shredded before using them as mulch, compost, or other waste disposal methods. Is it simply so that disposing of leaves will be simpler because their weight will be reduced after being shredded? Or does it offer some other advantage? Here are some reasons for shredding leaves before using or discarding them.
Leaf Shreds Make Good Mulch and Compost
Whether your goal is to compost, make leaf mulch, or dispose of the leaves, shredding them is a smart idea. Most people who bother to shred leaves do so to use the leaves in the landscape instead of tossing them away. This is a wise decision because leaves decay rapidly and are an excellent supply of organic materials for improving plant beds or weed control. Since you can manufacture your own mulch and compost, why buy it? Purchase a wood shredder to get started.
They occupy less space
There will be fewer air gaps when you load the leaves you gathered in the fall into your incinerator or disposal bags if you decide to shred them first. More leaves can be packed into the bags if there are fewer air holes.
Shredded leaves produce useful compost and mulch quickly
Mulches are permeable enough to allow water and air to reach the soil, which helps to maintain plant health. Here’s the rationale behind mulching leaves by shredding them: When unshredded leaves are applied, they mat down, creating an impermeable covering that cannot “breathe,” causing water to run off.
Plants growing in the concerned garden beds would not benefit from this situation. Organic gardeners believe that leaf mulch won’t always be leaf mulch. When the leaf debris decomposes, the essential nutrients will be discharged into the soil and made accessible to your plants. This process will lead to the loss of mulch but you will gain compost, making up for the loss. When using leaves as mulch, shred them first to speed up the natural process.
What can be placed in a wood chipper? Any plant materials you can locate in your backyard will be fine for a decent-quality wood chipper. The following list of items can be put into your wood chipper without too many problems.
Small Branches
There will undoubtedly be a lot of little branches and sticks in your yard, especially after a successful day of pruning. Any of these can be inserted into the wood chipper without any issues. Be conscious of your hands when doing this because the machine won’t even see them and will swiftly chip them up.
Tree Limbs
For a wood chipper, tree limbs and huge branches will work just fine as long as they meet the user manual’s specifications in terms of size. After all, that is how they are intended to work.
In the event that you do have larger pieces of wood that won’t fit in the chipper, use a chainsaw to break them up into smaller pieces, and then an axe to split them in half. Remember to turn off the wood chipper when not in use.
Little Shrubs
Little shrubs shouldn’t pose a problem for a wood chipper as long as they have been reduced to a manageable size. But keep your fingers clear since they could be rapidly snatched, similar to the little branches.
Wet Wood
Wet wood cannot be fed into some lower-powered electric wood chippers because it can stretch, bend, and clog the chipper blades. A wood chipper with a respectable level of horsepower should work just fine with it in most cases. If you’re unclear, either read the instruction manual or speak with us at JFY machinery about the features of the equipment.
Wood Chippers: Are They Worth It?
If you have a lot of yard waste that needs to be disposed of, you should get a wood chipper from JFY Machinery. Unwieldy wood and brush can be made easier to use, transport, and dispose of with the use of a chipper.
If you appreciate the concept of using yard trash to create your own landscaping, gardening, animal bedding, and fire-related materials, a wood chopper is the right tool for the task.
It can reduce yard waste into chips, which also helps you to save money by cutting the expenses of disposal of large amounts of yard waste or hiring someone to remove yard waste from your property.
Conclusion
Wood chippers are important equipment for outdoor maintenance. They can be used to reduce the majority of yard debris to mulch for disposal. Purchasing wood chipper parts from JFY machinery is a smart investment that will continue to function for years to come. Make sure to choose the right equipment for your yard waste, put the right materials into your chipper, and always keep the blades sharp.
