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We have a typical 1/3 acre fenced in suburban yard. We have seasonal shrub trimmings, dead branches, etc., nothing major.
We have been thinking of getting a shredder/chipper, but I'm thinking we could just get one of those fire pits and burn stuff. There is a possible free mulch component, but it wouldn't amount to very much and I worry about spreading diseases.
In the case of full disclosure, we can leave trimmings at the curb during the last week of the month and the city will pick them up, but if we trim on the first week of the month, we have to pile up the brush for a month.
If you want to make your own mulch, and/or you have a fair amount of use for one, go for it. If you don't, then don't bother.
I have a chipper, and use it a lot. I also burn a fair amount of stuff too. I burn things that I don't want in my mulch, or it doesn't chip well. Some plants will clog up the chipper because they are stringy. I have a lot of leaves in the fall, so I chip them. Much easier than bagging them.
1/3 acre, and you are thinking about getting a chipper???
Put the branches in a pile, use hand pruners to cut off the small branches and mow over them. Cut the larger pieces into firewood with a small electric chainsaw. It is a lot easier and faster.
Chippers are like boats. The days you like it most are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.
Yup. They sound like a good idea, but clog at the slightest overloading/wet material/stringy stuff.
But.....a fire pit? Those things deliver a disgusting stench to the entire neighborhood. Pollution. Just bad news all around.
With a small yard, just grind things up with the lawn mover, put them in a compost heap if you have one, or put them out for green recycling if that service is available in your neighborhood.
But.....a fire pit? Those things deliver a disgusting stench to the entire neighborhood. Pollution. Just bad news all around.
Mmmmmm.... LOVE the small of a wood fire!
Wood burning fireplaces are common in my area, and a fire pit is not much different.
That said, the OP should check on local burning regulations.
But.....a fire pit? Those things deliver a disgusting stench to the entire neighborhood. Pollution. Just bad news all around.
I have no problems at all with a wood fire. Disgusting stenches and pollution come from people burning things other than wood (plastics, rubber, foam... or wood treated with chemicals).
Mmmmmm.... LOVE the small of a wood fire!
Wood burning fireplaces are common in my area, and a fire pit is not much different.
That said, the OP should check on local burning regulations.
I agree with you - I love our fire pit and now that the weather has cooled down we'll be using it a lot. I always get inspired to spark it up when I smell the woodsmoke coming from a neighbor's own yard.
I appreciate the input. I have read the reviews of the basic wood chippers and they are less than stellar. Truthfully, we used to be able to take yard waste about a mile up the road to the recycle center, but they no longer take it. Now, I just don't know the best way to go, but I fear just spewing the stuff that does not live, around the things that do, is a bad idea.
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