hi guys! never wanted to do my own compost but i have an abundance of privet hedge cuttings that i throw away every month, and was wondering if these are any good for the heap??? or maybe even dug straight into my soil?? not to happy about throwing them all away when they could be put too good use. any ideas??
Hedge trimmings are definitely compost material! Just cut them up a little finer if they are 6" or longer, toss them in the pile, and smile! I wouldn't put them directly into the soil if you have something planted there, or are going to plant within a month or six weeks. All that greenery breaking down could temporarily upset the balance of your soil.
i do have a border with nothing in at the minute, was hoping to get a couple of small trees in there this autumn (its quite a large border) and filling the rest in spring. i could just wait till spring and dig a load of the cuttings in now. what do ya think?? shouldn't hurt should it?
Yes hedge clippings go into my compost bins. So much better than putting them out for the council. After all they will only compost them and sell them back to us.
If you are of the temperment to double dig, a trench deeper than a shovels (blade) length, might give you a place to bury brush without chopping it up...
im sure i could stretch to a double dig :-D i have a hoover for my hedge cuttings, it chops them up all fine for me. i'll get that done next weekend i think, far too hot for double digging today 8)
If these are privet hedge cuttings (the ones that flower and smell great),,unless ground into mulch,,all will root if moisture is present. I have several and have tried unsuccessfully to kill them in a myriad of ways including poison. I have not been able to kill it whatever I use. If there is a tiny bit of root it comes back and spreads everywhere fast. I can`t even use the cuttings to mark plant rows because they root and grow. Regular hedge trimmings are fine to use in mulch but I would not use privet.
