Composting Leylandii

[Converted no digger]

Hi Charles

I am after investing in a secondhand chipper,shredder to try and become more self sufficient. I have had enough of worrying about all these chemicals in manures.

Just got offered a Leylandii to be chipped its still green.

Is it ok to compost it and use on the veg garden?

[charles]

Yes it’s fine.
Some people worry about acidity from conifers but it would not worry me.
More the question is how long it will take to compost, because of oils in the wood. Maybe 3 years! In pieces as small as possible.
Others may offer more advice, sorry not to be a huge help.

[Hawfinch]

Leylandii does take a long time to compost, so yes, as small as possible is good. I just find that the additional problem with it is that it tends to clog up the shredder, but maybe yours is stronger and can handle it better than mine. Good luck.

[Converted no digger]

Thanks

Got some of it done today and it is mixed in with some other trees that got blown over in a storm some hard wood and a bit of a eucalyptus.

Thankfully no problem with clogging and its in nice small pieces.

Think I will use as a surface mulch on top of a layer of compost.

The garlic beds maybe.

[Dieter]

I cut down two conifers and a eucalyptus on a small new plot I will start using for growing vegetables. I had them chopped down in small pieces and made a separate pile for it. I know from experience that the conifers will compost, even though it will take more time. I will mix it with other compost when it’s ready.

Perhaps I’d be more worried about the eucalyptus. The tree has an allelopathic effect on other plants. The internet is full of opinions whether or not eucalyptus can be used as a mulch, and I don’t know myself whether or not it is a good idea. I did notice that vegetation around the eucalyptus tree was “suffering” compared to other spots in the plot, but on the other hand, since a chopped down eucalyptus can’t produce anymore allelopathic substances, I believe that allowing the mix to compost will also get rid of them over time.

[Cleansweep]

My view is that you might do better to chip it and use the material as path cover, or sub-divide raised beds with ‘skip-ways’.It can be expected to be drawn on to the beds in 2-3 years
I have done this with freely donated tree surgeons chippings and apart from free draining slug barriers, it has produced some stunning fungi:presumed non-edible until qualified opinion will sample!!

[Author]

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