Incinerating / Clearing foliage
Incinerating / Clearing foliage
Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

70 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
[redacted]

Scraggles

7,619 posts

240 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
bottle of meths / petrol / etc, douse liberally, light and stand back, try not to burn the fences smile

letting it die is probably safer

Rollin

6,241 posts

261 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
Why not take it to the tip?

Simpo Two

89,380 posts

281 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
Or rotovate it in as fertiliser?

Rollin

6,241 posts

261 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I have a similar thing to look forward to, to be honest. The garden is not huge but is very overgrown. I'm thinking it could be a good excuse to get a 110 Defender for tip trips smile

Simpo Two

89,380 posts

281 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I meant rotovating in the greenery, not the ash. Or maybe you could just have a big compost heap? Or sell it to hippies and socialists as 'low carbon footprint eco-food'?

Hobzy

1,271 posts

227 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
Hire/borrow a shredder and then compost it? Or dig it back in or use it as mulch...

Busamav

2,954 posts

224 months

Wednesday 14th October 2009
quotequote all
do not use petrol , try Diesel smile

hadenough!

3,785 posts

276 months

Thursday 15th October 2009
quotequote all
I used petrol. Just make sure you stand well back.

Also, I take no responsibility for any mishaps.

Good luck.


onomatopoeia

3,512 posts

233 months

Thursday 15th October 2009
quotequote all
I had a similar problem, my garden was completely overgrown with blackberry bushes (brambles), to a height of 20' in places. Filled up my camper van with it all. Nine trips to the tip so far in a Transit sized van, still more to do.


GreenDog

2,261 posts

208 months

Thursday 15th October 2009
quotequote all
At a previous house I dug out appx 60 foot of very tall (6 to 8 foot) and bushy hedge. I hired a transit for a half day and did a few trips to the tip with it. Worked out at about £25 plus fuel to get rid of the lot. It was only £50 to hire a Luton van for the day so that would have been an option if the tip had been futher away.

HiRich

3,337 posts

278 months

Thursday 15th October 2009
quotequote all
I assume you mean wood as well as leaves?

Wet leaves obviously don't want to burn, and would produce epic quantities of smoke. The only option for burning is to allow the pile to dry. Make a large pile and ideally cover it from rain - with a bit of sun as well, 2-3 weeks may be enough to have it suitably dry for a good bonfire/incinerator. Remember that in a fortnight, you may have a decent excuse for a housewarming bonfire night.

Leaves alone can be composted (leaf mulch). The 'proper technique" would be to bag them wet, punch some holes in the bag, and leave for 6 months. But for you, just start a compost pile - add the last grass cuttings & mix in, avoid large pieces of wood/sticks, and it will be coming on by the spring. You can:
  • Mulch it (lay it over the existing beds) - as well as fertilising, it suppresses weeds
  • Lightly hoe/fork it in
  • Dig, or double dig in for the best results. Dig a trench a spade deep. "Double dig" with a fork to break up the bottom of the trench and mix in some of your compost. Now dig a second trench (ie widening the first one), using the spoil from the second trench to fill the first one, and repeat the process until the end. Then use the spoil from the first trench to ill the final trench. Obviously hard work, but the best thing you can do for the bed - imagine the roots of the plants you put in next Spring, hunting down for something interesting when they hit the motherlode.
For leaves & wood, you could hire a shredder. The results also go on the compost heap, and you may be left with a few branches too thick for the shredder, but much easier to take to the tip or bonfire.

andyc.

1,216 posts

209 months

Friday 16th October 2009
quotequote all
Use dry stuff to get a good strong fire going and then add the rest slowly , keeping a good fire going at the same time.If you can stand next to it its not hot enough.


penryar

311 posts

243 months

Monday 19th October 2009
quotequote all
small metal can of diesel placed in the bottom of the incinerator, once lit will keep everything burning until its all hot enough to keep going by itself.