If you got the time and the space, let nature do the composting for
you. It happens automatically with any forest! Given enough time, a
solid hardwood log will fall apart in your hands! If you do not have
that kind of space and time, we look for ways to speed up the process. A
shredder is just one of the ways to speed the processes.
I had two reasons for thinking this simple shredder idea up. 1) I
needed a way to shred wood waste from limbs and other wood rubbish
without spending lots of monies 2) My goal is to use the uniformly
shredded material as part of the feed for making good compost. My goals
had never included harvest of the compost heat. The reason for that is,
to maximize the composting process I need to stir the batch as often as
necessary to control heat. Not enough heat and you never get good final
product. Too much heat and you get charcoal and burnt product(even
fire). If you get the heat right you get a rich compost that has gotten
hot enough to sterilize all the seeds (good and bad) and is full of good
micro-organisms. Some of this compost is applied to ground around
plants, some is brewed to make compost tea. All this process does is
provide an ideal environment for multiplication of good microbes. The
resulting solution is gently sprayed on leaves and ground for almost
disease-free, healthy plants without the use of chemicals!
You need a good accurate 3ft long probe to be able to test core
compost pile heat. Buy the digital one already made up for this process
and you will spend at least a couple hundred $.
Buy the Harbor Freight digital meat probe on sale for $5.99, take it
apart, wire up an extension for the probe end, use longer 1/4" pipe, and
you make the same thing for under $10. My goal here again is to save
monies.