[NAFEX] Mulching fruit tree chips

Jim Fruth jfruth at tds.net
Wed Oct 10 09:49:52 EDT 2007


Bill,
    I throw almost nothing away unless it is too big to fit into my 
chipper/shredder and it can't be burned in my maple syrup evaporator.  The 
chips from thousands of raspberry canes get used for mulch under fruit 
trees.  The fruit tree prunings get ground up for folks who use it in their 
smokehouses.  I should add that the fruit tree prunings and summer raspberry 
canes lay in piles until the following Winter when I finally find time to 
shred them.  All of the shredding I do happens after the black raspberries 
get pruned/trellised in November.  I don't rake leaves because they all 
disappear by midsummer anyway.  I do rake pine needles because they become 
mulch.  The only recurring disease my 1.5 acre sees is fire blight from a 
neighbor who refuses to treat it on his trees.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]


I just picked up a small chipper/shredder, mostly so I can shred and
mulch the small branches constantly falling from the maple in my front
yard. But what about prunings from my fruit trees? Can I chip those and
use them for mulch, or would I just be spreading disease?

(I know I'm not supposed to mulch fruit tree leaves, but as a practical
matter, it's going to happen. We have enough wind here that who knows
where the leaves go when they fall off the trees?  They're certainly
mixed in with leaves in my yard, and my neighbors' yards, and across
half of the city, most likely. If I ever get fruit, I'll try to keep
that cleaned up. That's about the best I can do.)

And how about dead raspberry canes? I just cut out a few that have
recently died (for no obvious reason, that I can see, but it happens
sometimes at this time of year). Can I chip those for mulch, or would
you recommend that I just set them out for the garbage collection, as usual?

Thanks,

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)




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