Fall cleanup composting question

This is my first fall composting. As I was cleaning up my garden of spent annuals and pulled out some overlyabundant perennials (namely monarda and coreopsis), I found that I was unable to shred these in my leaf shredder because they are too coarse. This spring and summer, I had gotten into the habit of shredding everything to speed up the composting time. Of course any compost that I produce now wont be needed until spring.

I am wondering if I should hand chop these stems or just put them in whole? Will they have enough time to break down by spring in I don't cut them into smaller pieces? Most of the stems are between a half inch and an inch around. These stems are probably just hard enough for the shredder to consider them as small twigs. I actually think that I have enough of these to fill an entire Biostack. I just filled another Biostack today with leaves from my neighbor's yard, and the leaves haven't begun to turn yet in Virginia.

pennefeather,
IMHO the best process would be to chip them into timy pieces, but I don't have a heavy-duty chopper/shredder either. So I break thick stems up somewhat by hand, using a garden clipper, into shorter pieces (3-6 inches) and dump the pieces into black plastic trash bags. (I never have enough Biostacks in the Fall, or I'd utilize them.) I mix in some leaves and a few handfuls of compost, pierce some holes in the filled bags, tie 'em shut, and leave the bags outside for several months. The contents of the bags soften up by spring, and the stems that are still too large for finished compost I just sift out and put back into my compost bins for the next go-round of composting!
I justify this somewhat lazy method of composting thick stems by asserting that twigs and stems help provide structure in my decomposing compost so air can get into it!
Here's a photo of my (messy) composting area, with black trash bags beginning to decompose. Good thing my neighbors can't see this!

pennefeather - we have an area in the far corner of our lot where we place all the stuff that's too thick for the compost heap. This area is set aside for any wildlife that would like to take advantage of such a spot. I think the "Towees" hang out there, don't know if they are nesting there, or just enjoying the insects that must be in all that "stuff."

Link to photo of Towee Bird:

http://www.pbase.com/anneb74/image/26741738

Thanks guys. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'm going to tackle my spent perennials. I need to unload one of my Biostacks also. The compost looks wonderful - probably the best that I have made yet.

If I spread compost now, will it actually help the garden come spring?

This message was edited Sep 27, 2009 12:04 AM

This message was edited Sep 28, 2009 9:42 PM

My approach is kinda unorthodox, mainly because I'm lazy. Stuff that's too coarse either gets buried in an out-of-the-way corner of my beds, or gets burned (with the ashes sprinkled around my banana trees).

I chop into smaller pieces, mostly around 6 inches, and put them into a 32 gallon trash can with holes drilled in it. It sits there for a few days until the stuff in my 2 Biostack bins shrinks down enough to accommodate it. Since my "active" bin generally gets to 150 degrees, that's just a few days. (A 5 gallon bucket full of UCGs from the coffee shop 2 to 3 times a week keeps it HOT!). Then I dump that garbage can full of stuff into the bin and start refilling the garbage can. Works well.

I currently have my Biostacks divided into a 2 tier one of finished compost and a 4 tier bin that's actively composting fresh materials. I will soon be using the finished compost in 2 new beds which we're currently working on. Then I'll have a lot more space in the bins.

Karen

If you have a power lawn mower, just put'em in a pile on the ground and give it a mow. Catch the clippings in the grass catcher and add it to the compost pile.