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Adding shreddings to the compost bin

Handfuls of twigs and leaves shredded by a garden shredder

Adding shreddings to the compost bin

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Tuesday, 30 April 2019 at 11:46 am

Make the most of garden shreddings by adding them to your compost bin - here's how.

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If you have access to a garden shredder and have lots of shreddings after doing some pruning around the garden, be sure to make the most of them - they can help to make great garden compost.

Find out how to prune your plants.

As the shredded stems are finely chopped, they pack down to fit into the compost bin neatly, without taking up too much space. They will break down more quickly, too.

Find out how to make great garden compost.

Follow our tips for adding garden shreddings to your compost bin or heap, below.

Mix with other materials

Mix shreddings with other material, such as grass clippings and kitchen waste, to ensure a good blend of green and brown material. This is a great way to compost grass clippings, which are often too dense to break down on their own.

Adding green clippings to the compost bin — Adding grass clippings to a compost bin on top of paper and card shreddings

Stir the compost

Turn or stir your compost when you mix the shreddings, to mix all the ingredients together and incorporate plenty of air.

Stirring compost — Stirring to mix together grass clippings and paper and card shreddings

Don't compact the shreddings

Don't compact the shreddings by forcing them down - you need to allow air to circulate.

Don't compact shreddings — Handfuls of twigs and leaves shredded by a garden shredder

Keep the compost damp

If your compost is very dry, then water it. Dry material won't rot down, but neither will soggy material - you need to get the balance right.

Mix brown and green material
To make good compost, you need a balance of 'brown' and 'green' material. The green, such as leaves and grass clippings, provides nitrogen, and the brown (such as woody clippings or cardboard) provides carbon. 