Hallson Gardens

Do you have a chipper, and do I need one?

I've wanted a chipper for a long time. I seem to burn pile after pile of trimmings, overgrowth, fallen sticks and limbs, all summer long. It makes me think that if I had a chipper I could chip much of this and use it instead of just sending it up in smoke.

I know I would still have buy "good" mulch for in the beds. But the lot line on two sides of my property used to be old shrub rows and nasty stuff keeps creeping in, I buy cheap mulch to put there to keep growth down. I figured I could use it there and in wild area of the lot out back. Places that aren't planting beds.

Anyway . . . DH is convinced I'll lose an arm if I get a chipper! (He still doesn't understand that growing up a country girl, I actually have experience with a lot of big equipment.) He's a city boy.

I don't want anything big, like the pros have, just a small one for limbs up to maybe 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

So, if you have one is it worth it? Are the electric ones really powerful enough, or do I have to get gas?

And will I really get my arm chewed off in it?

I have a gas chipper and I use it all the time. There is an awful lot of editing that has to be done on the landscape of this house. I'm in a neighborhood so large burn piles are out of the question. I have hauled a couple of pickup loads to yard waste just because I had so much quantity at once.

I use the chippings everywhere and am glad for it.

We have a chipper, Sear's craftman. We also have a yard recycle bin, a composter and haul off when we remove the larger stuff. One needs to have all the tools to maintain a yard!! Being in the city we can no longer burn and I'm really grateful for that, but a lot of folks burn in their fireplaces. I'm forbidden to use this due to the same reasons. Just like the tiller, I might get my leg chopped off.
But ya know I use the mower and have for 20 years without a problem??

Thanks Kellie!

Karma, it must be a guy thing . . . they gotta protect us. Besides, it would be pretty hard to garden with a tilled-off leg and chipped-up-arm!!

Maybe they just saw Fargo?

Fargo!! DH is worried I'll get my locks in there.

OUCH!!! That hurts just thinking about it!!!

Some years ago, I purchased an electric chipper from Sears. Worked fine on smaller stuff but choked or jammed on larger pieces. It clogged if too many leaves were added. The following week I returned it.

Another time I bought a gas powered chipper at a flea market. When the vendor showed me how it worked, it started and sounded good. At home, however, it was difficult to start and eventually died. It was heavy to move around my yard and bulky to store.

Now all my brush and branches get bagged or bundled, and the yard waste truck takes them out of here.

All power tools have potential for danger if used carelessly. Some people rent a HD tool in spring or fall when they have accumulated work for it, or share the price with neighbors.

My DH has never figured out that I have better things to be doing with my time than babysit a burn pile. Besides, I can use every bit of mulch my chipper produces and have no yard waste collection in this neighborhood.

I have found that there are a few tricks to the successful use of a chipper. If I were a first timer and didn't know about these, I might get frustrated and give up. Since I'm the one in the family that does anything plant/yardwork related, I'm going to do what works best for me!

We have a gas-powered one. LOVE it. Now I can spend mulch money on plants