Shredding compost materials.

This year I'm getting into compost making.  Going to make three bins as that looks a good method.

But I've seen references to shredding the compost materials before adding to the bins.  Does anyone else do this and can you recommend a shredder?

Thanks for any replies

Adri

I do know from experience that the cheapest house-brand shredders don't do the job well or last. 3 years in a row I have returned them. Look for replaceable/sharpen-able blades and get some spares before it gets discontinued.

http://www.fredshed.co.uk/homepage.htm

fred does some good reviews on alot of stuff, i use a shredder but only for branch trimmings, its a bosch one and is excellent

Yes, read Fred the Shed. I have one of the smaller Bosch shredders and have been surprised at what it will deal with. Like all shredders it does not particularly like too much soft green material. I bought it initially for hedge cuttings in my own and family gardens. I now bring things like cabbage stalks, raspberry prunings, asparagus stalks home from the allotment for shredding and return them to the compost heap as perfect brown material.

The softer hedge trimming also go to compost but the tougher stuff goes in my Council green bin. A whole hedge takes up very little room when chipped.

I have used cheap models in the past and spent most of the time unblocking them. They are not powerful enough and have thin blades that quickly get blunt.

I have an Alko shredder that I've had for at 20 years, I shred woody prunings & herbaceous perennials when I clear spring & Autumn. If there's green sappy stuff I mix with anything woody. I shred when I can to speed up the composting process. Cabbage stalks at the plot get chopped up with the spade to speed the process. Everything will compost sooner or later. The thing with the 3  or more bin system is when you turn the material from bin  1-2-3 & so on anything that isnt as far composted can go back in to the first bin. I find adding fresh manure in layers in all the bins speeds it all considerably.

I put everything for the compost bins through an Allen petrol engine driven shredder as per the photo on page 76 of Johns "The Complete Vegetable Grower" book,it shreds every thing very quickly and the shredded material seems to rot down quicker than before I got the shredder,if the resultant compost is a little lumpy I put it trough the shredder before using it.
Yet another splendid piece of advice from one of Johns books.