[sunshineband]

Has anuone used shredded paper in their compost -- we have mainly veg waste and it is quite 'wet' so I was hoping that this would kind of dry it out a a bit. Would this work?

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Sunshine!!!  I use shredded paper and also torn up bits of cardboard in my compost.   A couple of years ago I had some really large bits of cardboard and I used them on the brassica plot and planted my cabbages through holes in the cardboard.  held the  cardboard down with bricks, and that stopped all the weeds coming up.  then by the time the cabbages were ready, the cardboard had alreay started to rot, so I just put it on the compost heap too!!

[peanut]

we use shredded paper all the time and it's great for keeping the moisture balance right.

[sunshineband]

Thanks Grannie Annie and Peanut. Glad this is going to work as I have a virtuially unlimited supply of paper --- I work in a school!!!
Will keep any large cardboard boxes now too.

Have you tried putting a thick layer of newspaper in the bottom of a gtrecnhc before planting runners -- kept down the number of times they had to be watered.

[GrannieAnnie]

Yeah I did that last year.  Dug deep trench, and put chicken poo in it, and as the poo was freshish and I didn't want to 'burn' the roots, I put shredded paper over the top, then some soil, then the bean and pea plants. 

Perhaps I should have put the paper underneath the poo too!!!! lol

[BestBreast]

Hi I put shredded paper in esp good in the summer when we have so much grass going in. Remember not to put shiney paper or cardboard in as it takes so long to decompose.

[Frecks]

I've always put shredded paper mixed with uncomposted veg peeling (no potato peel though!) covered with a good layer of soil in the bottom of the trench where I'm goning to plant beans.  Works a treat for me.

[garddwr]

Yes I also use shredded paper but not too often.

[Trillium]

Shredded paper is an excellent medium for wormeries to keep them aerated.

[noshed]

I get all the shredded paper from work and put it on my compost heap, with all the apple cores and tea bags. They only need a few tomatoes in return.

[David.]

Shredded paper is an excellent medium for wormeries to keep them aerated.

When my daughter had guinea pigs we used paper shreddings as bedding, which was always placed in an enclosed composter to avoid residual food attracting rats (rather than in runner bean trenches).

But rather than acting as an aerator, it always formed a clumpy, lumpy cap in composters unless mixed with corrugated cardboard (worms love that) or straw, etc.

Surely far better aerators are stemmy plants/weeds (pre-seeding of course).

[Celery]

 I put it between lawn mower clipping it stop the clipping going into a unpleasent mess.

[rideandy]

Does it matter if there is ink on the paper?

[David.]

Does it matter if there is ink on the paper?

My understanding is that if your shreddings are from newspapers, the ink used  is not a problem and they can be used as an organic mulch.

[rideandy]

Does it matter if there is ink on the paper?

My understanding is that if your shreddings are from newspapers, the ink used  is not a problem and they can be used as an organic mulch.

Cheers,
 but I was thinking more of the shredding I do at home, like bank stuff and un piad bills, lol.