From Branches to Mulch: Troy-Bilt Chipper Shredder
I love my garden, filled with trees that provide welcome filtered shade along with flowering shrubs. While my garden gives me joy, it does take maintenance to keep it healthy and looking its best.
The primary maintenance chore I have is pruning, which I enjoy doing.
What I don’t like is cleaning up the clippings, and I often ask my kids to drag them to the trash can or the curb for bulk pickup. However, that was then, and I have a new tool to help me with dealing with the aftermath of pruning. My new Troy-Bilt Chipper Shredder will take the stems and small branches and shred them into mulch.
*As a brand ambassador, I was provided the CS4295 Chipper Shredder free of charge, for my honest review.
The chipper shredder has two areas where you can insert plant material. The top part is called the ‘hopper’ and is where stems and branches that are less than the width of the pencil are added, which are pulverized into mulch that is expelled into a white bag attached off to the side.
Branches under 2-inches in diameter are fed through the ‘chipper chute’ and are expelled into the collection bag. It was fun to use and I was pleased with how quickly my pile of branches was decreasing in size.
In the end, my two large piles were reduced to a much smaller pile of shredded leaves and stems. Instead of throwing out piles of plant clippings, I now have great material for my compost pile. It is also suitable to use as mulch for putting around my plants. However, you’ll want to age the mulch for 3 – 6 months before applying or it can use up the nitrogen that plants need while it breaks down.
This photo says it all. My Troy-Bilt Chipper Shredder took two piles of branches, that would have filled up most of my trash can, and reduced them to a small pile of mulch suitable for my garden.
*Disclosure: As a Troy-Bilt brand ambassador, the chipper shredder was provided to me at no cost by TroyBilt to review for my honest opinion.
Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
Wow, I am sincerely impressed!
Note to Viewing Audience, this Woman is a Professional! Noelle’s wearing thick gloves & protective glasses. Points for both.
To think that Lil Machine can rip up those pieces? compared to the Big On ewe had back in the 80’s, Ours was so LOUD and hard to find a place to store. OK, you sold me! :))
Thanks, Sandy! It is loud, so I especially appreciated the ear protection.
We need this – I’m putting it on our wish-list because I feel like we take up so much of our trash space when we do garden work and our neighbors would appreciate this so much! Is it really loud?
Hi Diana,
I’ve used it with and without ear protection. The level of noise is relative to an individual’s comfort level. Ear plugs would be helpful though. The chipper shredder will definitely help you with your garden clippings and you’ll use up much less space.
Hi again, I didn’t notice your ‘Ear Protection’, another point! One thing I wanted to mention, well, my husband pointed out, he generally didn’t use the Bag Attachment & I notice you didn’t either. Sometimes it’s easier to let the shredded pieces fall out, then rake them up. Anyway, we’ve ordered ours! Much easier than hand-clipping all the thorny pieces.
Thanks again for testing it for us.
I’m late in reviewing the Troy-Bilt Chipper Shredder because I’ve been pestering my husband for the details. One of the best things he says is the motor, it’s extremely reliable. Anyway, it’s become a part of our AZ Landscape housekeeping. With an acre of oleander, bougainvillea and other thorny pieces, this is a time & arm saver (emphasis on arm.)
PS. No, it’s not loud at all, comparatively. That’s another thing that impressed Alex, my husband. He said, wow, they really improved the baffles. (His dad & brother are both engineers.)