What is a Leaf Shredder?
Simply put a leaf shredder is a electric or petrol powered garden appliance specifically designed for turning leaves into leaf mulch. They differ from general garden shredders in that they cannot handle such large branches, however the better models can also shred paper and small clippings as well as leaves.
Why Use a Leaf Shredder?
Leaf cutters are ideal for shredding leaves to be used as mulch. It is also advisable to shred leaves for compost. Using a garden leaf shredder to shred leaves has three main advantages:
- The best mulches are very porous, certainly porous enough to allow the penetration of both air and water to the soil below. A leaf shredder improves the porosity of the leaf mulch you produce.
- Secondly if you are making compost the smaller pieces of shredded leaf makes them decompose quicker, realising valuable nutrients into the soil.
- If you are just bagging your leaves up (and you really should be looking to reuse them as mulch or compost) you will find that once shredded leaves take 5-10 times less space than before, reducing the space needed to store and transport them, and using less garden bags than before.