A Shredder I Will Use

A mechanized plant shredder comes as a big help to the gardener.  In the early months of gardening, I manually chopped leaves, banana stalks, the sunflower plant, grasses to add to my compost pile.  The compost pile was placed in the pig pen (see opposite photo) as there was no pig yet in place. 

The traditional pig pen of my hometown, Bontoc is one dug half a meter deep into the earth and reinforced with layers of stones.  I would then throw in the chopped greens, moisten the pile with water and cover with plastic.  The shredder has been installed today, January 23, 2011 and we have to do some adjustments to the power source.  The machine runs on 3HP and would need a separate power line.  It also helps that most of my neighbors have overgrown grass and would be glad to see it go as feed for the shredder. Tomorrow, the shredder will be tested.  The composting shed that houses the shredder has been completed.  The shredder is the first prototype locally fabricated by Robert Changat.  Clifford and David have been at work for over a week in preparing the composting shed.  So there, the shredder adds up to the preparations I am into for a continuous gardening activity that I plan to do in the coming months.  I only have this dream of helping contribute to a supply of organic vegetables for the town of Bontoc. 

The garden too has a new resident, Austin.  A year old "native" pig-that traces its bloodline to the wild pigs that roam our forests.  I then had to clear Austin's pig abode of compost and spread it into the garden plots.  The compost helped enriched the soil.  In return, pechay plants "abnormally" large is the result of compost enriched soil.