When you’re outside puttering around in your garden, you probably feel tranquil, serene, at one with Mother Nature. It’s just you and your plants, getting along fantastically together. The last thing you want is for that peaceful silence to be obliterated by an intimidating gardening contraption like the chipper shredder. But fear not, those scared easily by loud noises and heavy machinery: chippers are not like their predecessors, and they’re only getting better.

The chipper shredder is interesting in that it’s one of the most versatile gardening tools around. Sure, you may scoff at the idea of having a machine assist with something that’s so essentially natural. Yet after weeks of turning over that compost heap or letting those bags of leaves pile up, it’s best to turn to a little extra help. For those that compost with gusto, a chipper shredder may already be sitting in your backyard somewhere, happily assisting with converting leaves into mulch and spitting out wood chips for ground cover. For the lazy composter, it may not even have occurred to you to enlist a hunk of metal to help make mulch. For those that don’t even compost, the chipper shredder is still handy; with its chopping and dicing abilities (like an oversized piece of kitchenware seen on late night infomercials) will speed up the process of eliminating dead brush and tree limbs from the yard.

Old chippers were often clunky, deafening, and dangerous. New chippers tend to be lightweight, safer, and much quieter. The newer electric models are also less likely to emit strange, toxic odors like the older gas powered models, and they’re healthier for the environment. They work well for long periods of time, given that you don’t shove copious amounts of tree excess in all at once. The more powerful the shredder, the more it can handle; for backyard home work, smaller chippers are your best bet. Furthermore, larger chippers are great for clearing acres of dead tree brush and trunks. For those with compost piles or ordinary yard debris, the smaller chippers work very well for creating mulch. Distribute your chipper’s finished product over your flower bed, and you can be witness to a worm colony growing rapidly in your compost pile. The best part is feeling proud knowing that you didn’t really have to do much-your chipper shredder did all the work for you.

Leftover plant stalks? Stick ‘em in the shredder. Trimming from your shrubs? Throw ‘em in the chipper. Brittle, dry leaves? Why, just chuck those suckers on in. Get all the mulch you need for composting while saving yourself time and effort by using a chipper shredder. Now all you have to do is putter in your garden and enjoy the silence of happy, healthy plants.

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