Using a Tub Grinder at My Farm
One of the most important areas on my farm is my giant compost yard.
During the year, my outdoor grounds crew amasses quite a large pile of organic debris - bark, logs, stumps, and brush. All of it is collected in one area and then either repurposed as milled lumber or left to decay and made into garden dressings, such as mulch and compost. To help with the process, I like to call in a tub grinder once a year or once every two years depending on how much there is to recycle. This large piece of machinery grinds the material into usable wood chips. I use the hardworking team from Material Processors, Inc., located in Warwick, New York. Once all the wood has gone through the tub grinder, it is passed through again to make it even finer and then mixed in with aged horse manure and chicken droppings to create nutrient-rich "black gold."
Enjoy these photos from the tub grinder's recent visit.
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- I hate taking down trees, but during the year we sometimes need to cut down trees that are dead, damaged or diseased in order to make room for new ones. Here is my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, taking these logs to the compost pile.
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- This wood pile is getting quite large – felled trees, branches, leaves, etc., but none of the material ever goes to waste.
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- In this area, I also have several piles of organic material in different stages of decomposition – mulch, leaf mold, and manure. It will all be ready to use after it is mixed together, turned and then sieved through the grinder.
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- One pile was covered in growing pumpkins. Here’s Ryan harvesting what he could before the grinder arrived.
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- Ryan actually picked quite a few pumpkins, which will be added to the enormous amount of pumpkins picked from this year’s patch.
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- For years, I’ve used a team from Material Processors, Inc. – a 30-year old company that focuses on recycling green waste, and clearing and preparing land spaces for development. Here’s a nice photo of Dan, owner/president Jeff, and Adam. I hope you saw them at work on my show “Martha Knows Best” on HGTV.
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- Tub grinders are extremely large and heavy, so Adam delivers the tub grinder and excavator to the farm the day before to set it up and prepare it for work.
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- The tub grinder is moved into position close to the wood pile. Before any equipment is used, all the controls are checked to make sure everything is in good working order. Tub grinders are named for the distinctive in-feed hopper – the large round tub, normally 10 to 14-feet in diameter and roughly six-feet deep.
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- Here is the excavator, which is used to pick up the material using its large “jaws grab” bucket attachment and drop it into the tub grinder.
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- Dan operates much of the machinery during the time it is at the farm. He begins with the excavator grabbing large amounts of logs and brush.
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- Here is the inside of the grinder when it is off – it is quite massive.
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- Once Dan has the bucket over the grinder, he opens the “jaws grab” and releases the debris into the hammermill at the bottom of the tub. As the tub revolves, the hammermill shatters the wood into smaller fragments.
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- Here is a closer look at the materials as they are transported to the tub.
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- Dan does this over and over, one load at a time. There is a lot of dust and occasional debris flying around – it is very important to stay several feet away whenever visiting a tub grinder at work. Dan says he prefers to work on rainy days, which helps to cut down on all the dust.
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- It is always sad to see the trees go, but I am glad they can be repurposed into usable rich materials for the gardens.
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- A continuous discharge conveyor carries the material away from the machine and piles it up in a mound.
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- As the tub spins, friction actually causes some of the wood to smoke. Everyone wears masks and appropriate eye gear for protection near the machinery.
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- The wood chips are put through the grinder a second time. The second pass makes it even finer. The grinding process is actually quite mesmerizing to watch. It is also extremely loud – the tub grinder can be heard all the way on the other side of the farm.
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- Next, Dan screens the older piles of decaying matter and then mixes it all together.
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- The result – a dark and rich compost I like to call “black gold.”
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- I keep the aging materials covered with white tarps to trap heat and help ‘cook’ the compost. I just love that all of my garden beds are top-dressed and enriched with gorgeous compost made right here on the farm.
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