Over the years, juniper has taking over much of the yard. Therefore, I am cutting it back. Should I put it in my compost? Or in the municipal green waste bin?
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If it’s all 2020 year’s growth, might be ok if you’re in no hurry to use the compost.
Otherwise, better run it through a chipper/shredder first.
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Can you explain why a bit more? We are producing a lot of juniper brush and I need a plan for where to go with it. We might need to make biochar…
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One of my friends suggested that it would make my compost acidic.
I’m in no hurry to use the compost.
Juniper breaks down very slowly. I personally wouldn’t use it in compost
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Oh. I was thinking that people were implying that juniper brush could house rusts. So is that not a concern? If not, there are plenty of places I can just make a brush pile and forget about it.
That’s what we get for trying to supply an answer before we really know what the issue was.
Dead limbs from junipers i would not worry about rust. I’m going to burn mine though…the ashes are good for seedbeds.
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It is a concern
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Dead juniper becomes very prickly and stickery, even more so than when it is alive. I wouldn’t put it in the compost without chipping it first.
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So should I try to make sure not to leave juniper brush lying around? I can try to remember to make char out of it.
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Once it’s dead, junipers (red cedar is the worst for rust) won’t cause any rust issues. Alive is another issue
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So after the tree has been cut down it is fine or does it take a while to count as “dead”?
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Well, I suppose if it was cut down in the spring it may have enough stored energy to still create CAR galls. I kill every red cedar I find on my place. Some I drill a few holes in with a battery drill and fill with brushkiller. I like to let some of them stand. Little ones I pull by hand or spray. Most I cut down and leave them where they fall. I try to take care of them all in the winter.
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Pretty sure that juniper is a big part of of the wood chips that I pick up at the transfer station for composting every year. No problems, but then, rust isn’t a big deal around here.
I hot compost with plenty of N and I’m in no particular hurry for the finished product. It’s at least a year old before I use it. Whether that makes a difference or not, I have no idea.
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There is an abundance of juniper on my lot that was planted in the 1970s. It is thriving however I have seen voles running in and out of the juniper in three separate locations, so it seems like a very hospitable place for rodents to make their home. At least where I live. They might also be living there because it puts them in proximity to several large oak trees and there are a ton of acorns in those area every spring (a favorite food of the voles).