How to chop / chip / grind / shred those old corn stalks to clean up your garden. Demo of a simple way to use your basic push mower to get the job done quickly. Create mulch for your compost pile or for spreading back on the garden as residue cover.
Update Dec2014:
I am glad for those that found this helpful. I made the chute, then a year later made the video as a joke for my family -- but decided to post it to share the idea. It is simple, low cost, easy to store -- and IT WORKS!
Those wondering about SAFETY... I share your concern...
Anyone who has looked at this carefully will see that it is in fact inherently SAFER than using a push mower to mow grass! The blade here is complete covered. You would have to push your hand completely up the chute to contact the blade -- not easily done by accident. My stopping point is the edge of the chute -- 8" from the blade. In normal mowing the live blade is completely open to contact by hands and toes (with thousands of accidents a year). My bare feet are zero risk from the mower - the only danger is from stepping on a sharp corn stalk -- my choice.
Please, do have EYE protection and EAR protection.
(For those that are "horrified" - go for a drive and worry about the painted line on the road that keeps you from a head-on crash!)
Happy and successful chopping!!
Tips not directly obvious: have the chute positioned so the stalks are fed to the outer 4" of the blade.
10 сен 2011
