Etiquette for burning garden waste

[user1485984489]

I would appreciate some advice. I am shortly moving into a house which currently has a very, very overgrown garden (more like a jungle). Think brambles which have been left to grow more more than a decade etc. And don't get me started on the nettles!

I have spent the past couple of weekends trying to make a dent in it - and have accumulated a large amount of dead bramble cuttings which I would like to burn. (Far too many to fit in my green bin, I have already done loads of trips to the local tip and the time it takes to queue etc, just means I have less time to spend hacking through the rest).

I have bought a metal bin/incinerator so it wouldn't be burning wildly in the middle of the garden.

I will obviously be letting the neighbours know in advance of any burning, just wanted to ask what would be the most considerate time of day to suggest starting it. E.g. early evening so they don't have to take washing in? Many thanks.

[millifiori]

Yes, that should be fine. Tbh, I just light a bonfire whenever I want, provided neighbours don't have washing hanging out, and aren't socialising in their gardens. Brambles smell gorgeous when they're burning - like jam or bubblegum - very sweet and fruity. A tip I learned recently is: spread the hot embers of a dying garden fire over any patches of weeds. It will kill them off. Just make sure they're not in bone dry grass that could cause a new fire.

[Floggingmolly]

You sound really considerate, and yes, early evening is a perfect time. I lived next door to an idiot for years who was out there setting fire to garden waste / old furniture / his MIL, anything at all as soon as the sun came up.
All our clothes smelled of bonfire smoke unless we dried them indoors.

[Scentofwater]

Let them dry out as long as you can and get the fire really hot with kindling/well seasoned wood before adding the brambles and then you'll have a lot less smoke.

[Mermaidinthesea123]

None of my neighbours will tolerate burning in the garden even though we all get on really well. It's antisocial when they have small kids, babies, pets, laundry etc and the fire just goes on and on.
I hired a small skip for mine when I moved into a house with a jungle at the back and then builders bags.

[GreenFingersWouldBeHandy]

Thanks all - had small bonfires on Sat/Sun but not the Fri/Mon of the long weekend. neighbours were fine about it, in fact seemed delighted that I was tidying the place up! Should be able to manage the rest in green recycling bags.

[WellTidy]

This is interesting. We live in a built up area and I have always thought we shouldn't burn any garden waste at all as it would be anti social. Do I've taken everything that doesn't fit into out three brown bins to the tip. Nobody around here burns much at all, any time of day. We've never spoken to neighbours about it, it just doesn't hapen. We all have decent sized back and front gardens.

[GreenFingersWouldBeHandy]

I think it probably helps that this is a small cluster of houses in a rural location. Yeah, if I was in a built-up area I'd take it to the tip too to be honest.