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Location

Message

Date Posted

Buffalo, New York

i have a couple bales of hay/straw, is it ok to spread them out over patch to decay over the winter or are they no good?

11/1/2008 4:30:07 PM

Adams County

try to shred them up as much as you can first. they will break down faster

11/1/2008 4:55:44 PM

Farmville, Virginia ([email protected])

Is it hay or is it straw? Definitely two different things you are talking about. I've never seen both mixed together. Straw is ok because you get very little seed with it. Even if you do it's not a big deal because wheat dies out in the spring. If it's hay you are introducing grass seed into your patch. Personally I stay away from it in any form. I have enough problem with weeds and grass as it is! lol

11/1/2008 6:25:12 PM

[email protected]

Agree with Mark......hay = weeds

11/1/2008 8:59:38 PM

Georgia

I shred and spread round bales of hay all over gardens and pumpkin patches every year.....I DO HAVE A WEED OR TWO THOUGH..LOL

11/2/2008 12:46:36 AM

[email protected]

Actually, the straw will give you more weed's than hay, unless it's a first year crop of hay, Grasses will choke out most weeds in 2 years,and if the hay was cut at the right time, start of the bloom, there should be no grass seed, because the blossoms have way more nutrients than the seeds if used for livestock feed. whereas straw is an annual, and more prone to weeds due to cultivation, and grains are left in the field to ripen prior to harvest, and so the weeds are gone to seed also, and since the weed seeds are generally smaller than the grain and harder to shell out, it goes right through the harvester, and into the straw.

Anyway, I use both, I run them through a chipper, and spread about 4 inches throught, and till it in, If you don't chip it, it's really hard to till in.
The straw decays faster than the hay, so make sure the hay is used in the fall, so it has time to break down.
I've spread straw in the spring and had it completely broken down by the 15th of may.

As a side note, You probably would get the same amout of weed seeds from manure as you would from the bales, unless it's been composted properly to kill the seeds.

11/2/2008 1:22:44 AM

Rexburg, Idaho

What kind of chipper do you use. I've been putting hay and straw on the patch for years. I have manually broken the bales down by hand and it is a pain.
I just used straw this year. Hay was going for 200$ a tone. A little to pricy for my liking.
Good quality hay will have no seeds.

11/2/2008 10:27:32 AM

[email protected]

Brian, I use a Troy built 8 horse power chipper from Northern Equipment,It can handle up to a 3 inch tree also.
It cost me $450.00 3 years ago.
I know our local rental stores have them for rent at $50.00 a day, and actually, cheaper in the long run, especially if you can get it done in one day.
Straw here runs at $2.00 for a standard square bale, and hay runs at $5.00. But if you can find some old stuff, It's usually free.
I chip up approx 9 bales for each 1000 sq ft, Leaves are hard to come by here, as is probably your case also

Eddy

11/2/2008 12:24:13 PM

Rexburg, Idaho

The straw doesn't clog the chipper? Once upon a time I was going to try that but people who had done it said that the straw clogged the thing as opposed to cutting the wooden branches and twigs.

11/2/2008 6:32:07 PM

[email protected]

As long as the hay or straw are dry, It chips fine, If the material is wet, like the part hat sits on the ground, then yes it will gum up, When i get the bales, I put them on pallets andkeep a tarp over them.

It takes a little better than an hour to chip up 1000 sq ft greenhouse.

11/3/2008 9:52:50 AM