What else to do with straw??

[jonohanson]

I recently bought 4 bales of straw, I have used one of them to mulch around my fruit bushes, raspberry's and strawberry's( is this ok at this time of year? I made sure their leaves were still poking through).

Now I am left with 3 and a half bales, what else can this be used for??

Also I planted my rasps this year from bare root canes, when can I expect the canes to grow so I can tie them in to fruit next year?

Many Thanks.

[oldie]

I now mulch everything with straw, including footpaths. Keeps weeds down and moisture in. Have a look at this link:- http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ent_47121.html

[Bigmallly]

You don't need to put straw under strawberries until they fruit, the fruit doesn't touch the soil then. Find a fourth side and make a coldframe with an old window on top.

[jps]

i wish i could find somewhere local to sell me 4 bales of straw.

we asked on a local farm that advertised straw and he meant the massive bales you see in the fields, offered to deliver it by tractor! not sure where i would put that tbh!

[Glutton4...]

i wish i could find somewhere local to sell me 4 bales of straw.

we asked on a local farm that advertised straw and he meant the massive bales you see in the fields, offered to deliver it by tractor! not sure where i would put that tbh!

Where are you?

[Aberdeenplotter]

Where are you?

with a big round bale, you can just unwrap as much or as little as you need at a time. You do need a spare 4ft circle to be able to store it and best keep it wrapped to keep it dry. A big round bale if dry is quite easy to manoevre

[zazen999]

Quite right AP - it can be used to mulch nearly everything and for paths as mentioned - my only issue with it is it makes me sneeze like billy-o.

[Two_Sheds]

Straw bale urinal (well what do you expect from me, honestly?)

[Snadger]

Quite right AP - it can be used to mulch nearly everything and for paths as mentioned - my only issue with it is it makes me sneeze like billy-o.

And of course, some of it could be mixed with clay and sand to insulate your rocket stove flue pipe..................

Which leads me to the question........hows it coming along?

[Urban]

Could you not compost some of it?

[chris]

I wish I could get bales locally too - as last year was so wet here, farmers won't sell any surplus stock incase they need it as their yeilds were so low.

Back "home" in derby mind, I could get it for £1.50 a bale from a pet shop I used to work at!!! Crazy cheap, considering the small bags I buy for my chickens to nest in costs around £3.

[Alison]

I find it makes a great home for slugs

[veggiechicken]

I wish I could get bales locally too - as last year was so wet here, farmers won't sell any surplus stock incase they need it as their yeilds were so low.

Have you tried this lot Chris? http://www.threecountiesagriculture.co.uk/index.html
Its where I used to buy hay and straw, and poultry feed.

[chris]

Nope, but someone else recently recommended them - thanks VC

[jps]

Where are you?

i am in birmingham.

the big round bale would be ok if i had somewhere to store it. it could go in the garage i suppose, i may ask the farmer again