we have been offered some straw bales,aprox 50 bales,first come ?,and wondered if i was to spread it over the ground then cover with mypex or black plastick,would it have rotted down in time for next spring,the soil is a little claye,i know the wormes will do their part,and would any male,u know what,be of any benefit sprinkled over before it's covered,thanks for any advice.
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I would favour composting them first.
You will need to get them wet, and some Pee will definitely help, but ideally they need mixing with some green material to get them composted. If you have a head of grass clippings you've been building all summer the two mixed together should be good.
Put farmers plough the straw straight back in (well, they chop it smaller than what you have in the bales), so no big problem putting it straight on the beds, but a thick layer will stop the first breaking down the tilth - I have heavy clay soil and like the frost to help me!K's Garden blog the story of the creation of our garden
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Supersprout, God rest her sole was an inspiration to me!
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ment_5573.html
Based on an older idea by Ruth Stoute who wrote numerous books about mulch gardening
She had one stock answer to every question asked of her "Add more mulch!"My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)
Diversify & prosper
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That's definitely worth a thought!
How much straw do you need to get though, to cover the plot deeply enough? Any idea what straw costs? How many bales would I need?
I saw a sign the other day advertising straw at £2 per bale. And a farmer friend might be able to let me have some straw for free but I need to find out whether it has been Forefronted first as he thought it might have been and obviously I don't want to put Forefront all over my plot!!Warning: I have a dangerous tendency to act like I know what I'm talking about.
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I have a bed which I covered in about 4inches depth of straw last winter, then put a layer of horse muck over it, then covered it in mypex. I planted through holes in the mypex in spring, and it's worked really well. If you lift up the plastic, the straw has started rotting down, it's full of worms & centipedes, and a frog has taken up residence under a corner of the plastic (which is keeping the slugs down) I'd thoroughly recommend it!
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I'd like to make a raised bed for my pumpkins out of straw bales.
Or, wow - an African hut. What a fabulous shed for the lotty! Welcome to http://www.strawbale-building.co.uk--A strawbale building info site
All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.
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here's an article about straw bale gardening: Gardening: blood, sweat and HLM - TelegraphAll gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.
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thank you all very much for the input,have found out that it's actually hay,and had it on very good authority not to bother as it's full of seeds,so have decided not to bother,just thought seeing it was free,but have got enough weeds now lol,i did do a search before i posted my thread but could not find an answer to the question i asked,have now got my answers thanks to you all,
two shed,thanks,it is something to think about in the future,i like the idea of a hot bed,we have yet to build a polly tunnel/green house,to much else doing at the moment,a project for the winter may be,Last edited by lottie dolly; 10-09-2008, 03:18 PM.sigpicAnother nutter ,wife,mother, nan and nanan,love my growing places,seed collection and sharing,also one of these
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I started this thread a while back now: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...raw_18911.html
When I last looked, the results were disappointing - coould be I started late, didn't add enough activator etc etc. However, the straw has composted down nicely and will be used as a winter mulch (compost heaps already piled high)
Skotch
(BTW, which Lottie site in Leicester are you on, Dolly?)Last edited by Skotch; 11-09-2008, 11:10 AM.Artificial Intelligence usually beats real stupidity
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