Making use of hay

[lottie dolly]

Has anyone used hay to mulch or use as a cover over for the potatoes,
I have looked on google,but only seen US references,i have just been offered aprox 20 bales of some,so it got me thinking about,not just a general mulch around plants,but about covering the spudz with it instead of straw,it has not been sprayed,just meadow grass,with poppie,clover,dandylions,my only concern with weed seeds,is it a bad or a good idea to say yes please,as it will otherwise be set fire to,very shortly,your opinions would be apreciated,

[alldigging]

Mulch magic!

[zazen999]

Mulch your entire plot and then give the rest away to other plot owners.

Just be aware that slugs love to lay their eggs under wet warm hay. Or straw. So check every now and then and stomp all over the eggs.

[lottie dolly]

thanks Zaz,am just bothered about any seeds,i have 2.5 plots now,i wondered about the suitability of chucking it over the spudz,i have used grass mowings in the past,but only in a shallow layer,untill it rots down a bit,as putting it on in 1 thick layer it would go slimy ??,it's a friend of DH,he helped move the bales last year,and the wet has got into some of it,hence to give away,asp as tis in the way now,am sure there will be others snap our hands of,also,could i please ask,if it would be ok,stashed on the plot covered up so it can rot down for compo,or simply make another compost heap alternating it with cardboard/paper,so many questions,seems a shame to look a gift horse in the mouth eh,

[zazen999]

Yes either of those. You will always get a bit of germination with hay or straw. Just hoe or pull it out as it comes up.

[lottie dolly]

thank you,looks like a yes then

[Bren In Pots]

Lottie have a read at this thread in the archives on mulching :-

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ment_5573.html

[SarzWix]

I too would snap their hand off! The only thing I'd not do is stack it and leave it as it is - isn't it hay that can combust if it's damp inside the bales? I could be wrong though. But just in case, I'd break down the bales and layer it with something if you're stacking it. As a thick mulch it can go round pretty much everything except maybe root veg?

[roitelet]

If anyone has read the No work Gardening book, I think the author is called Stout, she uses nothing but hay as a mulch.

I use straw and it works wonders!!!!!

[lottie dolly]

thank you girls,it was reference to the Ruth Stout i was looking at,but as it came up with US terms,i wanted to get opinions from UK peeps,DH going to give the chappy a hand this aftoe,so will no doubt bring some back ,is it best to apply in thin lays and build up,or pile it on in 1 go,thanks also for the link and i will google about the combustion one,thats the last thing i need ,apparently some of the bales have already sprung apart from the damp,and are now loose hay,so that also could be got,MUST get myself a nose and mouth gasket,as i will be affected from it now i have just realized,all in the name of ease ,thanks again peeps,

[marchogaeth]

Mulch your entire plot and then give the rest away to other plot owners.
Just be aware that slugs love to lay their eggs under wet warm hay. Or straw. So check every now and then and stomp all over the eggs.

I too would snap their hand off! The only thing I'd not do is stack it and leave it as it is - isn't it hay that can combust if it's damp inside the bales? I could be wrong though. But just in case, I'd break down the bales and layer it with something if you're stacking it. As a thick mulch it can go round pretty much everything except maybe root veg?

Just to echo the above re mulching. I use my old bales as a total weed killer just tiling them across the area in question. I do find the slugs a pain, though. All my fruit trees got a wall of bales at their base in the autumn. Tha rasberries got a layer and I chuck the floor sweepings under cardboard for teh winter. If I ever get time I'll post up some pictures of the garden I've created from some old rough grassland by using bales, rotovating, cardboard and membrane (it was a saga).

As regards spontaneous combustion: it is newly made hay that does this when it isn't dried sufficiently before being stacked and air gets in to the stack so it shouldn't be a problem here. I'd be more concerned if the bales have been damp that they would contain mould spores. If you are breaking them up please wear a mask even if they look clean and smell nice, you don't have to spend a life farming to get lung problems from the dust and spores.

M

[SarzWix]

I knew someone would know better than me on that one

[Glutton4...]

Bales also make good windbreaks whilst they're waiting for you to use them. You can even make hollows in the top of the spare ones, and grow your Toms or Squashes in them.

[Feral007]

Yeah! They are great!

Much with them, use the biscuits as stepping stones and edging. Make beds out of them, hollow them out, just do everything with them! Oh and don't forget to use some in barrels of water as lucerne tea. Honestly you can't go wrong.

[marchogaeth]

Oh and don't forget to use some in barrels of water as lucerne tea. Honestly you can't go wrong.

Lucerne hay is a rarity over here - only for the race horses as it usually has to be barn dried. British hay is mostly sown perennial rye grass mixes. Mine is hay meadow so lots of other grasses (mostly)and things like vetches, clover, yellow rattle, pig nut (which is a grass), yarrow, plantain etc etc.