Old (REALLY OLD) Hay...what the heck to do with the stuff

[dangerdoc]

Thats what i figure ill do for now. ive got a huge vegie patch that we only use a small part of just now. keeping the weeds down is ****, my wife tills it weekly. this may be a good soluton to 2 problems.

Maybe hay is different where you live but our local hay is a great way to get grass started. I put the hay where I want grass to grow, the hay holds the moisture long enough to sprout the grass seed that is already present in the hay.

 

[Dave5264]

Well, one of the Jobs my wife has this week while im at work is to start forking that mess out of the Barn. We'll see how she does, it may be a slow Go, singe she'll be only able top do one trailer load till i arrive home from work. She' really not comfy reversing a Trailer, so ive set it by the barn door.

 

[studor]

Dave -- is she available to do my barn?. My wife won't go near that old hay

 

[schmism]

buy a pelitizer and make wood stove pellets with it.

YouTube - Pellet Pros Personal Mill Demo

 

[Duffster]

buy a pelitizer and make wood stove pellets with it.

YouTube - Pellet Pros Personal Mill Demo

There is 10 minutes of my life I won't get back.LOL

 

[bota7800]

You might also see if someone with llamas or alpacas wants it. They, the animals that is ;-) , can eat almost anything. The owners don't always know or trust that however.

 

[dangerdoc]

You might also see if someone with llamas or alpacas wants it. They, the animals that is ;-) , can eat almost anything. The owners don't always know or trust that however.

We own llamas, they won't eat old hay.

I've always heard that you want to find the oldest nastiest hay you can find for bufalo in the winter to keep them out of estros until the spring.

 

[GreenLawnFarm]

i put all yard waste into a pile (tree branches, leaves, weeds), then once a week shred it with the rotary cutter and add it to my mulch pile. i get loads of free wood chips from tree companies and mix my compost into the wood chips. wait 6 months, turning the pile every few weeks, and a little water if needed yields great compost mulch. After you get going and have a pile around at work composting, it is easy to just keep adding more fresh stuff. With the moisture, even if the pile gets hot, i have never had any problems with fire. asked a local firefighter, they could not recall responding to a mulch pile fire in 40 years. i have found burning to be a waste of time and the mulch is usable and worms like it.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Thats what i figure ill do for now. ive got a huge vegie patch that we only use a small part of just now. keeping the weeds down is ****, my wife tills it weekly. this may be a good soluton to 2 problems.

It's a great solution. That's what I started doing with the old hay from the farm. I don't till it in, I just put down more hay on top and I'm ready for the next gardening season. It almost cuts out weeding entirely, if any do show up I just drop another pile of hay on top of them. It keeps the soil warmer during the winter, cooler during the summer, keeps it at a more even moisture level and cuts down the amount of watering required. Over time it breaks down and adds humus to the soil. What could be better. This has been the best, almost no-work veggie garden that I've ever had and I've been on a 25 year quest for a no-work garden. I think I'm getting close.

 

[JC-jetro]

Couple of great ideas guys. it is a win win however you look at it. It really does cut down on the competition when you have good soil and a thick layer of mulch, just got to figure our how to scare off the deer and now that's the challenge.I have 4 squash plants below, they are floating on top of 1 ft thick hay and enjoying themselves. I have a ton of squash , I sure hope the darn deer don't develop a taste to them as they have done on my tomatoes.

JC,