Can we talk gardening/waste hay?

[Roll farms]

Like others, I lay it between rows to keep the weeds down.

 

[chandasue]

Similar here as everyone else. We have terrible sandburs and grass issues in our garden that we're in the process of eliminating so we actually torch the garden late fall to kill the weed seeds before tilling in wasted hay/pooh compost. Then we till in the rest come spring before planting. The loose hay gets put in the rows, around fruit trees and over potatoes over the course of summer. Compacted stuff gets put in the compost bin for fall again.

 

[warthog]

I used to compost mine.

But now I just put thick layers straight on the garden as a mulch, it's grass hay and fingers crossed I have not had a problem with seeds sprouting.

I also find my free range chickens help turn it over when they are scratching around for bugs, so good for all.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I compost mine. I have 2 horses and mix it with their manure piles. It helps to make a beautiful compost in a yr. I've used new straw to mulch the garden....never again! I should have just planted oats.

Last yr we used rolls of brown paper in the garden aisles. DH works at a paper mill. We put straw on top of that...oats again.

I think I may try the goat stall bedding this yr.

I have plenty of composted manure and plenty of goat bedding to spare. I hope the weed seeds have been baked by deep litter or eaten by chickens.

 

[Georgiamainers]

I guess we are concerned more about fresh poop in the veggie garden instead of aged manure.

Do you have a separate poop pile and a separate waste hay pile? (I know some poop ends up in the hay anyway)

 

[freemotion]

I don't worry about the poop from healthy herbivores that live on my farm (so I know how healthy they are.) Horses, goats, cows....on the garden. Dogs, cats, chickens, pigs.....not on the garden.

 

[stano40]

But he would rather play on his tractor or with his chainsaw.

Now there's a man who enjoys his leisure time.

Georgiamainer, I live in southern Maine & last year I started tilling in my waste hay from the goats into the garden. I also have a huge pile of waste hay as compost.

I used the waste hay also in between the row and around the veggies to keep the weeds down. At one point I was using my shredder to lessen the pile of hay, but since my shredder broke I'm back to just piling it up.

bob