Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 20 May 2006 20:50:03 +1200, George.com wrote:

The bales are standard pasture hay, grasses and whatever else was
growing at the time of cutting.

So have a very high chance of being full of viable seeds from Buttercups,
Ragwort, Thistle (or whatever "garden nasties" grow wild in your part of
the world), and of course the not so nasty meadow flowers.

Do I need to worry about the mould inside the hay?

Only if you where thinking of using it as animal feed. ie Don't. The
mould is probably the reason they have been given away.

I have heard the odd story of hay self combusting when it rots, any
chance here you think.

One or two catch fire round here every year when put out for feed. These
are the big 6' dia 4' deep round bales mind, not one man lift oblong
ones.

"Yes" to what everybody else has said. I haven't used hay, but I have
used spoiled big-bale grass silage. I think I'd encourage this spoiled
hay to rot good and proper before using it: put it into a compost heap
in the ordinary way. I rather doubt if you'll be unlucky enough to get
a conflagration. (I'm a little suspicious about the story of the yucca
blaze: I won't be rash enough to say it's impossible, but I'd want to
ask if anybody dropped a fag-end in the pot and didn't care to admit
it.)

--
Mike.