"La Puce" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote:
I meant to mention this yesterday and forgot. Hay is indeed
wonderful
stuff but that bale pictured in the cite you gave with the
beautiful
black cat is straw and not hay. Straw is good for very little
except
as bedding for animals. It has no real nutrient level so will rob
your soil of nitrogen in the rotting process if you plan on using
it
as a mulch.

Thanks a lot for that - I hadn't thought about it at all. I suppose
I
was thinking about hay indeed. It's now by our pond on the lotty
where
we sat and ate yesterday (this is definitely not an usual october
day
at all). I had plan to mulch indeed - the strawbs for a start and
use
the rest on the paths, but not until next year. There's very little
point now.

It could keep the heat in the soil for longer if you have anything
that is still growing and needs to do so for a while.

Also I thought to use them as a gigantic planting pot for
flowers next years.

Yep, it should be nicely starting to rot by then and you can then cut
a nice big spot in the middle for the flowers.

Wouldn't it be ok to mulch the strawbs with it
though?

Yep, don't waste it, just don't buy any more except for paths or low
grade mulching (like under trees where you've fertilised but just need
to protect the soil).

Don't waste it since you have it but if you want to buy hay in
future
don't get this stuff and if it was sold to you as being "hay"
rather
than "straw" then don't buy it at the same place again because
they
don't know thier product. Lucerne (also known as alfalfa) hay is
the
creme de la creme of hays but it's (relatively) expensive, clover
or
meadow hay is next down the line in quality

Meadow hay would be my favourite. I just love the smell. I've never
used it because I don't find the need for it, but it conjures up
childhood memories, and buying one bale would be a little silly I
think... and I can imagine the face of the farmer!

Look for supplies to the horse fraternity or for any supplier to
smallholders. They should have good quality hay that can be bought by
the bale

I'm also bang on in
the city centre and find it a bit odd to use such a material when I
can
use other things. But if I need to mulch, I'll make sure it's not
with
hay!

No, hay is good, straw is the one to avoid.

We got around 20 bales this summer for a project in the city centre.
I
didn't buy it, I had enough to do with the research and design of
the
project and cooked for the people's kitchen we ran.
Our project was to show
the variety of things one can do with straw bales - cooking, one
made a
hole in it and slowly stewed some veges in a pot. It was already
cooked
.... I think it would have taken us 2 days, if not longer, to cook
the
stew ))

Not 2 days. A well insulated and designed hay cooker should do the
job in about 12 hours if done right. If the ingredients are
adequately heated in the morning, and then put into the cooker, the
dish should be ready that night in a well insultated hay cooker.

We made structures, talked about the process of staw bale
houses,

I've always loved straw bale houses, much nicer feeling about them
TMWOT than either mud brick or stone houses. I just find the
traditonal "integrity" window a bit twee. It's obvious what the house
is made one for anyone who is interested so I just wonder why would
anyone would bother with the window. It spoils a good internal wall
for putting anything else in that position and potentially gives
access for vermin. Darn silly idea in my opinion.