4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I have some wet straw bales I used as insulation around a septic. Can I use those bales as mulch around new trees? Some of the bales are moldy, some has winter rye growing out the tops.
Mulching trees with old wet straw bales
- Thread starter 4wanderingeyes
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I use it around fruit trees; slice off what I call straw "bricks" (6-8' thick slice) from straw bales that have been wet. It is an insulator and competition-eliminator placed above pea-gravel-covered-landscape fabric. Place this around newly planted fruit trees and you very likely wiil not have to worry about insufficient moisture if you have decent rainfall. Very little evaporation from the soil; yet, the tree seems to get plenty of air. Of course there is a 10-15-inch piece of 1/4 inch hardware cloth protecting the tree trunk. If I can find some photos, I'll post them.
Try it ...., you'll like it!
Try it ...., you'll like it!
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4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I searched it on the internet and most said no worries about the moldy wet straw, works great. I was hoping to hear from some of you guys, because I trust you guys for trees. Thank you for the responses! I have a couple dozen bales to get rid of, and I needed to mulch my trees, so that works out perfect.
chucker66
5 year old buck +
If you are doing any raised bed gardens, they work great to act as a sponge for your garden. Dig a 1 foot deep trench down the middle of your bed and then fill it with the straw and cover it up. Soak the straw and your garden will use very little water all summer. Check out MI Gardener for more info.
SD51555
5 year old buck +
I was Ruth Stout planting some potatoes on Saturday and dug into my rotted wood chip pile to finish it. I couldn’t believe the monster crawlers that were up in that pile.
I need to get another truck load of chips because the one I have is probably gonna get used up this summer, and I don’t wanna get caught needing to use fresh chips.
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