Straw is cheaper, grass is for free.
In an old boy scout tradition, if someone stood up at camp and shouted "Hey!" to get our attention, we would shout back:
Straw is cheaper
Grass is for free
Horses and cows
Eat all three.
We sold our farm
We sold our cow
We have no use
For your bull now
Ahh those days of my youth!
We've been having a bit of difficulty finding straw this year. It is around but finding someone who can deliver it has been a challenge. So when on the Book of Face, a former schoolmate of mine advertised some rye straw in smaller square bale form, I jumped at the chance. Although near enough, they weren't keen on delivering it and in hind sight, I see why. It was bundled into 14 bale bundles and required a tractor with a special tool to load and would need the same to unload off their trailer. So I ended up deferring until I had access to a pickup that could pull the old trailer still on the farm and picked up a load of 112 bales, 8 bundles of 14. I did so earlier this week.
We actually still have a tractor on the farm with the proper attachment for unloading as it turned out, but the place I was planning on storing the bales wasn't accessible by tractor anyway and so I just cut the strings holding the bundles together and carried all 112 bales one at a time into the building where they will sit out of the weather until next spring when we plan on using them to mulch our garden. It took me an hour and a half of toiling to get it done but I was able to, all the while thinking about all the hay I bucked in my youth.
I've heard rye straw is better at preventing weeds from coming up so we'll have a go to see if that is true next year. The small square bales (which are only square in cross section), are definitely more expensive than the big round bales just due to the labor involved but there should be a labor savings on our end as I can get the straw closer to where it is needed, much easier than trying to peel layers off of big round bales. Is it worth the extra price? That remains to be seen for now.
Also, it remains to be seen how many we will need to mulch our garden next year which we have plans to cut the size in half. We've discussed that before and not done it so we'll see. I'm hoping 112 bales is enough for two years of half this year's garden. We'll see. But I made a contact and he plans on baling rye straw every year and still has something on the order of 10,000 square bales left in storage so if I run short, perhaps I can get some more.
You are a hybrid of rural and urban.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely heavier on the rural side.
DeleteThey grow a lot of pumpkins in this area and I'm told that they plant rye and then cut it down and plant pumpkins to keep the fruit off the dirt. As for grass and hay, few people here use square bails anymore. As it has everything in it, I'm not sure I would like it in my garden as mulch.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, we used to raise pumpkins and they all grew on dirt. Our garden pumpkins (much smaller scale) grow on straw. I still see a few pumpkins rot out on the straw. Straw may help prevent rot but I would guess it is a minute benefit. I think weather conditions and just how long ago the pumpkin matured are by far the biggest factors.
DeleteThe last straw we bought was wheat straw and unbeknownst to us, was full of seeds. After every rain for the last two years, we've had a good stand of wheat grow up in our garden on the mulch. While it is very easy to pull, it was still labor intensive to have to pull it a week after every rain. This time I am hoping by being more selective, by choosing straw that was first harvested by combine, that we can avoid that issue.
I was curious about how the mulching went. I just wandered off to read that the mulching also helps with early some blights, which was a problem for me this year. I'm going to give it a try next year I think. Thanks for the tip and the google wander. I've learned a lot.
ReplyDeleteI'm a believer in mulching. It definitely prevents weeds and allows more access to the garden when it is muddy underneath. It also helps build up the organic matter by tilling it in after the garden is out so that it decays over winter and provides nutrients.
DeleteSince tomato blight is caused by rain splashing the microbes in the dirt up onto the plants, mulching really helps with it. We've seen very little tomato blight when mulching. But it does harbor some insects and we have to be vigilante when it comes to squash beetles or they will destroy a crop really fast. Fortunately there is stuff on the market that kills the squash beetles easily and although it is a substance found naturally, it rubs my sense of growing stuff organically wrong.
That is great news Ed. The fact that you have made a contact for more is even better.
ReplyDeleteI just need to figure out what to do with the hauling it to the farm part as the days of having access to the necessary equipment might be short if not already over. The trailer I used was not in the best of shape anymore and I'm still reliant on borrowing a truck with the necessary horsepower to pull the trailer.
DeleteAs usual, I've learned something here. Never heard of rye straw. (We used to say "Hay is for horses" in response to the "Hey" greeting.)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't either. Until this, when someone said straw, I assumed oats or wheat were the sources.
DeleteWe use to take Bob's response a step further.... "Hay is for horses, grass is for a**es. Which one are you?"
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started reading this post, I couldn't figure out why you were buying hay. I was trying to remember if I'd missed something about acquiring livestock. We have a small square baler, but have found it's far more economical (and downright easier) to buy the big round bales. We know several folks who normally have plenty to sell, and they deliver!
Not yet anyway … and hopefully no plans to anytime soon.
DeleteSo country!
ReplyDeleteI’m okay with that label.
DeleteVery good idea to get it when you can find it. Even better that you now have a reliable source. No matter how much you use next year, it will keep well, protected from the weather. Round bales are definitely more economical!
DeleteI didn't know that about rye straw for weeds, so I'll be curious as to your assessment of this! I know my goats would probably eat rye straw happily instead of hay. :)
My understanding is that goats will eat anything!
DeleteMy older daughter is a huge fan of mulching; she got her late dad's farm roots. I have no clue! It sounds like a LOT of work to me! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a lot of work but is a lot less work than continually weeding all summer and fall.
DeleteAnd I love that chant!
ReplyDeleteI still remember after four decades so I must have loved it too.
DeleteHow awesome that you had a classmate with straw. Uuummm... that wouldn't happen in my neck of the woods. That's a cute Boy Scout rhyme. I'm not sure what you'd call it. So every time someone said, "Hey!" you'd all say that whole thing? Wow!
ReplyDeletePerhaps we would use palm fronds as mulch in your area.
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