cherokeechicken
Chillin' In The Garden
i was thinking of using hay that was left in the hay barn.
what do you use for mulch in your garden?
- Thread starter cherokeechicken
- Start date
Hattie the Hen
Deeply Rooted
Whatever that's around & doesn't cost me anything!! 
Straw, grass cuttings -- I use them 'fresh' round plants like courgettes & tomatoes that could do with a bit more heat; If purely for mulching I spread it out for a bit to let it dry before using.
I use news paper too, mine & begged from my neighbours -- not pretty but in very hot summers.......!!.
On the top of pots I use pebbles --When I went to Malta years ago I saw this method used to conserve water; it's a very dry & rocky island. I find this particularly effective & attractive, choosing pebbles of particular colours to compliment both the plant & the pot. I used the stones from a wide pathway of pebbles that winds through my woodland garden which I made for the chickens & myself; these I bought in. Over the years I have let the stones spread into the beds because I preferred the un-manicured, natural look. I love my privacy & the garden was very exposed when I moved in & my neighbours were always visible. Now it produces a lot of fallen leaves etc so I use these as mulch too. The chickens love this to dust bath in.........
I also cover some of my raised beds with black plastic & plant through. I am going to try planting through mirror plastic this year for my aubergines ; this is an experiment to see if it scares off bugs & adds more heat & light to them. I love to try out new things.
Hope this helps. But I'm always on the look out for new ideas so.......!!
HAPPY MULCHING ; HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! :coolsun :coolsun :coolsun Its going to be very warm here !!!
:rose Hattie :rose
Ridgerunner
Garden Master
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Wheat straw, newspaper, year-old semi-rotted wood chips, dried grass trimmings in the garden.
Fresh wood chips over newspaper around trees.
Fresh wood chips in landscaping beds. (That's one source for year-old semi-rotten wood chips).
I get free wood chips from Fayetteville's solid waste disposal center. Many people get them from tree trimming services or utilities. People grinding them up sometimes appreciate a nearby place to dump them instead of hauling them across town.
If you use hay, I'd suggest spreading it out for a couple of weeks where it gets wet and gets some sunshine. Then rake it up and use it. This will sprout some seeds and thresh out a lot of others. I painfully learned this with my wheat straw. This is easier if you have a paved area to spread it on, but I just used bare ground.
Fresh wood chips over newspaper around trees.
Fresh wood chips in landscaping beds. (That's one source for year-old semi-rotten wood chips).
I get free wood chips from Fayetteville's solid waste disposal center. Many people get them from tree trimming services or utilities. People grinding them up sometimes appreciate a nearby place to dump them instead of hauling them across town.
If you use hay, I'd suggest spreading it out for a couple of weeks where it gets wet and gets some sunshine. Then rake it up and use it. This will sprout some seeds and thresh out a lot of others. I painfully learned this with my wheat straw. This is easier if you have a paved area to spread it on, but I just used bare ground.
vfem
Garden Addicted
I say go for it!!! Hay should work fine! 
I get the nice pretty paid for red mulched wood chips.... but when I had to wait to afford it I just kept dumping grass clippings on my plants to keep them moist. Long as it does its job it works!
(I'm trying to be considerate... we have a couple houses up for sale around us and I would like to help them sell as much as we can. Our house is kinda under construction.... so at least the yard looks nice and complete! LMAO
)
I get the nice pretty paid for red mulched wood chips.... but when I had to wait to afford it I just kept dumping grass clippings on my plants to keep them moist. Long as it does its job it works!
(I'm trying to be considerate... we have a couple houses up for sale around us and I would like to help them sell as much as we can. Our house is kinda under construction.... so at least the yard looks nice and complete! LMAO
)patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
Alfalfa hay is usually fine.
However, grass or mixed grass-and-alfalfa hay will turn your garden into a WEED FARM! (and most of the weeds will be grasses, too, some of which spread by runners and are generally a giant nuisance to get rid of)... unless the hay is really, really lousy rained-on moldy old hay, or was good hay once but has been sitting in the barn for several years. (Yes, in *theory* grass hay is cut before any seeds have formed, but meanwhile back in the real world, no.)
Freshly cut tall grass actually makes an ok mulch as long as it is cut (by you) before any flowers have formed -- when I mow my drainage ditches, if I am desperate for veg garden mulch I rake up what's been mowed and use that.
I've used old old hay, and moldy old hay, and composted old hay, all of which are fine (although only the composted version really looks nice, and it doesn't last long).
I've used storeboughten cedar bark mulch, the natural undyed kind, which lasts a good while and looks nice but of course costs money.
I've used half-finished compost, which just looks too messy for my tastes (tho if you own a chipper, yours might not). I've used dried leaves, in all combinations of shredded/whole and composted/old/new. I've had some problems where noncomposted maple leaves *seemed* to impair plant growth, tho I have no numerical proof, but shredded and/or composted leaves work well.
I've used pine straw, which works well on basically weed-free soil but is horrible to try to weed thru (ow ow ow ow ow).
I've even used large piles of small pinecones. Boy, lemme tell you, DO NOT DO THAT! Grass and other weeds get wound into all the now-composted-down skeletons of the pinecones and become absolutely ineradicable. Oy. One of the biggest garden mistakes I've made since we bought this house.
Right now, though, I am the happy owner of a very, very, very large pile of tree chippings (from when we had 2 large old poplars taken down last year, plus whatever was already in the tree guys' truck at the time). It heated up most amazingly when fresh, but I used the outer layers of the pile last year, and I am slowly working my way thru the now-slighlyt-composted bulk of the pile this year, and it is just GREAT! Three thumbs up
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
However, grass or mixed grass-and-alfalfa hay will turn your garden into a WEED FARM! (and most of the weeds will be grasses, too, some of which spread by runners and are generally a giant nuisance to get rid of)... unless the hay is really, really lousy rained-on moldy old hay, or was good hay once but has been sitting in the barn for several years. (Yes, in *theory* grass hay is cut before any seeds have formed, but meanwhile back in the real world, no.)
Freshly cut tall grass actually makes an ok mulch as long as it is cut (by you) before any flowers have formed -- when I mow my drainage ditches, if I am desperate for veg garden mulch I rake up what's been mowed and use that.
I've used old old hay, and moldy old hay, and composted old hay, all of which are fine (although only the composted version really looks nice, and it doesn't last long).
I've used storeboughten cedar bark mulch, the natural undyed kind, which lasts a good while and looks nice but of course costs money.
I've used half-finished compost, which just looks too messy for my tastes (tho if you own a chipper, yours might not). I've used dried leaves, in all combinations of shredded/whole and composted/old/new. I've had some problems where noncomposted maple leaves *seemed* to impair plant growth, tho I have no numerical proof, but shredded and/or composted leaves work well.
I've used pine straw, which works well on basically weed-free soil but is horrible to try to weed thru (ow ow ow ow ow).
I've even used large piles of small pinecones. Boy, lemme tell you, DO NOT DO THAT! Grass and other weeds get wound into all the now-composted-down skeletons of the pinecones and become absolutely ineradicable. Oy. One of the biggest garden mistakes I've made since we bought this house.
Right now, though, I am the happy owner of a very, very, very large pile of tree chippings (from when we had 2 large old poplars taken down last year, plus whatever was already in the tree guys' truck at the time). It heated up most amazingly when fresh, but I used the outer layers of the pile last year, and I am slowly working my way thru the now-slighlyt-composted bulk of the pile this year, and it is just GREAT! Three thumbs up
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Sylvie
Garden Ornament
I just brought home a car load of cardboard to mulch with.
I've read a number of positive posts about using cardboard and then throwing something over top, so I'm trying it.
I'm lining my herb garden paths with it and throwing cedar mulch on top. In the veg garden I'm placing it between rows and tossing weeds and grass clippings on top.
I have worm bins and they love cardboard so I figure it will attract worms to the garden, enriching the soil.
I hope to get most of it down before it rains today because wet cardboard will stay in place.
I've read a number of positive posts about using cardboard and then throwing something over top, so I'm trying it.
I'm lining my herb garden paths with it and throwing cedar mulch on top. In the veg garden I'm placing it between rows and tossing weeds and grass clippings on top.
I have worm bins and they love cardboard so I figure it will attract worms to the garden, enriching the soil.
I hope to get most of it down before it rains today because wet cardboard will stay in place.
chills
Garden Ornament
i use straw and leaves ive raked out from under my shrubs .. im scared to try grass clippings because i dont have 'real' lawn just lots and lots of green weeds..
aquarose
Garden Ornament
Now that I figured out my chipper shredder, I use shredded oak leaves. I also recently collected three garbage bags of pine needles. I mulched my tomato plants. I was worried about the prickles, but these are long and soft. They smell really good in the sun.
obsessed
Deeply Rooted
I use hay or leaves or newspaper. Free or cheap is the main idea. I have raised beds so I don't have to walk in my garden. I filled my beds with vining plants which made the nessesity of mulching none.
I think I will try to do more of that since I absolutely hate to weed. Inbetween the beds I have grass that I hit with the weed wacker. But now that the cukes have completely taken over I will let the grass be.
I think I will try to do more of that since I absolutely hate to weed. Inbetween the beds I have grass that I hit with the weed wacker. But now that the cukes have completely taken over I will let the grass be.
big brown horse
Garden Ornament
In the fall I use all of the leaves I can rake up. Then I use all of my horse's old hay. Then in the spring I use cut grass. I keep layering until it is very deep. I only have a weed or two that might sprout up in a thin area. I yank it and fiind more mulch to make that spot deeper. I use the weeds themselves too, sometimes I pinch off the roots first sometimes I don't. I look for people who want to get rid of their yard clippings and take them off their hands. If you keep your mulch layer deep enough nothing can sprout. I also tuck vegetable scraps and old cut flowers under the mulch.
