Straw for garden mulch

37 chief · Jan 6, 2010

Will barley straw help the ground in my garden area if I spread it, and after a few rains disc it in? Stan

RayP(MI) · Jan 6, 2010

Yeah.

pat sublett · Jan 6, 2010

Yes, anything organic. Only problem, either give it some time or add some nitrogen. The decompisition process will burn up nitrogen

rustred · Jan 6, 2010

get some rotted cow manure and spread it on and work it in.good organic fertilizer.

Brian Love · Jan 6, 2010

i figure anything that grew before will help other stuff grow once it starts breaking down

JayinNY · Jan 6, 2010

Yes, and you shouldent get any weed seeds from the straw.

gmccool · Jan 6, 2010

Yes it will work good. So will grass clippings. Gerald

old · Jan 6, 2010

Yes and if you can run it through a hammer mill or other thing to chop it up real fine your even better off. I have been using grass clipping form my lawn hay and manure for decades and most years my garden does real well as long as it has not been to wet like it has the last few years

da-bees · Jan 6, 2010

+2 on what Pat said about tieing up nitrogen. I mulch with straw and grass clippings to conserve moisture and keep soil cooler. Lieing on the surface starts decomposition which is completed between when crop residue is turned under and next planting season. If soil improvement is expected to be measurable,composting large amounts of materail is required because a bale of straw will yeild less than one bucket of rotted materail. I would add that planting legumes of any kind has best results for me when weighed against return on labor.

ChrisinMO · Jan 7, 2010

I sometimes mulch our bush green beans with grass clippings. It works great when it is dry. But if we are in a wet cycle, the grass clippings have made the lower part of the pods start to rot.

Christopher

El Toro · Jan 7, 2010

I run this old Toro GrassKing over the straw to chew it up. I used it on my pole lima bean vines too. I use shredded paper & grass clippings for mulch to keep the weeds down. Then plow everything down in the Fall. Hal

Straw for garden mulch

37 chief

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RayP(MI)

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pat sublett

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rustred

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Brian Love

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JayinNY

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gmccool

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old

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da-bees

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ChrisinMO

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El Toro

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