I am going in about 30 mins to the poultry supplier for some grub for the gang and some other straw for their bed.

Here is my question. What is better for mulching in the garden and way???

Regular straw or pea straw………I am going to buy 1 a fortnight and this pay we’re buying 2…then each pay week it’ll be 1 or the other depending on your thoughts and advice.

Lucky1 said:

I am going in about 30 mins to the poultry supplier for some grub for the gang and some other straw for their bed.

Here is my question. What is better for mulching in the garden and way???

Regular straw or pea straw………I am going to buy 1 a fortnight and this pay we’re buying 2…then each pay week it’ll be 1 or the other depending on your thoughts and advice.

why???? not way….sigh

>Regular straw or pea straw…..

I’m no expert but isn’t pea straw chosen for the nitrogen advantages?

If you have chooks pooing innit that mightn’t be needed.

CollieWA said:

>Regular straw or pea straw…..

I’m no expert but isn’t pea straw chosen for the nitrogen advantages?

If you have chooks pooing innit that mightn’t be needed.

This is my understanding too Collie. I’m thinking price wise….. if they are both about the same in the garden and straw is cheaper…I’d stay with straw.

>This is my understanding too Collie. I’m thinking price wise….. if they are both about the same in the garden and straw is cheaper…I’d stay with straw.

Remember there’s straw and there’s straw.. Different types.

Someone might be able to advise the one least likely to bring weeds into the garden…

CollieWA said:

>This is my understanding too Collie. I’m thinking price wise….. if they are both about the same in the garden and straw is cheaper…I’d stay with straw.

Remember there’s straw and there’s straw.. Different types.

Someone might be able to advise the one least likely to bring weeds into the garden…

Thanks for your help and thoughts… almost ready to go and buy it all. Shop shuts early here in Luckyland:(

So I’ll see if they (bales) are compacted enough for the boot and I’ll get 1 of each.

Lucky1 said:

What is better for mulching in the garden and way???

Regular straw or pea straw………I am going to buy 1 a fortnight and this pay we’re buying 2…then each pay week it’ll be 1 or the other depending on your thoughts and advice.

barley straw is the best.
pea straw, wheat straw and lucerne are all to stringy and tend to go mouldy.
barley straw fights mites, stays loose and dry and chaffs up well when scratched. they call barley ‘bedding straw’ around here.

pepe said:

barley straw fights mites, stays loose and dry and chaffs up well when scratched. they call barley ‘bedding straw’ around here.

think I’ll get that for the chooks next time around. great hint there pepe :)

pepe said:

Lucky1 said:

What is better for mulching in the garden and way???

Regular straw or pea straw………I am going to buy 1 a fortnight and this pay we’re buying 2…then each pay week it’ll be 1 or the other depending on your thoughts and advice.

barley straw is the best.
pea straw, wheat straw and lucerne are all to stringy and tend to go mouldy.
barley straw fights mites, stays loose and dry and chaffs up well when scratched. they call barley ‘bedding straw’ around here.

Thanks Pepe. How easy is barley straw to source around our area??

I paid $7.95 for each bale……thank goodness for egg $$$$.

This arvo… later about 4 pm I am going out to start to use it.

I have 1 passion fruit plant and 1 pepino plant to transplant out. So they’ll need mulching.

The area where the corn didn’t germinate…. that can be mulched too. That’ll go well with chicken crap underneath it and ready for autumn crops down the road.

Lemon tree can have a feed of chicken crap too and a mulch.

hanks Pepe. How easy is barley straw to source around our area?? I paid $7.95 for each bale……thank goodness for egg $$$$.

————————————————————-
i get it for $2.50 – $3 per bale from a farmer at roseworthy. i have two in storage if you want them. i change the deep litter every two months…..and can get 15 bales per trailer load – so no probs getting you some.
i get old wet peastraw for the same price and that is better on the garden direct.

pepe said:

hanks Pepe. How easy is barley straw to source around our area?? I paid $7.95 for each bale……thank goodness for egg $$$$.

————————————————————-
i get it for $2.50 – $3 per bale from a farmer at roseworthy. i have two in storage if you want them. i change the deep litter every two months…..and can get 15 bales per trailer load – so no probs getting you some.
i get old wet peastraw for the same price and that is better on the garden direct.

Oh sweet:)

Yes very interested:)

If they bales are tightly packed we can get 2 in our boot, other wise its 1 bale at a time.

I’m all for it. Just need to work out time and such.

If they bales are tightly packed we can get 2 in our boot, other wise its 1 bale at a time.
—————————
the barley straw are excellent bales – big and tightly packed and dry. so two is more than enuff for chooks, buns, ducks and pigs – all your henhouses.
the old pea straw bales are looser and more degenerate but it doesn’t suck the nitrogen from the soil. i always water the mulch after spreading it. stops it blowing away and starts decomposition.

pepe said:

If they bales are tightly packed we can get 2 in our boot, other wise its 1 bale at a time.
—————————
the barley straw are excellent bales – big and tightly packed and dry. so two is more than enuff for chooks, buns, ducks and pigs – all your henhouses.
the old pea straw bales are looser and more degenerate but it doesn’t suck the nitrogen from the soil. i always water the mulch after spreading it. stops it blowing away and starts decomposition.

Sold:D

I’ll have to work out a time to come and visit you later next week.

Sold:D

I’ll have to work out a time to come and visit you later next week.
————
thursday, friday are good.

pepe said:

Sold:D

I’ll have to work out a time to come and visit you later next week.
————
thursday, friday are good.

Yep good for us too. I shall check with the boss and see what he has to say……. I’ll bring that worm wee too.

Okay. Either day is good, so let me check the weather tomorrow night and I’ll let you know what day is good:)

just a bit more for you to think of re mulch. We went and bought a bale of sugarcane mulch (compressed)
and it covered our raised bed (2mX1m) about 100mm thick then put 2 bags of sheep poop and lawn clipping over that. It keeps nice and moist even in 40C+ temps so with the shadecloth we are putting on this arvo it should be really good.

drylander1 said:

just a bit more for you to think of re mulch. We went and bought a bale of sugarcane mulch (compressed)
and it covered our raised bed (2mX1m) about 100mm thick then put 2 bags of sheep poop and lawn clipping over that. It keeps nice and moist even in 40C+ temps so with the shadecloth we are putting on this arvo it should be really good.

Sounds good DL…… is this out at the block in around the house???

Lucky1 said:

drylander1 said:

just a bit more for you to think of re mulch. We went and bought a bale of sugarcane mulch (compressed)
and it covered our raised bed (2mX1m) about 100mm thick then put 2 bags of sheep poop and lawn clipping over that. It keeps nice and moist even in 40C+ temps so with the shadecloth we are putting on this arvo it should be really good.

Sounds good DL…… is this out at the block in around the house???

at the house the bed is the 1 you saw when here last. The cane mulch is chopped so it is easy to spread too

mmmmm the system is slow today as well……………. be back shortly coffee drank another 10 mins in the garden :)

I’ve used both pea straw, reg straw and sugar cane mulch. My vote goes to the sugar cane mulch. no weeds and I sprinkle B&B on it after spreading. and I use it for chook nest bedding.

drylander1 said:

Lucky1 said:

drylander1 said:

just a bit more for you to think of re mulch. We went and bought a bale of sugarcane mulch (compressed)
and it covered our raised bed (2mX1m) about 100mm thick then put 2 bags of sheep poop and lawn clipping over that. It keeps nice and moist even in 40C+ temps so with the shadecloth we are putting on this arvo it should be really good.

Sounds good DL…… is this out at the block in around the house???

at the house the bed is the 1 you saw when here last. The cane mulch is chopped so it is easy to spread too

Oh cool…… Hope Toby had a ball watching all the comings and goings:)

pepe said:

Lucky1 said:

What is better for mulching in the garden and way???

Regular straw or pea straw………I am going to buy 1 a fortnight and this pay we’re buying 2…then each pay week it’ll be 1 or the other depending on your thoughts and advice.

barley straw is the best.
pea straw, wheat straw and lucerne are all to stringy and tend to go mouldy.
barley straw fights mites, stays loose and dry and chaffs up well when scratched. they call barley ‘bedding straw’ around here.

Barley straw go alright in my pens, You reckon it would work better then woodshavings Pepe?

Barley straw go alright in my pens, You reckon it would work better then woodshavings Pepe?
——————————
we grow a lot of barley in s.a. wood shavings are not so cheap. i tried sawdust once and it looked beautiful at first – then it started blowing around in the wind.
when you put the henhouse sweepings on your garden wood shavings would absorb more nitrogen than straw does to break down.
g’ay veg – you’re more the poultry expert than i am but if barley straw is cheap – give it a go.

drylander1 said:

just a bit more for you to think of re mulch. We went and bought a bale of sugarcane mulch (compressed)
and it covered our raised bed (2mX1m) about 100mm thick then put 2 bags of sheep poop and lawn clipping over that. It keeps nice and moist even in 40C+ temps so with the shadecloth we are putting on this arvo it should be really good.

We use the sugar cane mulch, but it is dearer than what Lucky and pepe are paying for theirs. I might have to try to source barley or pea straw from around here

pepe said:

Barley straw go alright in my pens, You reckon it would work better then woodshavings Pepe?
——————————
we grow a lot of barley in s.a. wood shavings are not so cheap. i tried sawdust once and it looked beautiful at first – then it started blowing around in the wind.
when you put the henhouse sweepings on your garden wood shavings would absorb more nitrogen than straw does to break down.
g’ay veg – you’re more the poultry expert than i am but if barley straw is cheap – give it a go.

Yeah, It does Blow around a fair bit, I’ll have a look into the price of Barley straw, Being in a area where we grow Hay more, it could be a bit more then the Hay or the shavings I get. I think I’m paying 14 for a Bale of shavings same size as a rectangle bale of hay.

Wow! a mulch thread I haven’t made a comment in.?

My main soil improver here is a product known as grape marc. Shunned at first by almost everybody, it became the cheapest and easiest for me to play with. Thus I became one of the largest users of it for the brief period it took to rebuild my soil from the degradations of clearing and cropping. I applied it from 100 to 200 mm thick depending on whether I was building vege beds or natives and.. on the lie of the land.. Of course it wasn’t the only thing I added but it was the initial soil blanket and moisturiser. Uteloads of manure don’t come anywhere near 100 tonne lots of grape marc. Sadly I was so successful, that others followed my lead. I now have to pay to get the stuff. At the time, all it cost was the transport and I got away with swapping a lot of trees for that.

The good part is that I really only need to top it up with whatever compost I can make.. The benefits of the initial applications of grape marc still exist more than 30 years later.
Other benefits of grape marc: It take a goodly while to compost and comes steaming hot.
Thus is an excellent weedicide.
The perfect mulch for many applications, I’ve even used it to kill kikuyu.
It holds water better than most other mulches, though it may look dry on the surface..
May veer exaggeratedly between extremes of Ph while composting is taking place but this all helps as it settles to neutral and balances the topsoil while deterring weed growth..
Creates a thick humus layer whilst still retaining the mulch on top effect.
Grows lush weeds around the edges and in thin spots which make great chook feed or compost.. or indeed.. veges ;)
Scrape it back a bit and plant veges or natives direct. Give it a couple of weeks of slowly raking the marc back to the plant in thin layers and Bob is definitely your uncle. Soil Ph may be a slight problem with some sensitive natives but it isn’t a problem for most. If those sensitive natives are treated with whatever is necessary they won’t need to be removed. Though it is always wise to stick to natives that do grow in your area, good mulching often helps grow those that normally wouldn’t.. Of course, all this only helps if you live in a wine producing region.

roughbarked said:

Wow! a mulch thread I haven’t made a comment in.?

My main soil improver here is a product known as grape marc. Shunned at first by almost everybody, it became the cheapest and easiest for me to play with. Thus I became one of the largest users of it for the brief period it took to rebuild my soil from the degradations of clearing and cropping. I applied it from 100 to 200 mm thick depending on whether I was building vege beds or natives and.. on the lie of the land.. Of course it wasn’t the only thing I added but it was the initial soil blanket and moisturiser. Uteloads of manure don’t come anywhere near 100 tonne lots of grape marc. Sadly I was so successful, that others followed my lead. I now have to pay to get the stuff. At the time, all it cost was the transport and I got away with swapping a lot of trees for that.

The good part is that I really only need to top it up with whatever compost I can make.. The benefits of the initial applications of grape marc still exist more than 30 years later.
Other benefits of grape marc: It take a goodly while to compost and comes steaming hot.
Thus is an excellent weedicide.
The perfect mulch for many applications, I’ve even used it to kill kikuyu.
It holds water better than most other mulches, though it may look dry on the surface..
May veer exaggeratedly between extremes of Ph while composting is taking place but this all helps as it settles to neutral and balances the topsoil while deterring weed growth..
Creates a thick humus layer whilst still retaining the mulch on top effect.
Grows lush weeds around the edges and in thin spots which make great chook feed or compost.. or indeed.. veges ;)
Scrape it back a bit and plant veges or natives direct. Give it a couple of weeks of slowly raking the marc back to the plant in thin layers and Bob is definitely your uncle. Soil Ph may be a slight problem with some sensitive natives but it isn’t a problem for most. If those sensitive natives are treated with whatever is necessary they won’t need to be removed. Though it is always wise to stick to natives that do grow in your area, good mulching often helps grow those that normally wouldn’t.. Of course, all this only helps if you live in a wine producing region.

I can’t see grape marc being procurable up here. There are a few wineries around but I imagine any of their left overs would be used up in no time.

There are a few wineries around but I imagine any of their left overs would be used up in no time.

>this may indeed surprise you.. if you actually made inquiries.

roughbarked said:

There are a few wineries around but I imagine any of their left overs would be used up in no time.

>this may indeed surprise you.. if you actually made inquiries.

OK. When I figure out how to approach this I’ll let you know.

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

There are a few wineries around but I imagine any of their left overs would be used up in no time.

>this may indeed surprise you.. if you actually made inquiries.

OK. When I figure out how to approach this I’ll let you know.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerhooton/4673415339/

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

roughbarked said:

There are a few wineries around but I imagine any of their left overs would be used up in no time.

>this may indeed surprise you.. if you actually made inquiries.

OK. When I figure out how to approach this I’ll let you know.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerhooton/4673415339/

…and they had no idea! How did it work out in the end?

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

pomolo said:

OK. When I figure out how to approach this I’ll let you know.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerhooton/4673415339/

…and they had no idea! How did it work out in the end?

They still have no idea.

grape marc is still classed as intractable

Lucky’s tip of the day……….

Always, ALWAYS check the lid on your TumbleWeed composter is secure before you start to tumble and turn it.

This will say you time putting the compost back into your tumble……..sigh

Lucky1 said:

Lucky’s tip of the day……….

Always, ALWAYS check the lid on your TumbleWeed composter is secure before you start to tumble and turn it.

This will say you time putting the compost back into your tumble……..sigh

Oh dear…sighs with Lucky1

Where did we get to with the chick pea straw as a mulch?

I’m willing to try it again, still have two bales of it but mostly twigs by now…

Lucky1 said:

Lucky’s tip of the day……….

Always, ALWAYS check the lid on your TumbleWeed composter is secure before you start to tumble and turn it.

This will say you time putting the compost back into your tumble……..sigh

Poor Lucky.

Lucky1 said:

Lucky’s tip of the day……….

Always, ALWAYS check the lid on your TumbleWeed composter is secure before you start to tumble and turn it.

This will say you time putting the compost back into your tumble……..sigh

Aww no :(

I’ve got a spider living in the handle (to open the lid) of my compost tumbler. Trying to think how to encourage him to move on without making him too angry!

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

Lucky’s tip of the day……….

Always, ALWAYS check the lid on your TumbleWeed composter is secure before you start to tumble and turn it.

This will say you time putting the compost back into your tumble……..sigh

Oh dear…sighs with Lucky1

Ducks were happy to help pick it up.:)

Dinetta said:

Where did we get to with the chick pea straw as a mulch?

I’m willing to try it again, still have two bales of it but mostly twigs by now…

I’ve got some pea straw here…..thank goodness some of its in the garden. Hot north wind here today.

pomolo said:

Lucky1 said:

Lucky’s tip of the day……….

Always, ALWAYS check the lid on your TumbleWeed composter is secure before you start to tumble and turn it.

This will say you time putting the compost back into your tumble……..sigh

Poor Lucky.

Naaa….she’s sweet:)

Bet I don’t do it a second time though….lol

bon008 said:

Lucky1 said:

Lucky’s tip of the day……….

Always, ALWAYS check the lid on your TumbleWeed composter is secure before you start to tumble and turn it.

This will say you time putting the compost back into your tumble……..sigh

Aww no :(

I’ve got a spider living in the handle (to open the lid) of my compost tumbler. Trying to think how to encourage him to move on without making him too angry!

Get him a wife and she’ll nag him into moving.

Get her a hubby and she’ll move home to mother.:P