We pay between $5-7 per bale in out area unless you have a farm close by. I'm lucky that I have a large farm next door Hay Bale gardening: no weeds, no fertilizers and less watering!! What a simple but amazing concept!! - Horse and Man
Hay bales can also be used to make cold frames.....for starting some produce earlier....or keep it going later in the Spring / Autumn seasons. Via: How, Why and When To Use Cold Frames In Your Garden - GrowJourney - Seeds of the Month Club Via: Create a Cold Frame for Your Garden Via: Straw Bale Cold Frame Via: How to get a Jump on Vegetable Gardening without Building a Greenhouse - My Gardening Network Straw Bale conditioning: Bales are Getting Hot. When Can I Plant? | Straw Bale Conditioning – Dan330
If there are any horse farms in your area, just call them up and ask if they have any moldy hay they want hauled off. I used to get it by the truckload for free. They can't feed it to the horses, and the longer it hangs around, the more it spreads. Great stuff for gardening.
I've used moldy hay as garden bedding as well as adding it to my compost. Works great. And, if you can get your hands on horse manure, its a great additive after proper composting. When I had horses, that, and pulverized egg shells, was the only thing I used as fertilizer.
I saw where people would just roll out the big rolls of hay and just plant in the hay , it also kept down the weeds , so no weeding. Looked like it worked especially well for potatoes.
One point on using horse manure, a lot of grass and weed seed gets through a horse's gut. Bovines, sheep, goats, any ruminant chews its cud (regurgitates partially masticated foodstuffs from its rumen) and crushes many of the seeds. Horse manure should be composted so the heat will kill any seeds.
