You can use that straw as mulch or you can compost it, or add it to a Lasagna bed. People that advise against adding straw to compost piles have no idea, because straw can be a good source of carbon.
Straw is a good source of organic matter.

"People that advise against adding straw to compost piles have no idea..."

Can you provide a link to a thread to show an example of such a person on this forum?

Lloyd

I think the link below is a spot where straw might be getting a raw deal. No one is advising against straw per se, but the mention that it breaks down slowly is a problem for some.

For me, I bought a bale of straw (hard to find in the suburbs here, without Halloween decorations being the main reason) for the wife to use as part of our Halloween decorations. She thinks I bought it for her! lol I actually bought for my garden, come the spring! I find that it is hard to have enough browns to keep up with all the greens. So, my little straw bale will be used throughout the spring/summer as a composting amendment to balance out all the greens. It might also become one of the bedding options for an in ground (partially) outdoor worm bin. (You know come to think of it, the decorations would probably look better with a 2nd bale! I might have to pick up another one "for the wife" this weekend!

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to straw discussion

I use straw in my compost bin all the time. I keep a bale of straw next to my bin. Whenever I add kitchen scraps to the pile, I cover them with a couple handfuls of straw.

That is my plan as well. Plus, I want to add a few to my grass clipping when the spring comes to.

" No one is advising against straw per se...

According to kimm there is. I'm sure he has a link.

I use many many bales of wheat straw in composting. I also use finely shredded straw for the composting toilet at the shop. I don't get a lot of sawdust so I use the straw, works just fine.

Lloyd

Does anyone have a link for a "lasagna garden"? [:-) Sounds like something I may already be doing, but without using the name. [:-)

Thanks all. I'd been reading threads where people were saying straw didn't break down quickly enough in compost bins to be useful. I think I'll put it next to my compost bin to use as a brown with kitchen scraps over the winter.

personally I save it for mulching my vegetable garden in the spring.
I save all the bales I can find from Halloween displays whether straw or hay for this purpose.
Works for me.

I use straw as a mulch and as a brown in my compost bins. Works great for me.

Greg
Southern Nevada

This is for pheobe. An article about Lasagna Gardening written by Pat Lanza.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lasagna Gardening 101

Hi Dotty,

This is my experience with many bales of straw.

1) If anyone tells you there are no seeds in a bale of straw as opposed to a bale of hay, don't believe them. There may be less, but they are still there.

2) I left several bales of 'straw' to rot for a couple of years and then used them in the gardens as mulch. Nice stuff when you place it down, but I am weeding out one garden I created just a few weeks ago from this stuff. ugh!!

3) Other bales were used in composting. Some were used for the walls of a compost next to another existing compost pile and that worked great. Then I started to use the straw as a brown in a new pile when I ran out of leaves. I am now using this compost to amend the gardens and see no weeds from seeds which must have been killed by the heat of the compost.

The walls of one of my compost bins is falling apart and I plan on collecting bales rejected by people after Halloween to create another composting area for this winter. I'll use them for browns next summer.

Waving at you from Nova Scotia. :O)

(Speaking of Nova Scotia, this thread title keeps making me think of the song What do we do with the drunken sailor?)

Umm.... Are you reminiscing Annpat? Perhaps at one time you spent a few lovely days in N.S. and had a great time??? :O)

Well, yes, I have spent a few lovely days in N.S., but I didn't do any sailing while there.
(It's a Newfie song really. A seafaring song.)

Some of the finest yellow jonquils I've seen were the result of a neglected bale of straw. I had planted some jonquils [When you put out bulbs in the soil are you ''planting''?] and then I got an extra bale of straw and set it over the jonquils thinking I would do something with it. But I forgot the bale of straw. Next spring giant beautiful yellow jonquils came up through the bale of straw. They were bigger than the same jonquils that came up around the bale of straw.

Drunken Sailor - Irish Rovers

Claire

Good song for a Sunday afternoon.

Claire