# Straw as garden mulch



## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

I wanted to try a mulch to help prevent blight on my tomato plants this year. I found a discarded bale of straw and spread it over an area of the garden.

Now I'm thinking... should I really do this?

Do any of you have knowledge of whether residual herbicides would be on the straw that would damage or kill my plants?

I had used some to cover grass seed this spring and it seems to be growing fine but the garden will have more mulch and I suspect tomatoes would be more sensitive to herbicides.

What do you guys think?


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Any residual shouldn't be much if any.
Only too much depth/lack of air when wet causing mold and heat would be my concern.
Tomatoes are weeds anyways. l.o.l..
If you have old charcoal ashes or hardwood ash , feed them some lightly.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Waif said:


> Any residual shouldn't be much if any.
> Only too much depth/lack of air when wet causing mold and heat would be my concern.
> Tomatoes are weeds anyways. l.o.l..
> If you have old charcoal ashes or hardwood ash , feed them some lightly.


I just watched a YouTube video on MIgardener. He suggested the persistent herbicides are banned in the region due to the great lakes. Not sure how true or where this straw really originated.

I suppose the worst that could happen is I have zero tomatoes this year and have to replace the soil next year. Would kind of suck though.


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## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

sureshot006 said:


> I just watched a YouTube video on MIgardener. He suggested the persistent herbicides are banned in the region due to the great lakes. Not sure how true or where this straw really originated.
> 
> I suppose the worst that could happen is I have zero tomatoes this year and have to replace the soil next year. Would kind of suck though.


Or some that taste like moldy straw. Last year we grew some tomatoes in a straw bale. They grew very good and had lots on them. No harm from the straw that I could see. I like to use pine wood shaving around ours


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Scout 2 said:


> Or some that taste like moldy straw. Last year we grew some tomatoes in a straw bale. They grew very good and had lots on them. No harm from the straw that I could see. I like to use pine wood shaving around ours


No mold (yet) that I can tell. I really didn't put much down and expect it to flatten out.

Google says this herbicide thing is a real issue sometimes, depending on the source. It can continue to damage your plants for years. I suspect though that what I used is most likely fine... I just can't confirm! Hoping someone here may have experience with it.

I thought about trying to grow in a straw bale. Did you get any diseases in those tomato plants? I struggle with late blight EVERY year.


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## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

sureshot006 said:


> No mold (yet) that I can tell. I really didn't put much down and expect it to flatten out.
> 
> Google says this herbicide thing is a real issue sometimes, depending on the source. It can continue to damage your plants for years. I suspect though that what I used is most likely fine... I just can't confirm! Hoping someone here may have experience with it.
> 
> I thought about trying to grow in a straw bale. Did you get any diseases in those tomato plants? I struggle with late blight EVERY year.


No disease in any of them. One thing I noticed after season was the center of the bale was smelling like mildew. It was said you could use the same bale for a couple of years but I would not .


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## Smallie12 (Oct 21, 2010)

Best mulch imo is leaves from the previous year off your own trees so you know exactly what it is and where it came from. I used to run a compost pile with 75% leaves and then whatever grass (25%) you get at that time of year which isn't much as it sort of stops growing through the heat of the late summer and then cooler nights of the fall. Obviously that depends on how many trees and what types you have in your yard if any. I just happen to have a few big silver maples that provide enough leaves and then some for a decent sized garden. So I use those for mulch as they are chopped up and starting to break down pretty good by the next season. By doing this I keep the weeds down, moisture in, and add all sorts of nutrients when it gets tilled in. What I did different this year was to put up a wire fence around the garden and just put the leaves in there last fall to till them directly in this year (the majority) and the rest to mulch with when planting. This saved me a lot of extra work of having to move the leaves a couple different times. We are downsizing our garden this year though but for the last decade our tomatoes have been outrageous, often 5-6' tall, bushy, and very productive no matter what type we plant. Only time I've ever had a mold issue was under the green beans a couple years ago when we had a ton of rain and they were so thick that I should have thinned them out and those were pretty much the only thing not mulched and I only got a harvest or two before I had to just rip them out and call it good. Another thing I've used the leaves for in the fall is to leave carrots right in the ground over the winter. I covered with a couple feet of leaves and then a tarp and pulled super sweet healthy carrots all winter long until some ground moles found the last 1/3 of them and decimated what we had left the little bass turds. A couple found the end of my shovel and are no longer with us. What helps our garden too is watering it with pond water when we lack rain. Unless you have a well, most city water will dry out the plants and add all sorts of unwanted things too. The more natural the better imo. Good luck.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

sureshot006 said:


> I wanted to try a mulch to help prevent blight on my tomato plants this year. I found a discarded bale of straw and spread it over an area of the garden.
> 
> Now I'm thinking... should I really do this?
> 
> ...


If you want weeds do it if you don’t want weeds use woodchips


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Gamekeeper said:


> If you want weeds do it if you don’t want weeds use woodchips


I have used woodchips before. Worked, I guess. But didn't like having a crapload of woodchips in there for years after.

I usually use preen after the plants are established to prevent new weeds.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

sureshot006 said:


> I have used woodchips before. Worked, I guess. But didn't like having a crapload of woodchips in there for years after.
> 
> I usually use preen after the plants are established to prevent new weeds.


Straw is absolutely the worst for bringing weed seeds into your garden


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Gamekeeper said:


> Straw is absolutely the worst for bringing weed seeds into your garden


I believe it. Thing is if I didn't use preen or weed all the time I'd have a carpet of weeds anyway.


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## textox (Jan 30, 2020)

Straw does not introduce weeds to your garden, HAY does .Straw usually is the stem from Wheat.You may have some Wheat seeds germinate.Bagged chopped straw is excellent for mulch as it breaks down sooner.My wife, a most accomplished gardener has used it and wood chips for over 30 years along with Grass clippings , kitchen vegetable waste and leaves that are turned in to rich pure black soil that she gets from a three chamber compost bin,as well as Cow manure every 3 years..


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## fisheater (Nov 14, 2010)

I used straw for years never a problem. An old girlfriend’s uncle swore by hay. He said if you run it through a cow or horse, all you do is loose nutrients.

I would till it in in November. I would plant, let plants get established, put in 3”-4” of straw, never weed again. Girlfriend’s uncle said I was only getting half the benefits.


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## jr28schalm (Mar 16, 2006)

I'd be more worried about preen..lol


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

jr28schalm said:


> I'd be more worried about preen..lol


Why? It doesn't kill anything established.


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## jr28schalm (Mar 16, 2006)

sureshot006 said:


> Why? It doesn't kill anything established.


Well that sounds organic


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

jr28schalm said:


> Well that sounds organic


Honestly dont care about organic. It's more of a hobby than worrying about what cross breeds or herbicide was used.


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## jr28schalm (Mar 16, 2006)

sureshot006 said:


> Honestly dont care about organic. It's more of a hobby than worrying about what cross breeds or herbicide was used.


I just worry about adding chemicals to my kids veggies that's all. Grow how you want


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

jr28schalm said:


> I just worry about adding chemicals to my kids veggies that's all. Grow how you want


He won't eat veggies so we're good lol


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

I never used a herbicide in my vegetable garden. A hoop hoe after work took care of any unwanted green invaders. It was an easy way to unwind from the ride home. Compost and occasional lime were the only additives aside from spring burn of yard waste for added potassium.


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