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How far does a bale of hay go?
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Posted by
darknova WI 3 (
My Page) on
Thu, Jul 7, 11 at 15:33
| I'm looking at converting my beds to lasagna gardening, and I'm interested in using hay as a top layer of mulch. In order to know how many bales to buy I'm wondering if anyone has a rough rule of thumb about how far a bale of hay spreads? I'm talking about the small bales, I think they average about 50 pounds? Like if I want 6" of hay as a mulch, how many square feet would one bale cover? Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: How far does a bale of hay go?
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- Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Thu, Jul 7, 11 at 16:40
| My small baler does a 14 by 18 by 36 inch bale. So you would get about 10.5 square feet coverage at six inches deep. Lloyd |
RE: How far does a bale of hay go?
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| what Lloyd said... you might get a few more weeds coming up from hay compared to straw - if you have a choice between the two perhaps consider straw. But both are excellent mulch!! |
RE: How far does a bale of hay go?
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| Lloyd, doesn't a baler compress the hay together quite a bit? If I separate the bale of hay and lay it down on top of the garden, wouldn't it be quite a bit looser and therefore occupy more volume? Thanks. |
RE: How far does a bale of hay go?
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- Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Thu, Jul 7, 11 at 18:18
| Yes the baler compresses the material but it seldom 'springs' back much once the twine is cut. Having said that, as a general rule, a fresh bale will spring back more than an older one will. I was going with a 36 inch bale divided into 6 inch sections for your depth. Now if you intend to 'fluff it up' as you spread, then absolutely, coverage will be greater, but the effectiveness as a mulch will likely decrease. Lloyd |
RE: How far does a bale of hay go?
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| Lloyd estimate seems right on from what I have seen they don't go near as far as you imagine |
RE: How far does a bale of hay go?
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| darknova - you will be separating "flakes" from the bale, and they tend to stay the same size as before. Just split off 4-6 inch slabs of the bale and lay it down like tiles. |
RE: How far does a bale of hay go?
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| How far a bale of hay, or straw, will go depends on how much you fluff it. A balke of straw, well fluffed and layed down about 6 inches thick, covered about 21 square feet in the community garden last week. |
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