picked up some 25 year old bales of hay for free today....they are from an old barn set to be demolished they stink of animal urine and feces....apparently raccoons have have been living there for long time....will this be ok for mulch in vegetable garden?
In a word...Gold.
Protect your lungs when handling, otherwise great find.
Excellent for the garden, watch out for vermin in the bales. In these parts old hay bales are a home for snakes.
David
Hay no matter what age makes terrible mulch, you'll end up with a garden weedier than you can ever imagine... even 25 years old most of the seeds contained therein will germinate... and once hay becomes established it is the most awful thing to remove. And hay grows fast, on a hot day it will grow more than six inches. I have a four acre field that was once hayed but I mow it trying to get it to contain more lawn grass than hay... I can actually see it grow while I mow. And plowing it under will only make it grow better. Hay is strong, its roots are like manila rope. If you take that hay put it to compost but do NOT use it for mulch.
After 25 years with mice and rats and whatever, I doubt there are many seeds left. Wear a mask and spread a trial amount and keep an eye out for seed heads.
Great find - how ever did you get it home
Suggest before contemplating handling these bales - much less spreading on your vegetable garden - you check out
NT
Yet another good reason not to take those old bales.
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