Can anyone steer me to where I can get a square bale of hay for my wife's garden? Google no help.

[WoodsCraft]

I’ve never seen a “square” bale of hay. I guess I should be more aware.

Its the only kind there was for many years . We didn't get a round baler till the earl 1980's . I remember getting paid .10 cents a bale to haul hay , when I got older and had a truck to haul hay with you'd get a quarter but that covered the fuel also .

 

[saddlebum]

Its the only kind there was for many years . We didn't get a round baler till the earl 1980's . I remember getting paid .10 cents a bale to haul hay , when I got older and had a truck to haul hay with you'd get a quarter but that covered the fuel also .

I think his point is they aren't square

 

[OKRuss]

Ask for a straw hay a.k.a. wheat straw bale at Atwoods. You don't want the compressed bale.

I thought with the compressed bale you were less likely to get weeds and such than a straw bale. Unless, it's been certified also. "Straw bales are approximately 18 cu. ft. expanded and Certified Noxious Weed Free."

Key word may be 'noxious'?

 

[WoodsCraft]

I think his point is they aren't square

A rectangle is just a square with a birth defect

 

[CHenry]

The fairgrounds horse barns is where dad always got a bale to use in the dog houses outback.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

I thought with the compressed bale you were less likely to get weeds and such than a straw bale. Unless, it's been certified also. "Straw bales are approximately 18 cu. ft. expanded and Certified Noxious Weed Free."

Key word may be 'noxious'?

Surely with it being a garden, it gets weeded/cultivated before weeds get out of control. Some people garden differently than myself.

I see straw bales used in gardens a few different ways:
1. Mulch. In my opinion the compressed bales don't fluff and have the coverage that non compressed bales do. The straw is smashed, possibly even crimped. It doesn't have the "insulation" quality that non compressed straw does. Either covers the ground but the non compressed bale just needs shaken out and spread out. The compressed will never fluff up the same. Some people garden differently than myself.
2. Planters. Some people plant directly into straw bales. From handling some compressed bales, I think the bale maybe to tight and restrictive for good root development. I know of succesful tomato plants in traditional straw bales. Some people garden differently than myself.

That said, I will change my response.

Hay bale is a pretty generic term. Bermuda grass is often baled for hay. Hay grazer is baled for hay. Peanut stalks is baled for hay. Alfalfa is baled for hay. Wheat is baled for hay.

In my opinion you want straw bales because it is generally cheaper then hay for feeding. In my opinion you will like the non compressed bales more than the compressed.

 

[OKRuss]

Surely with it being a garden, it gets weeded/cultivated before weeds get out of control. Some people garden differently than myself.

I see straw bales used in gardens a few different ways:
1. Mulch. In my opinion the compressed bales don't fluff and have the coverage that non compressed bales do. The straw is smashed, possibly even crimped. It doesn't have the "insulation" quality that non compressed straw does. Either covers the ground but the non compressed bale just needs shaken out and spread out. The compressed will never fluff up the same. Some people garden differently than myself.
2. Planters. Some people plant directly into straw bales. From handling some compressed bales, I think the bale maybe to tight and restrictive for good root development. I know of succesful tomato plants in traditional straw bales. Some people garden differently than myself.

That said, I will change my response.

Hay bale is a pretty generic term. Bermuda grass is often baled for hay. Hay grazer is baled for hay. Peanut stalks is baled for hay. Alfalfa is baled for hay. Wheat is baled for hay.

In my opinion you want straw bales because it is generally cheaper then hay for feeding. In my opinion you will like the non compressed bales more than the compressed.

Regardless of use, I was just referring to possibly adding weeds into your garden is all. If the compressed is just a regular bale squished down, then my point is moot.

 

[SoonerP226]

I thought with the compressed bale you were less likely to get weeds and such than a straw bale. Unless, it's been certified also. "Straw bales are approximately 18 cu. ft. expanded and Certified Noxious Weed Free."

Key word may be 'noxious'?

Noxious weeds are a legally-defined specific set of weeds that can get you fined if you have them. Nodding thistles are on the list, but, IIRC, there aren’t very many on the list with them. It took me years to eliminate those Godforsaken things from my hay field.

 

[SoonerP226]

I think his point is they aren't square

Whatever shape they are, in the trade, they’re called square bales or, more often these days, small squares (to distinguish them from large square bales, which are usually alfalfa and weigh the better part of a ton).

 

[SoonerP226]

Hay bale is a pretty generic term.

FWIW, generally speaking, hay is for feeding and straw is for bedding. I think hay usually includes more foliage and straw is mostly stalks, but I’ve never actually baled straw.