Any concerns that using baled straw might cause a problem if its been sprayed with herbicide?
I’ve never heard of it creating a problem and it is widely sold as mulch and used for tender annual plants quite frequently. I don’t use it because it is relatively expensive here.
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My only concern would be voles…
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I can’t give you the name but there is an herbicide used on some hayfields that is persistent and according to friends can kill when used as mulch.
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Maybe kill tomato seedlings. The usual recommendation is to test a mulch on some expendable tender young plants (dicots). It takes a lot of herbicide to saturate the soil enough to damage a tree.
Otherwise the traditional warning about straw is fire during droughts. At my own nursery right now a lit match during a dry period could lead to disaster.
I’ve used any old mulch hay in my vegetable garden for decades and never lost seedlings from it.
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Here’s something on the subject from Virginia Tech:
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There is no reference of damage to mulched trees- seems young vegetable plants are the main issue. At least you can test the mulch by applying it this way.
In my business I’m in frequent communication with landscape contractors and the only problem in the years I’ve been in business has been when broadleaf weed killers are applied near trees in highly volatile conditions. I believe an herbicide had to be taken off the market a few years ago because it caused so much damage, some of which I witnessed.
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Desiccants are sometimes used on wheat to ensure the ripening time https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/grain-of-truth/. Many rumors exist about herbicides and wheat harvest with some being true and most not true http://kswheat.com/the-truth-about-roundup-and-wheat-support-material. This is the claim being made Real Reason Wheat is Toxic (it's not gluten) | Healthy Home Economist. I grew grains for many years and never used roundup on wheat because wheat choked the weeds out on its own. The truth is unless your a big wheat farmer there is not enough money in wheat to dowse it with glysophate at any time. The profit margin is slimmer with wheat than any other grain crop in my experience. Sometimes rye is used as a winter cover crop Terminating a Cereal Rye Cover Crop – Things to Consider | CropWatch | University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Rye has reportedly had some allelopathic effect on corn but some claims have been debunked Cereal Rye Cover Crops, Allelopathy and Corn | Integrated Crop Management. There is little known in the area of using straw around fruit trees but my thoughts are unless it was very new straw I wouldn’t hesitate but I would much rather use wood chips. There has been much research on straw decomposition Allelopathic activity of decomposing straw of wheat and oat and associated soil on some crop species - ScienceDirect. As I said I used wheat without herbicide years ago Allelopathic Effects of Wheat and Rye Straw on Some Weeds and Crops - SciAlert Responsive Version. Almost any decomposing material can have consequences https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0304423883901516. Organic mulches are used and recommended by many for fruit trees https://ag.umass.edu/sites/ag.umass.edu/files/fact-sheets/pdf/mulching_fruit.pdf
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Im not familiar with herbicides and things i read seemed to suggest most are active against broadleaf weeds but im just clueless about whats out there.
For my size lot straw is cheap to use. I just dont want to mess up any soil. The bale i used before the idea hit me i let sit for a year. I never had any problems i could see using it before and i kinda wish i didnt even acknowledge the thought lol
We have endless fallen branch supplies but i need to get a chipper. Even used ones are expensive
I hsvent seen any voles - thankfully. Lots of barn cats around here. I know there are mice but they have major condos in my barn and hay barn so sheltering under trees would be a downgrade lol
But yes, something to watch
Ty Hambone
Wow. Thanks Clark. Going to read all this. Appreciate it muchly
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Re: snopes. The glyphosate and celiac/sensitity stuff is indeed sonething i have no belief in. Gluten issues are due to well identified genetics. So i think the snopes article in particular is true debunking.
My hub wants to just chip up some of our many piles of branches. Will have to rent a chipper tho bc i dont have one yet. Why i was thinking of using the straw lol, bc of that reason
Still reading the rest of the material. Ty for the time u spent collecting it
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Friends just clarified that it was wheat straw from a local conventional farmer that killed everything they mulched with it (did not put it on fruit trees).
Yeah. Thats what i was seeing online, its effect on small crops, as Alan said. broad leafs i bet n berries. Its what got me worried about my trees. Not that i ever had a problem before but, yr mind goes there.
OTOH i have never used hay or straw on small crops. Pine bark n needles and old leaves only. So i have no comparison there to make (luckily). Now i will shy away from ever making that straw experiment just in case
Im going to pick ul some bales from a local known organic guy. Then i feel better bc i really like using the straw method. Best of both worlds.
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For vegetables I use moldy hay, which may give any herbicides time to break down, but the stuff is not grown for horse feed anyway, which is more expensive to produce and costlier, so I doubt they worry much about broad leaf weeds in fields used to produce mulch. The stuff is widely available here because building contractors use it as whole bales to prevent erosion. I find that seeds sprout and die or rot if the bales have been wet a few weeks. Much cheaper than straw and no viable seeds by the time I use it.
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Ty Alan.