Hay bales, strawbales

[Fukudairafarm]

I was thinking that some spoiled hay might make some rather nice charcoal to add to my garden, and be a lot easier to grind/pulverize than the bamboo charcoal I made recently. But are haybales too big? I mean the rectangular kind that an average guy can lift and move around, not a big round one. Also, I wonder if an old oil drum kiln would be able to hold a whole bale... (I don't have a bale handy at the moment to try)

 

Well, I thought if anyone might have an answer or idea, it would be you guys.

[Michaelangelica]

I don't think I would bother

 

Just use it as mulch.

 

Even TP needs S.O..M.

 

Have you seen the concept of "No-dig" gardens using straw?

[Rev]

All these make a wonderful char

 

try it. collect up all sorts of things from around the yard, down the street - everywhere

and put a match to them!

 

youll see some burn fast and hot and turn to ash, others seem to turn straight to char! with little loss

 

The very best types so far ive found ar all non wood based but rather grass based

 

Lawn clippings, dried

Spoilt hay (Rhodes grass)

Barley straw

Bamboo leaf

Bamboo stems

bagasse

 

they all burn well and yiled a decent amount of an easily milled char, you can crush it between the fingers unlike many wood charcoals

 

other good ones are

 

Cassava stems

most garden prinunings from herbs and shrubs

Cow manure (old leached dry Cow Pats from the field)

 

One straw that ive found poor charring tendency in is pea straw

which is fine because it makes such great mulch

 

Re hay vs straw

 

around here hay is of feed value to livestock and is full of seed, whereas straw is the seedless harvest residue.

I would not mulch my garden with hay. the weed seed load would haunt me for years.

straw is less weedy but also has a higher C:N ratio. i like to char it ligtly and then mulch with it

i also think no dig is over rated. I use a little mulch to shade the earth from the hot sun but otherwise i find crop plants prefer to grow in soil , as they have evolved to.