I just got home from taking a load of things over to the Salvation Army. I rewarded myself for paring down some items by taking a swing through our old neighborhood and scouring the parkways because, you guessed it - it's bulk trash pickup week! And wouldn't you know it, I feel like I hit the lottery! After only one street I came across these -
No, not the plastic! What is
under the plastic! Are you ready for the big reveal???
Discarded Halloween decorations! Three wonderful, huge bales of hay/straw (I naively have no idea of the difference). I couldn't be happier! Great for the garden beds and the coop, these puppies cost between $10-$15 per bale at the local Feed Store. Needless to say I am quite pleased with the find. These will easily last us through the winter. -Carrie
No, not the plastic! What is under the plastic! Are you ready for the big reveal???
Discarded Halloween decorations! Three wonderful, huge bales of hay/straw (I naively have no idea of the difference). I couldn't be happier! Great for the garden beds and the coop, these puppies cost between $10-$15 per bale at the local Feed Store. Needless to say I am quite pleased with the find. These will easily last us through the winter. -Carrie
I can help you on the hay/straw question--hay has seeds in it and straw does not. My husband shared this with me recently so I was naive as well ;-)
ReplyDeleteExcellent score!!
Karen's right straw is from cereal plants with the seeds removed and hay is grasses, legumes and such. From the looks of it sprouting there are some seeds left. The chickens will certainly enjoy them. In the winter we put down hay/straw outside the coop for the chickens to scratch in.
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed at the price of bales at markets. In my area they cost less then $2.75 straight off the field and $4.00 later in the season delivered... It gives you an idea of the crazy mark up :)
Karen & Scott -
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input! I guess, yes, it would appear that we have hay because of the sprouting factor. The weird thing is I don't see a single seed head. I've bought bales before where you can see them all over the place. This packager must have stealthily hid them so you think you're getting straw! ;) I'm sure he/she had better things to do with their time!
As for the price, wow, that's amazingly cheap, Scott. That's what we get for living in suburbia, I guess. This summer, on a trip south to Corsicana for a family reunion, we were able to secure a bale of Alfalfa for $8 - and I was happy with that. But nice - $4 - delivered! I could get used to those prices in a hurry! -Carrie