Yes, hay bales can get wet. Choose a building on an elevated, well-drained site. brome , timothy? They go so well with pumpkins, squash, mums, dried corn stalks, and more, as shown in this photo. The cost of a bale of hay can vary quite a bit depending on where you live, the type of hay, and any additional services, such as delivery and storage. Straw is a by-product of cereal grain harvesting, such as wheat, barley and oats, and is made up of the stems and stalks after the grain is removed. Theyre also durable enough to last through the fall and winter, making them a great investment. Attach four pieces of black perforated pipe to each side of the bale, using wire or rope to secure the pipe. Decorative hay bales add a touch of rustic charm to your porch and courtyard. You can also add a few small candles for a more dramatic effect. In addition, they are cheap and easy to assemble. By Jennifer Noonan | Updated Apr 9, 2021 5:05 PM. To keep your hay from getting damp, place it end to end or on a slightly sloping hill. King grew up on a beef farm in Big Bend, Wis., where her 4-H experiences included showing both beef and dairy cattle. If youre looking for a unique way to add fall decor to your home, straw bales are the way to go. 2. Other suggestions to making net wrap removal easy include facing your bales in a That is the question. With the big expense out of the way, its time to go cheap and head to the Dollar Tree for the rest of your decorations. The primary key to keeping wrapped hay from spoiling is storing it in a dry place and away from direct sunlight. If a bale is being fed in a bale feeder some simple tips can assist you in removing the net wrap quickly and efficiently. Storing net wrap bales under a roof allows for snow and ice to stay off of bales, yet, if not stored under a roof, snow and ice become a burden to removing net wrap. Take one end of the string and tie an overhand loop knot. They may also require a pet deposit [], Moving can be a stressful time. For either kind, prepare the pumpkin by gently cutting a generous top opening with a pumpkin carving kit. Because feed changes upset some animals digestive systems, its advisable to put up enough of the same type of hay to last a season. Once youve cut the hole, give the edges a light sand to remove any rough straw and to level them out. You can sprinkle fertilizer on the straw to promote growth, and then irrigate it with water each day. Just be sure to place them a few feet apart and at least 5 feet from the branches to ensure comfortable pathway access. Second, I will continue to utilize these hay bales for decoration through to the end of the year. Olivia Amundson, South Dakota State University extension cow-calf specialist, explains in a recent SDSU Livestock Newsletter the advantages and drawbacks to using net wrap. Expert advice from Bob Vila, the most trusted name in home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and DIY. by unlimitedapartments on 1 hour ago - 0 Comments, A landlord is obligated to provide a safe and habitable living space for tenants. The problem is handling the hay. Figure 1. This is a budget-friendly (free!) A hay tedder is a tractor attachment or piece of machinery that aerates the hay. Once Halloween is over. More Buying Choices $8.25 (37 new offers) Amazon's Choice FloraCraft Decorative Straw Bale 5 Inch x 6 Inch x 13 Inch Natural 4.2 (1,001) $1156 1. If you decide to bale hay in large bales, wrap them with net wrap or plastic twine to reduce bale sag and help maintain bale shape. When considering transportation, net wrap allows for better bale integrity during handling and transportation. Theyre cheap to buy and dont take up much space, so they can be a useful addition to any property. You can do a few things to make the process much easier. Fall is, of course, the most popular time of year for decorating with hay bales. Straw and hay are both sources of fodder for animals, but the two are different. Winded with a wire to protect the straws from falling apart. They can be stacked high and anchored in place to create a fun maze with lots of room to explore. Additionally, insects that spend all or part of their life cycle in hay can result in a decrease in hay quality, and thus a decrease in hay value. If you have a porch, garden, entryway, or table, consider adding decorative hay bales for a rustic fall look. South Dakota State University, South Dakota counties, and USDA cooperating. Your email address will not be published. South Dakota State University adheres to AA/EEO guidelines in offering educational programs and services. In addition to the plastic wrapping, you can use a spray paint to help protect them from the elements. She is the author of the site, An Unedited Life: The Ultimate Blog for Freelance Writers. You can use a baler or get creative with some of your own supplies. Stacking hay can help protect bales from water. Hay bales are also popular for creating backyard mazes that kids will love. Feel free to contact Olivia Amundson or Adele Harty. . WebThe best way to preserve hay bales for decorations is to cover them with a tarp or other waterproof covering to protect them from excess moisture and sunlight. Depending on the type of plant, it should take approximately seven weeks before they are able to take root and begin to produce. It is also important to avoid feeding hay that has weed seeds in it, as these can compete with other plants and become invasive weeds. To make square bales, hay is lifted into the reel and then packed into a bale chamber alongside the baler. This quick, easy DIY project should only take a few minutes. Once the string is secured tightly around the entire bale, remove the rest of the net wrap. Other simple decorations include adding flower bouquets, mason jars, or decorative signs on top of the bales. They will usually accept your hay donations free of charge and will recycle it into mulch for your gardens the following year. 4. Wrap around body of bale, make loop knot. While theyre often used as animal feed, hay bales can also be strewn over your planting beds to protect them from harsh weather and pests in the winter. If you want to take a straw bale planter to the next level, you can actually plant an entire garden within straw bales. Hay is composed of grass, legumes, and other types of forage. If youre looking for a unique way to add fall decor to your home, straw bales are the way to go. 5 out of 5 stars (1,966) $ 8.00. If hay bales are wrapped in plastic or a tarp, they can potentially last up to a year, depending on weather conditions and what type of hay is stored. The neighborhood was amazing and filled with great neighbors (. Compost or donate your autumn decorations Also a vote for re-bales. are the twines tight? Remove rest of net wrap. It is important to inspect hay for signs of insects before purchasing, as infested hay can lead to health problems for livestock and other animals that consume it. All in all, straw bales can be a combustible material and in extreme circumstances, can be highly flammable. maybe it was shredded re-baling a round bale don't make any difference as you just re-bale the same swath by unrolling it. Stack the third layer perpendicular to the second layer and so on to lock the stack in place and make it more stable. Stacking hay bales can also be used to create a play house for children. Homeowners Insurance Four-plexes are an increasingly [], by unlimitedapartments on 6 hours ago - 0 Comments, Whether you are getting a new cat or kitten, or just trying to introduce your current kitty to a new one, it is important to take a lot of time and care. When used for gardening, hay bales can act as a natural fertilizer, providing valuable nutrients to the soil. If bales must be stored side by side, leave at least 2 feet between bales. Decorative hay bales are also a great source of natural insulation for homes and barns. During these two weeks, keep the bale damp by soaking it again every couple of days. Pick a pumpkin from a patch or farmers market to ensure you are getting the freshest. You can also find straw bales of various sizes, shapes, and styles on Amazon. Straw bale prices can vary greatly depending on the source, your location, and more. In general, bales can cost as low as $5 at local hardware stores and the price goes up from there. If your hay is too dry to be used as mulch, wrap it in plastic to help keep it moist and prevent it from drying out. Start tedding the hay the day within a day of cutting. Theyre a great way to add a farmhouse vibe without breaking the bank! Hay is grown to provide food for livestock such as horses, cows and pigs -- farmers are not keen on selling it as fall decor. Once found, start unraveling the net wrap. Using a tarp also helps to protect the hay bale from insects and animals that may be attracted to the hay. Materials you can use to help insulate hay from wet soil or concrete and provide some ventilation include telephone poles, wooden pallets and tires. For example, stack three square bales together in a row, then two bales, and finally a single bale. COVERING BALES Covering bales offers some promise for reducing weather-related losses for bales stored outside. Hay is highly flammable, so you dont want it overhead if your main barn catches fire. 1. Stack a few into a corner shape, scatter one in front and fill the middle with a wagon or cart that's full of winter squash, pumpkins and gourds. horse people are really fussy with hay. You can do this by slathering them with a light coat of spray paint. Cover a large, round hay bale with black plastic. Youve now cut a hole in a straw bale. 3. Hay is a generic term for grass or legume plants that have been cut, dried and stored for use as animal feed, particularly for grazing species, such as cattle, equines, llamas, alpacas,goats and sheep. When decorating your hay bales, you should pick a color scheme that matches the earthy tone of the hay. Protect valuable hay from the elements by storing it under cover in a building that doesnt leak and has good ventilation. 2 I assume the Cambridge quotation to be correct: in my old edition (1848), the distinction is between weavers and lace-makers and journeymen bricklayers; and making velvet is considered to be the production of a commodity, but building a house only doing a service. Crews used machinery to pull apart the load of hay to help stop the fire, which continued to smoke. Once secured, take remaining net wrap off of bale. After the bale is completely saturated and warm, youll typically need to wait two weeks for it to get composting and become suitable for planting. If you want to add a rustic touch to your decorations, one option is to stack hay bales and cover them with a quilt. Alternate layers so that there is a clear overlap of roughly half a bale all around the stack. These can vary based on the type of building, number of units, business model and other factors. For safety, be sure to use large bales and secure them to each other and the ground using sturdy stakes. According to Farm to Stable, seller of straw bales on Amazon, a 4-pound wheat straw bale will cover approximately 6 to 8 square feet, 2 inches deep. Its even more stressful if you have kids who are upset because their favorite swing set is being taken apart! Pair the hay with red tulle, faux evergreens and a few small Christmas ornaments to create a rustic, yet festive, holiday decoration. Daughter keeps her two horses at my place. Theyre also a fantastic source of natural mulch for your garden. How to Introduce Cats in a Small Apartment, How to Move a Swing Set Without Taking It Apart, How Fleas Travel From One Apartment to Another, How to Change the Shower Head in an Apartment, How to Get a Water Softener For an Apartment. And (bonus!) To prevent wet hay bales, they must be stored in a dry location that is well-ventilated. Space adjacent rows at least 3 feet apart so water from one row doesnt run off onto another. This is especially true if you are storing your hay in a barn or shed where the ground is uneven. Stack a bale of hay in a section of your yard and sprinkle your pine straw around it. Red tulle, a couple of potted evergreens, and maybe even a few mock presents would turn these bales into a rustic and cheery Christmas display. Continue watering daily until the hay is moist and warm to the touch. Sunlight bleaches hay, causing it to lose nutritional value, especially protein and vitamin A. If you dont have any blossoms, you can also try adding pinecones to your hay bale. That means you can have a lot of fun without threshing your wallet. The bales are fairly heavy, but the flakes just fall apart. One key to the quick decomposition of the straw and the conditioning is that the bales must be compressed. We found it was easiest to use a sawing motion to cut the top off the pumpkin. SDSU Extension researchers started a new precision agriculture range project using remote sensing, machine learning, and ground-collected vegetation samples to develop an application to measure forage quality and quantity throughout the state in near real-time. Once the top one third is 3/4th of the way removed, take the unraveled one third and wrap it around the body of the bale. Take the other end and pull it through the loop, then pull tightly, then tie and secure. If using bale forks to lift the bale into the feeder, the forks should enter the lower half of the bale at approximately a twenty-degree angle, this allows the bale to be lifted above the feeder without slipping off the forks. Once your bale has served its purpose, it can be broken up in your compost pile or strewn to protect your planting beds during winter. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'remodelormove_com-mobile-leaderboard-1','ezslot_26',166,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-remodelormove_com-mobile-leaderboard-1-0');Once all your plants have been planted, cover the bale lightly with soil to seal in moisture and allow evaporation to occur. It was the perfect home for Zach to grow up in. You can use a space heater, a heat lamp, or a hair dryer to warm the area. Adding pallet forks will allow you to move standard pallets, logs, and other debris. If you cant store hay in a separate building, keep only small amounts in the barn at one time. Since our crew is small, we try to keep each bale relatively lightweight for easy handling as we stack them 12 bales high in the hay barn. If you find a pipe that is frozen, there are several ways to thaw it out and avoid a breakage. Use a saw to cut holes in the bales and nestle your potted mums down inside. You can then affix the letters to the side of the bale. Dont stack any higher than 1.5x the width of the base. For added curb appeal, you can line your hay bales with pumpkins or gourds to create a unique display. You can also mix and match colors to create a more interesting design. To do this, probe the bale from the side about halfway down. Hay is a traditional fall decoration, but it can be difficult to dispose of in the right manner without creating more waste than you need. Straw bales are highly flammable, and when they catch fire they can burn intensely. Scatter a few small baby boos, some gourds and a winter squash and prop a vintage wagon wheel behind the whole display. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to help your felines get used to each other. 3. When hay bales get wet, they can lead to a variety of problems. MiniatureMakerSupply. Other suggestions to making net wrap removal easy include facing your bales in a direction where the sun will hit it throughout the day, especially when they are unable to be under a roof. Conditioning hay bales for planting involves a few steps. Hay Bale Holiday Decorations. B-wrap can reduce spoilage and help maintain quality. If you garden or have pets, invest in enough straw bales to build a small pile; three-to-five bales should do. You can use small or large bales, but be sure to secure them to the ground with stakes to prevent them from falling apart if the maze gets too rowdy. Add a coffee table and side tablesperfect for resting a glass of ice tea or lemonadeusing pallets or cinder blocks to complete the harvest scene. They can be moved in the spring, if we dont want the hay cage to be there permanently. Since the size of hay bales varies greatly, youll need to factor that into determining how much area the bale you purchase will cover. This method will provide even more stability and will help the stacks stand up to a storm. Stick fake webs if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'remodelormove_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_19',164,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-remodelormove_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');Yes, you can use hay bales instead of straw bales for gardening. Any thoughts? She had some Whether you live on a farm or have a coop in the backyard, straw bales are essential for raising chickens. How-ever, covering bales In addition to adding a natural element, pinecones can also add a sense of mystery and whimsy. Michaela King served as the 2019 Hay & Forage Grower summer editorial intern. Can I Install a Smart Thermostat in My Apartment. You can do a few things to make the process much easier. However, if allowed to absorb moisture and heat, as would happen with a straw bale garden or planter, for example, hay bales will begin to break down and only last for one growing season. Prior to lifting the bale, find the end of the net wrap and securely tuck it under the net wrap at the top of the bale. Sold as pack of 3, 6, 12, 24 or 100 pieces, Dimensions of each piece is 2.5 x 1 inches. Additionally, once the hay bale becomes wet and begins to break down, it is no longer suitable for animal feed. You can also wrap a tarp around it to protect it from rain and snow. If the bale is being fed in the pasture or off the back of a hydra bed, ensure the bale doesnt come apart when traveling to the field. WebLoose hay bale natural straw sun bleached large autumn harvest fall decoration crafts nativity manger landscaping farm western country. Sue Weaver lives in the Arkansas Ozarks with her husband and a fine array of animal friends including goats, sheep, horses, chickens, a donkey, a llama and a pet razorback hog. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Alternatively, you can store the bale indoors. If youre looking for a place to rent and youd like to keep a pet, its important to read the pet policy carefully. Might be rebaled from big rounds, or big squares. Prior to living here in Orlando, we lived in a suburb of Tampa. Its a more nutritional food source than straw and is most often used to feed horses, cows, goats and sheep. Net-wrapped bales hold their shape better during handling and transportation and also offer improved preservation in wet conditions. There are plenty of ways to spruce up your hay bales, so take your time and be creative! A sloped top, created by pyramiding the final layers, sheds snow and rain better than a flat one. Labor is a valuable resource so producers are always looking for the most effective and efficient way to remove net wrap from bales being fed. TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. Step 1: Prepare Your Pumpkin. However, if you notice significantly more bugs in your hay than this, it is best to avoid using it as animal feed. Furthermore, does this accumulation of net wrap affect cow longevity and can our management practices make a difference. You can even use hay bales to make a Christmas wreath! Depending on the occasion, there are several different ways to decorate bales of hay. Twine should be snug and spaced 6 to 10 inches apart. Several varieties of blossoms will work for this decorative touch, although you may prefer to choose flowers that match your fall decor theme. Re-bailed, cut too short, or left out too long and was too dry when it was bailed. A straw bale planter like the one shown here will add a touch of nature to any front stoop; and when the seasons over, you can toss the whole works into your compost pile or break down the bale into mulch for winterizing your larger plant beds. Property insurance is one of the most important policies for most apartment owners. To preserve its nutritional value, put up no more than youll feed within a year of harvest. The hay comes from Imperial Valley east of San Diego.This time of year it is very hot. Common insects found in hay include mites, thrips, beetles, caterpillars, and leafhoppers, as well as various species of worms. Go the extra mile this year and set a few straw bales together to form a planter in the garden. How to Keep Decorative Hay Bales From Falling Apart. The drawback is ofcourse missing out on the combat xp but getting 5 tokens instead of 2+1 should be usually worth it. When preparing to place the bale in the feeder, tilt the forks to a thirty degree angle and find the starting point of your net wrap (what was previously tucked in the top portion). If you have been injured because of a defect in your apartment complex, you may be able to sue your landlord for breach of the warranty of [], by unlimitedapartments on 3 hours ago - 0 Comments, Apartment owners need to be aware of their insurance needs. If you want to plant a flower, you can tuck a few petunias or other moisture-loving annuals into the side of the bales. In that area they will focus on putting up the alfalfa at night when the leaves must be preserved and will do grass hay during the day when it doesn't matter so much. One of the biggest concerns with removing net wrap is that bales can easily fall apart when unwrapped. RELATED: What is the No-Dig Gardening Method? the straw bale doubles as a seat for slipping shoes on and off. WebEarth-friendly, biodegradable straw is bound with durable, rust-resistant, galvanized wire that can easily be clipped to spread straw on plant beds and landscaping. First, youll need to choose a spot that gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight each day, and make sure the bale is placed on level ground. If youre looking for a place to rent and youd like to keep a pet, its important to read the pet policy carefully. When you rake the straw away next spring, your grass will grow lush and green. This will help them last longer and prevent them from falling apart. Once the top one-third is three-fourths of the way removed, take the unraveled one-third and wrap it around the body of the bale. Unwrapping a bale is time consuming and sometimes frustrating. QUALITY ASSURED: These miniature hay bales decoration are made up of real hay bounded with wire for authentic rustic look to keep the hay in place and prevents Keep in mind, a certain amount of every large bale stored outside invariably spoils, depending on whether its twine or net wrapped, how much rain and snow falls during the storage period, what kind of soil its stored upon and the amount of space between the bales. Hay Bale Fall Decorations | Easy Outdoor Fall Decorating Idea Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Plant the mums inside the raised bed, pepper your permanent display with pumpkins, gourds and the usual Halloween fare and feel smug knowing that as your straw bales deteriorate over the season, the soil in your garden is slowly turning into that nutrient-rich mixture that gardeners often refer to as black gold.