I used straw to cover by small raised vegetable garden over the winter. Now I need to know what to do with it since it is spring. Should I till it under? Should I rake it away to let the soil warm up before planting then rake it back into the garden and use it as mulch? I'm not sure if I even need to use anything as a winter cover. Does it benefit the soil?
What to do with straw cover?
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Straw at first look appears to have merit which in fact it can be miserable to handle. I went on a binge a few years ago and mulched heavily with straw as a bit of a cover crop. I found it was very difficult to rototill into the soil come Spring. Eventually I put it through my chipper shredder and managed to rototill it into the soil. I never used straw again.
Now I use wood chips which mostly compost over the Winter and get worked into the soil.
Now I use wood chips which mostly compost over the Winter and get worked into the soil.
I have to agree with @Durgan, straw is difficult to deal with as mulch. It does well as mulch - it covers the plants, keeping the soil moist, etc. However, it will mildew if it gets too wet, like in a shady area. It tends to mat if you've spread it too thick, which isn't good, as water has a hard time getting through it. It also is stiff, so working with it scratches and pokes you. Plus, it takes a long time to decompose. Also you have to be careful to get straw and not hay. They look similar, but hay has lots of weed seeds in it, so you can imagine what will happen to your garden!
I don't think I would till it into your garden. I would rake it up, as much as possible and toss it in your compost pile if you have one, or even throw it in the woods (again if you have any).
I don't think I would till it into your garden. I would rake it up, as much as possible and toss it in your compost pile if you have one, or even throw it in the woods (again if you have any).
Steve Randles
Chief Beverage Officer
Maybe I don't quite understand the question, or it has particular nuances in America that I am not aware of.
From my standpoint here in the UK, straw is a natural product and I would, have and will dig it in, if a rototiller will not do it, my spade and a bit of graft will. Similar to turning green manure in, I would just dig spade deep and turn it over so the straw is now approx. 9 inches down, the soil will now deal with it and as I am on a clay loam soil the straw helps to separate the clay molecules and thus aid drainage.
I'm in a rural part of the UK and we get and use a lot of cow manure, a huge proportion of that is straw and it is spread on our beds over winter, dug in, in spring with no issues. If it is dry and matted, either wait for rain or wet it...job done.
I would stay away from covering productive veg beds over winter with wood chips because it uses massive amounts of nitrogen as part of it's decomposition process, robbing your soil of this valuable and essential nutrient that your beds will need early spring for all that initial healthy green growth of your plants, unless of course you intend to supplement with fertilisers.
Steve...
From my standpoint here in the UK, straw is a natural product and I would, have and will dig it in, if a rototiller will not do it, my spade and a bit of graft will. Similar to turning green manure in, I would just dig spade deep and turn it over so the straw is now approx. 9 inches down, the soil will now deal with it and as I am on a clay loam soil the straw helps to separate the clay molecules and thus aid drainage.
I'm in a rural part of the UK and we get and use a lot of cow manure, a huge proportion of that is straw and it is spread on our beds over winter, dug in, in spring with no issues. If it is dry and matted, either wait for rain or wet it...job done.
I would stay away from covering productive veg beds over winter with wood chips because it uses massive amounts of nitrogen as part of it's decomposition process, robbing your soil of this valuable and essential nutrient that your beds will need early spring for all that initial healthy green growth of your plants, unless of course you intend to supplement with fertilisers.
Steve...