Market Farming

[Andy Fellenz <artisanfarms AT gmail.com>]

The problem I had with wheat straw is that any wheat left in the straw which germinates will overwinter.  With oat straw, all of the plants winter kill.  The one year I used wheat straw, I had to do a lot of weeding in the spring to get the wheat out. 

Andy

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From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of grizzdover AT gmail.com
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2012 12:56 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Oat Straw vs. Wheat Straw to mulch strawberries

 

 

On Sat, Oct 6, 2012 at 11:54 AM, <grizzdover AT gmail.com> wrote:

Hello All,

With this "entertaining" growing season it has been hard for me to find a source for Oat straw to mulch my strawberries and garlic.  I have been able to find a source of wheat straw, but have no personal experience using it and have "heard" that it compacts down too much (thus smothering the overwintering strawberry plants).  Anyone have experience using wheat straw as a mulch on strawberries (or any overwintered crop for that matter)?  I can get enough oat straw to cover about a third of my strawberry crop and could do the rest in wheat, but after losing all my CSA's strawberries this season to early frosts, not sure if I want to experiment : ).

Have a great weekend,

Ben Saunders
Turtle Farm
Certified Organic Fruits, Veggies and Herbs
Granger, Iowa
www.turtle-farm.com