can I till old hay directly into my garden?
Hello all, I have some old hay bales that a farmer give me because they got wet in the field and never dried out so they started to rot and I was wondering if I could till this right into my garden soil, or would there be a better use for it? I also have plenty of old leaf piles that are on there way to decomposing I would like to use in the garden or in the compost pile. Would it be better to compost everything first? Thanks all.
Either way would be beneficial. I agree with jal_ut, till it in. I till my old straw in at the end of the growing season so it breaks down during the year but tilling before planting will not hurt a thing. Decomposing organics will tie up some nitrogen during the process so you may want to fertilize a little bit to compensate.