http://sungold123.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] sungold123.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] davis_square2010-05-07 03:43 pm
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry
Entry tags:

Salt Marsh Hay & Other Mulches

Has anyone seen any salt marsh hay available in the area? Pemberton Farms doesn't have any, and neither does Wilson Farm in Lexington.

If not, anyone have any other recommendations for organic mulch for a vegetable garden? Preferably one I can get locally. Thanks!
Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[identity profile] motive-nuance.livejournal.com 2010-05-07 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I once got some at Allandale Farm in Chestnut Hill. Bit of a schlep though.

[identity profile] sungold123.livejournal.com 2010-05-07 08:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Just called - nope! Thanks, though...
alphacygni: (garden)

[personal profile] alphacygni 2010-05-07 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You'd think there would be plenty around here, what with those huge salt marshes lurking nearby.

Depending on the amount you need, mail ordering compressed cubes of coir mulch (not coir growing medium) can work. I did that for my garden last year and got it from Gardener's Supply in Vermont, who are great. Reconstituting the cube in a big bucket was just like playing with those strange foam-dinosaur-in-a-capsule bath toys when I was a kid!

[identity profile] magpie-leah.livejournal.com 2010-05-08 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
Sort of a tangent but... I just ordered a few things from their website that I couldn't find around here and I couldn't believe how quickly it arrived. I also love how lots of their products on the website have tons of user reviews. It's very helpful.
jadelennox: A fish-shaped candle holder in the snow (fish)

[personal profile] jadelennox 2010-05-08 12:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I got salt marsh hay from Mahoney's in Winchester. It's annoying, because it's not chopped; you used to be able to get salt marsh they chopped pretty finely from Pemberton and from Ricky's in Union Square. Now the stuff they sell that stuff isn't salt marsh hay anymore, and it's full of weed seeds, so all I've seen is the big rough bales at Mahoney's.

(It's fine for a lot of garden uses, but in tiny urban gardens, we are usually dealing with small raised beds, and I liked it when it was tidier. I still use it on my strawberries, but it's not nearly as pretty as the chopped stuff.)

[identity profile] sungold123.livejournal.com 2010-05-08 04:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Do you mean that the stuff they sell at Pemberton & Ricky's is full of weed seed, or the salt marsh hay from Mahoney's?

[identity profile] sungold123.livejournal.com 2010-05-08 04:13 pm (UTC)(link)
This stuff looks pretty neat, I might have to try it out. Did you have a problem with it blowing away at all?

[identity profile] sungold123.livejournal.com 2010-05-08 04:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Also, were you able to just till it into your soil at the end of the growing season? That's one of the most attractive benefits of salt marsh hay, IMHO. And, did you have any problems with mold?
alphacygni: (garden)

[personal profile] alphacygni 2010-05-08 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't have any problems with mold, and it didn't blow away - the chunks were pretty big. I did just dig it in at the end of the growing season, but most of it was still there in the spring. I raked out the chunks that seemed big enough to be a problem, and dumped them into the compost pile.
jadelennox: Senora Sabasa Garcia, by Goya (Default)

[personal profile] jadelennox 2010-05-09 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
the stuff they sell at Pemberton and Ricky's, if they still sell it, that comes wrapped in a straw-colored plastic, is full of weed seed.
Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only