To anyone who lives in LA County and is growing oragnically....

Pparker88

Pparker88

Well-Known Member
I recently started growing organically, and wanted to find some straw to use as mulch. I browsed online and found good prices on straw bales but the shipping cost for one bale was more than the actual bale itself, by quite a bit.

So I hopped on Yelp and searched locally and found Romberg Milling in the city of Paramount. They sells all sorts of hay and straw, including alfalfa. And its pretty cheap. The bale of wheat straw only cost me about $12.

They mainly sell it to feed to horses, but people also buy for other reasons such as mulch.

anyway, here's the link. i don't work for them or know them....i just thought it was cool that i can find it locally sourced i right in the city. Hope it helps someone like it helped me

 
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BigDavid

Well-Known Member
This is a great thread for resources. Thanks for sharing.

Damoor's feed and Tack also carries Straw Bales - http://www.damoorstackandfeed.com

For Pumice, try Whittier Fertilizer. They have two sizes at an affordable rate.

Pumice Stone Gravel - Lightweight Cement Aggregate and Soil Amendment | Whittierfertilizer.com

Pumice Stone Gravel is a volcanic rock that contains eighty percent air and assists in loosening the soil to encourage healthy root growth and moisture control.
whittierfertilizer.com whittierfertilizer.com

The City also has free Compost throughout the city on a weekly basis. It's not super high quality and has plastic bits you need to clean out. But it'll make a decent base if you're short on cash. I would compost it a bit further before using it. The Mulch that they give away looks composted as well.
 
ilovereggae

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
I'd be interested to know if the hay and alfalfa itself is organic. I gotta think they spray the shit outta that stuff w roundup but who knows.

I wouldnt use the city compost on anything I was going to eat or smoke. might be good for flowers and landscaping tho.

I have been calling around to all the organic bean farms I can find in CA trying to find something similar to the BAS pinto bean compost. I found one guy who said I could bring a truck and load up on vines and stuff after harvest but I would need to compost it all myself.

I did find a good source for worms and EWC in Studio City. its run by a couple little kids lol. im not sure they want their info on a weed website so PM me if u want the link.
 
mistergrafik

mistergrafik

Well-Known Member
ilovereggae said:
have been calling around to all the organic bean farms I can find in CA trying to find something similar to the BAS pinto bean compost. I found one guy who said I could bring a truck and load up on vines and stuff after harvest but I would need to compost it all myself.
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good deal
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
For indoor no-till situations, I prefer hay rather than straw. The reason is that hay contains everything that straw does, but also protein which gives it a more attractive C:N ratio so it can be used as used as both a mulch and an amendment. In fact during the last 5 or 6 grow cycles, it's been my only amendment. It's cheap by the bail and available anywhere 15 minutes outside of every major city.
 
Pparker88

Pparker88

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
For indoor no-till situations, I prefer hay rather than straw. The reason is that hay contains everything that straw does, but also protein which gives it a more attractive C:N ratio so it can be used as used as both a mulch and an amendment. In fact during the last 5 or 6 grow cycles, it's been my only amendment. It's cheap by the bail and available anywhere 15 minutes outside of every major city.
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Yeah. I was mainly looking to keep the topsoil moist so the mycos can party hearty there. Lol. I will give hay a try once I’m down with my straw. Which will be a while. Lol. I do want to pick up a bale of alfalfa tho. Use for teas.
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
Pparker88 said:
Yeah. I was mainly looking to keep the topsoil moist so the mycos can party hearty there. Lol. I will give hay a try once I’m down with my straw. Which will be a while. Lol. I do want to pick up a bale of alfalfa tho. Use for teas.
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Yeah I hear ya on the moist thing. But I put down at least a good 3-4 inches of chopped hay over my soil when the cover crop is done. Hay does break down faster than straw, but not nearly as fast as alfalfa. Normally I just use ol'timothy hay, like the common kind everywhere they feed horses and cows. As far as C:N ratio, it's much closer to straw than alfalfa hay (it's a grass - not a legume). That allows it to function for both purposes (mulch and amendment) because it will last as a mulch for most of a grow cycle keeping things nice and moist underneath in my humus layer. Any hay I add to my current grow cycle will only have broken down for the next grow cycle, or even the one after that.

It's a very lazy approach to supplying nutrients for your weed, but I'm getting old and that's my excuse now. 15 years ago it was a different excuse, it was "I'm too busy with other stuff!" lol
 
Pparker88

Pparker88

Well-Known Member
Northwood said:
Yeah I hear ya on the moist thing. But I put down at least a good 3-4 inches of chopped hay over my soil when the cover crop is done. Hay does break down faster than straw, but not nearly as fast as alfalfa. Normally I just use ol'timothy hay, like the common kind everywhere they feed horses and cows. As far as C:N ratio, it's much closer to straw than alfalfa hay (it's a grass - not a legume). That allows it to function for both purposes (mulch and amendment) because it will last as a mulch for most of a grow cycle keeping things nice and moist underneath in my humus layer. Any hay I add to my current grow cycle will only have broken down for the next grow cycle, or even the one after that.

It's a very lazy approach to supplying nutrients for your weed, but I'm getting old and that's my excuse now. 15 years ago it was a different excuse, it was "I'm too busy with other stuff!" lol
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Or you’re getting wiser. Lol. Thx for your input tho. Much appreciated.
 
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