Raised beds and lucerne hay
May 13th, 2008 by Julie Kirkwood
Here’s this week’s column, voicing my frustrations at trying to build “no dig” gardens following instructions on the Internet:
“Hay is for horses … not my garden”
There is an epilogue to this story. I had a chat today with Tom Stachulski, store manager of Dodge Grain Co. in Salem, N.H.
That’s an Agway, though not my local one, and it turns out they do carry bales of alfalfa hay.
And that’s not all. Tom also had a theory as to why the poor guy at my local store suggested horse feed. Lucerne is not just the British word for alfalfa, it also happens to be the name of a company that makes horse feed — including Dengie Hi-Fi.
Not confusing enough? The Lucerne company also makes a mulch that some people use in their yards.
Moral of this story: It’s worth making calls until you get somebody like Tom on the phone. Not only did he know what I was looking for, I told him what I was trying to do and he helped me think it through. He suggested newspapers over cardboard, but otherwise said I’m on the right track. I think I’ve found a new organic gardening guru!
to “Raised beds and lucerne hay”
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1Sheila K said:
I read that fellow’s article as well and am trying to understand what Lucerne Hay is and where I might get some. I found a timothy mix from Agway in Hampton Falls, but don’t know enough about the product to decide if what I was thinking of buying was the right item. It was from Lucern Farms. This will be my first year for a raised bed and I won’t be digging that hay up if it is the wrong thing, so….if you can, please advise…should I be purchasing alfalfa?
