The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Techniques and skills => Topic started by: ScribbleUk on September 21, 2016, 08:36:59 pm
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Are there any obvious issues with storing small bales of hay and straw in a polytunnel over winter? Would be placed onto pallets and loosely covered with tarp to protect from condensation drips.
Thanks.
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I'd have thought it would be ideal
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A friend of mine has a polytunnel full of straw all winter and it's perfectly fine
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I do the same
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Thanks for the replies. Had wondered if the temperature variations ever caused a problem or general humidity but seems like it is common practice.
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I found some hay went mouldy, maybe depends on local humidity, been told not to put water in chicken incubator because of local high humidity.
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Try it - it will probably go mouldy and get dusty. Depends on what you want to risk giving feed too.
I wouldnt store feed under tarps in a poly tunnel. Its going to be mangled :-/ ?
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Why store it if you can buy it on demand? Or are you looking at producing your own or buying off the field when its cheap?
If your buying off the field, thats why its cheaper.
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Storing to reduce deliveries. Local suppliers use canvas sided lorries where the farmer unloads with his own handling equipment. Sine we don't have handling equipment and the narrowest of lanes with virtually no turning area, deliveries can be difficult. Especially in the dark of winter. Some drivers are absolute stars and very skilful, others just want to get home as quickly as possible and don't care about damage done.
Most will go in shed but some will end up in poly tunnel due to space. Probably will use that lot first as it is stored in the most variable conditions.
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Most will go in shed but some will end up in poly tunnel due to space. Probably will use that lot first as it is stored in the most variable conditions.
Sounds reasonable, could you make the tarp like a tent rather than touching the hay? Maybe get some lengths of plastic (alkathene pipe fastened to posts and bent over hay? ) to support Tarp?
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Yeah maybe a pallet top and bottom would do to provide air gap.
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Wrapped haylage - its the beauty of it - store it where you want :)
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Unfortunately we can't get through a big bale of haylage before it goes off, and the small bales are very expensive :-\.
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If it's dryish I find it lasts 3 week or so ?
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We used to store straw in our tunnel. Worked very well stacked on pallets. Downside was the number of rats that ended up living under it.
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At the local stables where my Munchkin goes hrose riding they use th wraped hayledge and roll the wrapped bale into position using wooden levers , it5's under a thre sided hay shelter & appears to be about the best solution around .
Wrt
Your poly tunnel , . I'm thinking you will need to have the ends open to keep the air circulation going and stop condensation coming from not only the air but also up out the ground .
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We store all our hay (about 35 bales at a time, usually lasts about a month or so - for the goats) in the polytunnel (smallest commercial size, so it only takes up one corner/side of it), but I wouldn't cover it with anything. I also always open the doors, front and back every day. No issues with dampness at all, and since cat is usually spending a large proportion of his day spread out on top of the bales we have found the rats have scarpered as well....
We had terrible problems with rats moving into large hay/straw bales as soon as you started to unwrap them..., but it seems not so much an issue with small square bales.