We farm. We do hay for our own sheep plus sales. We do about 75 acres of hay on other people's land. We have planted and maintained all those hayfields. We pay no rent, but sign that the land is farmed to reduce municipal taxes (worth about $150/acre), and give a butchered lamb every year or two, depending on the size of the fields. We are among 3 farmers in the neighbourhood doing small square bales of hay. A lot of people want to have us do custom work baling their fields. We do it if: 1. It will not stop us from getting our own hay done in a timely fashion. 2. They are friendly and reasonable to work with. They do what they say they will in terms of picking up their share of hay, or paying on time if that is the agreement. 3. We won't lose too much money doing the job. If we are sharing the hay quality is reasonable, or they pay us good money to do the work. Compared to the cost of running and maintaining equipment, even with "free" land, we usually just manage to break even. We don't shortchange people, but rather go overboard to make sure that a landowner gets their share. We won't work with people if: 1. We have learned they are bad payers. 2. They badmouth everybody else in the neighbourhood. 3. They don't have help to stack the hay we deliver to their barn, so that we can keep our equipment going while the sun shines. 4. They have an overinflated idea of what their contribution to our farming operation is worth. If this sounds harsh, we have learned over the past 25 years, through being generous, that even when we lose money on a deal, there are some people who feel they are being cheated. Most of our neighbours are really wonderful, willing to help out in a pinch and we get along well, helping them out and sharing work and resources. This applies outside of haying season as well. We are the ones they come to for farming advice, for help to pull their tractor or car out of a ditch, or for someone to spread 3 year's worth of manure that has accumulated at the back of their barn. For us, doing custom haying is part of a larger picture of the neighbourhood. We always consult with a landowner if the weather is iffy. We give them an estimate of when we will get to their hay, so that they can find someone else to do it if they think it will be too late. Some years poor weather means that everyone's hay, including ours will be poor quality.

Hi there countryrosegirl. I was waiting to see what kind of hay you'd say. I've used alfalfa hay here and it's great. If you have a good source of horse manure, put that on too. I bet your roses will be gorgeous. The other kinds of hay (like Ann said) don't use because of pestiferous weeds...but alfalfa has been great here. It doesn't look as nice, but I think if you put manure over it and the rain fell on it, it'd all break down and enrich the soil. I'm not in your zone by a long-shot, so maybe others in your area have better advice. Alfalfa worked here in California.

When I have used "almost compost" I get more squirrels and critters poking around in the beds searching out the kitchen scraps I bet. I don't mind that as much around shrubs and such, but around my flowers and SFG veggies I don't like the critters digging. This spring I "stole" yard waste bags from my neighbor who had raked up the "thatch"/dead grass from his lawns - he uses Milorganite as lawn fertilizer/no pesticides - and I used 1-2 inches around my SFG veggies and it seems to be working nicely as a mulch. Also used some bagged fall leaves - sucked them up with leaf vacuum out of the bags and it made a nice mulch.

You might inquire at Mountain View Market 1300 El Paseo, phone 523-0436. They are an organic grocery, so someone there might be able to suggest where you can get organic hay/soil. Also, I would bet that Sierra Vista Nursery on NM Highway 28 in La Union near the Texas border, could also help,874-2415. Good luck. Anyone who won't shop at Wal*Mart gets my admiration and assistance every time. We need more newcomers like you. Welcome!