I have purchased these for straw bale gardening and have used hay bales as well. For this purpose, this product is far superior. Initially, I hated them because I had to cut the ties and rewire estimating the finished size it should be once fully expanded. I also formed a wire enclosure with inexpensive fencing. It was hard, but once the first one was done, the rest were easy. During conditioning they all expanded to a good 36+" long, yet remained fairly tight, which is a plus. The hollow straws did open up allowing water and fertilizer to sink in for the conditioning process. Every vegetable transplant grew like crazy. These bales retained their shape throughout 2 growing seasons - fall and over winter, and into spring. They did sprout during conditioning, but the sprouts are large and easy to pull out. By comparision, my hay bales all look like chia pets, dry out faster, and decompose much faster as well. New in February and March, they are starting to collapse already - only 3 months later. And the tomatoes growing in them are loaded, very healthy, but still green. Im holding my breath that the hay bales don't collapse too soon. No worries with the straw. I'm not happy about the high price, but in my experience and for THIS purpose, "you get what you pay for."

Bought this to use as composting mulch for my raised bed vegetable garden. I put down shredded newspaper first, and then the straw. I believed it would make a great weed block, and also break down into a compost for next season. Whoooaaa!!! Sprouts popped up everywhere... by the hundreds!! Not sure what they are, but I’ll spend a lot of time picking them out. The description said it was noxious weed free, so I suppose this is some sort of grain. (Of course, a farm agent once told me that anything you don’t want to grow is considered a weed!)