hi
I feel the need to chime in, I'd love to get some salthay/straw but this is VERY expensive at my nursery center...
klk

After Halloween. Stores that have used it for displays will toss it, homeowners who used it for decorations will also toss it. There is a form letter on the FAQs of the Soil, Compost and Mulch forum that can be used to ask said Halloween displayers to contact you when they'd like free removal of all compostables. See, you are doing them a service ;-) Many have had success with this.

My dear daughter volunteers at a local therapeutic riding facility; they have a couple of fall 'celebrations' when they are open to the public, and have a large straw pit for kids to climb. Since the whole thing sits outside for two months, the straw is no longer great for bedding the animals, but I took many trailer loads home to my garden. Whoo-hoo!! And a win-win. They didn't have so much to clean up. I am ashamed to admit, I was not able to take the whole thing. It was about 100 bales. I took half.

This was my first year gleaning so much straw, so maybe I'll be able to use more next year. I didn't want to take more than I could use as dear husband becomes darn husband sometimes. I think you know what I mean ;-)

Now that Halloween is long gone, I'd like to bring to your attention, it is now time to start gleaning used Christmas trees. Very useful for mulching perennials, lest they be fooled by winter warm spells and start breaking dormancy early. Also prevents frost-heave of recently planted perennials, those that have not yet established big enough root systems to hang onto the soil when the frost pushes them around. Trim the branches off the trunk, lay the branches over the perennial beds.

Doing this now ensures small furry critters, having picked out their winter homes earlier in the fall, won't spend the winter happily covered by your mulch, munching on your plants.

If you have a local freecycle.org group, try posting a "wanted" on the message board. Freecycle is the greatest thing for us frugals--and it gives you an opportunity to give back, too