I bought a single bale this year for layering into my beds. I got it at a pumpkin patch for 3 dollars, in early November.

The community garden always finds pumpkin patches that are willing to donate their bales after halloween. Could you try that? We got about 15 bales that way this year.

Otherwise, some of the ranches around here have spoiled straw sitting out. I'm sure those would be free, if I called the ranch - might you be able to look for that sort of thing?

We bought a chipper shredder, and we love it --- but it is a pain most of the time. We need it serviced too often, and almost every time we use it some piece of it gets gunked up and we need to dismantle the thing to clean it before we can finish the job. I can't tell you the brand offhand, but hubby usually buys good stuff --- so I am guessing we bought a respectable brand.

I don't buy straw. I gather it after Halloween/Thanksgiving from those that use it for decorations. This year I guess I did buy straw, I work for home depot and we used some for Halloween decorations for the pumpkin sales. I am thinking it was a dozen or more bales and I paid a buck for them. A local realtor has give me their Halloween left overs for 3 years now, got 81 pumpkins from them this year and again around a dozen bales. I picked up bales from other people, buisness's around town. I always have more straw than I really need but I manage to use it all. Like you I love to use it as a mulch and don't mind the sprouts.
Sandy

I put up signs at the local grocery and feed store, and put a wish on freecycle, but no straw. I got 6 of WalMart's leftover bales but had to pay $3 a bale, kind of high. I did get a pickup load of manure on freecycle, and I had to drive quite a way to get it, but worth it.

The church's pumpkin patch.. hmmm... the salvation of a compost junkie? I might have to volunteer next year to help them clean up!

Are tree leaves available? If something free is available why are you paying for something that is not as good as the free material?

We buy large bales of spoiled hay for 50 cents/bale. This is hay that has sat out in the rain, seeds sprouted, and it is now half rotting, perfect mulch for vegetable garden and great addition to lasagna beds or compost piles!

I've also seen those large bales rotting alongside the fields, and wondered why they harvest them to let them rot. I'll have to see if I can determine who owns them and make a deal. In the meantime, I've been scrounging the mounds of grass along the highway, where last summer's mowing left them. I guess the fuel prices prompted folks to mow less often, and when they did, it piled hay all along the roadway. Of course, I don't mulch with that seed laden stuff, but I figured it would go well in my compost bin. I can't see buying hay, unless it is something like the 50 cent bargain.