Those Brown Paper Yard Waste Bags.

Howdy from Tx,

I've got bunches of those brown paper yard waste bags and am not coming up with ideas on how to use them. I've been collecting leaves for mulching and for paths. I've probably collected a hundred bags over the last year. They are whirling around in my backyard like a scene from American Beauty. There good for suppressing Bermuda grass and in paths , but what else. I can give the nice bags back to the neighbors to reuse, but most have holes.  I'm on a urban quarter acre in south austin tx. no animals except two dogs. They are becoming a fire hazard, but I can't throw them out.




Thanks,
singlechopstick the bagman

Those bags are quite useful.

Here are some of what can be done with them:

Line a small pond/hole...the hold water very well.

Line hole then transplant into it. Keeps the water contained but the roots will break through.

No-dig potato baskets.

Light bulk storage. Can hang them to keep them off the ground.

Roll the tops down and make baskets out of them.

Cut them open and you get a large drawing paper...etc.

Thinking of using them to make bamboo/paper mache shade umbrellas for the garden.

Well thats all I can think of off the top of my head.
Ape99

BTW
I'm off east 12th/airport area, you should stop by sometime. Just under an acre, 3rd year food forest, road runoff water into swales/wicking bed hybrids, flock of guineas etc.

I like ape's ideas  . But if you can't find a use or you don't want to keep them , I would be more than happy to come take them off your hands. I have plenty of use for them!

Ape: Have you recently bought any guineas? I've been trying to get some but they are so hard to find this year, I'm afraid I wont be able to find any at all!

dom,
Sent you a pm on one person I bought a few fems from recently...check craigslist farm/garden for sale.

If you're starting a new flock I'd go with hatchlings. If you hand rear them they'll be very pet like (assuming you want that).
They're fun birds, very trainable...mine come (more or less) when called. Follow me outside my site to feed and back again, don't tear things up like chickens...but are much more picky eaters. Keep a male/female ratio of at least 1:1 if not 1:3. Males play an important roll. They fiercely  protect and hunt for their special lady friends, dig out/make ready the ground nests (only used if it pleases the ladies) even sit guard while she broods on the nests. Chicks (keets) shouldn't be hard to find right now.

ape

It would be cool to check out your food forest and likewise. I've got mine started about 6 months ago, but I'm starting slow. Having no rain stumps wild untamed growth. For a ground cover I recently planted a few pounds of blackeyed-peas. No rain, no grow. Next I'll use buckwheat, when is a good time to plant? I've had success with hairy vetch, its going to seed now.

Not very exciting, but my compost heap absorbs as much paper as  I feed it.

Leila,

I have used those brown paper yard waste bags around pallet compost bin to soak up run off. Also could be used to cover a compost bin to keep in moisture.

What would be a good method to easily chop up the paper?  There're big for a regular shredder.  If the paper could be chopped up and soaked to make paper pulp for building bricks. I found this on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoLBeV6tzJ4

ape, could you give me a better idea of your suggestion "No-dig potato baskets."?

I just tear paper into rough strips along the 'grain' and chuck it on.
Whole cardboard boxes full of stuff sometimes go in, so bear in mind, I'm a pretty casual composter!
Some people rip up paper and stick it in water till it's a kind of slurry, then work it into the compost.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Also, the yard bags could be used to make paper logs that could be burnt for heat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdHYsO6GDQQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1uuGDRChuA