My grandma gave me quite a bit of old burlap that my late grandpa had saved. I know there must be something I can use it for before my husband throws it away! HELP!

-- Donna Jean Lamoreaux (lamoros@sosnet.net), January 20, 2000

Answers

Lucky you. Make it into bags for storing grains. Wrap young trees and shrubs in the fall for winter protection. Hang over outbuilding windows as curtains in the summer. Use as "roofs" on stakes over areas of the garden in the heat of summer to help more heat sensitive crops. Do yarn embroidery on smaller pieces. Traditional backing for hooked rugs-very trendy. Can be sewn into tote bags. Heads for decorative scarecrows. Or real ones. Lots of things. Wish somebody would give me a bunch of burlap. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), January 20, 2000.

Hey Gerbil, are you good or what!?

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), January 20, 2000.

I try. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), January 21, 2000.

give the burlap to a beekeeper. it makes great smoke, burns well. as a beekeeper, i appreciate burlap for its burning and smoke qualities. gene

-- gene ward (gward34847@aol.com), January 21, 2000.

If it comes to throwing it away, consider donating it to the closest Boy Scout Council (the council, not the local troop). Burlap is usually in demand at their summer camp to make toches and such for their ceremonies. I remember as a youth having to create torches out of feminine hygiene products when we ran out of burlap. My modern counterparts would thank you.

-- Chris Stogdill (cstogdill@rmci.net), January 25, 2000.

There is a new way of combining composting and mulching called Interbay Mulching or IBM. You just put down directly into your garden the grass clips, leaves, kitchen scraps or anything else you would build a compost heap out of. Spread it about 12" thick and then cover with one or two layers of burlap. This will cause the micros in the soil to work up into the whole 12" inches of mulch/compost instead of the normal 1" closest to the ground. You end up with finished compost in the spring directly on your garden....the key is the burlap. Wish I had some of it. All I can find is that woven fiberglass crap anymore.

-- Jim Roberts (jroberts1@cas.org), January 27, 2000.