There are a few things over the past few years that I never thought I would know or do. I never thought I would know which string to pull on a feed bag. I also never thought I would put a load of horse manure in my truck either.
I am not saying this convenient knowledge came instantly, I did have to work on this one a bit. What I have found is that not all feed bags are sewn together the same way, or if they are I just can’t seem to figure it out.
Some of the strings pull from the side where there is only a single string while others pull from the side with 2 or 3 layers of stitches. I can’t figure out what the difference is, but I have been able to figure out which is the right string to pull by looking at which feed bag it is.
The bag below – I pull from the back of the bag lower right-hand corner and it happens to be the side with three layers of string.
On the camouflage colored feed bag below I pull the string on the front side of the bag in the lower left corner, and it happens to be the side with the single stitch of string
Do you see what I mean… they are each different.
My Gram would have saved all this string to use around the house and garden. I save a lot of stuff, but I have to draw the line somewhere. I am not saving all this string.Although I reserve the right to change my mind should I figure out something I need it for!
This is just three type of feed bags. I am sure glad I can keep them straight and get the strings pulled quickly.
Why do I have all these bags when I don’t have any animals to feed?
My neighbor showed me how to use them around the garden. They are great to lay out on the ground to smother out the weeds, then put mulch order top. Eventually the bags will breakdown and decompose and go back into the ground. These bags have three layers of paper, so I can separate the layers or I can leave them triple-ply. They are great and they are free! My neighbor’s feed the deer, but now the feed bags they buy have a plastic coating on them and with that plastic coating we don’t use them in the garden We have another neighbor who is still getting bags of feed in paper bags, so they save them and drop them off from time to time for us to use.
All these feed bags have been used now. I will show you what I used them on very soon (as soon as I finish the project!
Now that I have figured out these specific feed bags strings… don’t throw another kind at me, or it will take a few minutes to figure it out… but I can do it!
Do you have something that you do with feed bags?
Sincerely, Emily
Sincerely, Emily 
Most of the feed bags I get are made from nylon, so I use them again as a ….bag. They are very tough and make a great bag to carry kindling wood or dozens of sweet corn to the lucky recipient. I miss the days of the cloth feed sack. I still have some of those my father saved and occasionally make a project from those.
I guess my neighbors feed bags are made out of nylon also. They are pretty indestructible. I have some of those that I use as bags too. They cut a few open and put them under their bird cages. They are easy to spray off and brush off to get clean again and reuse. I still have dish towels that my Gram made from fabric flour sacks.
I’d save the twine for unruly tomatoes and heavy peppers….but only if I have a good place to store it. My good intentions often end in loosing ideas and freebies 🙂
It is amazing to me that I don’t save the string since I seem to save everything else. For my tomatoes I use fabric scrapes from sewing or strips of rags. I am sure one of these days I am going to NEEd string and be upset that I haven’t saved any.
Pingback: REAL Local: Mulching Project « Not Dabbling In Normal
I collect from others & use my plastic feedbags and repurpose them. I make grocery totes, backpacks, diaper bags & that sort of thing from them. I would certainly be happy to collect from out of my area too. There are so many neat bags out there! I hate seeing them thrown away!
Hi Michelle! That sounds like a great and creative way to use the plastic feed bags. My neighbors use a few of theirs in the bottom of their big bird cages. It makes cleaning so much easier, they just pull them out and hose them off, then hang on the line to dry… ready to use again. Do you have any posts on your blog showing what you make with them? I can’t remember seeing any, but I will pop over again and look around.
I do not right now. I am trying to accumulate enough before make them public. I will let you know when I am ready! I love your blog and read it often so getting you a peek at them won’t be an issue.