Yes, bits of metal and glass ignite straw and forest fires. I haven't found them yet, but I am sure there are plenty of volatile chemicals created by fermentation that will auto-ignite.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
It should be borne in mind that when haystacks catch fire from overheating they burn from the inside outwards ... they are not ignited by the sun on glass or overheated metal. Back in the day when labour was cheap and barns were made of brick and timber rather than the opensided buildings we see nowadays, many farmers stacked their hay twice ... once outside (under thatch or tarpaulins) for a few weeks so that, if they did ignite, the farmer didn't lose his barn as well as his hay crop. Only after the danger period had passed would the farmer move his hay into the barns.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Mmm, the above has got me thinking. I've just stuffed my cut orchard long grass, some of which was still green, into two black plastic bags and shoved them down by the side of my compost bins, hopefully to help insulate the bins and keep the heat in.
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"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Back in the day when labour was cheap and barns were made of brick and timber rather than the opensided buildings we see nowadays, many farmers stacked their hay twice ... once outside (under thatch or tarpaulins) for a few weeks so that, if they did ignite, the farmer didn't lose his barn as well as his hay crop. Only after the danger period had passed would the farmer move his hay into the barns.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Perhaps this wasn't wise?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.