Surrey,
United Kingdom 
Straw is easily available where I live so I thought of using it to bulk up my rather thin clay/sandy soil and try to add moisture to it. Can you tell me best way to apply straw to freshly opened up border do I dig it in or mulch on top?. I don't have any compost by the way
And how long would I have to wait
2 May, 2020
Answers
So I want to plant up this area now or could wait maybe autumn is better so I just plant it up then mulch after wards. Maybe it's better to buy in some compost to plant into then mulch afterwards?
2 May, 2020
Is the straw from stables with the horse manure in it or is it just straw? If you have plants to go in the ground it would be better to get them in the ground asap so they don't get pot bound. Add compost if you can and mulch around them. You can dig in straw in the autumn inbetween the dormant plants.
2 May, 2020
Thanks for your advice didn't fancy the idea of digging it in taking the turf off nearly killed me!.
3 May, 2020
Ideally the straw needs to be in small pieces 2-4" pieces and dug in. This will help the soil but it is a slow and long term process. But a mulch will help retain moisture and keep the weeds down. So you can do either.
2 May, 2020