Hay is a feed material that contains seeds as a protein source for livestock. Straw is a waste material containing no seeds.

Straw and hay are very different things. So it is important to know which you are using.

While hay, since it is mowed grasses, can be prone to weed seeds, especially if it is from a spring mowing, straw (which is the stems of harvested grain crops) carry very few seeds. And the seeds the bales do carry are of the parent crop - wheat or oats or bran, not weeds.

The secret to success with either is using it thickly so that any seeds contained are smothered. A thin layer of only a couple of inches as most use provides the ideal environment for weed germination. So this is one case where more is definitely better.

We mulch with hay simply because we grow our own and have plenty of it while straw is very expensive here. But we layer 6-8" of it minimum around the plants and down the aisles and what weeds do sprout are easily pulled as they have a very shallow root system. Additional layers are added throughout the season as the plants grow and it breaks down.

{{gwi:10965}}

Another suggestion is to buy old bales if possible, crack them open and expose to the air for several weeks prior to applying to the garden - you want the soil to warm up well first anyway - so this delay usually isn't a problem. Or buy in the fall, crack them to age over the winter, then use in the spring.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Straw is the stalks of grains left after the grains are harvested, and you can see on these stalks some of the grain (seeds) that did not get harvested and these seeds are what most people see germinate and think they have "weeds" but what they have, from the straw, is just more of what they plunked down on the soil, the Oats, Rye, Wheat, or what ever else that straw grew. In your soil you may well have lots of "weed" seeds simply waiting for the right environment to germinate, and that more than likely is what you saw the following spring, not "weeds" that were in the straw. Did you mulch more the next spring?

we used straw many years ago when it was cheap, mostly it comes from the wheat harvest so does have left over seed in it (they haven't made a harvester yet that can harvest 99%of the grain), anyhow yes we did get some sprouting but it hardly qualified to be called weeds! we simply pulled them where we could and tucked them under the mulch as extra nutrient. but there was never any perpetuation of the growths even if they did reach some sort of maturity.

we use hay type mulches now more affordable and contain better nutrient values, these can contain seeds (in the case of pasture grass that is baled for fodder purposes) but there we hardly ever get any growths, and again they hardly qualify as weeds.

we mulch to around 6" to 8"s and this probably also helps in control of any seeds that may germinate, plus we remulch about every 6 monhts as a minimum.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

What do people use for mulch besides straw?

What do people use for mulch besides straw?

Hay, as discussed above. Also some use compost, many use shredded fall leaves, cardboard, shredded newspaper, any chipped or shredded plant material works.

Search 'mulch' here or check out the FAQ on mulch for even more suggestions.

Dave

i use whatever is readily available.

currently i have 30 bales left out of a 40 bale delivery of pasture grass hay, this was unspoilt hay but a good price and it will deliver lots of nutrients, hope now that this will be my normal supply.

have used spoilt lucerne hay when it is available, as well as sugarcane mulch (the most common), also used slashed grass's from paddocks and those sort of areas that don't get mowed, had to rake much of it ourselves, much of this from local council public areas. but if you see where someone slashes grass near you go ask if you can rake it and take it, they'll generally say yes.

for me straw may last a longer time before it breaks down but it doen't deliver the nutrients that the hay's do.

len

I asked Dave this question on another forum.

Would a 4 or 6 inch rain be a problem with all that mulch? I had 10½ inches in one week in July '03 and ...well that is tough on tomatoes and some other crops. I wouldn't use organic nulch on melons here as they need all the heat usually on the ground.

Hmm, what Wayne said has got me rethinking mulching for certain plants. How about a natural black coloured mulch? Anyone know of a dark mulch that might warm the ground underneath and still add organic matter??

Maybe a black cover over the organic mulch? Best of both options? lol maybe that's going to far. I guess it would also slow the decomposition of the organic mulch underneath.

What do people use for mulch besides straw?

The best mulch we have in central(ish) Texas is shredded cedar (really a juniper). It's invasive, wildly prolific, and sucks the life out of rangeland, so shredding it is a win for everyone.

Covering anything with black plastic provides more shade than heat.

There's a golf course in the area that is all organic. They use piled up, shredded mesquite to block rushing water coming down washes toward their fairways. They pile it into rows about 24 inches high. The compost forms a porous dam. A pond forms behind it but lets the water drain slowly through.

sure i'd put a organic mulch down underneath the black plastic...
if you're going to have plastic down at all, might as well have some something underneath it feeding the soil right?
otherwise, under that plastic, nothing would be happening at all.

Even if organic matter was put down underneath plastic theat plastic would keep air from infiltrating the soil and your soil would go anaerobic (absence of air) and that would set up conditions more conducive to plant diseases and pests. There are many, many materials fairly readily available locally at far less cost than the "designer" materials sold in bags at the big box stores, and often these materials are free for the asking. For many people the leaves from deciduous trees are freely available every fall. Wood chips may be available from tree cutters that often need to pay to dump them. You can, except for those living in ludite areas, compost. Reuse, recycle, never, ever throw away material that can be put on the soil.