Do I have hay or straw?

16 years ago

We got some bales of "something" last year. It definitely wasn't a fresh cutting. My father used it to cover freshly planted grass seeds.

It has been outside in the weather since then. The inside of the bales are somewhat rotten, partly frozen. What concerns me is that I can see what looks like the tassels from hay.

Is this at all "safe" to use in a lasagna style bed and as mulch or will these tassels contain seeds that will make my life miserable? How can I tell for sure?

I keep seeing references to rotted materials used for compost. Before I put anything on top of this layer in my garden, I'd like a 2nd opinion. Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks!!

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Comments (15)

jbest123
16 years ago
Do a Google image search for wheat, barley and oats. If it is not one of these then it is probably hay. If it is straw you could still get some weeds if the field had a large weed population. When the grain is harvested the combine will miss some grain and it will germinate in your garden but just cut it off at the mulch level and let it lay and the stalk will die.

John
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leslies
16 years ago
My personal opinion is that it does not matter. Both hay and straw can contain seeds - depending on when it was cut and what it is. I just don't think that the type of weeds you get are worth worrying about - I mean, it's not like timothy and wheat are aggressive thugs!
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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
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decklap
16 years ago
These aren't hard fast rules but typically what is sold as straw is the remaining stalk from a grain harvest. Very yellow, thick and dry.

Hay is any number of things, fescue, clover, alfalfa and other stuff my grandpa probably never planted. Anymore almost nobody bales hay in smaller bales. Most hay is baled in the huuugge round bales you see stored in barns or fields so if you got something in a rectangular bale you can easily pick up its almost certainly straw.
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jbest123
16 years ago
decklap, here in PA it depends on the farmer. We still have a lot of small farms and your chances are 50/50 if the smaller bales are hay or straw.

John
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digdirt2
16 years ago
Flat, hollow stems are straw. Round, solid stems are hay. Usually. ;)

Dave
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crabjoe
16 years ago
Digdirt is write. Flat is Straw, and it's flat because it's what's left after the grain harvest. Hey will have round solid stems because the seeds, which is basically grain, hasn't been harvest.

Straw is sold as bedding... Hey as Feed. Straw tends to be golden yellow... Hey seems to be on the green side.

Old stuff, sitting out all winter... I have no idea what it might look like. I do know even straw will have some seeds because it's just not possible to get every seed out.
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decklap
16 years ago
jbest,

50/50?? Wonder why so many would still be baling smaller bales in your area. It's gotta be kind of a pain for them to feed doesn't it. Can't remember the last time I saw anyone put up small bales.
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Kimmsr
16 years ago
Many people get really concerned because the straw, the residue from harvesting grains, has some seeds left on it not realizing tht those seeds are the grain that was harvested, not "weeds". If the straw was from Rye then what will grow is Rye, if from Wheat then Wheat will grow, if Oats the Oats will grow, not necessarily a "weed". Since hay is cut before seeds set any seed heads you see may well be "weeds", but in a good, well maintained, hay field there will not be many of those "weeds".
Overall, no matter what this was it is a good addition to a Lasagna bed, even with the seeds.
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jbest123
16 years ago
decklap,

Many of the farms in PA have fields on the side of hills that are too steep for some of the larger equipment and the farm may be too small to afford any of the modern equipment. They say the cows have short legs on one side so they can stand up on the side of the hills but I could not figure out how they could get back to the barn.:) Also I would hate to see one of those big round bales rolling down the hill in the direction of a house or barn.

John
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Lcgrace Mahoney
Original Author
16 years ago
It sounds like I'm doing the right thing with this stuff! I think it's hay. jbest123 is absolutely right. We're "small" farm country around here. Lots of the equipment is what their grandfathers used back in the day.

Our hills? lol Well, let's just say that I had relatives visit from Kansas and called to say that they weren't driving any further without an escort because they thought there car was going to fall off the mountains! We thought it was hilarious until we saw that they were genuinely terrified! lol

I thought it was normal to have 2 barns on the farm and a few feeders, so the cows with the short legs on the right side would have a place to feed and the ones with the short legs on the left could use the other. :) They do occasionally walk backward but it's not pretty.
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decklap
16 years ago
Man those must be some antique balers!! Im in Illinois, what are these "hills" you speak of??
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paulns
16 years ago
The farmer's co-op in town sells straw bales and hay bales, same rectangular shape, from PEI. Are you saying that's primitive?

Just to add to the adjective pool, straw stems look golden, big, flattened, while hay looks finer, weedy, seedy and greenish. Hay is usually dustier when you pull the bale apart. Anything that sprouts from straw, I consider a bonus.
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jbest123
16 years ago

decklap

This is typical of many farms in western Pa. Fields like these could be planted with grains and some fields steeper than these used for pasture or hay.

John

{{gwi:279571}}

John
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billie_ladybug
16 years ago
decklap - you must be in some pretty narrow minded country, not to offer a choice like that. I've been across most of the west and the small bale predominates. The main use for the large bails is the cattle ranches which are usually not "hay" or "grass" but sorgum which is another cane type similar to straw, but more nutrients. The small farms and horse farms use the smaller bales as you don't need lots of equipment to move them around and they are easy to handle and seperate.

Billie
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Lcgrace Mahoney
Original Author
16 years ago
Decklap, I found some pics of our "hills"...lol

They aren't farming pics but views that are typical for our area. Alot different than Illinois! :)

I found them on www.pahikes.com They are different pics of hiking trails. Completely OT from the hay/straw thing but I thought you'd like them. LC Grace
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Do I have hay or straw?

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