Difference Between Hay And Straw Mulch

The first thing you need to know is that there is a difference between hay and straw.

Difference between hay and straw mulch. The highest quality hay will have few to no seeds but some are inevitable. Hay on the other hand is grass or legumes that have been cut and dried and is generally used as animal feed. Hay and straw are often both used as weed control mulch in the garden but the results you get can be quite different. Hay tends to lay flat and pack down so it decomposes fairly quickly.

To start with let s just consider that one of them hay is a food source while the other straw is not. Hay is grass that has been cut while it is still green and full of nutrients but before it has gone to seed. Straw can also be used as mulch or to make compost. It also has more of a sponge effect than straw does which means that in heavy rainfalls it buffers or slows down the amount of rain that soaks into the soil to help prevent erosion and leeching of nutrients.

Straw is made from grain crops by removing the grain and chaff while hay is made from dried grasses and legumes. Because hay packs down densely the weeds from underneath get smothered and die very quickly. Many people even those who are frequently required to use them sometimes cannot make out the difference between qualitative hay and straw. We tend to use the words interchangeably but there is a big difference.

Hay bales and straw bales are used for various purposes. Hay is a crop that is grown and harvested as a feed crop for cattle horses and. And if you use hay with all those seed heads intact as a garden mulch the seeds will sprout and you ll become an unintentional grain farmer. Inch layer of hay mulch between plants to discourage weeds improve the quality of the soil conserve moisture preserve temperature and create a pleasing appearance.

So what is the difference between straw and hay. Straw is considered an organic mulch along with grass clippings pine needles and shredded compost leaves and wood products. My vegetable garden is mulched with old or moldy hay and soiled bedding from stalls which is our hay with added pony pooh power. Hay is often used to feed animals while straw is often used as bedding.

Hay often contains seeds which sprout when used as mulch which is why there are so many warnings against using it. Straw and hay are often packaged up identically and many garden centers and even farmers who sell their extra bales on the roadside use the term straw whether the bale in question is straw or hay. Straw can also contain seeds if all of the grain was not removed but in general it is less of a problem.