It would all be going down in my garden I acually search out moldy straw and hay I hate paying for things like that(:

Hey Idaho! Hi. Boy, am I glad you asked this question. I had moldy straw that I put down in April thinking it would be ok. Now I'm wondering. My tomatoes/and potatoes are diseased, not sure with what yet. But then it's been and extremely wet spring. S

Sudzy, We had tons of rain too. Supposed to have heat from now on...
I have 1 weird looking tom plant, the rest had a hard time but are lookin good now. Lots of water and stress was hard on them. A few flea beetles too. Not many blossoms yet.

Jonas...thanks!

Moldy straw is fine when used as a mulch, or in the compost pile. You just need to be careful when handling moldy straw because the spores from that mold can cause respiratory diseases in some people. The mold that is in that straw is not what causes plant diseases.

I'd compost it instead of mulching with it because I wouldn't want to be breathing mold every time I went into the garden.

But them I'm asthmatic so I'm sensitive.

If you go near compost, you are breathing all kinds of noxious things- bacteria, fungi, mold...

I mulched my tomatoes with year old straw this year. It didn't look moldy, but it was crawling with pill bugs. Grossed my husband out- he wouldn't touch it. That was about a month ago and my tomatoes are growing like weeds. Now about 4-5' tall, full of blossoms and tomatoes. I started them from seed.

I have to use bricks on top of straw mulch, though, or it blows away.

Karen

Thanks everyone!
Karen, I noticed mine blowing. I have fencing on all sides. If mine blows its ok other then to reapply it. My soil is very needy so the straw will help where ever it goes. The plot is new, used to be weeds, and nothing added until next year. If we move from here, I will weigh it down, thanks for the tip!