Depends on the price and what type of hay. At 5.50 a bale each would go for the straw. Any time find hay for 50 cent to 1.00 it is perfect. Belive the hay will give you more weeds in the future. Composting seems hay is harder to turn then straw. I use both since own sevearl horses. Depends on price and what can be obtained. Found some wonderful hay that looked like straw in very large bales, one bale mulched 16 tomato plants with ease. Alfafa hay is another good possible choice. If you are not used to looking at a bale of hay and sizing up just how weedy it is, would suggest straw is the way to go.

Mulch alot with the hay the horses do not eat, so far has worked very well. I go with price first and how many weeds in the bale.

Alfalfa hay seems to be a very good mulch and fertilizer. I've heard many places that it contains a growth enhancer, and last year when I used it to mulch my potatoes, my crop really improved , yielding 150 lb plus from five fairly short rows. Most very good sized. I use it whenever I can get it. Unfortunately, it's pretty pricy, but it seems worth it.
Thanks, Lisa

Straw is cheaper than hay and hay has more seeds. Hay is the first cutting from the hay fields, all of the top growth of the plants, thus containing more seeds. Straw is cut afterwards and is simply the stalk of the plants.

Around here straw and hay seem to have about the same amount of seeds. When I've used straw, I've had clumps of whatever grain (barley?) it was made from. When I use grass hay I get grass, when I use alfalfa, I get little alfalfa plants coming up all over. It doesn't seem to matter. I've heard of some folks dampening and then letting the bales sit to presprout the seeds, but then you have a potential slimy mess to work with.

I'm a Ruth Stout advocate, she say's if you have a weed, you dont have hay thick enough, throw some more on it. i keep a thick mulch, hay, straw, whatever i can get year around. worked for 20 years

Ceresone is right, the thickness of the mulch is the key.

If you have one of those free classified papers (here it's called The Nickel), check out the farm/animal/garden ads. The cheapest straw comes baled right out of the field. If the farmer doesn't have to waste time putting it in the barn, he can charge a lower price. Keep an eye out for farm fields. If you see oats or barley or wheat, etc, stop and ask what he does with the straw after he harvests. If he will sell it to you cheap, get his phone number and ask for an approximate time to call. When he says it's ready, GO!

Also, a lot of farmers keep their hay and straw in barns with roofs but no sides. The outside stuff gets wet and moldy and can't be used as feed. Try an ad in your cheapie local paper and ask for spoiled hay. Farmers are usually glad to get rid of it. If you haven't got a truck, borrow one. (Ladies, a guy with a truck will often be glad to help you out: just offer gas money and a whole cheesecake!)

Straw can be just as seedy as hay. Got chickens? Put a bale in the chicken yard, open it up, and let the chickens have a grand time pulling it apart and searching out all the seeds. Then put it in the garden. This is what I do with plants that can't tolerate a mulch heavy enough to really keep the weeds down, like carrots.

Sue

Way to go, Ceresone!
I use the Ruth Stout no till permanent hay mulch method as well. I don't have to weed or water. The hay enriches the soil. If you see weeds, put on more hay and they "die of old age" before they can ever get to the surface. Started gardening this way in 1974. Your soil gets so good and your plants so healthy that you have a minimum of problems. My neighbor asked me yesterday what I did to my garden because it was so healthy looking. When I said "nothing", I had to explain about the hay. It's so labor saving, too.
Pat

"Straw is cheaper than hay"

I don't know about where tou live, but for me hay is much cheaper. A bale of straw costs $6.00; a ton (approx 34 bales) of hay costs $80-$90. So for me hay is less than half the price of straw. I have a horse so I have plenty of spoiled hay that I use as mulch.

I don't know about where tou live, but for me hay is much cheaper. A bale of straw costs $6.00; a ton (approx 34 bales) of hay costs $80-$90.

Economics of scale. Wholesale costs less per unit.

Also, 6 bucks is very steep for straw where I live.

It's a pity that all those farmers that burn their straw don't advertise for people to pick it up. They could probably sell it for a dollar or two a bale.

Sue

I put a free ad in the local newspaper that said " WANTED, spoiled hay, will haul". You wouldn't believe the number of people who have responded wanting us to clean out their barns! We are now able to pick and choose. We have no way to haul the big round bales, and are dealing with the people with square bales that live closest to us.

I have been buying hay for years, and just never thought to put that little ad in the paper!

Try straw from pine,cedar,or other conifers. NO WEEDS at all..Here in Georgia you can usually rake up enough for the garden. If we buy it, it's about $4.oo per bale. Wheat straw is about the same. I'd take either over hay anytime here. Ever tried to get rid of established Bermuda Grass or Goose Grass, or Crabgrass? With most hay here, you run a risk of planting it. Wheat straw seeds germinate, then die back in hot weather, so not too bad. We don't see a lot of barley etc. It's mostly Pine and
Wheat.

in rereading this post, i noticed something--around here, there can be, in good years, 5 cutting of hay from a hay field--and straw is from a field thats been combined for seeds.and--straw here is 2.50 a bale, and with the drought here, i understand hay might go as high as 10. a bale. i paid 5.50 earlier.

Maine grows very little grain, at least around the coast where I am. But there are hayfields, and hay goes for around $2/bale, depending on when and where you get it. (Loading it yourself out of the field, so the farmer has no handling cost, is cheapest) I talked to someone who said they bought in straw, a semi load at a time, for about $3 per bale.

On the other hand, the last time I bought straw I lived in Portland Oregon, and bought it from a farm out in Hillsboro, making the actual transaction with some Mexican farm workers, who charged me 50 cents a bale and said, "Grasias! Es por Cervesa!", when I gave them the money.

There are a number of farms in the Willamette Valley that grow grass seed, and annual rye straw is a waste product they'd like to be rid of. Someone out there might be able to tell the current politics of burning it better than I could.

Dan

If you ever attend the hay markets you'll notice potential buyers examining the hay (or straw) for quality. Horse hay can't have mold or mustyness. Dairymen usually buy hay based on protein(Nitrogen % x6.25) and energy(inversely correlated to fiber/muturity). What is quality for our mulch use is somewhat similar. We can save $$ by planning ahead for what we want.

Roberta has the right idea about placing an add but if you know your farm neighbors you can contact them at the right time and get a great deal on quality (mulch) hay. Unexpected wet spells during haymaking events should be a flag for us to start shopping. Rained-on and spoiled hay which would otherwise be top quality forage will be worth more as mulch.

A good legume hay (alfalfa, birdsfoot, clover) could easily contain over 3 % Nitrogen (dry basis) and considerable amounts of P & K as well as trace elements. Those nutrients are still in the spoiled hay, unfit for livestock feed. Grasses cut before maturity (seeding) are almost as good. Mature forages and weeds may serve our purpose but with the price of fertilizers as high as they are now we need to do the math.

Many farmers would be willing to give great deals on spoiled hay before further handling is required to get rid of it. Keep in mind that baling costs alone may be $30-$35/ton . Seek out mulch hay that has better nutrient and less weed levels which may be obtained for a few dollars more.

Straw has a natural waterproofing, that breaks down over time.
The Great Ruth Stout liked hay, because it was cheat & was more of a self composting then straw, as it mulched.
Does anyone know of a link for Nutritional value of different straws/hays?
I have used weeds, grass hay,straw & shredded leaves, but you will need a shredder for most leaves.

jolj, farmers/livestock raisers don't feed straw to animals, it is used for bedding. They feed hay because it has nutritional value for the livestock.
Does that make any sense?

I would use hay over straw any day...and some of the above posts were right...it depends on the depth you apply it for weed control, etc.!

I can only speak for what has worked for me. I buy straw (less seeds) in the fall or mid-winter. I open the bales to let in some light and rain. leave them out all winter till I need them for mulch in the spring. Then when it is time, i plant the veggies and lay the straw down thickly around them. This time exposed to the elements gives any seeds inside the bales a chance to sprout. Then when the next cold snap comes it kills the sprouts. So when you use it for mulch most of the seeds are already dead. You can use the bales around a compost pile or a cold frame and then replace it with the new ones. perfection!!

I have never paid for rain spoiled hay!! Just look around and get it for free.Your doing them a favor to get rid of it.I just went out to look yesterday and scored 12 bales of alfalfa hay!

Call any hay farmer and ask if he has spoiled hay. Offer 50 cents a bale for it. He may say take it for free.

I've heard too much grass clippings in the compost are not good, I don't know why and pine needles have too much acid. Anybody heard this?

I'm planning to use old hay (got a little wet over the winter) for mulch over my potatoes and under the pumpkins. The potatoes will be under the hay, but the pumpkins on a mound of dirt, on top of the hay. Has anyone done this? Any tips/ideas, before I start? It's been so wet and rainy, we're only now finally able to plant the squash...and the potatoes are a fun experiment, for my nephew's garden. Not too concerned about overall yield, just trying to keep down the weeds, since he doesn't come out often enough to weed regularly. Thanks in advance :)

I have my potatoes under straw, and they seem to be doing well. I thought I had killed them all, as they were very slow to poke their leaves out from under the straw. But eventually they did. I guess it was just our long, cool spring that held them back.

I grew my pumpkins and butternut squash last year surrounded by pine straw mulch. It's what I have a lot of in my yard, and it worked just fine. In fact, most of my garden is mulched with pine straw, just because we have lots of it and it is free.

plsanders, too many grass clippings in compost will pack down & prevent the decomposing process. If you layer them with other materials they should work.
No one has proven that pine needles will add any acid of any amount to soil. They are our main mulch material here in the south but we call it pine straw!

Potatoes under straw/hay?, yep...they did great! Hay/straw under the pumpkins...helps keep away ground rot. You might want to put some newspapers under the straw/hay under the pumpkins...that works too! Also good under tomato plants that have laid their tomatoes on the ground.

lavender_lass:
Your plan for using spoiled hay should work as long as you patrol for slugs & water weekly if no rain. I've used it numerous times & despite warnings about seeds sprouting I've not had much trouble with either. Straw seems to last longer, but both work. Depending on how much hay you have you might need some layers of cardboard or thick newspaper to stop the onslaught of the weeds/grass. What sprouts in the hay isn't going to be much of a problem even if only tended once a week. Either stack more hay on the sprouts or give a quick tug or hoe action & you're done.

I usually run out of hay before my project is complete, so having a huge supply is a bonus! I gather the free sweepings from the feed store, so usually a mixture of straw, alfalfa & grass hay.

A big bonus of this method is that next year you'll have an an easy to plant bed with fluffy soil under that hay. I found that out by accident and now know it's called sheet composting. Sure saves me time & energy from having to weed the garden. When our kids were younger they'd ask why the other gardens they'd see had 2' high weeds & my reply would be, "Needs mulch!" I wouldn't garden without it anymore.

Some basic tips that have helped us with these crops.

potatoes--
leave at least 2-4" green showing to keep them growing. Some varieties will produce a larger harvest with more mulch being added, but Yukon Golds don't. Still the hay mulch keeps it moist so you water less & potatoes continuously grow.

pumpkins--
put a board, brick, flat rock, or even right side up Frisbee under the pumpkins to keep them drier & away from the slugs who love to hide underneath. Anything that doesn't collect water or stay damp should work.

After harvest, be sure to chop up remains with a hoe or mower, then smother with more hay so you have at least a 6" layer that will be a snap to plant in the spring.

Corrine

Just came across this thread and thought I'd chime in. IMO straw is better than hay as mulch for a number of reasons. 1) Fewer seeds. As some have already mentioned, the straw is the bottom stalk of the plant, whatever type of straw it is. 2) Being the bottom of the stalk, it is hollow and holds warm air longer; acts like a down quilt. 3) Straw dries faster and is therefore more resistant to mold and mildew which can damage plants and roots over the winter or in a hot, humid season. It doesn't compact as much as hay. More lightweight so better movement of air because it is hollow. 4) It is usually cheaper and more readily available. And, as mentioned, in a bad year, it will be harder to find hay for mulch. 5)Straw breaks up easier when it is walked on or otherwise abused and is therefore, easier to compost. Like dried leaves. Even if it doesn't, it stays cleaner and is easier to remove for composting.

Some disadvantages: It is slippery when wet. It takes longer to decompose, which in some cases may be a good thing.

Another thing that may be worth mentioning here: I use alfalfa pellets that I buy in a 50 lb bag that you feed to horses or rabbits. I use sometimes 3 bags a year in my city yard for fertilizer. Easy to use, safe for pets, humans and wildlife, cheap, natural,no seeds, and it boosts the soil and lightens it up too. I dig it in twice a year.

Ginny