However, the advantages come in the form of reduced cost and labor, so it is a reasonable investment to make. The trick here is to find seed-free hay because any seed that you haven’t planted in your garden will qualify as a weed as soon as it germinates. Hay mulch will plant grass seed which will become a nuisance after you till or add other mulch etc. However, after a couple of weeks, it becomes a much darker brown (soil-like color). Deep Mulch Gardening says: July 1, 2014 at 8:58 pm […] When I first put it down, it has a straw-like color that I do not care for (it's really not that bad). 6. “In the years I’ve been advocating for the deep mulch method of gardening, I’ve had a couple people ask if I’ve ever had problems using non-organic hay. Purchasing hay to use as a mulch can appear expensive at first glance, since you may pay between two to six dollars a piece for small bales. Old hay, on the other hand, is dirt cheap. If you need to mulch a large garden in fall, and you don't have enough leaf or newspaper mulch for the job, seed the area with cover crops—live plants that are sometimes called "living mulches." Straw is mostly carbon and as a material is similar to, but with less nutrients than grass hay. If you have enough property to grow your own hay for mulch, you can harvest before the seed heads develop. If hay gets wet and spoils, farmers can’t use it to feed their animals anymore; it might kill them. By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors Price, for starters. A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil.Reasons for applying mulch include conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth and enhancing the visual appeal of the area.. A mulch is usually, but not exclusively, organic in nature. Posted Thursday, June 8, 2017 8:42 pm. For a gardener, however, that spoiled hay is exactly what your garden needs. I have been using hay in parts of my garden for about six years now, and love the results! Hay, like other natural mulches, will add organic nutrients to your soil when it breaks down. Ruth Stout And Permanent Hay Mulch Ruth Stout's "no work" gardening method was covering everything in hay mulch and leaving it alone until harvest time. This mulch will allow rainwater and overhead irrigation to get down to the root zone, and will also help retain moisture. It is right up there as one of the most often types of mulch used. Visit us today for the widest range of Potting Mixes, Composts, Mulches & Manures products. In fact, your garden will probably like it … The mulch near the sidewalk in this photo was applied a month ago. Straw Mulch. Hay has many uses that are often overlooked. Cover over it with chopped leaves or another mulch. Using hay as a natural mulch. What is the difference between mulch hay and straw? This is the way I would choose if I had enough property and the means to harvest the hay. Straw and hay, for different reasons need to be treated much the same way There is a lot of controversy over that question! We get our hay from a variety of sources, and looking back, I’m almost certain some of it had to be sprayed at some point. Check out our range of Mulch products at your local Bunnings Warehouse. Hay can be an Excellent Mulch if. Cover crops are an alternative to mulching with bark, leaves, or other conventional mulches to … Should You Use Hay as Mulch in Your Garden? If you can do this — you’ll be good to go using hay to mulch your garden. By Henry Homeyer. The mulch farther back was applied a couple of days ago. A great, little known fact about hay is that it can be composted and then used as mulch. They'll be better off with straw, shredded leaves, paper mulch or newspaper. Keep the mulch pulled back from the plants when they come up about 1″ or you will literally burn the stalk where it comes near the degrading mulch. You can easily pay $8 to $10 a bale for straw, and as little as $2 or $3 for hay. Non organic straw/hay bales are good to sit on or make into a straw bale house, but that’s about it. Cool-weather crops, such as broccoli and greens, don't want the extra heat from a plastic mulch. ... and a layer of straw or mulch hay (4 to 6 inches thick before it packs down).