Early Results: Hay vs Straw. Which mulch has more weeds?

Earlier this summer, I built 5 identical raised garden beds, and began a bit of an experiment to see if hay as mulch actually results in more weeds than straw. To do this, we covered one of the raised beds with hay that had been stored inside, we covered the second with hay that had gotten wet and moldy, and for the third, we mixed the same amount of hay into the soil to simulate tilling. Finally, we covered the 4th bed with dry straw, and as our control, we left the 5th bed completely bare. And now, about a month later, let’s see the early results. As has the bed with the hay mixed in. And while the two beds with old and new hay HAVE sprouted a few grass plants around the edges, so has the bed with straw. Which means that so far, when it comes to weeds, hay and straw as mulch, have performed exactly the same. But there’s also plenty of time left in the season, so stayed tuned for the final results.

[ssmith]

Hmmm... Interesting... But did you see the color of that soil? I want that soil. I bet those weeds are very happy.

[cjdflkj]

No no. The bare bed didn’t grow weeds, it grew delicious lambs quarter. The bed with straw grew oats. The hay grew weeds. 😜

[nicholasbreecher]

I have been regularly checking back for the results on this.

I hate how excited I got about this.

[chadtitan]

Next time do Pine Needles, Autumn leaves (oak vs mayple), Wood Chips, and Rock. Just an easy to do idea💡.

[johnjanedoe]

Everyone's hay and straw will perform differently. So in my opinion, this experiment is only good for you, for your knowledge, to see what you should use, based on the hay and straw that's available to you. Because others' hay will have different weed seeds and different amounts. For example, natural organic grass hay will have many seeds perhaps, but sometime with only alfalfa who uses herbicides, may have little to no weeds. Also with straw, there could be weeds present, like in my organic straw, many weeds. Or, someone who uses herbicides, could have no weeds, but there may be a lot of grains left on the stalks that didn't fall off. That's very common.
Every single source for hay and straw will yield different results, especially organic or natural vs conventional.
I do think it's a great experiment...for you. It's good to show others and encourage others try this...but it's good to advise them that their results would be very different, and that they shouldn't draw any actual conclusions from YOUR results. ❤

[kaos]

Make sure your hay comes from a known source that does not use grazon. Probably spelt wrong. But you get the point.

[notthereyethomestead]

Those "weeds" look like lamb's quarter, which the leaves are food, either as a stir fry or added to a salad.
Check it out to be sure of my naming it correctly.

[tatianaphoenix]

Darnit u got me! A new sub just outta my curiosity to see more results! Well played

[patrickprudhume]

Many of the "weeds" in the uncovered bed are actually food most of it was lambsquarters

[lightwan]

I have found that a lot of weeds will grow from hay on the second year (after the hay passed the winter)

[DR-zjod]

I have lots of horses therefore lots of hay. After 35 years of experience I can safely say NEVER use hay as mulch unless you want hay growing in your garden bed. Hay and straw will both kill or slow the growth of the weed seeds below them. Problem is, the hay just reseeds the bed with new hay. Hay is a well known NO NO for mulch and every expert gardener will tell you to NEVER use hay mulch.

[jeshurunfarm]

Fantastic! Can't wait to see the end result.... but you are truly a better human than me.... I can't build beautiful beds and not plant veg in them. 😂

[partyinthecloudkingdom]

is that a grass hay like oat? it looks like the bed with the hay mixed in is growing completely different plants than the bare bed. its growing some kind of grass, which may just be the seeds from the hay itself

[ethanmcleod]

Don’t use hay for mulch in your garden. Most hay contains grazon, which is a chemical weed control that kills all broadleaf plants. Same goes for using animal waist that has come from animals that have eaten hay that’s been tainted with grazon. It’s really hard to find untainted hay unless you grow it yourself

[rebecca]

Put it in a large bag or pillow case and put it in an outdoor turkey frying stock pot and boil it. This is the method for making mushroom compost, but doing it for your beds kills all seeds and starts the breakdown process even faster, and makes a welcoming home for fungus spores.
Boil your hay and straw.

Alternatively, ferment it in a huge tote bin full of water. All the seeds will sprout then die, and you can pour out the compost tea into the beds as well.

[spir]

I have heard the hay versus straw argument for over 50 years. Thank you for helping to settle this question.

[ContactsNfilters]

Maybe a good test to see if it's been treated with grazon or something similar before it gets into your soil for 5 or so years.

[averyjones]

Hey who said lambs quarters are weeds? Great project keep up the good work!

[judxmud]

Okay, I am hooked. I believe Ruth Stout says it doesn't matter but I have always been afraid of hay. If the mulch stops the weed seeds in the soil from germinating then in theory some more weed seeds in the mulch shouldn't matter. In theory!

[rebeccazaban-boylan]

I can’t find the update for what happened at the end of the summer! Can you help me?