Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hay is for horses, because it has a lot of good green nutrition which is the live straw and seeds.
So, if your doing gardening, and don't want a lot of seeds all over, use straw.
That is how I remember it, Hay is for horses.
Very sad when someone puts live hay all over the lawn thinking it is straw.
They water it, and oh wow.
I tried growing some plants in straw bales and didn't like it.
First, it requires a *ton* of water to get the bales wet. If I were to try it again, I would leave the bales out in the rain for a couple months in late winter, rather than trying to wet them down with a hose.
Second, I found it difficult to "dig" the planting holes - although that may be related to (1), because I doubt I ever got the bales sufficiently wet.
Third - and this is the real deal breaker - plants grown in the bales were subject to far more insect attacks than the same plants growing in the ground six feet away.
I could see working on the moisture issues and getting it right, but the increased insect susceptibility I experienced make it difficult for me to think it is worth the effort.
Hay has more nitrogen than straw, but as has been said, hay has seeds.
People often use these terms interchangeably, but there is a difference beyond seeds and no seeds. Straw is bedding, hay is feed....and then there is another bale, alfalfa, which is also feed. The article says that most straw bales are grass, soy and corn, you might be able to find rice straw.
Straw is also cheaper.
Hay has more nitrogen than straw, but as has been said, hay has seeds.
People often use these terms interchangeably, but there is a difference beyond seeds and no seeds. Straw is bedding, hay is feed....and then there is another bale, alfalfa, which is also feed. The article says that most straw bales are grass, soy and corn, you might be able to find rice straw.
Straw is also cheaper.
When you use hay or hay bales it needs to be "spoiled." In essence, past it due date for consumption. It's gotten wet and started composting and releasing it's nitrogen. Very difficult to find these days. This technique was pioneered by Ruth Stout many years ago. She was in Connecticut horse country and had easy access to such a product. In the years since it has become conflated with straw bales and the real technique was lost. In my area I have not been able to find spoiled hay bales.
When you use hay or hay bales it needs to be "spoiled." In essence, past it due date for consumption. It's gotten wet and started composting and releasing it's nitrogen. Very difficult to find these days. This technique was pioneered by Ruth Stout many years ago. She was in Connecticut horse country and had easy access to such a product. In the years since it has become conflated with straw bales and the real technique was lost. In my area I have not been able to find spoiled hay bales.
True. The straw bale technique gets around this by adding a nitrogen fertilizer to the wet bales.
There's a whole protocol, you can't just put plants into the bale.
I *really* wanted this to work for me, but it just didn't.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
