straw bale gardening – greenupside

If you are unsure about the difference between straw and hay, you’re not alone. I wasn't sure either, so I did some digging to find out exactly what it is that separates the two. So, what is the difference between straw and hay? Straw is yellow, and it is made from grain crops (like wheat) by removing the grain and chaff. Straw has no seeds, and it is used for animal bedding, mulch, or compost. Hay is yellow or green, and it is made from dried grasses or legumes (like alfalfa). Hay has seeds, and it is used as animal feed. Of course, straw and hay each have specific uses and cases where they work best. Neither one is really “better” than the other. In this article, we’ll talk about the differences between straw and hay, including where they come from, how they are made, and how they are used. Let's get started. What Is The Difference Between Straw & Hay? The main differences between straw and hay are where they come from, how they are made, and how they are used. Straw is dry and has low nutritional value for animals. However, it has many uses in the garden. The table below summarizes the differences between straw and hay. StrawHaymade from grain stalks like wheat, oats, & rice (no seeds)made from dried grass or legumes(has seeds and leaves)grain and chaff are removedentire plant is harvested and driedused as beds for animals, mulch, or compostused for animal feedhas low nutritional valuehas high nutritional valuevery drydried, but may still be moisthas a gold or yellow colorhas a gold or greenish colorThis table shows the differences between straw and hay. According to Wikipedia, straw is what is left of crops like oats, rice, and wheat after the grain and chaff are removed. The grain (or inside of the seed) is what we eat, while the chaff (or outside of the seed) is the seed casing. Straw is made from the stalks of grain crops, and it is what is left after the seeds are removed. Straw can be used for animal feed and bedding, as mulch, or as an ingredient in a compost pile. You can also use straw to make baskets or thatch roofs. According to Wikipedia, hay is made from dried plants, such as grasses (ryegrass, fescue, etc.) or legumes (alfalfa, clover, etc.). Hay can be made from legumes like clover (shown here) or alfalfa, or from grasses. Hay is mainly used as an animal feed. Since hay contains the leaves and seeds of plants, it is more nutritious than straw. As you can see from the table above, straw has some uses that hay is not suitable for. Let’s find out why. Straw Straw has more diverse uses in the garden than hay. This is mainly due to the way it is made. How Is Straw Made? Straw comes about as a result (byproduct) of grain production. The main goal of growing grain crops is to harvest the grain for human or animal consumption. Here are the steps involved in making straw. First, a farmer grows a grain crop, such as: WheatRiceOatsBarley Straw comes from oats and other grain crops after the seeds are removed. Next, the farmer harvests the grain crop and threshes it. Threshing separates the grain crop into these three parts: Grain – this is the part of the grain crop that humans or animals eat. It is really a dry seed, which is sometimes ground into flour (such as wheat, rice, or oat flour).Chaff – this is the seed casing, which is part of the grain crop that humans cannot digest. However, some livestock can eat chaff as fodder.Straw – this is made from the dried stalks of grain crops. Straw is basically whatever remains after removing the grain and chaff from a grain crop. The seeds of wheat and other grains must be removed to make straw. The straw is then packed into bales, which are tied with twine. These bales are then sold for various purposes. What Is Straw Used For? Since straw contains very few (if any) seeds, it can be used in the garden without fear of spreading weeds (or grain crops) everywhere. Straw can be used as an ingredient in compost, as a type of mulch, as animal bedding (or feed), and for straw bale gardening. Using Straw To Make Compost A compost pile is where you take organic material and let it decompose into black, rich, earthy-smelling compost. You can use straw as one of the ingredients in compost. Straw is one ingredient you can add to a compost pile, but you can also use: Grass clippingsFallen leavesSawdustWood ashKitchen scraps (fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, etc.) Given enough time, straw and other ingredients in a compost pile will decompose. When you add compost to your garden, you add nutrients and organic material to the soil. You can use kitchen scraps and yard waste, along with straw, to make compost for your garden. The nutrients in compost then become available to plants, helping them to grow. The organic material in compost attracts beneficial organisms, such as earthworms and bacteria, which help to improve the soil. Compost also helps to improve drainage in clay soil. Compost is one of the first steps to keeping your soil healthy for a great garden. You can learn more about how to make compost in my article here. However, making compost isn't the only use for straw. We can also use it as mulch while it is still fresh, before it decomposes. Straw Mulch You can also use straw as a type of mulch in your yard and garden. When we hear the word “mulch”, we often think of the wood chips that are so common in decorative landscaping. However, you can also use other materials as mulch, including: StrawGrass clippingsLeaves Straw has many benefits when used as mulch in the garden: Insulates soil – straw helps to retain heat from the sun and air in the soil. This keeps soil and plants warmer on cold nights, which can protect your plants from cold damage.Retains moisture – a layer of straw can also prevent water from evaporating out of the soil. This keeps soil moist and it can help plants to survive a drought (or if you cannot water when you are away for an extended time).Controls weeds – if you put down some straw over existing weeds, it can smother them and stop them from growing back. It can also keep new weeds from growing by preventing them from getting air and sunlight. Straw can be used as mulch to help control weeds. Straw can also be used for hilling potatoes. You can use it as an alternative to soil, or you can use alternating layers if you wish. (You can learn more about hilling potatoes and why to do it in my article here). When this potato plant gets a little bigger, we can pile up straw around its stems (hilling) to prevent green tubers. Since it decomposes over time, straw used as mulch will eventually return its nutrients and organic matter to the soil, just like compost. Straw For Animal Bedding Or Feed You can also use straw as animal bedding if you keep livestock. When you need to refresh their bedding, just remove the old straw and add it to your compost pile. The used bedding will decompose and add nutrients (such as nitrogen) to your compost pile. You can use straw as bedding for chickens and other animals. Put the used bedding in your compost pile. Straw can also be used as animal feed in a pinch. However, straw it is not as nutritious as hay. This is because straw does not contain the leaves or seeds of the plants that it comes from. The leaves and especially the seeds are where the nutrients are! Straw Bale Gardening Finally, straw can be used as part of a straw bale gardening setup. You can grow lots of different plants in straw bales,. including tomatoes and potatoes. You can use straw bales to grow potatoes, tomatoes, and other crops. The basic idea is that you water the straw bale and add some fertilizer to provide the necessary nutrients for your plants. Throughout the season, you water and fertilize as needed. Since the straw should contain very few seeds, you don’t really need to worry about weeding with this method. The straw bale also acts as a sort of “raised bed”, which makes it easier to garden with this method if you are handicapped or disabled. Of course, you can also put a straw bale up on top of a raised bed - you can learn more about raised beds here. You can use a raised bed in addition to a straw bale to make gardening more accessible if you have injuries or a handicap. According to the Oklahoma State University Extension, you will need to replace straw bales every year, since they will decompose quickly during the course of a season. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. When the straw decomposes, you can simply recycle it by adding it to your compost pile at the end of the growing season. You can learn how to grow potatoes in straw bales in my article here, and you can learn about growing tomatoes in straw bales in my article here. If you are interested in using straw for any of the purposes mentioned above, you can buy it online in bales from Ace Hardware. Why Is Straw Better Than Hay? Straw is better than hay because straw has no seeds. This give straw a wider variety of uses in the garden. Although you can use hay as mulch or compost, this does present a problem. That is, the seeds (from grain or weeds) in hay might germinate in your garden and compete with your other plants. Straw is also drier than hay, which means that it is less likely to mold right away. Generally, straw is a little more affordable than hay, so it is the better option for animal bedding as well. One drawback of straw is that it is very dry, which can create a fire hazard if stored in large amounts in a barn. Hay Hay is mainly used as feed for animals, since this is the main purpose of making hay. How Is Hay Made? First, a farmer grows a grass or legume commonly used to make hay. Some grasses used to make hay include: FescueRyegrassTimothy Fescue is one type of grass that is often cut and dried to make hay. Some legumes used to make hay include: AlfalfaClover Alfalfa (Lucerne) is a legume crop that can be turned into hay. Next, the farmer harvests the grasses and legumes when they are still growing. Usually, when these crops are harvested, the seeds are still present. Then, the harvested crops are cut and dried out. They are then made into bales and transported wherever they are needed. Hay bales often have more moisture than straw bales. Unfortunately, this can lead to mold or rotting, which is not good for livestock. In that case, you would need to use the hay for compost – but only if you can make sure any seeds will not grow! What Is Hay Used For? Hay is mostly used as animal feed (fodder), since it contains more nutrients than straw. If hay gets wet (or was not dried out enough), it can get moldy. Hay is often used as feed for cows and other animals. In that case, you might want to discard it, or possibly turn it into compost. If you compost hay, remember that you may have to contend with the seeds of the grasses and legumes that were used to make the hay. If the compost pile gets hot enough, you might be fine. If not, you might have some serious weeds in your garden! If you do end up with problematic weeds, you can learn how to get rid of them without bending or kneeling in my article here. However, this might not be such a bad thing. If you want to grow some cover crops (green manure) to restore nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, composting hay might work out fine. Conclusion Now you know the main differences between straw and hay. You also know what each one is used for, where they come from, and how they are made. If you want to find places to buy straw or hay in person (instead of online or at a chain store), ask your local agricultural extension office (you can find a list of them by state here). You might also want to read my article on growing tomato plants in straw or my article on growing potato plants in straw. I hope you found this article helpful. If so, please share it with someone who can use the information. If you want to read some of my most popular posts, check out the “Best of GreenUpSide” page here. Enjoy! ~Jonathon