straw or hay?

What is best to use for mulching - straw or hay? And if hay, then what kind? Which has the least amt of seeds that will sprout and will also add back to the soil?

Thanks,
Gwen

A lot depends on when the hay was cut. Here in Texas and Oklahoma a lot of the hay is Johnson grass which is great food for the animals but if cut after the seeds have started maturing, the gardener will have rank growth of JG plants which spread by deep underground stolons and will take over a space very quickly. Hard to eradicate. Straw is the byproduct of a harvest of a mature seed crop (wheat, barley, etc.) and is likely to have quite a few seeds. Both are good mulches. Hay from timothy and alfalfa are considered best for all-round purposes including soil building but are grown in smaller quantities and are more expensive.

I much prefer wheat straw to hay, but availability is an issue at times.

When I have no other choice, I use the hay in both my pathways as well as in my beds. I much prefer the wheat straw for the beds however.

The reason I prefer the straw is that it does not mat down as much and also it does not have the odor that hay does when it breaks down.

Neither of the choices presents a weed problem for me.

Aubrey

I made the mistake of getting seedy straw. I don't even know what sort of straw it is, but the roots it puts down are very strong. Never again!

Next year I'll use pine straw, salt hay or possibly shredded leaves.

I have had really good results using alfalfa hay. The alfalfa "sweetens" the soil and if you can find someone who is selling bales out of their field (instead of in a store), they almost always have bales that have gotten wet or have some mold. Those bales aren't sold for animal feed, work great in the garden and can be had for not much money.

I get free alfalfa hay and grass hay form the feed store. Whenever I see one of her barns getting low, I go clean it out for her before she gets another load of hay stacked in it. Loose hay mulches really well, and it is good quality, without weeds.

But when I can find some moldy bales, I take those too!