hay or straw as ground cover? what's hotter? (2024)

FAQs

Is hay or straw better for ground cover? ›

Straw is fluffier than hay, and its bales can be easily broken apart and used for many things, such as animal bedding, cover for freshly planted grass seeds or mulch for your vegetable garden.

They look similar, but while straw makes excellent bedding for outdoor cat shelters, hay becomes a soggy mess. Hay is typically used to feed animals, like horses. It soaks up moisture, making it cold and uncomfortable for catsand has the potential to get moldy.

The stiff, hollow composition of straw makes it a great insulator. Straw decomposes at a much slower rate than hay, has a very low moisture content and has no nutritional value. Choose straw for bedding, erosion control, building and insulating purposes.

Here are some other critical benefits of straw garden mulch: Retains moisture longer in the soil. Keeps cool season crops from bolting too soon. Provides warmth and moisture for early spring and late fall grass seed applications.

Hay is usually used as livestock fodder, while the straw can be used for bedding, biofuel, gardening, and construction. Straw is composed of dried grain stalks. Hay is a grass that has been mown and dried. Straw and hay are commonly confused for each other.

Hay is a poor insulator. Straw is more comfortable.

Both cotton and linen will prevent you from getting too warm overnight. If you use a duvet, opt for a linen duvet cover if you want to keep cool while you sleep. Also, keep in mind how many layers you keep on your bed, as too many might cause overheating.

Some horses will consume straw bedding, meaning that it is not an appropriate choice for all stables. Straw may not be a suitable type of bedding for horses or carers who are susceptible to respiratory disorders, or for horses that eat their bedding.

Winter demands warmer materials like flannel, fleece, down, and wool, which provide excellent insulation and heat retention. These materials are designed to provide maximum warmth and serenity during lower temperatures. In contrast to summer, higher thread count bedding is desirable for winter.

Dry straw would provide a lovely home for a mouse or nest for a snake, but once the straw is saturated with water and begins to break down and heat up inside the bales, the bale is not at all hospitable to a mouse or snake.

Does hay insulate like straw? ›

Straw bales, produced as a co-product of cereal crops such as wheat and rice or hay bales produced for either large grazing animals raised as livestock or for small domestic animals, they both have a low environmental impact, sustainable supply chain, and good thermal insulation properties.

Dark coloured material will warm the soil in the sun whereas light coloured mulch such as white gravel will reflect sunlight and keep roots cooler in strong sunlight. Sheet mulches or woven landscape fabric can be used for new beds or borders.

Hay will not give you a dry layer of cover that is pleasing to look at, but it is a great mulch for growing flowers and vegetables, and you'll get a fantastic yield. To start a garden, with seeds or starters, first create a thick layer of hay, up to 8 inches (20 cm.), right over your garden soil.

Burning straw as a heating fuel can be an economical heating method for on farm use. The most common system for burning straw is an outdoor boiler used to heat water which is then piped to buildings.

It is, unfortunately, a little-known fact that hay can be composted and used as mulch. Hay is a useful source of mulch in a myriad of ways: it is easily accessible, malleable, clean, relatively odorless, and comfortable.

A permanent mulch of hay was my answer. It does everything expected of mulch, smells wonderful after one of our frequent rains, and was readily available. It's also easy to pull apart and mold to make rows, squares, holes or other openings for planting, and it's clean and comfortable to sit or kneel on.

Wheat-straw bales are ideal, though other types such as alfalfa and buckwheat, are reasonable substitutes. Avoid hay bales, which are often quite a bit cheaper. They often include dried grasses with lots of seeds. In addition, they break down too quickly and become weedy.