How and why to use rice straw hay as mulch
Can you use hay to mulch a garden?
Yes and it is wonderful particularly as it is a sustainable practice! 🌱 Let's talk sustainability on the farm! 🚜 Rice straw hay bales are easy to come by and you will find bales at your local feed store as it’s widely used on farms for animal bedding. Beyond animal needs rice stray hay is also an amazing green gardening solution that I find a valuable asset to my tiny little farm. 🌿♻️Hay mulch isn't just a convenient way to keep weeds at bay and retain soil moisture, it's also a fantastic way to recycle and repurpose agricultural waste! 🌾💧 By using hay mulch, we're reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and harmful chemical herbicides, promoting healthier soil and a thriving ecosystem. Plus, using hay mulch means less waste in landfills, and more nutrients returned to the earth where they belong. 🔄🌱 It's a win-win for our farm and the environment! 🌿💚 Let's keep growing sustainably together. Read below for best practices when using rice straw hay bales and why it’s so amazing and versatile!
Using rice straw hay as a mulch
The benefits of using Rice straw as mulch
On my little farm I have come to love using rice straw as a mulch for so many reasons! Firstly it is something I use for many jobs; from bedding for my goats and chickens, weed control, water preservation and indirect help of gopher control. It is incredibly useful to have on hand and serves just so many purposes. The best part? It’s bloody affordable.
Is it good to use rice stray hay as a mulch?
Absolutely, especially If your aim is sustainable gardening practices, then you can consider rice straw hay a natural alternative for traditional mulching. Rice straw hay stands out in particular as a green source for mulching as it is a versatile and eco-friendly option. Traditionally used in agriculture, its benefits extend to home gardens, offering a host of advantages that promote soil health, conserve moisture, and suppress weeds. Let's go deeper into why rice straw hay is gaining popularity as a garden mulch and how you can harness its potential in your own green space.
Sustainable Sourcing - Rice straw hay is a byproduct of rice cultivation. Unlike synthetic mulches, which may contribute to environmental pollution and depletion of finite resources, rice straw hay is a natural material.
Plastic reduction - Traditionally, rice straw bales are bundled with twine which means if you formerly bought bags of mulch from your garden center in plastic bags, you are no longer supporting plastic packaging
Soil Health Booster - When used as mulch, rice straw hay gradually breaks down, enriching the soil with organic matter. As it decomposes, it releases essential nutrients, such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, which are vital for plant growth. This process enhances soil fertility, creating a conducive environment for robust root development and overall plant health.
Moisture Retention - One of the primary functions of mulch is moisture conservation, and rice straw hay excels in this regard. By forming a protective layer over the soil, it helps to reduce water evaporation, thus prolonging the intervals between watering sessions. This not only saves time and effort for the gardener but also promotes drought resistance in plants, particularly during hot summer months.
Weed Suppression - Weeds compete with desirable plants for nutrients, water, and sunlight. Rice straw hay acts as a natural weed barrier, smothering weed seeds and inhibiting their germination.
Temperature Regulation - In addition to conserving moisture, rice straw hay helps to regulate soil temperature, shielding plants' roots from extreme heat or cold. During the sweltering heat of summer, it provides insulation, keeping the soil cool and preventing heat stress in plants. Conversely, in colder climates, it acts as a protective blanket, minimizing temperature fluctuations and protecting tender roots from frost.
It is easy to peel back to check on irrigation lines
It is easy to peel up to check for gopher activity
Rice straw typically contains fewer if any seeds that other types of hay
A bale of hay goes quite a long way
Breaking down a bale of hay into the flakes makes it lighter to spread around the garden
You can use the hay as bedding for chickens which helps collect their manure which can further add nutrients back in the soil when you reuse that bedding as mulch
If you mix rice straw hay into your soil this can improve heavy clay soils
Some educational studies show that when combined with an organic fertilizer that crop yields improved. See this link for further information on that.
How to Use Rice Straw Hay as Garden Mulch
Prepare by removing any existing weeds
Spread a layer of rice straw hay evenly over the soil surface, Ian for a depth of about 2-4 inches.
Leave space around the stems of plants to prevent moisture buildup and potential rot.
Top up the mulch as needed to maintain the 2-4 inch layer. (the hay layer will compress and break down over the year so you do need to top up as required especially after rains)
What is mulch hay mulch useful for?
So very many things! Here is a list of the ways I use whole rice straw hay bales.
I use them as a bedding platform for my 2 goats who like to sleep on a little platform of the bales, keeping them up off the damp floor.
I use rice straw flakes (a bale of hay is actually made up of little individual compressed cakes or flakes of hay) to line the bottom of my hen house so that it catches the chicken manure and I can easily lift out a whole manure encrusted flake to then use as fertilizer.
I use the flakes of hay to line pathways and neatly define borders (when you leave the flakes in tact they almost act like paving stones as they are rectangles).
I use them around my fruit trees to keep moisture in the soil
I use them around my raised beds to keep weeds back
I use them as a dog bed! My dogs LOVE sleeping in freshly strewn straw.
I use straw to cover my strawberry plants over winter
I use the straw in my raised beds between plants to keep moisture in the soil
I use the stray around my veggies like zucchini and strawberries to keep the fruit away from direct contact with the soil
Putting hay on garden for winter
Putting a layer of hay on your garden can help winterize your plants. For example, I trim my strawberries back and place a few flakes of rice straw over them and this helps keep the frost off. When spring comes and frost is a distant memory I simply peel back this layer to expose them. I then add a fresh batch of rice straw around each strawberry crown so that the rice straw can continue to keep unwanted weeds away and keep moisture in the soil.
It’s a total bonus that I find the fresh yellow of rice straw totally aesthetic! It also clearly indicates to me where I’ve left off in prepping the garden for the growing season. That golden straw against the vibrant green strawberry leaves and the bright red berries - just heavenly to my eye!
Did you say gopher control?
I did! Ok so using hay as mulch isn’t going to deter or get rid of gophers. Nothing but trapping them will in my experience. BUT What this type of ground cover does indirectly do is help me find where gophers activity is without ruining the mulch layer. You see, traditional mulch such as wood bark will become mixed into the soil mound that the gophers produces and so you will need to top up that area once you’ve removed the animal. I find that with using the hay mulch layer I can simply peel up areas around my plants like a carpet, deal with the pest and then put it right back.
Once your hay layer has been in place a while it will flatten out and so you should be able to see the gopher mound. I find this most useful around my fruit trees and that the ring of hay helps indicate where I need to be checking for gopher activity. The rest of my land between trees I leave to the wild grasses and flowers. The hay helps me define where I need to keep an eye out. A bonus of the hay is that it also keeps my irrigation lines safe from the weed whacked as i don’t need to cut the grass between the fruit trees so close to the lines due to the hay.
Pros and cons Straw vs hay as mulch
If you’re new to using hay as a mulch or weed control you should absolutely be aware that not all hay is ideal. Some mixes of hay bales contain quite a few seeds and can actually introduce weeds into your garden. Rice Straw hay bales actually contain very few seeds and in my experience have not caused any issues at all. Rice straw hay bales are as easy to find as any other hay and are actually more affordable as hay bales go as it’s typically used for animal bedding instead of a feed source. I have yet to find a fees store that doesn’t have rice straw.
The pros are that it is affordable and effective - and can serve many uses. Uses like animal bedding, weed control, frost protection, moisture preservation and indirectly fertalizer as it breaks down.
The cons are that you will need a vehicle to transport a bale of hay. They’re big and somewhat heavy to begin. That said, I am medium sized female and I can handle getting bales in and out of the bed of my truck and down to the garden using a wheelbarrow. Once you get the bales unloaded you can cut the twine and break it down into flakes that are lighter than dragging around bags of traditional wood chip mulch.
Dose this need to be topped up each season?
Yes, you will need to replace or top up your hay each season a bit depending on how thick you laid it down the year before. I find in areas where I’ve simply laid down whole flakes of hay that that area doesn’t need it again the following year. I usually do however add to it so that the entire garden has the same golden fresh straw look. I just find it so aesthetic!
I hope you find this useful and give it a try. I myself had no idea just how useful using rice stray hay would be until I experienced it myself. It feels so much better than dragging plastic bags of wood chips from a big garden center home only to watch weeds seed themselves during the growing season. I feel like eliminating the plastic packaging of commercial wood chip mulch is a good thing.
If you try this out or are already wise and have more ways to use rice straw hay as mulch I’d love to learn more myself! Reach out. In the meantime, happy gardening.
**Conclusion**
Incorporating rice straw hay into your gardening routine is a simple yet effective way to promote sustainability while reaping numerous benefits for your plants and soil. By harnessing the power of this natural mulch, you can create a healthier, more resilient garden ecosystem that thrives year-round. So why not give rice straw hay a try in your garden and experience the transformative effects firsthand? Your plants—and the planet—will thank you for it.
