Previous (part 1):    • I built 5 raised garden beds in hopes...  
Earlier this summer, I built 5 identical raised garden beds, and began a bit of an experiment to see if hay as mulch actually results in more weeds than straw. To do this, we covered one of the raised beds with hay that had been stored inside, we covered the second with hay that had gotten wet and moldy, and for the third, we mixed the same amount of hay into the soil to simulate tilling. Finally, we covered the 4th bed with dry straw, and as our control, we left the 5th bed completely bare. And now, about a month later, let’s see the early results. As has the bed with the hay mixed in. And while the two beds with old and new hay HAVE sprouted a few grass plants around the edges, so has the bed with straw. Which means that so far, when it comes to weeds, hay and straw as mulch, have performed exactly the same. But there’s also plenty of time left in the season, so stayed tuned for the final results.