how do I tell if my lawn is really grass, and not straw or hay?

Question

the field years ago was all alfalfa. our neighbor's also. they built their house about five years before us, and they said all they did was keep mowing it regularly and eventually the grass just came up. their yard is beautiful. after about ten years now, our yard (about seven acres) looks nothing like theirs, except where we've gone out and actually planted grass. the rest has spots that look like perfect grass, and parts that from a distance are nice, but up close after mowing, just doesn't look like grass! how do I tell if it's grass and not hay or straw??

I use amine 2-4-D to eliminate broad leafs. several patches of grass, about 2' square, are almost worthy of a golf course. LOTS of patches are huge clumps dotted about 6" apart. some of my "grass" looks like wheat if I don't mow it. thanks for the tip using the pipe, stoogie my friend. will let you know results!

Answer 1

Stray is the dried stalks of wheat or other grains. Hay is a general term that describes any type of dried forage including grass. So, your grass and your neighbor's grass could both be turned into hay if allowed to grow a bit and dried after cutting.

Since there was alfalfa in the field, it is possible that at one time there were other forage materials there as well. There are several types of lawn grass. Most have a flat blade type stem, while other forage (including alfalfa) have a stem with several small leaves. It is also possible that nuisance weeds have taken parts of your lawn. It is hard to distinguish them sometimes if they are cut low.

I would try a good "weed and feed" product. It will kill any nuisance weeds as well as forage plants that may be left over and allow your grass to grow. You may need to reseed parts of your lawn as the other plants die out.

Answer 2

It is most likely a combination of different types of grasses. could be buffalo grass, winter wheat, who knows. Lawn grass is most often fescue or Kentucky blue. If you don't like what you have, plow a fire line and burn it off, then reseed with grass that grows well in your region.

Hay is dried grass, straw is dried stalks from grain-bearing grasses such as wheat and oats.

Answer 3

most likley the parts your talking about are different types of grass. grass will natrualy grow anywhere. look for weed and feed, and buy seed if its summer you want bermuda seed, if its winter you want rye seed. you want to cut the grass a little high first to drown out the weeds, then once its established you can lower it.

Answer 4

This is what I recommend. Get a kid (about 10 years old) whou has a hay allergy. Take him out into your yard and see if he sneezes. That will tell you.

Answer 5

this will sound ..silly.. but try lighting a section of it on fire..not a half acre but ...1x1..grass wont burn.....it will smolder...if its hay or straw thats germinated to grass..it will break down quickly and burn like news paper......

Answer 6

Hay is dried grass.....

Answer 7

Taste it