can I till old hay directly into my garden?

[pointer80]

Hello all, I have some old hay bales that a farmer give me because they got wet in the field and never dried out so they started to rot and I was wondering if I could till this right into my garden soil, or would there be a better use for it? I also have plenty of old leaf piles that are on there way to decomposing I would like to use in the garden or in the compost pile. Would it be better to compost everything first? Thanks all.

[jal_ut]

Till it in. Use it as mulch. Yes, it is good to add organic matter to the garden.

[PaulF]

Either way would be beneficial. I agree with jal_ut, till it in. I till my old straw in at the end of the growing season so it breaks down during the year but tilling before planting will not hurt a thing. Decomposing organics will tie up some nitrogen during the process so you may want to fertilize a little bit to compensate.

[Gary350]

Yes I would till it in the soil. It might get tangled in the tiller so it might be best to use the lawn mower to cut it into smaller pieces first before tilling it into the soil.