What Is the Difference Between Hay Seed & Rye Grass Seed?

Definition

• To understand the difference in the seeds, you have to know the difference in the plants. Hay is the word used to describe the cuttings of immature grasses or grains. If a farmer allowed the same plants to continue growing until they passed the seeding stage and then cut the field, he would call it straw since most of its nutritive value is gone. Hay seed could be fescue or any number of different types of grasses commonly used for hay. Ryegrass seed is the specific seed from the ryegrass plant.

Characteristics

• Ryegrass is a cool weather plant that establishes itself quickly and has a long growing season. Ryegrass has a high nutritive value and therefore is a good crop for grazing animals. Rye grows as a small grass plant compared to other grasses and therefore makes a good plant for lawns. Almost all hay plants make fine lawns if you do not allow them to grow tall. On the other hand, if you let your lawn grow, you could feasibly cut it and use it as hay.

Packaging

• If you go to the store and look for hay seed, you most likely will not find it so named. Hay seed is sold by the actual name of the grass, like fescue or Timothy or even rye. Retail stores sell small packages of grass seed labeled for their use, such as shade seed, or fast growing, all-purpose seed and not always the actual type of seed. Somewhere on the package you should find the types of grass seed included, even if in small print.

Uses

• Landscapers use ryegrass seed primarily in the retail market as a fast-growing lawn seed. Rye germinates quickly and fills in problem areas while a slower growing grass is established. Farmers use ryegrass seed as a quick-growing nutritious crop for their animals more than as a hay crop. They plant hay seed to grow undisturbed until the plants start to bloom, then cut it when it is most nutritious and dry it for later use.