Salt marsh hay

[enchant]

I live very near a spot along a tidal river where the salt marsh hay piles up pretty thickly. So every year, I grab a couple of contractor bagfuls of it to put on my garden. I was about to put it down, and my wife told me to make sure that none of the salt marsh hay touches the plant stalks. I asked why not, and she said that she heard "somewhere" that it could damage them.

Is this true?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by enchant

I live very near a spot along a tidal river where the salt marsh hay piles up pretty thickly. So every year, I grab a couple of contractor bagfuls of it to put on my garden. I was about to put it down, and my wife told me to make sure that none of the salt marsh hay touches the plant stalks. I asked why not, and she said that she heard "somewhere" that it could damage them.

Is this true?

I don't know specifically about salt marsh hay. However, any type of very green wet mulch should be kept slightly away from plants if it is laid down thick enough to "Kick off" ie compost fast enough to generate heat.