June 24, 2008
This year I’m repeating last year’s experiment: growing tomatoes in hay bales.
Those of you who’ve read the book will recognize this project. For those who haven’t, the idea is that as the hay bale decays, it will feed the plant. It’s a self-contained compost parcel. All you have to do is water. Last year I inserted drip cones into the bales so water went directly to the roots rather than ran off the top of the tightly packed surface. It worked so well, I repeated the setup this year.
Last year, I planted two tomatoes, two zucchinis, and two peppers in three haybales, and got one humongous zucchini plant and one extravagant tomato plant, both of which bore lots of fruit. The zucchini did well right away, but the tomato took a while to settle before taking off. The other plants languished. The hay bales were only half rotted when I tore down the garden in the fall.
This year, I planted just two tomatoes, each in its own bale. They’ve been struggling since day one; now are noticeably yellow, suggesting malnutrition, though they have grown several inches and produced flowers.
It’s a head-scratcher. What’s so different between last year and this?
First, I got the hay bales from different people. I don’t know what kind of hay it was/is, but this year’s bales are looser, seemingly fresher. So perhaps last year’s had started decarying before I got them.
Second, hay bales are actually compressed stacks of sheaves, giving a directional component. Last year, I had to carve holes against the grain to insert my plants; this year, I went with the grain, so the sheaves separated without a fight. This probably changes water retention, and creates a different challenge for the plants’ root systems.
Third, we haven’t had as much rain this year, and last year’s bales sat out in it, plant-less, for several soggy weeks. Another reason to suspect better-rotted bales to start.
This year, not sure what to do about my struggling tomatoes, I worked some pelletized plant food into the bale at the base of the plants then lightly mulched the area. Tomorrow I’ll probably cut off the lower, most severely yellowed leaves. Then I’ll wait. Not much choice, for there’s no book out there devoted to hay bale gardening, nor an experienced guru in the neighborhood. The Internet contains lots of information, but I found it contradictory when I researched the subject in the first place, so tuned it out.
The problem seems obvious: The hay isn’t rotting fast enough to feed the plants adequately. Next year I’ll try to get the bales earlier, or else give the plants a better start by making a bigger hole in the bale and jamming it with soil and compost so the plants have something to draw from during the early phase. Or take some of that Internet advice and soak it with a hose first.
All this negates the original appeal of the system, which was elegant simplicity. I might as well put the plants in a regular garden if the hay bales are just going to serve as large, messy containers!
I’ll let you know how it comes out at the end of the summer.
Carolyn Haley
Author: Open Your Heart with Gardens
Posted by: Opening the heart, Learning something new, Difficulty, gardens, gardening, yard, plants, cultivation — Carolyn Haley
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Carolyn, I’m no gardener, but have fed thousands of bales of hay over the years to horses and other stock. Did the grass-legume mix differ from one year to the other?
Cheers
Sally
Comment by sally noonan — July 19, 2008 @ 8:50 am
I can’t answer the question from fact — I just don’t know what kinds of grasses and legumes were in my bales — but logic says, “Yes.”
This year’s hay bales, obtained from different sources, look and feel much different from last year’s. Lighter in color and texture; shorter stalks; overall, a dryer feel, closer to straw than hay.
I will see if my suppliers can tell me what the particular batches were, and post here if/when I find out.
Comment by Carolyn Haley — July 19, 2008 @ 6:12 pm