Hello all!
I'm thinking about planting sweet potatoes in hay this year and I wanted to see what some of you think.
I was thinking of buying a round bale of hay (approximately 900 lbs), rolling it out across the yard, applying ammonia nitrate and fertilizer, wetting it and covering it with black plastic to let it break down. What do you think?
Will there be enough time between now and mid-April for the hay to break down sufficiently to plant potatoes?
Would you add anything to the hay other than what I mentioned?
Any thoughts, suggestions, laughter.....let's hear it.
After last years success (my first) with growing vegetables in wheat straw bales I figured I'd try it
again this year but on a larger scale.
Potatoes in Hay
I don;t know Carey. I don't think any of us have dealt with those large bales. Probably why you didn't get any response. I am sure that would work. from now to mid April is quite a while.
How did you do with your bales and vegetables last year?
You should know better than we do then how this would work. Do you have any idea how thick the layer of hay would be doing it that way?
It would be very interesting please be sure to take pictures and post them.
Jnette I decided not to use a round bale. Here's what I'm doing instead. I've got a cage from an ibc (intermediate bulk container) that's approximately 4'hx4'wx4'd. It's made from 1/2" conduit and has holes that are about 8 inches square. Think of it as an extra large, extra heavy duty tomato cage.
I sat it out in the open and stuffed it with loose hay. It held about 7 broken bales of hay. It's decomposing rather nicely. When it's time to set out sweet potato slips all I'll have to do is go around the cage placing slips in the rotted hay.
As for last year's square bales, I only set out about 6 eggplants, 4 cucumbers, 3-4 bell peppers and 1 red savina pepper. To make a long story short, I had more eggplants, cucumbers and bell peppers than my family could eat or give away. As for the red savinas, we couldn't eat them or give them away.
They were so hot I thought I'd licked the surface of the sun!
If the 'tater cage works, I'll post some pictures.
Carey, that sounds like a good way to use last years bales. Would love to see pictures. Sounds very interesting. I'm trying to think of what all you could use it for. I would think, if I am picturing this right in my mind, that vines mixed with things like the potatoes. Like cucumbers. Probably the right tomatoes,
You are going to REALLY have to post pictures.