Hay bale gardening?

[traveler]

New to me...anybody done this? I have a couple extra round bales that I might try it with. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[fishermatt]

Not exactly sure what you mean by Hay Bale gardening.

You could certanily mulch with hay to keep weeds from growing.

Also,

You can do this with Potatoes.

1. stake out area where you want to grow potatoes

2. do not til soil. Lay seed potatoes on bare dirt with eye pointing up.

3. cover entire area with hay to a depth of 14-18"

4. water as normal.

5. Potato plants will grow up through the hay after a few weeks

6. when it's picking time, potatoes will be in the hay and not underground, so no digging required and less/no dirt on spuds.

[icehead]

My brotherinlaw did the hay/straw for potatos and they were the bigest i've ever seen! not to mention they produced alot more potatos than in the ground.If I had room and the hay I would deffinately try it!

[IFallsRon]

We did hay on potatoes when I was a kid and I do about the same thing with leaves and grass clippings. My blower shreds and vacs so I keep a couple of the big paper lawn bags over the winter to use in the spring.

I scratch up the soil, lay the seed cuttings on the dirt, fertilize, water and toss enough shreds on top to cover everything up. I water again and let is set for a few days and put another layer of shreds.