My garden 😞

[farmerjan]

Not only do potatoes grow good in the hay/straw, but it will make it so that you can get in the garden anytime you want. No worrying about the ground being muddy, getting 10 lbs of clay stuck to your feet. Or the ground being too muddy from 3 days of rain, yet the plants are dry and you really need to get the green beans picked. The "fruits" of the plants will be protected from the mud and stay alot cleaner. You may have some slugs to deal with as the hay breaks down. There are sometimes some mice that will live in it. But it still beats trying to keep a garden perfectly tilled all the time to be able to find the plants. And the ground/soil will be softer and absorb more rain, and will stay moist for a lot longer.
You can put started tomatoes down in it as far as you want, pull the hay up around them and they will put out roots all along the stem that touches the hay. You can even lay a long tomato branch down and cover it with some wet hay and it will root and you can then sever it from the main plant and have "new tomato plants. That works really good about half - two thirds of the way through the growing season when they get tall and leggy and seem to fizzle out.... you can start some new ones that will go to blooming like they do when they first get going good in the garden.

 

[farmerjan]

You will find that small seeds will not do as well to be started in this until the soil below gets more friable, and you can then pull the mulch away in a long row to plant seeds. You may want to mostly plant just plants in this. You can start most anything in flats or pots then just stick them in the garden. But except for carrots that do not transplant very well, there isn't much that can't be started, then the plants put in. Potatoes don't need to be started, just put the eyes in, and in about 10 days you ought to see green coming up. Keep the mulch pulled up around them so the potatoes that are developing do not get green. I would keep one roll at the edge of the garden, set on the flat side, so you can unroll any hay off it to use in spots where you want more mulch. And it will continue to break down too so not any loss.

 

[Baymule]

Gather up the rabbit manure, put 2 pound coffee can full in a 5 gallon bucket. Let it sit a few days, stir several times a day. You can put the green leaves of weeds in it too. On the 4th day, strain it out and put 1 gallon of the manure tea in a 2 gallon pump up sprayer, fill with water. Spray at the roots of the plant for a compost boost.

 

[Xerocles]

You guys DO remember I said earlier I only wanted a couple of tomato plants and 1 hill of cucumbers? I wanted to try this slowly the first year, to work through problems. Talk about a bunch of enablers!
What you don't realize is what a pushover I am when it's planting time....or how lax I can become at "tending" time. Thus, how bad a gardener I am. Hoping this method helps with that. But you people would set out needles and works in front of a former addict!
@farmerjan No worries about carrots. They need deep rich sandy soil, and mulch or no mulch, I'm about as far away from that as you can get. But maybe a few in last years tomato containers? Oh, there I go! You guys are getting me cranked again. Slugs. Thoughts on control?
@Baymule I was going to put a handfull of rabbit pellets into the bottom of each hole prior to putting in the plants. Will this work? Assuming I can keep the dog out of the pellets long enough for me to collect some. She has practically quit eating her dog food and has gained 5 lbs.

 

[Baymule]

Yes, rabbit pellets in the hole with the plant will work. The formula I gave you gets the bacterial action going, the fermenting rabbit poo and weed leaves. You can let it ferment until it gets stinky, big leaf weeds are best, like dock, plaintain and such.

For tomatoes I put a heaping tablespoon of Epsom salts in the hole, then a little dirt, then the plant.

 

[Xerocles]

Thanks for the hoe suggestion."ROGUE HOES". I've known a few of those in my lifetime!
Size suggestion? 4" or 6"? Remember, its got to be worked through a LOT of mulch.
And sharp enough to kill someone? Not the voice of experience I hope. But may have to get an extra to keep by the front door just in case.

 

[Xerocles]

I can't wait until you show him what you've grown there. I think you too will be amazed at how quickly the soil grows soft under that layer of hay, as the worms ascend to feed on it. It's like a huge buffet for earthworms....they drag the small particles down into their tunnels and slowly but surely the soil is softened by their tunneling, mulch matter is incorporated into the topsoil and worm castings build up.

The alliteration! The picturesque phrasing! I got goosebumps. Felt like I was reading the prologue to a fairy tale! Got me all pumped up!

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks for the hoe suggestion."ROGUE HOES". I've known a few of those in my lifetime!
Size suggestion? 4" or 6"? Remember, its got to be worked through a LOT of mulch.
And sharp enough to kill someone? Not the voice of experience I hope. But may have to get an extra to keep by the front door just in case.

I've got the 4 in but the 6 in would work just as well, though harder to work in close to smaller plants and more narrow spacing of some greens and such.

You are talking to the LOT of mulch queen....I roll out round bales on my garden space too, often a foot or more deep. Rolled out 4 of them on the garden this year and 5 last year. This hoe is the only kind I've found that fits neatly and quickly into the long hay strands and cuts the weeds without disturbing the top layer of mulch.

The blade? You barely touch something that can be punctured with it and it's punctured...ruined my spare tire cover by a mere graze with it. I figure it would just as easily gut a human with a good shove in the right direction. In other words, handle with care but don't forget to put a good edge on it again at the end of the season if you are running into any stones in your soil.

After the death of my spare tire cover, my son made me a leather cover for the Rogue....figured I'd cut other, more vital, things as time wore on....I'm pretty clumsy. They sell leather sheath covers for the hoes there but they run over $50 ea.

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Gather up the rabbit manure, put 2 pound coffee can full in a 5 gallon bucket. Let it sit a few days, stir several times a day. You can put the green leaves of weeds in it too. On the 4th day, strain it out and put 1 gallon of the manure tea in a 2 gallon pump up sprayer, fill with water. Spray at the roots of the plant for a compost boost.

That must smell lovely

 

[Xerocles]

Update on the garden situation. The neighbor who is giving me the hay had a stipulation. I had to go to the field with him to help load the hay. He recently had surgery, and could load the hay with the tractor, but had difficulty strapping it down. NO PROBLEM!
Today, I was making a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. As I plopped it in the pan, the phone rang. The neighbor. "Are you really busy right now?
Of course not, what do you need. "Take me to the hayfield so I can bring the tractor home."
Absolutely. On my way. Burner off. Left the untoasted sandwich in the pan.
Got to his place. His truck and trailer with 7 bales of hay were sitting by the gate. He had loaded (and strapped) by himself, and just needed a ride to get his tractor and drive it home.
"The key's in the truck. Drive it past the pole barn, and we'll stage it there. I'll close the gate." Well, at the barn was his other trailer with another load of hay. He pulled up with the tractor, got down, and said "unload it". I explained I was not familiar with tractor use. He said oh, here's gear selector, hi-lo selector, and this raises and tilts the spear. You'll figure it out. (Now I've never been on anything bigger than a 18hp lawn tractor) But, figure it out, I did! In 5 minutes I was spearing, lifting, and siting hay bales like a pro (in MY mind at least. He was probably laughing inside to bust a gut.)
Turns out, this is this years late season cut. His surgery had delayed his cutting, and broom straw had taken over the field. His cows just wasted it, trying to get the good parts. He told me when I was ready, come get the tractor and get the hay. (There's a twelve foot gate between his farm and my place). I told him I'd call him when I was ready to spread. He said don't bother, just be sure to close gates and put the tractor back in the barn. ???? WHO DOES THIS? I guess he just really took a liking to me. With that .30-30 scabbarded by the tractor seat, I'm really glad.
Oh, and as I was about to leave, he told me if I wanted any sunflower seed, help myself. He had a 1/4 acre patch right by the barn, and he'd gotten all he wanted. Now, I don't know what variety of sunflowers they are, but I bet the rabbiits are gonna LOVE this.
And the sandwich was GREAT when I got to finish it.