The Circle of Life (Of a Hay Bale)

I went to a conference one time in which the presenter said, "If you can avoid it, don't ever sell hay off of your land."  I thought about that and the presenter made a very good point in saying that when you sell hay, you are exporting nutrients OFF of your land.  Conversely, when you are purchasing hay, you are importing nutrients from someone else's land. 

We purchase our hay from a trusted source, and he delivers it right to our farm.  He stacks the hay bales in rolls right by the gate to the pasture.  Since we don't have a tractor, this makes it simple to roll the round bales by hand right into the pasture for the cows and goats to begin eating.

Once we roll the round bale into the pasture, we quickly put a hay ring around it.  Cows are notorious for wasting hay.  Unfortunately, the hay ring doesn't stop the goats.  Those mischievous goats go right through it and will climb on top of the bale.  Same thing with the chickens.  If you look in the bale, there is a hen that has made a nest in a hollowed out hole that the cows made from eating the bale.  We have to be certain to check for eggs in the hay bale each day so we don't forget any. 

Once the bale is mostly eaten, I'll move the hay ring out of the way and let the cows and goats "clean it up."  Finally they've eaten as much as they can, but there is still a lot of wasted hay.  Some of this will be pushed down into the dirt/mud and will build up the level of the ground over time.  The cows will lay on the hay and the chickens will scratch through it looking for bugs.  All the while, the cows, goats, and chickens poop on it.

When the hay that is left has been there for several months, I'll rake up the loose stuff and put it into a wagon or wheel barrow.  We're not done with the hay yet.

Now, here's the part that is dangerous.  We use the hay as mulch in the garden.  The hay acts as a barrier to block the germination of weeds and preserves the moisture of the soil.  To use hay as mulch in your garden, it is imperative that you get assurance from your hay provider that they did not use Round-up or Grazon.  Those chemicals can leach into your garden soil and destroy your garden.

In the photo below, I've mulched the complete area where I transplanted the tomatoes and I'm working on mulching the onions..

I have a process where I roll the hay into logs, placing it between each onion plant and then spreading the hay out like a blanket on either side.  This REALLY saves a lot of time weeding.

There is a little side benefit to the partially composted hay that I rake up around the hay ring and bring into the garden.  Over the course of the season the hay will decompose and become part of the garden soil when I turn it under before the next season.  This adds organic matter to the soil.  Mixed in with the hay is the poop from cows, goats, and chickens.  This becomes part of the soil as well, further enriching it.

I must caution you that in using this process, you are introducing grass and weed seeds into your garden.  You can see some Bahia grass seeds in the bottom center of the photograph above.  If you choose to start mulching with hay, you must always do it.  Although you are introducing grass seeds, by constantly keeping it covered with a thick layer of mulch, you block off growth.  If you ever stop the thick mulching, you'll have a tremendous crop of grass and weeds!

Using hay as a mulch has worked for me.  The proof is in the soil.  You can easily tell a difference in the soil quality.