can i turn a 4x5 hay roll into black gold?
what would be the steps in doing so.
i have a couple of rolls full of sage grass blomed
out that the cows will not eat.
just wondering if i can turn it into compost for garden?
 
Yes you can and not all that hard to do. I do wasted hay every year and I have plants that grow taller then I am 6 foot. You start by setting the bale so the flat end is up and if you have manure around then cover or top it with manure and now you water the heck out of it. Let it sit a month or so then if you can flip it 180 and re-water it. Keep pouring on water ever few weeks and in a year or so it should be very good for your garden. The more manure you can pile on the better. I have a bale right now doing just that to it and I just keep piling manure one from time to time
 
I have been thinking about trying that too.But I was considering rolling out the bale in one layer,then add a layer of wood chips,then a layer of manure.And maybe working it up with a tractor tiller.How do you think that would work?
 
Rolling it out first then layering like you said would make it compost faster. I would leave out the wood chips since many types of wood are high acid which is not good for the soil. Then after you layer it push it in a big pile and water that pile and let it cook. Many years ago Mother earth mag had a way to use a compost pile to heat a house but the problem was it is took lots of work to set up and keep it going. A compost pile should be nice and warm in the center as in around 120 degrees or more
 
problem with a round bale is that its so tight air and moisture cant get in.like the others say roll it out or tear it up. wood chips maybe if your soil needs to be more acidic. if its too acidic normaly you wouldnt want to add wood chips.unless you knew exactly what kind they are.this time of year what i do is simply lay or roll out a layer of old hay or straw and till it in. the i cover it again with another layer.composting in a bin will actually kill more weed/grass seed that is in your hay because temps will be higher.i use straw mostly.
 
So. sounds like wood chips are out.Any ideas for what they would be good for, got about ten loads where I chipped a bunch of limbs.
 
gravel drive?use them there,or any dirt road.in winter. be aware though that not all wood chips do this,.
 
That is why if you put the bale flat end up that it will compost but if you just set it as it drops out of the baler it will take years to compost. My self the way I do it is feed the bale to my horses with out a hay ring. That way they mess up about 1/4 of it and then I take that and push it up in a pile and let it compost. I have people asking me for my compost all the time but have to limit how much I let go
 
Years ago I went to a farmers conference on composting. We were told as a rule of thumb you need 1/3 nitrogen containing material (manure, green material etc.) to 2/3 parts carbon containing material ( hay, wood chips etc.)
 
Do not know about that but know what I have been doing for decades seems to work well and my plants have always shown so as in plants as tall or taller then I am and I stand 6 foot
 

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