It's pretty simple really.
Stage one: Apply Nitrogen and Water in. Just water until you first notice water coming out the bottom of the bale.
Stage two: Begin a regimen of Nitrogen one day and water the next for the next fourteen days.
Some comments I have for anyone starting their own hay bale garden during the conditioning phase are:
I was starting this during a time of some temps below 60 degrees so my bales were not reaching high temperatures. I planted anyway and I have a thriving hay bale garden now.
I did not use the organic method, I used nitrogen I bought from the feed store. Worked great and I will be able to use it next season too.
During the upcoming season, I'm going to try and find ranchers that might want to sell me their left over hay bales. I paid $9 a bale and I think that was high.
Next year, I'm going to buy a long stem temp gage. I kept worrying that it wasn't reaching into the actual center of the bale. I only had a few bales reach 120.
Once you have 24 hours of all bales at 90 or below start planting.
You will see flies and insects.. that's fine, it's a good sign.
You will see mushrooms. This is also a GREAT thing. It means the process is working.
I think I overwatered my bales and this can actually flush out nitrogen. I am going to be more careful of that next year. I will probably use a drip watering system that I'm installing this summer.
Have fun and reach out if you have questions.
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