Growing hay is small quantities

[paper_crane2]

How many square feet of land would you need to grow just about 2 square bales of hay?

[ErinP]

You're better off just buying it.

[geo in mi]

Originally Posted by paper_crane2

How many square feet of land would you need to grow just about 2 square bales of hay?

For a homeowner/novice, a rough estimate would be a quarter of an acre and at least one year's lead time. Plot could last for three or four years before the grass and weeds take over, for alfalfa, only one year for big red clover. Plot would probably have to be soil tested for at least pH, and lime applied so the clover or alfalfa would make a thick enough stand. Could also need irrigation to keep it growing while young.

Nice thing is that the area would be nitrogen enriched for the next garden plot...

Welcome to the forum.

geo

[ksfarmer]

Originally Posted by paper_crane2

How many square feet of land would you need to grow just about 2 square bales of hay?

What kind of hay and where at? For 2 bales, Erin has the right idea.

[jwal10]

If an acre made 1 ton/acre and bales were 50lb. It would make 40 bales/acre. Good grass hay fields here make 1 1/2 to 2 ton /acre....James

[farmerDale]

Here you would need about 43560/80=544.

So 544 square feet/ bale if your area gets maybe 80 bales an acre. For two bales under reasonable conditions, you would need around 1100 square feet for two bales. Now, why one would want to do this, and whether one could afford a baler for two bales a year, or get someone to bale it is questionable. Maybe you plan to hand bale it?

Regardless, those are some basic numbers to toy with.

[paper_crane2]

Yeah, buying it would probably be better if I don't need that much. Right now I only have a few rabbits, so I don't need very much. But I do plan on expanding my rabbit herd and adding more animals, so I will need more in the future.

It still would be more economical to make my own hay if I needed enough to feed goats, a few sheep, and rabbits?

[Paquebot]

But, we need to know the size of the bales required. There as some square bales around here which are 1,200 pounds or more. Most are straw or corn fodder and either 4 or 5 strings. They used to be more common in the Western states but now being seen more and more here.

Martin

[jwal10]

I don't bale mine. Pack it into a bay of the shed, walk it in. I cut it short if I can. Grass and clover meadow hay. 3 goats, chickens, rabbits and pigeons. Eat what they want and then use as bedding/compost....James

[Bret]

Originally Posted by ErinP

You're better off just buying it.

True, but not nearly as much fun. A scythe and drying rack could be fun. Any road sides near by?

[Limon]

What type of equipment are you planning on using? If you want to bale it, the equipment's not cheap and it'll probably be more economical to just buy the hay or hire someone to cut it for you on shares - if you have a big enough field to make it worth their while. If you want to do it by hand, time becomes an issue and you have to decide if your time is worth more than the cost of buying it already baled.

[bja105]

You need to do it wearing a dress, apparently.

YouTube

[texican]

Don't mow your yard. Wait till it's high enough and thick enough to make hay... then cut it, rake it a few times to dry, then loose bundle it with string or rope, and store it in your barn or garage.

[gone-a-milkin]

If you only need 2 bales 'worth' of dried grass, you could just stuff
it into gunny sacks once it is dried and store them under cover.
Heck, you could pick a virtul salad of leaves and herbs too, for rabbit fodder.
No need to buy or borrow a baler.
Just use a hand sickle or scythe as mentioned.

[FarmboyBill]

Theres upright hay bailers, home made on U Tubes. Made out of plywood and 2 X 4s.

[K-9]

I don't know where you are located at obviously, but there are about 10,000 things you could grow on that square footage that would be far more profitable and useful than hay if you only need 2 bales. Here this year sweet corn was selling for 4 dollars a dozen, you can grow a lot of sweet corn/green beans in 1100 square feet, then sell that corn/beans and buy the hay you need and have a lot of money/corn/beans left over for your use, I just use the sweet corn/green beans as an example obviously it could be any vegetable and the basic equation is still the same. Here hay is about 2 dollars a bale if you pick it up in the field and for your use there are usually a couple of bales that break and they would probably just give you those, obviously the trick is finding someone who is square baling near you.

[jwal10]

Grass grows everywhere, spread a little clover seed and you have better hay, especially for small animals. You have to mow. Just let it grow a foot high and cut instead of 4". Free and very little work, no gas burned running around. Nothing is wasted here. I have no lawn, either the goats eat it or I cut for feed. KISS, Keep IT Super Simple. Go back to the basics....James

[geo in mi]

If you have the space/acreage, growing your own hay would give you the advantage of being self-contained, especially if you want to expand. You also have control of the quality and stage of growth at cutting time, and the possibility of reduced weed and unwanted grass seeds. And, by growing your own, a legume hay will help 'grow' some of your own nitrogen......

If you are starting out homesteading, you might consider adapting a total growing, rotation system to fit your needs. Again, it would depend on your needs, your space, and your equipment. I would suggest annual Crimson clover cut before bloom stage, and then tedded gently, then raked and stacked inside. Its protein content and leafy quality seems to match most of your animals mentioned, if you could ratio it with grass, or oat hay. Use the wasted and dropped hay in the pens and under the cages to absorb urine, a valuable source of nitrogen to go back onto your soil the next year.

You could rotate the ground onto fall wheat, or next year's corn and garden production. There are many possibilities, even a rotational grazing situation. I see lots of potential for a "system" that matches your homestead.

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/...Crimson-Clover

BTW, welcome to the forum. Hope this helps.

geo

[secuono]

Just mow your yard when it gets 8-12in tall, let it dry and then pile it up on a pallet with a roof over it. Just keep mowing, drying and adding to your pile.

[kasilofhome]

Just for interest in Israel they get 17 cuttings per year--small area but great growing.