I have a text_area inside a fields_for, which is inside a form_for.
text_area
fields_for
form_for
<%= day_form.text_area :hatch %>
You could either go with:
<%= day_form.text_area :hatch, cols: "30", rows: "10" %>
or you can specify both with the size attribute:
<%= day_form.text_area :hatch, size: "30x10" %>