diff --git a/src/java/com/samskivert/depot/impl/DepotMarshaller.java b/src/java/com/samskivert/depot/impl/DepotMarshaller.java
index e9eba3e..a330dd2 100644
--- a/src/java/com/samskivert/depot/impl/DepotMarshaller.java
+++ b/src/java/com/samskivert/depot/impl/DepotMarshaller.java
@@ -765,7 +765,7 @@ public class DepotMarshaller<T extends PersistentRecord>
             // TIMESTAMP columns a value of "0000-00-00 00:00:00" regardless of whether we
             // explicitly provide a "DEFAULT" value for the column or not, and DATETIME columns
             // cannot accept CURRENT_TIME or NOW() defaults at all.
-            if (!coldef.nullable && coldef.defaultValue.length() == 0 &&
+            if (!coldef.nullable && coldef.defaultValue == null &&
                     (coldef.type.equalsIgnoreCase("timestamp") ||
                      coldef.type.equalsIgnoreCase("datetime"))) {
                 log.info("Assigning current time to " + fmarsh.getColumnName() + ".");