Strawbale Gardening: General Discussions - 2012 - Chapter 39

Thanks for reminding us Solace. Now, you have these in your greenhouse, right?

They're still in the house, Jeanette.

When is your last frost date Solace? Ours is the end of May so yours must be way after that. Wow, you are going to have beans hanging from your curtain rods. Bathroom curtains too. LOL

LOL. Last frost date is June 15 or so. Most will be moved, hopefully if we can get a small hothouse put up, out to get more sun. If it's big enough, I will just leave them to grow in the hothouse - planning for a cattle panel one that's 8x16 (6' high) covered in a sheltered-from-the-wind location. The plastic's gone from the big hoophouse, so beneath the hoops will be an outdoor garden. Some good soil in there. I may put a plastic low cover over those, as night's can be chilly even in summer here, not to mention all the gunk they spray in the skies all the time that can affect plants. You usually need a sweater at night here.

Digger, I do hot composting because I have access to manure (nitrogen just like bale conditioning) Since I live in the woods, I have plenty of leaves so that goes in. Once it cools down, I feed my worms. It's funny though because there's already worms living in the cool parts of the compost before I even get it to the worm bins. I let the worms have it for at least one year but usually it's two years before I get around to harvesting.

Jnette, be careful because too much will stunt growth. There's been research done on that. This is one area where more isn't better. If the stuff you have is wet, it is probably very active. If you use it in your bales and gardens, just sprinkle it on the soil. A little bit goes a long way. I prefer using it in aerated tea. It's real easy to do especially if you don't have fields of plants. I have 2 plastic pitchers, an aquarium air pump, some tubing and bubblers. You just need to get air bubbling up through the water. Take a knee high nylon and put a handful of worm poo in with about 1/4 the amount in blood meal, alfalfa or other nitrogen source and a sprinkle of lime. Tie it up and put in a pitcher. Add some unsulphered molasses to the water and you're ready to bubble away! Let it bubble for 3-4 days or so then put in it an inline irrigation system or hose end sprayer. You can probably top off the pitcher 2 or three more times. I've always run soaker hoses in my garden and found I could use the hose end sprayer from Tractor Supply as an inline system because the sprayer head unscrews and can be connected to another hose. To be honest, I don't know what the addition of nitrogen in the tea would do as a foliar spray. It may burn the plants. And another thought, I do use lots of leaves in my worm dirt so I need to add the lime because it is typically more acidic than the average worm castings that you buy.

From my strawbale reading, I am thinking of getting some of the Mittleider nutrients and adding to my worm compost. I just don't know how much I would need to add. As active as worm dirt is, I imagine it wouldn't be much at all.

In order to sell the stuff I would have to sift it finer and believe me, it isn't fun.

Solace, thank you. I am going to remember the cinnamon trick!

Jeanette, here (1) are the first beans I planted, Romano, growing in the indoor set apart area. If I had a string for them to climb above the wire trellis, they'd already reach the top of the window, LOL. They will stay inside, but many other beans must go. I have lots of transplanting to do (2) with many tomatoes already transplanted into individual cups - From 2010, 2011, 2012 seeds (I didn't think the germination rate would be as good as it was and my daughter is going to get a lot of plants for her garden, I suspect). I've already gone double-decker on this shelf, but need to move the tall plants up and get another light for them, after transplant. In (3) the south window, the corn is going strong and there are tomatoes, eggplant, beans, melons, and space required the little avocado tree to share some of its space, but it's not complaining. The Pineapple plant is also sharing some of its pot space with seedlings in cups. I think I need to have a transplanting party. Pic 4 shows my helper, KNOT! Baby of Jake, about 8 week old blue and red heeler mix. He likes untying my garden shoe laces. Double knots are now the order of the day. I've lost four big leaves off my Hass avocado due to Cecil B de Kitty's break-ins to the little gh area. Must get a real door up on that thing, soon. He sent a dish of avocado seeds in little pots flying through the air yesterday, making a whopping mess. He knew he was in trouble. He skedaddled and all you could see was an orange flash leaving the area. Sigh...I need it to warm up soon and the wind to quit blowing 75 miles an hour. I have all of this year's seeds, yet to break into...including flowers.

He looks so innocent, doesn't he? He's an indoor kitty, so Cecil B is enamored with anything with leaves. I'll have to grow a patch of his own catnip. That is, if he lives that long. aargh (kidding).

OMG Solace, you got a pup in the middle of winter???? We did that last year and potty training was impossible. No way did she want to go outdoors. Never entered our heads when we got her. The snow was too deep for her. Almost that this year. Fortunately Bob had a blade on his 4 wheeler so he could clear a big place for her to do her business, plus for a while she would chase the tennis ball. But not for long.

Your plants are going crazy. What happened to the plastic on the hh? 75 mph winds??? Is that what happened to it?

Pat, I was going to put the worm castings on my perennials, roses, Elderberry, daylilies, etc. NO???? Let me know, since I was just waiting for the weather to quit raining to do it. Thanks,

Jeanette, one afternoon we had wind gusts up to 100 mph with a steady wind of 70. Then a whirlwind caught an edge and ripped part of the end off, and the thing started ballooning like a sailing ship and lifting up the panels, broke a few nails holding the cattle panels to the boards... so decided to take it all off, despite the wind, and at least keep the hoop from going sailing or breaking the windows on the house. That was an awful windstorm coming down off the mountains. Horrible. It's a shell of its former self, but at least it's still standing. I'm thinking of building a wooden structure and using solex panels on it. Surround it with hay so it cuts the wind (it's right where there's a lot of wind, and even the big trees don't stop it, but I'm limited on sunny places to put one.)

Baby of Jake is okay, as long as I take him out a few minutes after he eats or drinks, and if he sniffs the floor, he goes for a walk. I have a pen for him outside with a nice doghouse, but the wind has been so awful, he's not been able to use it yet. It's under a big tree, and I don't want a big limb to come crashing down on him, so waiting for things to calm down and warm up. He sleeps in the bed and torments Fluff Muffin (cat) but he's never had an accident in the bed. He's already learned to paw the door to go out. Smart little bugger.

Yes Solace, it only takes one little loose piece to rip the whole thing off. Been there done that. Too bad, you put so much work into it.

Heelers are usually very smart dogs .

Jnette, just sprinkle the worm poo around the plants in a thin layer and gently work it into the soil with your hands. The rain will wash it in.

Yeah, I'm not going to worry about it. My perennials have been in for years so they can use a little new nutrients.

That's the best approach, Jnette! As with anything garden, what works for one may not work for another. Worm dirt is only as good as what went into it and how wet it is when you use it.

Thanks Pat. I have never used it before. Will have to see how my plants did over the winter. Hopefully I didn't kill them. I only used it on a couple. Unfortunately, one was a new one that I put in last year and it may not have been established enough for it. We'll see.

I got hay bales yesterday for 3.00 each . They will have them every year because they line the groung with them then stack the new bales on top for sale . This is at a farm store . Also can get amomium nitrate in Ga . Won't sell it in Texas .

I haven't kept up with this forum, but have y'all seen this?
The Amazing Straw Bale Garden
http://thedirtioccupy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-amazing-straw-bale-garden.html

Pretty cool, darius.

I had pretty good results the year I did straw bales, and now that my health is failing, may need to do more of it.

I had pretty good results the year I did straw bales, but now that my health is failing, I may need to do more of it.

My biggest problem was what I never planted that grew out of the bales. The wheat we grew in this country before the 1960's was TALL so wheat straw had few seed heads. Now we grow a 24" tall wheat and the straw is filled with short seed heads.

Got eight Beef Steak in my bales this morning . Boy , the bales that got to 120° are practically fully composted in the centers . The others only got to 105 -115°. I have never gotten that much heat out of any of them .

Sounds good Digger. Yes Darius, it really doesn't matter what kind of gardening you have, you need good health to do it. Sometimes different things like the strawbales help a lot tho.

It is a sunny day finally and I was able to get a pict of the asparagus coming out of a strawbale. This is a volunteer....kinda. I had bought root last year and by the time I planted, most where dead. I didn't think any survived so the area became part of my strawbale garden. Lo and behold, look what came through the strawbale! I guess all that conditioning with nitrogen made the asparagus happy campers!

Very cool Pat!! Looks good enough to eat. Bring on the Hollandaise! sic. lol

Hey, I got out and played in the dirt " so to speak" the other day Even put in a few seeds,
Then it started to rain, sleet, and snow. Needless to say it's going to be a couple good days before I can get back in the garden. My Apricot trees were in full bloom. the temp got down to freezing.
Not sure if the temp was there long enough to stop them from setting fruit again this year. By midnight the temp was back up to 36 so got my fingers crossed. Don't think it bothered the seeds I planted though, as I hadn't watered them so they couldn't have even started to sprout.
Found 3 good asparagus sprouts today, so getting my hopes up that spring may actually be here now.

I know some of you have put seeds into bales. Do you use the soil-less starter, or garden soil on top of the bale then on top of the seeds? Then water them? Do birds get your seeds? I never started my seeds in my little peat pots and toilet paper tubes in the house. All the stuff is still laid out on the table to start, but has been out there for 2 months now, jeezo, peezo.

Russ , how big do your apricots get ? Do the trees big enough to climb up in ? A friend , years ago had trees and I climbed up in them to harvest . What variety are they ? I'd like to try a coupla trees here or in Texas .
Funny , I was just sitting on the porch with my coffee , thinking 'bout you and Barb .

When I was a kid, we had a big cherry orchard and I used to hang out in the cherry trees and eat sour cherries til I almost burst. One of my fondest memories. I hope to have some cherry trees some day. My mother was a great cook, too, so we had lots of cherry cobbler and cherry ice cream. Cherries are healthy to eat, also. I could just see you up in an apricot tree, Sally. If it were me, I might be able to get up there, somehow, but I'd be like my cat Braveheart and have to be rescued, lol.

I am talking 35 years ago . Tee Hee .No, these were big trees and loaded . The trunks were 30" around . Not the ones you see pictures of these days . If I remember right , I did use a ladder to get up in there .The branches were a good seven foot off the ground .

I have 2 that are supposed to be moorpark self pollinating. However the blossoms are slightly different on one than the other. Then I have a couple dwarf manchurian. None have produced anything yet. although one year the one had 4 about the size of a marble before they fell off. They should
The Moorparks are now about 15' tall and not strong enough to climb. They are supposed to be good for zones 4-8. We are far enough north though and in an area that seems to switch from zone 5 to zone 3. It just depends on the weather pattern that year. We had two years in a row now when we have had a hard freeze after the fruit trees blossomed and didn't produce. Not even any of the wild plums along the road ditches.

Barb's vision has diminished a little more and she don't trust driving anymore even though she did get her license renewed in Dec. She don't see other vehicles soon enough anymore
And has a little much distortion in what ever she is looking at. So I'm giving you many thanks for giving us the push to go to Colorado when you did.

I wish we could have done more in Colo.There was no reason why we couldn't dredge that gravel bar at the area we were camped at , just downstream halfway between where we camped and where I took the pictures .

Sure sorry to hear about Barb's eyes Russ.

Have you taken your little car out more now. I would imagine your snow and ice is gone isn't it? Bob is anxious to hear how the car does and see pictures of it. Please??

So, what are the animals you have now Russ? Do you still have my chicken? If so, she should be laying good now? How about the goats? Do you still have them?

Have you all come thru the winter in good health etc? No accidents? How is Connie doing Russ?

Time to start a fresh thread.

Please continue the Discussions in Chapter 40 by clicking on the link below:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1310790/