Straw Bale Gardening - Part 2 - Planting & Maintenance

Yes, they are the same plants and they will be bigger tommorrow with the rain we are getting today and followed by the next several warm sunny days.
We have gotten almost all of the bales completly planted. The mechanics of the project with all of the archways with wire framing complete , now the care and upkeep of the plants is going to be even more FUN!!!

Will keep the photos coming on here and the diary page. Things are happening so fast that by the time I come inside and download the photos the garden has changed. We also got crazy and got 3 more bales started for my flowers. I couldn't resist the plants were too pretty.

We now invested in the farm supply store as well as Lowes, Home Depot, and a quaint produce/flower stand. After we figured up our investment we decided that no "Vacation" would have been any less expensive or more "FUN"!!!! Plus the biggest bonus is having a bounty of fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers at our doorstep for ours and our neighbors enjoyment.

Well, the company that ordered my ammonium nitrate (34) now says that can't find any from their suppliers. BAH They do have Urea (46%) or Ammonium Sulfate (24) which would be better?

-Kim

We are using Urea and having excellent results

Dea

Thanks Dea - I will get some tomorrow. I was afraid it was too strong.

-Kim

DEA

Several years ago we got some "Fiberay" from the local paper mill. They shredded the paper then added the Urea to it. It smelled awful all summer. Does yours stink? Jeanette

No, it does not stink, perhaps because it's doing it's job with the straw and cooking? I've always found driving by paper mills down South to have a "distinctive" odor ;) Perhaps it was the paper?

Not to say these bales smell like perfume ;) But no, they're not too offensive :)

Dea

Here's one of the reasons I'm really excited about bale gardening.

My daddy has had several major strokes and has very limited use of his right side. But, bale gardening affords him an opportunity to continue one of his passions which is gardening. (One of my fondest memories is walking behind him as a kid while he plowed our garden with a mule.)

He planted the tomatoes and made some holes for compost and cucumber seeds which are sprouting just fine.

He certainly can't run a tractor or tiller any longer and the loose soil in a regular garden would inhibit his walking.

Also, as your bale gardens mature, don't hesitate to call your local paper to see if they want to do a story about bale gardening. My local paper jumped on it last year and ran a nice story because it was something novel for this area.

It's a good way of getting this method out and you'll have fun with it, too.

I just received a call from a 77 yr old farmer in an adjoining county who read one of my bale stories in a magazine back in March. He was so excited to try this and he just had to call me. We talked about 15 minutes and now I've got another friend.

Here are a couple of photos of my bales. I do plan to line several more up here, in the sunniest spot in the yard. This is not far from our basketball net, so I will have to nag the boys not to smush my plants with the ball.;)

I just planted a bunch of seedlings in the bales today. They look so tiny now in those big bales.

This message was edited Apr 23, 2006 5:36 PM

One more of a few more bales I have along the back fence. There is a Brandywine growing there, and also a mystery tomato and some pumpkins. Oh you can also see my bed of broccoli, lettuce, onions, and bit of corn.

In the pots are canna and agapanthus bulbs.

This message was edited Apr 23, 2006 5:41 PM

OK--I got this 2' high and 3' across peice of "supposedly dwarf pampas grass" which I have finally succeeded in killing and the remains have much the same consistancy of straw....it will take a few years to decompose (even in our heat)...do ya think I could use it like a straw bale and plant melons? Any thoughts?
Debbie
PS--I am LOVING these pics! Keep 'em coming, I'm lurking...and even posting.

Melinda, nice pics, keep 'em coming! It's amazing how fast the 'mater plants perk up when planted in the straw bales.

Jnette, yes there really is that much difference in just a few days.

Big Red: For next year I'm working on a Straw Bale Co-Op deal and trying to reach Homeland Security about selling ammonium nitrate by the 5 lb bags. ;-)

You are NOT!?

Why stick with ammonium nitrate when sulfate of ammonia actually does better in field trials?
Let's do some more research on what the ag folks say.
(or was that a 23-day-delay April Fools?)

Oops, one of my bales got too hot over the weekend and went boom! Didn't help my neighbors' windows, either.

I guess I really do need to study more on sulfate of ammonia.

Well, at least we had alot of rain and it made a swimming pool for some of my deputy buddies.


This message was edited Apr 24, 2006 2:19 PM

hahaha - that's good!

Hey Baleman- maybe I could start marketing my organically grown chicken bale-booster? I could sell the raw product real cheap if buyers pay shipping costs! At least it doesn't go boom! LOL

Do you think the post office has any kind of regulations for packages that smell funny?

hmstyl - chicken bale booster, huh? I like that idea.

But maybe a little stronger marketing name such as: Yard Buzzard Bale Boost

Freeze dry it and shrink wrap in heavy plastic and that'll contain the smell.

Finally... here's some pics of my (just 2) bales. I'm planning on picking some more up for my tomato seedlings later.

I've got 2 sweet green bell pepper plants in one. I'm planning on putting either 2 tomatoes or a couple of watermelon seeds in the other one.

If you look very closely you'll notice a mushroom coming up right beside the pepper plant!

My 2 bales.

Do you think the post office has any kind of regulations for packages that smell funny?

Well, my chicks arrived pretty quickly. :)

I am intrigued by this entire forum....enough to probably try it next year, if I can find some bales around here reasonable.

Thanks to Strawbaleman for bringing it up....goes to show there is always more than one way to do things.

Kris

Maybe everyone that tries this is going to have a swimming pool in their back yard? Maybe their local fuzz won't be as appreciative as Strawbaleman's. LOL

Has anyone tried cabbage in their bales? I have planted 3 Golden Acre plants in mine but they're doing rather poorly. Everything else, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, are doing fantastic. Why would just the cabbage do so badly?

This message was edited Apr 24, 2006 10:34 PM

This message was edited Apr 25, 2006 9:31 PM

Don't know unless because they are a cool weather plant, aren't they? But then so are brocollis. Maybe because the plants grow so fast and the cabbages have to fold their leaves over each other? Just grasping at straws.

BAH HAhahahaha "grasping at straws" hahaha

Has anyone tried taters in the bales? I was thinking that it would be a whole lot easier to harvest the taters from the straw than digging them out of the dirt.

Glad you got it Zeppy. LOL

hmstyl, years ago my daughter dug a trench and threw her potatoes in there and covered them with straw. They came up through the straw and in the fall when the tops died she just pulled back the straw and lifted out the spuds. All clean and no dig. Also, you can leave them and just take them out as you want them.

Ooyee, I finally got to the end of these TWO threads and I am pumped. I LOVE this Idea.
My husband and I spent last fall putting in raised beds- I wish I'd seen this sooner. But I'm gonna try a line of bales on the border of the "prairie grasses" in my front acreage and my lawn and plant a row of Sunflowers in them. With the bales sprouting on their own they should blend in and make a cool looking border - I hope! And No tilling! We'll see.
Hey ALYRICS- you had mentioned something in the first thread about Dahlia tubers. Since here in Minnesota they have to be pulled out every year- I dont have any, but do you think they will work in these bales? Seem like it'd be alot easier to pull 'em out and store 'em at the end of the season. ( I know its not a veggie question) sorry.
Hill

hmstyle:

Check out my journal to see what my brother and I have come up with for our potatoes this year. We put them in "circular" stands of dirt.

epatz: Welcome to Straw Bale World!!!

So, what's the inside temp supposed to be? Give or take 20 degrees, please??

Dea

Dea, for the first time I'm keeping a diary this year and using a thermometer to monitor the bales.

I've always just relied on memory, but as the old saying goes, "the dullest pencil is keener than the sharpest mind".

Anyway, my bales are percolating along at 110* - 130*, with most in the 115-125 range.

Of course, everyone knows I'm using ammonium nitrate at 34-0-0.

It's been very warm here, so the temps help, I'm sure.

Last year we had very mild, cool temps, and I even used warm water to help throw some heat in the bales to jump start them along with the nitrate. Not sure if that even had any positive effect other than psychological.

Temps with those using blood meal, emlusion, etc are bound to be different. And some are using material other than wheat straw.

So, everyone's diaries are going to be a big help in the learning curve.

Jnette, I really don't know, they are a cool weather crop, but just seem to be slowly dieing. Here's a pic of the worst of 3. I'm going to pull it and stick in a Yellow Crookneck summer squash.

And here's a pic of a Calabrese broccoli, which is the same age and set out at the same time.

There definitly is a difference. Sure strange, because I thought brocollis were cool weather plants. Why would they like their feet that warm?

BIG RED:
I would not be so quick to pull up my cabbage - I have seen a lot of them have the first "big leaves" yellow up & die - if I remember right it has something to do with the compaction of the soil (or lack thereof) - look at the nice green center of your plant - cut those ugly ones off & give the little guys a chance you may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome: perry; up here in the adirondacks where it was still spitting snow yesterday :

Well, I set out a few extra peppers and eggplant in the bales. I have no idea of the temp or readiness of the bales. They looked were beginning to sprout, were damp, darkish and wet in there and I had no other place for the plants so in they went. I gave them some fish emulsion and it rained a bit last night. We're expecting more rain any minute, so with some luck, maybe they will make it. I'm also going to plant a few bales with bush beans. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I may lose a few seeds that would otherwise sit in my seed closet. Or I might harvest some beans.

Perry, I decided to take your advice, I'll give it a week or so to see how it does. I guess I've got plenty of time to replace it later on. ☺

Rose, sounds to me like your bales are ready. I didn't check my bales for temp either and they looked just like you described when I planted, so far they've done well (except one plant). Good luck!

I didn't have a thermometer to check the temp, so I just stuck my hand in the bales every day to see how warm it was.

Like someone else said before, it is important to check EVERY bale before you plant. I have 20 bales going, and most of them were ready to plant a few days ago, but a couple of them are still very hot!! I planted some bell peppers last night and had to skip over a few bales because they were still too hot inside, but the bale right next to it would be cool.

We are supposed to get rain every day today thru Sunday, so I am hoping all that water will help my little sprouts get set in before they have to face the hot sun out there. I had them in a cold frame for a couple weeks, but we are having unusually hot sunny afternoons.

wargamer777- that is very clever how you set up your taters. I have mine in a big wooden crate with dirt in the lower half and leaves and straw on top of the dirt - but it isn't always easy to find all the taters when they are grown. Yours will be a lot easier to harvest.

Hi epatz - on the dahlias - I haven't done it yet but am going to give it a try. I am growing Unwins Dwarf Dahlia Mix from seed - a very bright mix of red, yellow, bronze, purple. They are supposed to be about 15-20" tall and I thought they'd be good mixed in the edges of the bales with marigolds,, cilantro, and different basils. If I had to make space to tuck a tuber in, I have to defer to Strawbaleman or someone else who has actually planted a bale since mine aren't ready to plant yet. Some of my tubers from last year would definitely be small enough to tuck in there but I think we'll need to watch the water during the hot summer months. The bales would sure give the drainage that dahlias like - but keeping them moist enough could be a consideration. Maybe you could start your bales cooking now so they'd have some good decomposition when you are ready to plant out in a month or so. I also haven't done this, but when challenged to think of things while I'm trying to fall asleep I was pondering using tomato "wall o' waters" around dahlias so they could go in the ground earlier. To assure you that I have nothing better to do than think up more ingenious ideas that I don't have time to execute, I read that baby diapers have the same moisture crystals in them that they sell for big bucks to us container growers, so thinking of lining some of my deck containers with baby diapers around the inside. I'll have to research the moisture retentiveness of the various brands and hope that whatever they sell at the Dollar Store is good enough. Have you priced baby diapers lately? On a per use basis this is not a cheap proposition.