Straw Bale Gardening - Part 5

Just wanted to post a final report on my straw bale (which was technically a hay bale) garden...had a HUGE crop of tomatoes from plants that topped 7' tall, in a year when no one else in the area got much of anything. The melon and cuke seeds had low germination rate in the bales, but once the plants sprouted they grew very well. The melon plant only produced two fruit (but they were huge), and the cuke produced reasonably well. I pulled out my dying plants this weekend (we'll probably get frost later this week) and spread what was left of the decomposing hay around, and in the spring I'll turn it all under.

I DEFINITELY plan to use the bales again next year. I think I may have even converted a couple of the locals to straw bale gardening...I got a lot of funny looks early in the season but by August people were pulling over to the side of the road to admire my tomato plants. :)

Hooray strawbaleman! :)

pam

Pam: I enjoyed reading that post; glad to hear from someone who used hay and had a successful season. I know you had a great time showing your garden off to your neighbors, etc.

Speaking of folks stopping by to admire your garden, I think a small bale garden would make a great exhibit for a County or State Fair. Back in May I wrote the NC Sec. of Agriculture and cc'd the Fair Administrator about bale gardening and the possibility of doing an exhibit, but I didn't get too far.

I think such an exhibit would be a "show-stopper", for sure. Even if you just resorted to using large photos with some basic info, the exhibit could be done in an informative and creative way. This would cost some $, but if the County Extension office or some company, or a local straw bale grower, or a fertilizer company underwrote it, that would be great.

I think I'll write the makers of Miracle Gro and tell them our story.

Hmm, I wonder if they'll buy my bales for me and provide all the Miracle Gro I need every year if I put a large Miracle Gro decal on my truck, kinda like NASCAR?

That's it! The Miracle Gro STRAWBALE 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC!

The pace car could be dressed out like a huge bale...

Or, the thought just hit me - The Rose Bowl Parade. Yeah! A huge float that looks like a bale with vegetables, all made out of flowers!

Or, how about the Macy's Parade? A huge bale balloon!

I gotta get that letter out! See ya...

Kent

How about on the side of that Macy's Day balloon:
Dave's United Bale Growers of America - We don't do it in the dirt

Kent, I think it is a good thing winter is almost here. You're losing it. LOL

Jeanette

Kent, your enthusiasm is inspirational!! How about you use a trailer, a flat one with open sides, and line it with the bales and plant stuff like melons or greens, nothing big like tomatoes that need support. Then when it is time for the fair, you just hook up the trailer and take it to the fair!

hmstyl: I love it! A mobile exhibit. I could preach, er I mean, speak from the trailer, then move on to another part of the fair.

How about a flat-bed train car hooked to a special locomotive called the "Strawbale Express" that goes from town to town?

Kind of like the old political stump speeches.

I could get some of miniature bales and throw out to the crowd as souvenirs!

By the way, speaking of politics, I've done some research and here's what the ORIGINAL versions were of some popular Presidential slogans:

"A bale in every yard and vegetables in every pot" - 1928 Hoover campaign
"Tippacanoe and strawbales, too" - 1840 Pres campaign
"There are two Americas - those that dirt garden and those that bale garden" - 2004 John Edwards campaign
"I'm just wild about Harry's bale garden" - 1948 Harry Truman campaign


Jeanette: You're right!!! :-)

Kent

LOL. Jeanette

Collards still doing well; best chance tonight for getting our first frost this Fall. I'm looking forward to cooking a mess and putting some away in the freezer.

Peppers are still blooming; habaneros are loaded and need to be picked; tomatoes have a little green left in the vines, but they are almost shot; still alot of green tomatoes hanging on the vine, though.

Okra is still blooming but not producing any okra to speak of. Very small then they shrivel up. 9 ft + tall.

Kent

Kent, I think you are gloating. We had a heavy frost twice this last week that hit everything. I spent today pulling vines off of the hoophouse. I think we had pretty much cleaned everything out of there and off of the cucumber vines so the compost pile is growing.

Off to the drawing board for next year.

I GOT MY THOMPSON & MORGAN SEED CATALOG FOR 2007 TODAY!!!!!

Jeanette

great photo
I have to go see my tomatoes on Monday and pay my last respects. Whether they are done or not I'm picking the last of them to bring in. It was a really fun year.

Alyrics, Up until last night when we had a hard frost we were still getting tomatoes for salads. Jeanette

whoops - posted this on the wrong one

anyone doing this organically?

I did the bales organically, and three of them worked very well; three did not. In the end, it came down to the problem of where the bales come from. The ones that did badly had been treated in the field with some sort of weedkiller. So, I guess they weren't organic. :)

heebie- I did this organically. I used a tea made from chicken manure to jump start my bales, and it worked wonderfully. I had a bumper crop of tomatoes and squash this year during a summer of record high temps and record drought!!!!

Hymstyl:

How long did you leave the tea on before you planted? Why did you use tea instead of straight manure>
What did you plant?

WOW! I spent the entire evening reading all 5 parts of this thread. It is just amazing and I can't wait to try this myself next year. Thank you Kent for starting the thread! Thanks to everyone who shared information, questions, pictures, results, etc. One thing I would like to see--a final picture of Melindahairbow's strawbale garden...the early pictures looked as if the final garden would be stunning visually!

This looks like an ideal method for me--my yard is hard clay, and I have arthritis and a very bad back (had surgery this year on my lower spine and have what looks like is going to be permanent nerve damage to my left leg and foot) so I was resigned to the expense of building raised beds so I could continue my gardening. This looks like a wonderful solution to my gardening challenges!

heebie- instead of repeating everything, I ask you go back and read the first couple of threads. The manure tea kept the fresh manure from burning the plants, and we had a terrible drought and record high temps here this summer, so it was a way of watering the bales at the same time as feeding them. It worked really well, and it was free.

I was just thinking, now that we have all tried bale gardening for the first time, maybe we can learn from each others mistakes? Maybe we can all post stuff that we would do differently next time?

The main thing I would do differently, is to install some kind of sturdy fencing to support the tomato plants BEFORE they start growing like wildfire. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to keep the stakes standing up, using ropes and tent stakes to try to keep them up. The tomato plants grew so big and heavy that it was difficult to keep them up off the ground.

I found out you cannot use cages in the bales. As the bales decay the cages lose their footing and do more harm than good. Next year I will use some kind of independant fencing not connected to the bales. I will also be more diligent with the slugs and use the manure smear more often. I did have a great time with the bales and the tomatoes were wonderful. I will also use all grass bales rather than any straw. They worked much better for me.

Cajun, that is really cleaver of you to use the logs or siding to stabelize your bales and all the while making them attractive. Good idea.

Hi Kevan, Glad to see you. Believe me this is ideal for you. I am pretty much in the same condition as you, gender aside, LOL. However, I think if I were you, My lower back isn't as bad as yours, I would consider stacking 2 bales high. Next thing is stability. Something like Cajun did would work, or what do you think about spade "T" posts down thru both bales and into the ground on both ends?

I used the cattle panels as in a hoophouse over mine. That way I used a heavy hemp to tie the plants directly overhead to the panels. I covered the hoophouse with 4 mil plastic from Walmart so I had some kind of heat from the sun. I left it on until almost July, plus I was able to plant earlier.

This is the first year since we moved here 11 years ago that I have had decent tasting tomatoes. I didn't have a problem getting them ripe before, but without the heat and the sun they don't have a good flavor. Also, they were huge.

All: as of 11/04/06 my 2006 bale garden season has come to a close. Thank you, God, for a bountiful year!

The deer were beginning to nibble at my collards more and more, so I decided to just cut them all, cook them in my turkey cooker, and freeze them. Here's a pic of the last 2.

I'll probably have to go with some sort of fencing next year to keep the deer out. The break-neck developing around my area keeps pushing the deer into areas where they have never been, including my garden.

kevanrijn: I'm looking forward to seeing your bale garden next year. Welcome aboard.

Cajun: terrific pic

hmstyl: good idea

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED IN 2 YEARS OF BALE GARDENING:

# 1. The 11 day prep time is probably a little too SHORT. At the very least, don't plant any sooner. There's no point in getting in a big hurry. Let the bales have a little more time to start decomposing, which makes them a better host for your fragile transplants.

#2. Ammonium Nitrate works great in preparing your bales. Don't let the fact that it's now regulated bother you. And especially don't let self-professed "experts" convince you it's a dangerous product. Ammonium Nitrate has been around the farming community for many years. (I'm reminded about the "expert" that told one of our fellow bale gardeners that you couldn't grow anything in wheat straw bales but wheat.)

#3. Other nitrogen-rich products work well, too. Blood Meal, compost teas, etc. have all been used with great success this year. Just monitor your bales during the "cooking" phase and make sure your bales have "cooled' down before planting. I enjoyed using my turkey cooker thermometer this year in monitoring the bales, but your hand will do just as well.

#4. You really don't need anything to prep the bales if you're really patient. Just set them out about 30 days before you plant and keep the bales moist. Nature will prep the bales for you. If you want to plant sooner, see #2 & #3.

#5. You have to water differently than a traditional garden, i.e., more often, especially in the beginning. For larger gardens, consider a timer, soaker hoses, etc. I will next year. I had 55 bales and I spent about 20 min/day watering.

#6. Watering alot without incorporating some nutrients on a regular basis can cause your plants to get "sick". I went too long between feedings and my plants suffered. Once I increased my feeding intervals everything went smoothly.

#7. Adding some potting mix to "chink" the crack when transplanting is probably a great idea. I didn't do this but will probably do it next year. Why? I believe it helps get the transplants established in the bales quicker. The mix will help retain moisture and give the plant roots something to quickly anchor into.

#8. Bale gardening, for me, was practically pest-free and 100% disease free. I only had to spray for Japanese Beetles and then only on my okra.

#9. Make sure you get straw or hay that has NOT been treated with herbicides.

#10. Using a trellis for tomatoes is ALOT better than stakes.

#11. I love bale gardening!

And finally,

#12. DG is the gold-standard for internet garden sites. There's no comparison. And all of you talented folks are great!

Have a great weekend,

Kent

Kent!!! You didn't have your "shirt" on. It's been fun. See you all next spring. And hopefully new ones too.

Jeanette

Thanks Kent for your enthusiasm and for leading the charge. This has been one fun experience. I agree with your list and I would add that searching the Tomato Forum for varieties is also worthwhile. I planted 8 varieties I think and that was a lot of fun too.
I also planted 2 tomatoes per bale and that was fine for some varieties and too close for others. Viva la bale!

I believe I'm going to try this next spring. :)

My Goodness,I just found these threads - looks like a great idea & from the looks of the photo's it really works! I have copied your instructions Strawbaleman from the 1st thread - I cant wait to try it this spring! And since I'm going to do some winter sowing this winter I'll be anxious to see if my surviving plants do well in the straw bales this spring. Thanks for the pics,ect.
Jill

One thing I think is going to be really interesting is to move a couple of these bales from last year and see how the ground is underneath them. Where I put mine was just like cement. Builder's sand. I tried several years to add ammendments etc. to it but they just sifted down and I never saw them again. Don't know where they went.

So, after adding all of the fertilizers etc to the strawbales and the decomposition of them, it should be fun to see. Hope I am not disappointed. The area is probably 200 squarefeet and I have been living here 10 years. This is the first time I have been able to put any of it to use, just putting the bales there and planting them.

I am thinking that this year I am going to put a lot of bales out there and plant them. Of course then I am going to have to think about a deer fence if I do that. LOL

This is what my mom used to call "armchair gardening". With the seed catalogs etc.

My husband is handicapped and in a motorized wheelchair. I copied all the instructions for him and he can't wait until spring to get out there and try out this new method. Last year he grabbed all my large flower pots to grow vegetables in, but was very disappointed in tomatoes. Thank you so much for this great idea.

Here's the link to the latest discussion:

I invite everyone to Part 6: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/680745/

KR

This message was edited Jan 22, 2007 6:31 PM