Straw Bale Gardening (Part 2 Southwest Style)

As one enginerd to another, I'm glad to see you taking your quantitative measurements, Ray! And I think I did read somewhere on the strawbale forum about using compost on top, or in planting holes, or something... I sure can't see where it would hurt anything!

Yeah, I agree with Jill. Can't hurt. I'm thinking of cooking up some compost tea and saturating already wet bales with that.

What is the purpose of the ammonium stuff? I mean, what does it do to the bale? Strawbaleman said you could omit that step and just add one week to your 'saturate with water' routine.

I'll start watering a couple of bales today. If I started compost tea today it would be ready by Wed or Thursday. Could my bales be ready for transplants by next weekend, the 8th? Or will the temps still be too hot to set plants out?

I love this experimenting. Do you know how funny it sounds to be living in a desert with average rainfall of 7 inches annually and listen to crazed Desert Rats, impaired by scores of days of temps over 110, talk about "watering down bales of hay". Houston we have a proplem.

Has anyone tried making a tea of bat guano? I have and I like it alot. I mention this just for the heck of it.... not 'instead' of anything being discussed here.

How'd it smell? The bat guano tea? And where do you get that much bat guano? Inquiring minds and all that.

I comes in small pea sized to dust (duh) shapes. Just put about a cup in 2 gals of water and let'er steep. About a day or so to dissolve. Sprinkle around the base of plants. I don't put it ON the plant 'cause I suspect if its not the right proportions it "could" burn. Do Not Inhale this stuff. LOL. I've purchased 2-3 lb bags of the stuff at Summer Winds.

As I was sitting out back swatting flies and feeding them to the baby toads I was thinking this little experiment might be two bales to small. I'm thinking about using these for my salad greens this year and looking at it just seems to small. Hmmmmmmmm. I need another beer to think about this one.

Bat guano tea? Do you know how hard it is to catch them and then have to squeeze the crap out of each one? And let me tell you, they do not like that one bit.

And how does the tea taste Susie?

I thought the flying monkeys were supposed to do the squeezing???
As I remember the Flying Monkeys live in caves, or was it trees... anyway, some place near where bats hang out. I don't do no stinking squeezing!

Mary, sorry forgot to ans. Bat guano tea just smells kinda earthy, but definitely doesn't stink, by any means.

Yuck. I'm sure not going to taste the slop!! My Tasters say its kinda like Mate, in fact (they say) it tastes almost exactly like Mate (Mah-tey). I think the bats may drink Mate. Still a *Yuck*. I think I'd rather drink Aquavit, almost.

drinking and reading~

Try it with Nutrisweet :)

Bat Guano and Nutrisweet --- tastes a little like chicken.

Y'all should stay outta the sun!

I'd be very careful with that bat guano dust... I was just watching a "real estate horror stories" show this weekend, and this woman bought a house (didn't have a home inspection done)... moved in to find the attic was infested with bats. Well, all that bat guano dust can cause irreperable eye damage, even blindness. She has the eye issues already. The bat expert was very, very cautious, wearing breathing apparatus mask and goggles, gloves, the whole nine yards. The message I got was that it is very, very dangerous.

Can't wait to see how the straw bale gardening goes!

Oh Brenda, Thanks for the tip. The directions definitely warn against inhaling and washing after working with the stuff. I don't remember reading about making contact with eyes. But, yuck, that all sounds bad, very bad. Guess I won't work with the stuff again.

Didn't mean to do any parade raining... that show scared the guano out of me, though!

LOL!

9-3-07 - Day 3
Put on flip flops instead of shoes so no laces to tie.
Added a half cup of the ammonia phosphate to each bale.
Thermometer outside read 97 degrees at the time I took the temp of the bale. The temp of the bale was 120 degrees. Wooooo Hoooooo. Its starting to cook.
Why do I feel like Captain Kirk doing his daily log?

Sorry no pic today. Looks the same as yesterday.

Well hell. Guess I need to add bat guano to the list of things my mom said would make me go blind.

I must have been hot and tired when I posted this. Wrong date and day.
This message was edited Sep 4, 2007 6:12 PM

This message was edited Sep 4, 2007 6:13 PM

LOL! Not going there...

LOL, good thing.

LOL can you hear me!!!!
So funny, rayman.
I see a soil thermometer in your stocking this year.

I wonder if you could put EM on it. I believe you can buy it in Tuscon. That is where I got mine but it has been a couple of years.

Now its my turn for a stupid question. Whats EM?

oh yeah ray, like what? Running with scissors???.....falling off chair lmao

Only time I fall off chairs is when the flying monkeys come to visit.
And why dont bar stools come with seat belts?

And no, it had more to do with the magazines my dad had hidden in the back of the closet.

uh huh......you just HADDA go there didn't you!.......still rolling.........

If you need somebody for a TMI conversation I'm there for ya.

Okay, what's TMI? And what is EM? I'm so confused.... but amused as well!

You and me. Help with the EM please.

there you go again ray - hijacking your own thread. man, you are hilarious. we can always count on a laugh and some gardening advice or a tip when we sign on to "everyone loves rayman's garden."

Who? What? Where? I am far from a one track mind person. You should try and have a conversation with me while sitting on a bar stool.