Is there any Reason this should not work?

On July 18, my husband and I will be in our new house, with our lovely yard, the dog, cats, and assorted boxes of junk. This means that I want to start a new garden.

I have this idea, and wanted to toss it at the forum to verify that there is no reason this should not work.

- Get 8 strawbales and arrange them in two rows of four, end to end, so that it creates a bed that is about 4'X16'. (BTW: Bed runs N/S because the yard gets some great sun all day)
- Fence it in a bit, with a low border, so that there is a line of clear demarcation where the bed is.
- Run a trellis down the middle, lengthwise, for whatever plants need trellises
- In the end of July and early August, use bloodmeal and water so that the straw is properly rotted and prepped. Keeping the heat should be no problem in Houston TX.
- After about 2-3 weeks (depending on how long it takes to cure), plant pole beans along the trellis, using newspaper cups for the actual plants. I'm thinking that the beans will climb on the trellis, and that the roots will grab on the straw once they break through the newspaper.
- In addition to the beans, plant broccolli and brussel sprouts on the outer two edges of the strawbales (not too close to the edge of course, but far enough from the beans to allow them to grow).

My thought process behind all this follows like this:

- Strawbales seem to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen, so I want to try it.
- Houston has a growing season that goes forever. Fast growing beans, broccoli and sprouts should have a great time in the latter half of the summer and going into what passes for a fall for us.
- Enclosing the straw means that when the harvest is finished, I can pull out the plants and cover with a little soil, to start building one heck of a 'sandwich' of compost and such in the bed.
- Having an enclosure will make it easy to determine the bales for the spring.
- Having the trellis already in place means that I can easily plant anything that needs a climbing space
- Multiple years of bale gardening will work to make the not-so-good city soil into something that will eventually be heaven for plants.

So, I leave this to you guys: Is there any reason that this should not work? What have I missed?

Hi Hastur,

Congratulations on the new house. What fun!!

I am too far north to be able to help you. You need fellow Texans on this one, but good luck and it sounds like you have a good idea. Wish I could have some of your long growing season up here. 3 1/2 months isn't very long to get a ripe tomato.

Jeanette

Hastur-

The only thing that I might add is to put bales at least 2 across (perhaps that's what you were saying . . . I couldn't quite figure out what you described) to keep surface/evaporation area to a minimum. If you're saying 2 rows of 4, touching, side by side, then that should work fine. If you're using straw rather than hay, I'd allow for at least 3 weeks to condition them (hay takes a little less time, due to its innate nitrogen source).

Good luck in your new home- you'll be an avid bale gardener in no time! (Don't forget to fertilize your plants regularly while they're growing).

Namaste- Suzan

Hastur: sounds like a plan to me. Welcome to the hunt!

SusanSkylark: Yes, it was to be 2 bales across by 4 bales long. Basically, I am planning to run two rows of 4 bales, end to end, so that I get a bed that is around 4 yards long by about 4' wide, with a trellis down the middle, between the four rows of bales. As for the fertilizer, I figure that I can probably use something like Miracle Grow for the first year, and then start working out some compost tea later on as I build some. Heck, I bet I could 'seed' some brilliant compost from the broken bales after harvest, since it already has started with a good rot.

Kent: If it sounds like a plan to you, I have high hopes that this will succeed. *grin*

Thank you all. I'm very much looking forward to the new home, and a new garden to play with/grow food in!

Welcome Hastur!

I put my bales end to end last year & used a lot of water to keep them moist......this year I placed them side by side...(3 rows of 7 bales)

The water savings has been significant....I also put plastic at the ends of the rows when the end plants seemed to wilt sooner....that fixed it...I think the wind was drying them quicker than the inside ones....

This may not be important to you, but I'm in a water-tight situation.

I hope you find bale gardening as pleasurable as I do......send us pics when you can.....
We'll all get together some day & have coffee online.....

Foggy

Your thoughts on the afteruse of your bales in the "frame" are good. This year I am gardening in the remains of my last two seasons of bales that I broke up and ammended with composted horse manure. My tomatoes are doing great. I'll go back to the bales next year to start a new layer for the following season.

Cajun your tomatoes look great. Good old horse manure huh?

Jeanette

And plenty of it! LOL

Wonder if you could ship me some????? Boy, what I wouldn't give for some of that.

Jeanette

Jeanette I don't think I ever saw "poop" on the trade lists!!!

Doug

There's a first time for everything, as they say, Doug. LOL, My problem might be getting it by the postal inspectors. Maybe on a windy day?

Jeanette

We always ask if it's liquid, fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous. I don't really think it's any of those!!!

Doug

Do they ask if it is smelly? How about in a big plastic bag? Guess they would like it sterile and dry.

I can see the Craigs listing now:

"Want to buy organic horse or cow poop. Must not be fed antibiotics, grass-fed preferred."

I get the hay this weekend and have started my seeds for a fall/winter harvest.

I'm so very, very, very excited!

If I ever do get to make it to the KyRU I'm going to bring plenty of poop for trading. It's top quality stuff, too. Nothing but the best for our herd. LOL

What a great idea Cajun!! Wonderful trade item. Start baggin' and by that time it will be perfect!!

Jeanette

Cajun, do they have a KyRU? I've only been a member since March of this year.

Doug

Yes, they do but I've never been able to go yet. I have only been a member on Dave's for a couple of years myself so I don't know how long it's been going on. Check out the roundup forum. The last couple of years it's been in western Ky. Send a dmail to justmelisa. She has been to it. Are you outside Lexington?

About 45 miles West of Lex.

We are in extreme eastern Ky but get to Lexington a few times a year. Have you been to the Horse Park?

I have never been there but would like to visit it. Yes I know where Inez is.

Doug

You have to see the horse park. But plan to stay all day. That way you won't have to rush and you can enjoy the beautiful grounds too.

You guys are so lucky. I have been to Ky only once and it was beautiful. Is the whole state just green pastures with those gorgeous white fences? And, of course, the beautiful horses?

Jeanette

We don't have a lot of white fences here in eastern Ky and flat land is at a premium but it is beautiful here in the mountains. I hope God lets me live here for many years to come. There are many things I miss about the bayou but for everyday living I am glad to be here in the mountains of this beautiful state.

This is my DH on a recent ride. We were 10 minutes by horse from our barn at this point in the ride. I jus love riding in the mountains.

Cajun, was he out there looking for ginseng to pick later in the year?

Doug

No. We were just enjoying the day. I know people who go "sangin" but I don't actually even know what it looks like. There are a good number of people here who collect wild herbs for the market. I hear ginseng is getting harder to find. Wish I could find me some morels. I've never had them but would love to try them.

Has that ginseng craze run it's course? This was not a good year for morels. My SO found enough to go on a steak but that was it. Just too cold and dry for a long time.

The picture is really nice, but I would like a picture from the front of the horse and also your husband of course. LOL

That ginseng craze is still here in KY. I hear it's going for outrageous prices. I haven't done that in over 30 years but still look for it when I take a walk in the woods.

Doug

postmandug
could you send a pic of the ginseng? I may be seeing it and not knowing what it is.

Here is a side view. Still looking for a frontal view of the daring duo. LOL On a side note, we went camping last night and took Coffee, the mare my DH is on in the pics, and Shaq, the black I ride. Had a great ride last evening and went again this morning. just before we started to tack up, our horses were on their tie line minding their own business and a guy on a chocolate RMH stallion got out of control and kicked Coffee in the right front leg between the elbow and the knee on the outside of her leg. It looked like a scratch but turned out to be a puncture wound so the tread on his hind shoe must have made good contact with her leg. We drained some fluid from it, flushed it with warm soapy water, then boiled it out with peroxide and finally filled it with iodine. Lastly, we sprayed it with the "purple" spray. If it shows any signs of trouble we will call the vet. May have to give her a round of antibiotics. She is not limping.

Cajun: loved the pic. I miss riding horses. Grew up with them and we used to ride all over the community. I especially loved the night rides.

Wake Co., NC, is too crowded now. No place to ride. Development after development. Traffic. Somebody called it progress, but to what?

Isn't that sad? Kent, there are a lot of saddle clubs here that get together and ride in the mountains. I Think it would be fun but after hip surgery the drs said I couldn't ride any more. Not sure why. Guess it might jar them loose???

Jeanette

KentNC
I know just what you mean about progress. The area where I grew up is on the Northshore of Lake Ponchatrain and since hurricane Katrina it has grown from a small country community to a sprawling suburb. There are scads of subdivisions now that have more houses in them than the entire community had when I was a kid there. I would never want to live there again.

I was not able to have a horse for about 20 years and it was a bad stretch of time. I had always held on to the hope that I could get another horse. Now we have a whole herd! LOL we have 11 horses. Some are rescues that we hope to rehome. Others we have bought for ourselves to keep. We are really enjoying them.

Jnette
You might be able to ride an easy gaited horse like a TWH. You should check with your doc. They are so smooth it's like sitting in an easy chair. They are also good with people and like to be with people. Kinda like a big dog. If you can't ride you might look into getting a mini or a pony and cart and take up driving. I had a home made cart when I was a kid and the prettiest little liver chestnut shetland with a white mane and tail to pull it. I cannot tell you how much fun I had with that setup.

That's a thought Cajun. The TWH. I've never been around those. Actually haven't been around any for years. We had them as kids and got one for my daughter when she was a teenager. But haven't been around any since. Then learned about the restriction after the surgery. Not that it would have made any difference, you do what you have to do.

Jeanette

Jeanette, you could always grow you one of them unicorns!

Doug

You are so right Doug, but they they eat so much don't they? Or since there is only one of them corns maybe they only eat half as much???