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Post by daylilydude on Nov 30, 2011 22:57:43 GMT -5
Has anyone tried this, and was it successful?
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Post by izitmidnight on Dec 1, 2011 0:19:47 GMT -5
I did it one year at home. Not enough sunshine to know if it would do just as well. It takes a lot more water as the water just drains through the straw. here is a link to a strawbale gardening thread. www.4042.com/4042forums/showthread.php?t=12405Be sure to check out the amazing photos from the founder's garden over the years. It is amazing how well his strawbale gardening does! His garden is about 1.5 to 2 hours away.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2012 17:03:41 GMT -5
I have been strawbale gardening for 5 years now, i do this in addition to a very large garden. I love doing it as all my friends think its real cool lol. I have found that my squash do very well in bales, tomatos, cucumbers and peppers also do well. I usually plant 20-30 bales each year. One tip after u grow a season with them cut strings next spring spread bales out to about double the size place potatoes between straw and ground and whallla tons of taters in summer (very clean taters too) try it you will enjoy im sure
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Post by daylilydude on Jan 4, 2012 6:02:47 GMT -5
I have been strawbale gardening for 5 years now, i do this in addition to a very large garden. I love doing it as all my friends think its real cool lol. I have found that my squash do very well in bales, tomatos, cucumbers and peppers also do well. I usually plant 20-30 bales each year. One tip after u grow a season with them cut strings next spring spread bales out to about double the size place potatoes between straw and ground and whallla tons of taters in summer (very clean taters too) try it you will enjoy im sure COOL!! Now my next question is: Is there a specific fertilizer that use use with this type of gardening?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2012 9:22:50 GMT -5
the first two seasons i used a triple 13 slow release fertilize. The last few i have added compost to the top of bale and used a mixture of alfalfa and horse manure tea which i brew in a 55 gallon plastic drum. i have found more success using compost and tea. the important thing with using bales is keeping them watered well. on a side note the only downside to using bales is i have saw a sharp increase in stink-bug population and have to deal with them accordingly, i guess they thrive in the bales. an example for squash i kept track of harvest over two years from plants in bale vs. ground plants and have exactly doubled my harvest from bales (thats zuchanni and straight necked) i have never tried pole beans in bales but this year im gonna give it a whirl and see what happens.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2012 9:56:11 GMT -5
The only thing I ever planted in "straw" was potatoes. I guess the climate here (deep south, zone 9) is too wet and humid. It was a stinky, slimy, moldy mess, and I don't believe it improved my potato production at all. I'm sure our climate had a lot to do with that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 12:52:17 GMT -5
We have the opposite climate here from what catgrass has- dry dry dry. I have some old bales from a neighbors cowboy themed birthday party. I had no idea we could plant IN the things. hopefully I can keep them wet enough- Maybe covering them with plastic sheeting would help with that and possible stink bugs...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2012 22:25:16 GMT -5
i do use plastic under mine it helps when cucumbers spill over keeps weeds from overtaking them and does help retain water. Sidenote if u do like i do and use amonium nitrate to start bales you will have to mow around your bales three times a week , prettiest emerald green grass i ever saw lol
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2012 23:56:04 GMT -5
I'm on yr 3 (or 4, it's late for me here, my brain isn't workin' ) I'm pretty much the same as tomatosheriff, Tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and cukes.............. My taters go into the 'bad' bales (read as not tight, good bales) I found out first hand, you want well baled straw/hay, loose bales are a pain in the neck BTW, How do I add an avatar? ( sorry, I know, way OT)
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Post by daylilydude on May 26, 2012 5:34:04 GMT -5
BTW, How do I add an avatar? ( sorry, I know, way OT) Go to the top of the front page and click on "profile" then click on "modify profile" and scroll down about half way and you will see where to put an avatar... If you need help send me a pick and I'll get it in there for you!
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Post by cornishwoman on May 26, 2012 8:42:19 GMT -5
I have grown in straw bales on and off for years,usually do it to start a new bed area in the garden as what sits under the bales for a season gets well rotted down which means minimal digging for me.I find its easier to dig in the composted straw bales and the soil is always rich with worms and looks and smells good ,what ever I plant the following season always grows well. The drawbacks I think for me are,remembering to place the bales the right way up, .......strings down as its a lot easier to dig out a hole for planting rather than battling against stalks. Another drawback is watering the bales then letting them mature,it takes a lot of water and we heated up early this year so I ended up watering twice a day to prime the bales,luckily I have well water I wouldn't myself do this if I didn't have well water. I have learnt to not fertilize till the bales are soaked with water and holding water,the bales just compost to fast if fertilizer to early, i use a watery horse poo ,just poo soaking in a old 50 gallon drum. I don't have a temperature gauge to test the heat in the bales,I just stick my hand in the hole . I prime my bales for about a month and a half before planting,fertilize once a month ,planting holes are filled with garden soil and compost then plant and mulch . I put a small amount of bone meal in the hole but have usually used up my ration by then, my gardening budget is very strict.I find the plants take a little longer to take off than if they are in the ground but when they do, they really do.This year squash and melon's are what I'm growing,2 plants to each bale.Bales can last 2 seasons,in fact the second season they seem to be better.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2012 9:17:22 GMT -5
THANKS (I was tired last night , duh ;D)
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Post by cornishwoman on May 28, 2012 7:21:50 GMT -5
i planted my squash yesterday,today i will pop in the melons in another bale area.
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Post by stratcat on May 29, 2012 23:10:43 GMT -5
Very nice, Cornishwoman! Great to see your pictures again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 11:23:07 GMT -5
If I have really 'good' bales (nice and tight) I will leave them to use again the following yr........ I had 6 that I held over this yr....... Here's one of my 2nd yr bales........................ (had to edit, posted this and then organized my photobucket....Broke the link, sorry)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2014 13:27:17 GMT -5
I would like to know the setup procedure on this, I have the stawbale, now what do I do next?
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Post by bestofour on Apr 11, 2014 14:03:20 GMT -5
tillertom, have your bales been sitting outside where they have been rained on?
Last year was my first year and I had tons of squash when no one else did because theirs had drowned or rotted on the ground because of the wet weather. I'm planting in them again this year.
1. If they have not been out in the rain soak them good for 3 days in a row.
2. 4th day make a hole in the top, it doesn't have to be big just large enough to plant your plant or seed and put in 1 cup of high nitrogen fertilizer. I had to search and found an Espoma high nitrogen 34-6-6 (I think) and water in well.
3. 5th and 6th days add another cup of fertilizer and water in.
4. 7th, 8th, 9th days add 1/2 cup 10-10-10 or something close and water in.
5. Last year I had time so I let the bales sit for 7-10 days. Then I added a little potting soil and popped in a squash seed.
Before you plant make sure the bale isn't too hot. Before I planted I just stuck my finger in where I had made the hole and if the bale felt just a tad warm like a nice sunny day I popped in a seed.
The deal with straw bales is that you have to keep them watered.
Late in the season I had a few squash plants get damaged by squash bugs so I pulled them up, burned them, and popped in another seed without adding additional dirt or fertilizer - came up and produced just fine. I can't remember how I ended up with a tomato plant in one of the bales but I did and had tomatoes.
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desertrat
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Post by desertrat on Apr 14, 2014 12:31:58 GMT -5
A friend of mine just started straw bale gardening in addition to his other raised beds. He grew a wonderful crop of carrots, beets and parsnips in his. He gets the bales free from Craig's list, he also has an irrigated lot which cuts down significantly on the water issue. I on the other had would have to hand water or add a drip system, I may try it just as a lark with my one straw bale, maybe squash or melons. An interesting concept and I like the idea of not having to garden on hands and knees.
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Post by bestofour on Apr 15, 2014 21:47:48 GMT -5
A friend on another forum said you can't get a better tasting or crisper carrot than one grown in a straw bale.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 15, 2014 15:05:42 GMT -5
Two years in a row I've had more squash than I can handle that has grown in the straw bales. My friend put black plastic under hers and they didn't drain correctly and her squash didn't do well. I put landscape fabric under mine and it works well. I might try growing bush beans in bales next year.
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Jul 16, 2014 7:22:07 GMT -5
We don't have straw bales here. Pinestraw bales and hay bales only. I never tried the hay because of the weed seeds/grass seeds but I wonder if it would still work...or would I end up with a weedy mess? Anyone every tried hay bale gardening?
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 16, 2014 14:56:48 GMT -5
I've been afraid to try the hay bales as well. I am already struggling with the grassy weeds in my yard. But the concept appeals to me because I have seen such nice results with it, and the bales would be a good height for tending low plants like squash, greens, and bush beans. Also, when the bales break down too much to grow in, they are still useful for compost or mulch.
It seems that it would be dead easy to run a drip line along the row of straw bales to fix the watering problem, too.
If I could find some good straw bales, I would try it.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 17, 2014 19:13:24 GMT -5
Really? No straw in Florida? Live and learn. I'm sure you'd get a LOT of grass in hay. I get a little bit of grass in the straw and a few mushrooms. I just leave it alone and it dies out.
Last year we had lots of rain so watering wasn't even thought of. This year I put soaker hoses across the bales and have turned them on once in a while. I've been thinking about doing bush beans in some next year because whatever I do to the soil I can't get beans to grow well. I'll continue to grow squash in them.
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