Strawbale Gardening - no weeding, no hoeing, no tilling

Love that design!

 

This morning's crop of tomatoes and peppers

I haven't posted any bale garden pics in awhile.

Tomatoes and peppers are all I have left. We're canning a lot of tomatoes this year since our supply was getting low.

The tomatoes are Better Boy, Celebrity, and Super Fantastic.

I give most of the peppers away, especially to the folks working at the McDonald's at Creedmoor Rd & Strickland Rd. The Hispanics working there love me!

The hotter the peppers, the better they like them.

 

Kent,

You are just one awesome guy! Read this off to the family and showed them the picture and they think so as well. Most people, including me, will never come close to being as kind as you are.

Glad to have you in the world,
Sherry

 

I appreciate that, but I'm only here for a short time. Just passing through!

 

I understand but in your short time you are doing so much.

Sherry

 

It's not too early to start planning your garden

Thought I'd bump this up for those who may be interested in doing a little straw bale gardening this year.

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Prepping Update

A lot of folks have asked me about using ammonium sulphate instead of ammonium nitrate in preparing the bales.

The sulphate seems to work just fine.

The nitrate is becoming harder to find since it is now regulated.

If you only have a few bales, Blood Meal is also a good alternative.

Reminder: Definitely think about using a trellis if you're planting tomatoes in the bales. Stakes or cages just don't cut it since the vines grow so tall.

 

Straw Bale Gardening t-shirts available

By the way, one of the members of the straw bale gardening forum over at http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/strawbale/all/ has taken our bale gardening logo and put it on some t-shirts.

They really look nice.

Check them out: http://www.cafepress.com/Strawbale

 

Well, I'm planning a bigger garden this year, and I want to do this method. Where can I get the bales the cheapest (money is an issue since DH is one of the unemployed), and when should I start? I have my seeds to start them inside this weekend for beans and peas, and I'll be starting the tomatoes, peppers, cukes, and squash soon.

 

All Children First: for straw bales:

1. check with any place that sells mulch
2. Home Depot/Lowes/garden centers have straw on occasion
3. Ask any landscaper where they get their bales
4. I've seen some bales at hardware stores like Ace, too.
5. Anyone who had some fall displays with bales will probably sell them to you very cheap or give to you free. Ask around.

Start prepping your bales around April 15, depending on the temps. If it's real cool, give it a few more days.

Post some pics for us, too.

 

March 2009 issue of Carolina Country

For those interested, here's a good one-page article of mine that just came out in Carolina Country magazine - www.carolinacountry.com.

They've been running my bale garden story for a few years now.

http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens/thismonth/march09guide/Straw3.09.pdf

 

Before I can post pics, I have to get it planted and growing.

I'm hoping that this year's garden goes great!

 

SPRING FEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I cannot wait for the season to start and to try strawbale gardening. Last few years that we've done a garden has been up to the neighbors. This year, we are bringing it home. Heading out to the yard today to do some things. Raleigh yard waste center has mulch on sale buy 1 load and get 1 load - now I just need to get a coupon. Checked on my rhubarb and it's popping up - we used to grow rhubarb in NY but haven't tried to here so we'll see what happens. I just need enough to make homemade strawberry rhubarb jam. I have a friend in NY who told me to dig up her plant and take it. From that one plant I ended up with 8 plants. If it fails, I'll just have to go to Lowes and get some but there really nothing beats homemade. Now if I can just figure out (legally that is) how to keep the deer out of my yard.

 

claytonian: I know all about the deer problems. I tried organic methods for a year or so, but that got to be too much and wasn't that effective. There are too many hungry deer in my area. I'd come home from night shift and have 5 deer in my yard. Finally put up a 7.5 ft deer fence around my garden which has worked great so far.

 

I wish I could do a fence around the whole yard - I've got over 150 hosta in my yard that fed the deer very well last year. About 6:00 each night, we could seem them at the ede of the woods - as though they were saying to us to go on in so they could have some dessert. It seems as though last year was the first time they were seen all hours running through the neighborhood. I guess it doesn't help that they built the bypass and are putting in the new medical center in my neck of the woods. I will do something around the strawbales though.

 

Ammonium Nitrate update

I called my local Southern States and they have quit carrying the ammonium nitrate in bags. You can still get it, but only in bulk purchases.

They've gone to ammonium sulphate, 33.5-0-0 (NPK) which is what I'll be using this year. 50 lb bags.

So, it looks like vendors just don't want to put up with the hassle of getting ID's from their customers over a bag of ammonium nitrate.

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claytonian: if you're interested in some deer fencing here's the link to the company I bought my fencing from:

http://www.nodeer.com/index.php4

Speciaty Agricultural Products out of Connecticut

1-800-483-8889

I bought a 330 ft roll, 7.5 ft high. - C-flex

Shipping was only round 20-30 dollars if I remember correctly with FedEx.

It looks like their pricing is still the same.

I shopped around locally and nationally and this company was the best by far, especially when it came to the shipping charges.

 

Thanks Kent - I'm looking into it.

 

Okay, Kent, what about strawberries? And does anybody know when to plant them?

Can you grow broccoli in the bales?

I've been worried about the deer issue, too, because we were going to put the bales outside of the fence. (Inside the fence is the leach field for the septic tank.) Could I put these in the backyard without worrying about contamination from the septic system? That would be easier to put a barrier for the dogs and it's already "deer proof".

My garden usually has tomatoes, cukes, squash, zucchini, and bunches of different peppers. I'm branching out this year into beans, peas, and (hopefully) strawberries and watermelon.

 

All Children First: sorry, no experience with strawberries or broccoli in bales or even dirt farming.

As for putting the bales on top of a leach field, I found this good article that may help you make your decision on where to place your bales:

http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/factsheets2/specdesigns/aug93pr2.html

 

This year's layout - 60 bales

4 rows for tomatoes

Double row for cukes

Double row for squash and zucchini

Small single row for peppers

Space in the back left for new grapevine going in soon.

Doing something a little different this year. I put the bales out about 3 weeks earlier than normal. I'm just going to pre-treat them for the next 3 weeks with water - keep'em moist and see how they do.

Then I'll add the ammonium sulphate (can't get the nitrate this year) and see if the bales heat up as normal after being out in the weather for 3 weeks.

Most of the bales had the natural twine and will rot, so I won't have to deal with those plastic strings at the end of the season.