Strawbale Gardening - no weeding, no hoeing, no tilling

No experience with drip systems, but did use a soaker hose this time to keep the bales wet. Used landscape fabric staples to hold the hose in place where I wanted it. Worked well. I've not decided if I will leave it on the bales after transplanting. I'll probably just do the watering myself to makes sure leavs and bales get water.

 

Just a few more mushroom pics

I just love how mushrooms appear in the bales overnight.

 

planting beans in straw bales

I'm late planting beans. The cucumbers, squash and tomatoes are all in full bloom. There are plenty of baby tomatoes forming!

Any suggestions on growing beans in straw? Has anyone done it?

I would appreciate any advice or wisdom you have to share.

 

izitmidnight: no experience here with beans or with any seeds directly in the bales.

However, those who have tried beans seem to be happy with the results.

You'll just need to germinate them in a layer of potting mix on top of the bales.

 

The strong winds from the last two days blew my tomatoes and cucumber plants over. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

Hello all! I'm a newbie gardener from north Mississippi and am experimenting with straw bale gardening this year. I'm really excited about it and am anxious to begin planting my little seedlings.

I do have a problem, however: ANTS have taken up residence in my bales. Any suggestions as to how to safely get rid of them?

Photos of my bale garden are on my blog, as well as what I've been doing to prepare it, if anyone is interested. (I hope it's OK for me to post the link here!)

Heather
Attempts at Gardening

 

Hey guys, My son and I are new to both blogging and straw bales gardening. We have began with ten wheat bales and are on day 5, 1/2 cup am nt / day , and we cant wait to get the plants bought. We plan to plant a few types of tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, squash, peppers, okra, and either cucumbers or catelope. if any one has any advice we would appreciate it. God Bless and may all our gardens grow well.

 

southernart ?

How do you put a link or photos on here mine did not go through?

 

Heath: www.photobucket.com is what many of us use to post pics.

Once you upload your pics, then use the IMG versions to post here.

 

Heather: of course, you're welcome! Love your blog!

No ant problems on my end, but there has been some discussions at www.davesgarden.com, Strawbale Gardening forum, about them.

Commons solution seems to be Diatomaceous Earth, which is described as a light-colored porous rock composed of the shells of diatoms.

What are diatoms?

Any of various microscopic one-celled or colonial algae of the class Bacillariophyceae, having cell walls of silica consisting of two interlocking symmetrical valves

Link: http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth.html

Other comments about DE:

It works like glass on their bodies, punctures and kills! so be very careful where you put it , cause it will also kill earth worms and other needed garden helpers!

I dissolve it in a spray bottle and mist lightly on plant foliage to kill anything - mites, aphids, whitefly. Anything. It is safe for humans and pets.

The only negative is that it does leave a finr white powder on the leaves but it doesn't seem to affect the plants. And you'll have to reapply after rain if the bugs reappear.

 

Heath and son: welcome, aboard!

The best initial advice is to read as much of this thread as you can.

Also, be thinking about how you're going to support your tomatoes, peppers, and okra; they'll need it.

The cukes and cantelope will run. Add some newspapers or ground cloth around the bales when the vines finally run off.

Finally, after reading the posts, if you still have questions, then just post'em up.

 

ok lets try this again

Trying to post pics

 

Heath: In Photobucket, just copy and post the IMG code under the photo. Do a preview to make sure it takes and you'll be all set.

 

Thanks for recommending the diatomaceous earth. I actually have a box that I've been meaning to put out in the yard for ticks and also around our chimney, as we have problems with monster-sized slugs coming into our house that way. :ack: Anyway, I'll also put some on my straw bales when the rain stops. Hopefully it will take care of the ants!

 

What temp is too hot to transplant into the bales? They had been around 120 for a few days, but had cooled to 105-110 yesterday. I decided to go for it this morning and set all my plants in the bales. As I dug into the bales they were still fairly warm/hot to the touch, although I didn't take a temp reading. I hope they'll be ok, but I was getting impatient. Did I make the right choice or should I have waited for them to cool more? I guess time will tell.

 

You are correct, time will tell.

All the evidence we've gotten so far in bale gardening about bale temps affecting plants has been purely anecdotal.

Fellow bale gardeners have talked about planting before the bales simmer down and lose plants.

I've got one bale in my cucumber row that seemed to "cook" much longer than the rest and only 1 plant survived out of 4.

The inside temps felt very warm to my hands so they were 100+.

Let us know how they turn out.

 

Today's pics

This year's bales have more wheat sprouts than the past few years, but it's not a problem.

It won't be long before I probably give the bales a quick "haircut".


Tomatoes





Cukes





Eggplants, zucchini, yellow squash





Habanero peppers

 

Pretty happy with my garden so far.

Thanks for all the advice Kent! Just wanted to share some pics...


one pepper, some squash, and some cucumber


pepper, squash and cucumbers top, with German Johnson tomatoes bottom


new squash


new cucumber


new yellow bell pepper

 

ponychick: always enjoy seeing garden pics.

Keep up the good work.