Strawbale Gardening - no weeding, no hoeing, no tilling

Gorgeous plants Kent! Lush and green.That rose is beautiful too.
I've never been much of a rose person, but I've discovered the heirloom roses and I've become really smitten with them, lol.

As far as watering on vacation, I was in SC for the last 3 days, and I didn't have a problem with my straw bale garden. I thoroughly soaked the bales the night before, then again the morning we left for SC. When we got home, the bales were a little dry on the ends, but the plants were tall and full, no wilting or drooping. My potted tomatoes, on the other hand, were a little sad looking. Some water perked them right up, though.

 

ponychick: 10-4 on the bales holding their moisture for a few days. Once they get past the prep stage and really start softening up, they'll hold a lot of moisture.

I, too, have some tomatoes in 3 gallon containers (probably too small) and they will dry out A LOT quicker, so I'm going to have to really keep my eye on those.

 

REVIEW: Why add nitrogen to the bales in the prep stage?

I got this question today from a new bale gardener on another site, so I thought it was a good time for a review here, too.

We want the bales to start decomposing so they make good hosts for our veggies.

A good quote from an article:

The speed at which the decomposition occurs, called the "rate of decomposition", depends on the temperature, moisture and chemical composition of the organic matter. If the temperature is too low, or too high, fungi and bacteria cannot grow and the rate of decomposition is slow. If the leaves have a low nitrogen content, the rate of decomposition is slowed because fungi and bacteria can not extract enough nitrogen to make proteins they need for growth.

Source: http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/FunFacts/Decay.htm

- - - - -

In a nutshell, the nitrogen addition is the "quick-start" method of getting the bales softened up and on their way to decomposing which makes the bales a nice host for your veggies.

It's kind of like giving vitamins to all the microbes that assist in the decomposition process.

I didn't jump-start my bales this year.

I only used water and let nature take the slow lane in preparing my bales, so I had to allow for more time.

 

Is it too late in the year to try to grow some peppers etc this way?

 

I wouldn't say it's too late.

Get your bales and start prepping them.

Get your peppers. If they are in the small 4 or 6 packs, transplant them into a 4 inch container so the roots will start spreading out.

Once the bales are ready in about 2 weeks, transplant them into the bales.

 

Great, thank you... I may hit you up at work next week for further instruction

Thanks for the reply.

 

Success

At last, red ripe tomatoes and white bush squash ready for eating!! Unlike most everyone else, I haven't had to water the bales in weeks. It has rained everyday here. My traditional garden is swamped. The bales, thankfully, allow the excess to continue to drain away. Unfortunately, I had to find another alternative to Miracle grow because of all the rain. I have used a slow release nitrogen that releases over three months. Everything has suddenly taken off. THe watermelon and the cantelopes are in full bloom. Can't wait to see if they do well in bales.

Hope everyone else is doing well with their garden!

 

Wilting tomato plant

Any suggestions... suddenly one of my tomato plants has wilted like it hasn't had water in weeks. This was a healthy plant in the center of the bale until today. Any type of insects that could cause it to wilt like that? I have never seen this before. I know it's not a lack of water, Over 12 inches this month and there are still 5 more days of rain yet to come this week.

 

Is this tomato plant in a bale, or traditional garden? It sounds like bacterial wilt, especially with the amount of rain you say you've had, but you'd have to cut the base of the stem to test for sure. Any damage to the plant, like spots or discoloration?
It could be vascular wilt, do you know if the tomato plant had a V or F resistance on the tag when you bought it?

 

Excellent post, especially about the slow release fertilizer. I have some I need to set out, too.

 

I had similar experience with some German Johnsons and grape tomatoes last year. They died faster than anything I've ever seen.

ponychick: you're probably right, but hopefully it will be contained.

 

How much Miracle Grow do You use on each plant or do You just put it on straw bales & water in? I used to mix Miracle grow a in 5 gal bucket & pour by hand one gal every other week in reg garden on each plant.How often do you fertilize straw bales? Izitmidnight what type of slo release Fertilizer did you use? Newbe with Questions. Wishbone-ks

 

Wow that was fast... 6 minutes ago you were jamming.. now this. :jester:

 

bacterial wilt

Pony chick, you are right. I had forgotten about Bacterial Wilt. All my tomatos are grown from seed that my family has been saving for years. Have never trusted a vegetable that won't produce the same thing from seed the next year. So these are not resistent. Will just have to pull that bale out of the line up to hopefully prevent the spread.

As to the slow release fertilizer... , it actually is Miracle Grow, but it is from their "Organic Choice" line. It is the all purpose plant and vegetable food, formula 7-1-2. The 7 indicates a higher percentage of nitrogen than phosphates or potash . It is not as high as what you probably used to "cook" the bales this spring. I didn't use anything to cook my bales so I had a lack of nitrogen issue. IE, the plants were turning yellow. With all the rain Charlotte has been getting, I've had to look for an alternative to the liquid Miracle grow. I put about 1-2 tablespoons around each plant and within 3-4 days the yellow was gone. Within a week, most of them had almost doubled in size and are finally where they should be. This nitrogen is a granule substance like blood meal but it is a slow release formula over a two month period. Once it gets wet, it looks like a little bit of mud or dirt around the base of the plants. I purchase mine at Wal-mart. So it should be readly available at most gardening centers.

Happy gardening,
Kay

 

Kay: good post about nitrogen issues, especially when a lot of rain. Bales can get leached out. I'm putting out some slow-release Osmocote tomorrow.

 

tomatoless in Charlotte

Just got home from the late shift. Checked the bales, it looks like I am losing about 15 plants to the bacterial wilt. This is heartbreaking. I still have the tomatoes in the traditional garden doing okay. Well, as they say, there is always next year. Really was looking forward to some fried green tomatoes, as well as homemade preserves!

 

How much sun is enough? We moved our garden location and are trying strawbales this year. Today we noticed the new location is getting morning sun but is pretty shaded in the afternoon. Wondering if the shade might help the bales not dry out as quickly however is it enough sun for the plants to grow?

 

Sorry to hear that.

I just lost 2 of my Golden Jubilee to bacterial wilt. I had 4 and the 2 in the middle bought the farm. Hopefully, this will be it, but we'll see.

 

5 - 6 hrs minimum of sun, but ideally more than that to get max benefit from your garden.

 

I started my straw bales about 3 weeks ago and they seem to be breaking down just great. When I stick my hand in no heat and everything is At the same time I started my seeds in a starter pan. The plants are still pretty small. I was wondering how big they should be before I plant in my bales. I am planting cucumbers, collards, peppers (green and red). Also should I be trying to prepare to stake anything? Lastly I am seeing where people are asking about fertilizer. should I be putting fertilizer in the bales after I put in the plants. I know not the 34-0-0. What a disaster that would be. Do I need to also add any dirt into the bales?

Thanks. One step closer to my great (and first) bumper crop. I have never grown any veggies before.