Strawbale Gardening - no weeding, no hoeing, no tilling

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 it feels very soft. At the same time I started my bales 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.

 

Your plants should have a nice root system b4 transplanting.

You may want to harden them off a little and give them some sun for a few days b4 transplanting.

Transplant in the late evening and water good.

The 34-0-0 is strictly for bale prep.

Your plants will need some fertilizer, but every gardener has their own method. I like Miracle Gro because it's easy to use and hard to "burn" or damage your plants by using too much.

I also used some commercial low-grade manure.

Yesterday, I sprinkled some Osmocote, slo-release, pellets around the plants. That's the first time I've done that in 5 years. Trying new things this year.

Post some pics if you can.

 

First squash of the season!

Thank you, Lord, for giving us yellow squash to fry up in EVOO and House of Autry chicken breader!

Mmmmmm! Mmmmmmm!

My DD and I ate 2 pan fulls right at the stove.

She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed (I loved Rumpole of the Bailey!) picked about a dozen cukes and took some to my dear Mama next door.

I don't do raw cukes, but the rest of the family loves them, especially in vinegar and BP.

Hope everyone's garden is doing well.

 

Those look delicious!

 

Kent,

Do you use MiracleGro every time you water? I know alot depends upon condition of plants, but if you do not use it each time, how often do you use it?

 

I use Miracle Gro about once/week using a sprayer - the kind you hook on the end of your hose and pour a packet (or whatever you need) of granules into the reservoir.

But, I also watch my plants and see what they are telling me, especially early on in the bale gardening season.

You can tend to water so much that you leach out any nutrients in the bales. I've done that in years past. The plants will start to turn yellowish and look a little sickly.

Once I started watering twice a day with some Miracle Gro for a few days (I call it plant CPR), the plants turned around and returned to a nice healthy green.

If the plants are producing a lot of fruit, then their nutrient needs change and I tend to water with Miracle Gro a little more.

Not an exact science. Just watch the plants.

Those who are totally organic have a different schedule. Comes with experience.

This year I've added a little commercial manure mix on top of the bales and sprinkled some Osmocote slo-release pellets around the bales just to experiment a little and see how I like it.

That way the plants can get a little dose of nutrients each time I water and not just a big dose only when I Miracle Gro.

 

Had a few requests for some updated pics

Cukes - they are really starting to come off





Eggplants and Zucchini





Yellow Squash




Peppers





Tomatoes

 

Kent, How long have your plants been in the bales? Boy they sure look good. I planted about 6 weeks ago & everythings looking good so far. Wishbone-Ks

 

I bought my plants around 4/10-11 and transplanted into the bales on Sat, 4/18, about 2 weeks earlier than I normally do.

 

Looking at your photos I see that you have planted your bales Flat instead on End. Are You noticing any differnce? Do they seem to doing better? I'm thinking next Year putting Zuccinni, Squash & Cucumbers on 2 or 3 bales flat. It looks like better support & not hanging over bales on standing on End.
I put 1/4 inch Leaky pipe drip irrigation & like the way it waters the whole bale. I have a 25 LB. water pressure reducier to cut pressure down. I'm think next time I'm in Wichita,Ks I''ll go by the Drip irrigation place and pick up a 15 LB. reducer to slow water down a little more & get a better Slower Soak. I'm looking into Ferterlizing through My drip line. Need to find some type of inline injector to suck up fert. in the line. Right now I put 1 tablespoon of Miricle Grow around each plant & water in by hand. Wishbone-Ks

 

This is the 3rd year in a row that I've oriented my bales with strings ON the ground.

I do like it better this way. Water doesn't seem to flow through the bales as fast.

Lots of folks are designing their own drip systems. There's some good posts and pics in the straw bale forum at www.davesgarden.com.

Very clever and mechanically-minded people out there. I know you'll come up with a good design, too.

 

Diagnosing Vegetable Diseases

Here's two great links to diagnosing garden vegetable issues you may have.

Since most of the inquiries I get are about tomatoes, I'll focus on that, but use these links for other vegetables as well.

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/TomKey.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/tomatoproblemsolver/

 

Baby watermelons and cantelopes

It's so exciting. Found my first baby watermelons and cantelopes on the straw bales this evening. The bales have started collapsing and sinking downward quite nicely. Even the spaghetti squash is starting to produce!

Anyone for a slice of watermelon in a few weeks?

 

Get the salt ready!

Keep up the good work.

 

no not salt... lol I remember as a little one we used salt,, I lost that when I realized salt belongs on chips and pretzels,,, A cold crispy and purely sweet and juicy watermelon is hard to beat... no salt needed. 8)8)

 

My Zucinni's are coming on like Gangbusters. I have only 3 plants & have already picked 6 good size ones. Roma tomatoes are almost fully grown & waiting 4 them to turn Red. All other plants are doing better than in the Past. (in dirt) This is very exciting. My neighbors have small Convenice Store with Pizza & Sub sannys & they want to buy all my extra tomatoes.
All this has got Me thinking to next Year. Next year I'll plant My Cucumbers, Zucinnis & differnt types of squash on 2 bales laying Flat. Seen some Tomatoe seeds called Morgage Makers or something like that. I think they are a 60 day tomatoe with 6 to 8 ounce fruit. Going to try them next year. Had a Friend over at www.Camp-Cook.com send Me some San Marazono seeds from his garden. Hope they will grow next year. Anyone else save seeds? Do they loose all the tolarances bred in after a while? Has anyone done Bush Beans on straw bales? Thanks, Wishbone-Ks

 

My zucchinis are doing "OK"...my mother has a traditional garden and she took half my seedlings and has packaged 24 pints of shredded zucchini for her freezer and just gave me 8 huge ones. We've picked 4 so far. My cukes, however, are loving life. I have 7 quarts of dills, 20 pints of dill chips, and 11 pints of relish so far.

The beans didn't do great, just so-so, and I'm waiting for tomatoes to turn red to start canning sauce. Tomorrow I'll be making more pickles.

 

Glad to hear the good report.

You're probably talking about Mortgage Lifters:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55837/

I've got some growing this year for the first time to see how I like them.

 

My bride's putting up a lot of pickles, too. She just makes sweet pickle out of the rinds. No dills or relish.

She makes good zucchini bread, too.

 

Updated pics

Overall view




A little produce - almost time for some tomato canning



Hibiscus