Strawbale Gardening - no weeding, no hoeing, no tilling

Looking good Kent!!
Also thanks for the info!

 

Very Nice Kent!

How many bales did you end of getting?

I just placed an ad on Craigslist today to see if I can get my bales cheaper than what Farmer's supply charges($4.75). I did find a guy on Craiglist selling bales for $2 but by the time I add in the cost of gas and time involved I might as well buy them @ FS. Oh well, hoping someone local will respond.

 

I had 100 delivered. 15 to a neighbor, 6 to another Deputy co-worker.

I lost count how many I used since I broke up several to chink up the gaps around the bales and the frames.

Got another church member who wants some, so I'll prob use them all up soon.

 

Anyone in Clayton want to go in on an order of bales delivered? I have a small trailer if needed.

Thanks Kent, I am excited!!

Do you have a good guide you go by for when to plant what? I always get a little a head of myself because of my spring fever! LOL

 

Good rule of thumb for transplanting around Wake Forest: 1st week in May.

Too many folks plant around Easter, and this year it is April 4th, way too early for plants.

We can have frost on up into the end of April.

You can always get your plants earlier than this and keep them sheltered from the cold nights and let them get a little sun during the day to harden them off.

 

Are you going to put fertilizer on yours or let them start decomposing on their own?

 

new to strawbale gardening

I came across this site a few weeks ago. I have read through all of this and I am excited about this years garden. I have been working a garden for the past 3 years in the native soil of my area - red clay. It is a bear to till and it does not drain well at all. I started building some 4'x4' above ground boxes because I am tired of working that clay. But I am also going to give the strawbales a shot. Thank you everyone for all of the information that has been posted in this forum especially you Kent. I look forward to reading the future postings on this forum.

 

Lantanalane: negative, no ammonium nitrate or sulphate, or any type of high-nitrogen additives will be added to my bales.

Add them only if doing the quick-prep method and you only have a couple of weeks between getting the bales and transplanting.

Otherwise, just water your bales good initially and keep them good and moist until you transplant. They will be just fine.

nozlnut: Welcome aboard the Bale Garden Express! Mostly red clay u where I live and they don't call it the Stony Hill Community for nothing!!

 

Thanks Kent.

In the past we've done the quick prep and used the fertilizer. If I can get my bales in the next week I plan on letting them naturally age. Like you, I don't plan to plant mine until the 1st of May. I'm all excited now with spring fever and such- wish I could bottle it up and save if for later. I'm sure gonna need some of it when we're in the thick of our hot and muggy summer and I'm lugging water to each of the bales.....I'm gonna need a boost ....lol.

 

Is it ok to use regular hay bales? I've read that some recommend wheat or oat straw? I also read that if one is not using ammonium nitrate to just water the bales for an additional 2 weeks is that correct? Do you use compost or topsoil as a top layer or both?
Thanks in advance
Annette.

 

Okay Kent, help me out here.

I've peeked at this thread a time or two, but I just don't have the patience to read through the whole thing. I have just a few simple questions.

Are you saying that I can go buy hay bales now, stick them in my yard, and water them until about May 1st, then just take my baby plants that I get from Ken's Produce, and *plant* them directly in the hay bale?

I feel like I'm missing something....

 

Jennifer, check this out:

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

It explains everything very simply...and yes, it is almost as easy as sticking them in the hay bales. I only got 3 bales last year as a test run and was very pleased at how easy it was. I had enough tomatoes throughout the summer, enough to freeze some, along with bush beans and cukes. I am buying 6 bales this year and am going to add the summer squash, zucchini, and eggplant. It was by far the easiest, most trouble free garden I have ever had!

 

I second that!

100% easiest way I've grown tomatoes in years.

I'm hooked!

 

Annette: hay or grass bales are for feeding live stock; straw bales, like wheat, oat, rice, etc, are for bedding, landscaping, etc.

Both will work.

Straw bales are cheaper.

Hay/grass bales work great according to those who have used them. Probably due some to their own, natural nitrogen that is stored up in the hay/grass.

Straw bales are mostly carbon with very little nitrogen; that's why you have to watch your feeding to make sure you give the plants the nitrogen they need. If the plants start turning yellow, that is usually the problem.

I would never buy 100 bales of hay when I can use straw because of the price difference.

So, with that said, feel free to experiment with different types of bales.

Just remember, Pine straw WON'T work. Totally different animal.

 

Jennifer: the "original" recipe that I found for preparing your bales included ammonium nitrate (or some high-nitrogen product) and included a prep time of around 11 days.

Over the years I've learned a lot and here's the skinny:

ONLY use the nitrogen additives if you're short on time and need to prepare your bales in 2 weeks or less.

The bales start a decomposition process that generates heat inside the bales and then "cools" back down. The ammonium nitrate or sulphate mixture acts like steroids to increase this heating/cooking process.

If time is on your side, which at this time of the year, it is, then nature will soften up the bales, albeit at a slower pace, in time for transplanting around May 1st.

Last year I used NO ammonium nitrate and everything turned out great.

As you've seen, I've made some frames for all my bales this year.

The straw from last year has turned into a fantastic medium to grow my vegetables in.

So, the longer the bales have to weather/decompose, the better they become.

The mistake that I see most people making is not keeping those bales moist enough to ensure that decomposition takes place at the fastest rate possible.

Don't just rely on a little bit of rain to soak through those thick bales, especially during the early stages.

Hope this helps.

Be blessed.

KR

 

Thanks for reposting the reference.

The 2009 article I wrote is about as concise as I could make the bale garden process.

 

So if I start now, I can SKIP the chemicals, right?

 

Jennifer: that's right.

No chemicals (nitrogen) needed now to prepare the bales for transplanting at this time.

 

Thanks Kent!
We'll probably get our bales this weekend

 

I think I've almost got DH convinced to try it this year. We did tomatos in buckets a few years ago and although we had a few, nothing like this. And I want some cucumbers!!