Strawbale Gardening - no weeding, no hoeing, no tilling

Kent,

Silly question, but is there an average amount of water per day? A gallon per plant, two, five? If the money is available this weekend I will get a soaker hose and run it up one side of the bales and down the other-. Tomatoes won't be a problem to water with hose or watering can, but other crops that bush up like squash ...well I wouldn't want the leaves to stay wet.

We still have pretty severe drought restrictions here in GA, but at least this county allows watering the home vegetable garden! Still I feel guilty sometimes....we have a well but it is not working at present. Will feel much better when it is fixed!

There is also a creek on the side of our property so if water gets really tight I can hike back and forth with a watering can! Must be spring fed because it is always moving pretty fast.

I chose the following to plant:
two pineapple, two black brandywine, and four of the Rainbow mix, each of the four looks a little different so maybe I have four different plants

Thanks again! You are such a help!
Kelley

 

Watering is not going to be a problem. It doesn't take as much as you think.

I water each bale about about 10 - 15 seconds.

One thousand and one, one thousand and two.....

You'll get your timing down quickly and it'll be routine for you.

I recommend getting a wand to attach to the end of your hose that will let you reach over into the bales. A lot of water comes out but it's nice and soft.

You can try the soaker hoses but you'll probably get tired of those. Most do.

If you do go the soaker hose route, then make sure the entire bale is getting watered, so you'll probably have to have one on each side of the plant.

With the wand you can ease down inside the squash, etc and water right on top of the bales.

With bale gardening you don't have to water about back splash on your plants since the bales are pretty sterile.

Gotta go get ready for my shift.

You're doing fine.

 

Aging In Iowa - magazine article

Just got my copy in the mail today.

Aging in Iowa magazine interviewed me some time back and here's the print version. The online version should be up soon.

Check it out at www.aginginiowa.com

Out of the dozen or so articles written about my bale garden in various publications, this one is the best so far.

 

Yeah Kent! :hurray:


(psst... I've got another little tomato growing)

 

Wow, impressive. Started mine and I am sure I will be asking questions. You are one busy person.

Sherry

 

Kent, how often to you use Miracle Gro? I'll post pics again soon, I'm amazed at how fast everything is growing! I have a cute little yellow squash baby now too.

 

I water/feed with Miracle Gro at least once/week, sometimes every 5 days or so.

I just picked a good handful of hot peppers. How I love fresh peppers with a meal.

Got tons of blooms on my cukes, yellow squash, and zukes.

Tomatoes looking good. (Note to self: add another tomato row next year.)

A friend sent me some more trombocino squash and I'll be planting two of them this year. I gave 2 more plants to some friends to grow and have fun with. Those babies grow like crazy.

 

A gardener's prayer

http://www.poofcat.com/pray18.html

Thank you, God, from whom all blessings flow.

 

That trombochino? squash looks like fun! I got some Luffa seeds this year and have one growing and am going to start a second one soon, not sure how much space they will take up so going slow!

Ok the straw bales are now inhabited by tomato plants! Wow was I surprised at how warm it is down inside there! Especially warm compared to the potting soil the plants were in! I have one last tomato to plant and it is a bit larger than the rest so I need help holding the straw open while I put the roots in!

I posted pictures here:
http://kelleyville-kelleyville.blogspot.com/

Hopefully the next set of pics there will be such lush growth you will actually be able to see the 'maters! I still have to put up an end pole and put the CRW up, hopefully this weekend before the plants grow too much.

Kelley

 

Part of my garden, taken on 4/29. The watermelons weren't even in the bales yet (I don't think they had even come up in the peat pots yet!)


The whole garden on 5/29


Close-ups:

Watermelon


Cantaloupe


Cucumber


yellow squash (different angles) & squash baby


okra


tomatoes


German Queen (they look pitiful - ??)


Beefmaster & Better Boy (they're looking fabulous!)


The Beefmaster baby, growing quickly! There is one on the Better Boy too, but I couldn't get a shot of it.

 

Lots of variety in your garden for sure!

Keep up the good work.

 

ready2cmyKing: fine job. good pics.

I just had a snack of some of my home-grown cayenne peppers with some blue cheese dressing and sour dough bread. Yum Yum.

Waiting for some fried squash and zukes and finally some juicy tomatoes.

 

Why thank you, sir. I'm not much on peppers, but I can hardly wait for those squash, okra & tomatoes!

 

Gosh I am envious of those of you who have fresh stuff to eat all ready! I am so far behind! Lets see what am I actually growing? Pole-Lima, Christmas Speckled Large (Well that is what the package said heheh), Henderson's Lima, a mixture of Kentucky and Blue Lake pole beans, about six different varieties of cucumbers including a few parthenocarpic ones, the luffa, a yellow squash that said to thin to only 4 inches apart (can't wait to see if that works or not!) a zucchini that is parthenocarpic, Peppers I have at least a dozen varieties in pots-Gypsy, Cherry Bomb, Poblano, Giant Marconi, Sweet Banana, Jalapeno, Habanero, Jamaican Hot, Long Slim Cayenne, Tangerine Bell, Chocolate Bell and a bunch of regular green bells. Tomatoes I got at least 20 types growing this year all heirlooms. Butternut squash, oh yeah and purple tomatillo. I missed a bunch of stuff I know because that does not include the herbs I have scattered around everywhere or the strawberry's either! I guess I need to go take individual pictures so I know what it is I am growing! 8)

Those pictures are just awesome! I hope all my bales do as well! I will definitely have more bales next year!

Kelley

 

Kent, I forgot to ask you if you have an idea why my German Queen tomato plants look so pitiful. If I'm remembering correctly, they were the two in peat pots, which I put in the straw (because it said not to remove.) All my other plants were put in the straw in peat pots too, and they're all doing fine.

Do you think that might be why they're not as vigorous as the other two, or do you think it has to do more with the variety (they're heirloom) - ? They were actually larger than the Beefmaster and the Better Boy when I planted them. :?

 

Nothing beats a good ole vegetable supper!

 

Hmm, based on a lot of conversation I've had with other gardeners, I really do think it's weather related since some of your plants are doing well and these two are not.

Keep an eye on them and if it looks like they just aren't going to recover, yank'em out and replant something else.

These things happen without any fault of ours.

Sorry I can't be more specific.

 

Thanks Kent, I don't know why either. They have blooms but they also have a lot of yellow leaves. Will they produce tomatoes, that's the question. Time will tell, I guess.


Oh, and feel free to laugh at my little trellis. We used what we had on hand but if it doesn't work, we'll replace it with something better. I'm really hoping it can handle 4 tomato plants though.

 

That double wire you put up should hold just fine.

Just be careful when you are putting any runners through.

 

Logo for Bale Gardening T-shirts

Here's a t-shirt/sweat shirt design that another bale gardener and I have come up with.

I'm going to get my cousin who does professional heat transfers to get a shirt or two made and see how they turn out.

I've tried the do-it-yourself transfers and they just don't do it for me.

White, off-white, and light gray shirts would look good, I think.

This is a great way to "spread the gospel" of bale gardening!