Strawbale Gardening - no weeding, no hoeing, no tilling

Thanks Kent!
I already planted my tomato's even though the mushrooms have so far remained a no-show

 

Is it too late

I feel like I am a day late and a dollar short. I have never planted anything in my life that had success except weeds but I really want to do the strawbale gardening. Is there a condensed version of the board somewhere? I need to know am I too late to start this, I don't even have the haybale yet. Is there a website to check out for THIS area. So much great information here but I'm getting bogged down in the details. HELP!!!! Is there a Strawbale Gardening for Dummies out there? Thanks in advance for any information.

1. Is it too late to start?
2. Best place to get hay now?
3. Do I have time to start plants from seed or would I ensure better success for a newbie gardener by getting the plants already started. (Best source for buying plants).

HELP!!!!

 

Wow Kent. Someday I will have a garden that big. I added some liquid miracle grow today for the first time. Kent, do you use one of those mg things that attaches to your hose? It only came out blue if I tilted it far forward. Not sure if the rest of the time I was even getting any fert coming out.

Here is where I stand now. This morning I had a mushroom garden. They were THICK! I knocked them all over.

 

Rick: excellent! Great looking garden set up.

I use the MG container that attaches under the hose and you pour in ever how much granular MG you want.

Mine works pretty good. I keep a check on the granules in the bottom of the container and when they disappear, I refill if I'm not through.

It may be a little stronger in the beginning; I don't know, but I always start with the plants I really want to get a good dose as I water.

Kent

 

Gabi,

1. Not too late at all. Just plan on about 14 days to get your bales prepared.

2. Get straw or hay. Straw probably at Home Depot or Lowes, etc. About 4/bale. Hay will be more expensive. Ask around.

3. Depending on what you're growing, it's your choice with seeds or plants, but I'd recommend transplanting something that's already up, learn from your 1st year, and go from there. Any place that has healthy looking plants will work. I bought a lot from Logans Trading Co in downtown Raleigh this year. But also from HD, Lowes, Homewood Nursery, and Craig LeHouiller, the NC Tomato Man.

4. Go to the 1st page of this thread and read the Carolina Country magazine article. It's as basic as it gets. Just skip the part about adding ammonium nitrate to the bales. Just soak'em down for 1st couple days and continue to keep them moist for 2 weeks.

5. So, don't fret, you're not behind at all. I'm even a little early in getting my plants out this year.

Kent

 

Thank you so much

OK, was wanting to do this so much this year but haven't been able to get the bales yet. Hopefully tomorrow and will get it in gear. I usually kill anything except flowered wallpaper....when I go through the gardening centers the other plants whisper "dead plant walking"...but I want a garden so bad and hoped maybe this would work. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks again Kent for putting this together. Do you have a blog or book out? God bless and have a wonderful rest of the weekend.

 

Gabi, the closest thing to a blog is this thread and my Straw Bale Garden page on Face Book:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Straw...g-no-hoeing-no-tilling/106143169423324?ref=ts

Now, go get those bales laid out so we can get those plants whispering, "Bale Gardener walking!" .......

Kent

 

Ok. I figured the water would come out blue but it was clear so I wasn't sure I was even getting any fertilizer. Only got blue if I tilted it really far forward and then I was getting dark blue which probably isn't good. It must have worked because I swear the plants are an inch taller this morning!

 

Here are some pics of my progress so far.


Tomatoes and cucs along back row and garlic, rosemary and peppermint in the box.

Squash in the first two sets of double bales, cantaloupes in the far double bale - potatoes in the pile in the far back and peppers and eggplants in straight row

 

Not going with more? You have the space!

 

RickNC - this is my first go at strawbale gardening and I wasn't sure how big I wanted to go. I'll see how it goes this year and take it from there.

 

I've got shroomies all over the place! Do we pick them out or leave them there? Just wondering...thanks!

 

You can just leave'em be.

The sun will take care of them.

KR

 

Terrific, thanks Kent... they're kinda cool to watch pop up there so quickly.

 

So yesterdays hot winds did a number on my plants. Everything in my yard was wilted.

Kent, I saw on FB you said to not overwater. I think I tend to do that. The bales seem to stay moist in side which I assume is what I want.

 

Rick, when I first started I tended to overwater which ended up leaching out any nutrients that I had used, so the plants suffered, would turn yellowish, and just look anemic.

That's why I've pushed lately to get those bales out early, so they have time to soften up/decompose more which let's them hold more moisture.

I love using the old straw from last year. It's perfect for transplanting, especially for those plants I had in 4 inch pots with a much larger root ball than those little 4-packs.

Also, the larger the root system, the better/faster the plants adapt to the straw.

Young cukes and squash seem to give the most problem to beginners since they tend to be more shallow than the tomatoes and peppers.

 

Kent,
I remember one of your past posts mentioned something about using some Osmocote slow release fertilizer. Did that work better than using MG once a week?

 

That heat,wind and humidity is doing a job on my cucumbers today and on me as well...

 

I did try some Osmocote slo-release last year and cut back some on the MG to see how things did.

I was pleased with the results and will probably use that or something similar this year. I was looking at some different products today at Home Depot.

I am very pleased with the recycled straw from last year. It holds a ton of moisture and the plants in it are very happy.

 

My cukes and squash were bigger this year when I transplanted and the extra root system has helped in this hot spell.

The root ball is so shallow in the bales compared to tomatoes and peppers.

I noticed they looked a little haggard yesterday around 3 pm, so I gave a drink and they perked right back up.