Giving it a go in 2010

Thanks Kent I have been seeing some yellow on my strawberries so I'll get some fert. high in Nitrogen. Watering isn't a problem here right now Its been raining every other day.

OK, the bales have been delivered, have them set in place, has been cold and rainy the past few days so I haven't watered them. It's still pretty cold and their forcasting "more winter weather possible" for next week. Do I still continue to water the bales?

Only you know how much rain you have had. Remember how tightly those bales are packed and water runs off of the straw. A slow water drip or slight run will get them wetter than a strong blast from the hose.

Thanks for the picture, Mainejae, I love seeing how different Balers set up their gardens :). I will get pictures of mine, and set up a thread on the variations, so we can track how they do.

Great Catmad...I have a single row of the bales at the very back of my yard, up against a chainlink fence. thought I could somehow put tomatoes etc...things that have vines and need to go up. Can you tell that, not only am I a newbie at strawbale...I'm an newbie a gardening. lol Sure have gotten TONS of ideas from this site...will carry on...
Jane

Jane: suggestion - put the bales with the strings ON the ground.

Water won't run through them as fast.

For the 1st 2 years I had my bales with strings OFF the ground, but for last 3 I had them ON the ground.

Of course, there's no wrong way.

Also, don't depend on a little rain in soaking those bales all the way through.

Thanks Kent...will go and change them today....aaaarrrrgggghhh...smiling all the time

I'm on board this season, too.
I've been reading these threads
for a year ... and did a display
bale garden last year at the nursery
where I work. It attracted a whole
lot of attention and folks were
amazed :)

I'm also shopping around here and
there and Craigslist for bales, but
time's a' wasting :)

Marsha

Are you near Kent Marsha? Maybe you could get some from his supplier.

Welcome aboard, Marsha!!

Yep, Jeanette, she's practically next door compared to most everyone else!! LOL

I am seriously resisting the urge to plant my 'maters.... bales are ready and the weather "feels" right. Don't want to get caught like last year with a late freeze.

Mike

Patience my friend!! :-)

I dream about fresh 'maters each day now!!!

KR

I'm in a warmer climate so I have a few things planted in my bales allready. I have a couple of cayanne pepper p;ants two small Parks whopper toms that my wife started from our seeds from last years crop. some cantalope and today I'm planting eggplant and some other peppers. My strawberries have finally taken off. Funny thing about that is the ones doing the best I planted last and were from walmart.Oh well. I also have some more tomatos to plant . My bales are so tight that I have to take a serated knife and cut in places to plant. I also planted some fingerling potatos in hay in some tires also some red potatos in hay in a cage in area these are new for me I have never planted potatos before I'll take some pictures today and post tomorrow......Ron

rucky, when we first started out with the bales we would take a spatula (a real stiff one) and push it down in the straw and spread it as far apart as we could and shove the plants down there then push the straw back together.

Last year I had an exceptionally big tomato plant given to me so tried a chain saw would you believe!! Even that didn't do so great.

Kent- I haven't been on here for awhile. I was wondering if you ever tried hay bales and how were they compared to straw?

Lucy

Mike, I agree - the weather just feels right, doesn't it?
We're just going to bite the bullet and get enough bales
for a good start at the Home Depot. Enough with the
dithering :)

Lucy: I've never tried hay/grass. Others have. I've heard mostly good results from hay/grass. Hay is way too expensive for my in my area, so I've stuck with straw the past 6 years.

Lucy,
I'm using hay bales, and this is my first year. Mine are teff hay, a summer grass from Africa. They were so tight I was afraid it would be very difficult to make holes in them for the plants, but I prepped them using the ammonium nitrate. The internal temperature of some of the bales reached 145 degrees, but they have cooled down now and are very loose. They feel slimy inside and this afternoon I noticed mushrooms sprouting on some of them, so I suppose they may be ready...and soon as the weather gets ready.
I'm trying to attach a photo of some of the bales, including a cattle panel trellis.
Lots of folks have had lots of success with this...and I'm looking forward to it.
Lee

Lee, that is a good way to use your bales but I have always lined the inside with 2 string bales on both sides. I don't have room on the outside. But I am having more and more trouble finding the smaller bales. Seems the growers are baling with the 3 string larger bales like you have in your picture because they load on the big trucks easier and there is less sway in transport. . However, what are you going to do with the inside of your hoop? Wasted space.

Lee: keep us posted on your garden. Love the hoop!

I tread lightly when asking for opinions on straw vs. hay. :) I have read many posts from people who used hay and liked it so much that they wish more people would try it. As for myself, it was reading Kent's posts and looking at his pictures that made me do this in the first place. I have used straw for several years now with great sucess and I can't wait to start the whole process again!

I guess I was like you Lulie. I read them and then tried hay once with bad results. Last year. I used grass hay last year and that was the worst year I have had for tomatoes. Not good at all.

This year I can't find 2 string straw within a hundred miles so will try to reuse the bad bales I had last year. Now they have started decomposing. After all this time. So, I will add compost etc. to them and see if I have enough to grow some tomatoes. Otherwise I am adding more to bad and having another terrible year.

Now see? Last year I used straw (after a banner year with hay the year before) and had dismal results. I'm hoping that this year will be better. I actually blamed it on the conditions, but I'm back to hay this year. I have two 'Mater plants in the bales, just because I couldn't wait any longer. I figure two I can cover.....
The rest have yet to come out of the closet.
I have a Baker Creek order in the making, even tho I have lots of seeds...I cannot stop....
Margo

catmad... I understand your problem... I swore I would only plant 3 varieties of tomatoes this year ( I had 4 last year) ... somehow I ended up with 7 varieties and a purple tomatillo. Personally I like to tell myself there is a seed fairy out there ( you know, first cousin to the tooth fairy) who secretly keeps leaving seed packets behind that I just have to plant...... Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! :0)


And now that I have found straw-bale gardening it is ooohhhh so much more easier to just keep on planting!

Margo, maybe you were right. Maybe it was the conditions. That is what I originally did. Said it was the weather. So, don't know. Since we both had problems with the "other brand", we probably were right the first time. LOL

With the weird weather this year, I would be more apt to blame it on the weather this go round.. Now docpipe blamed it on a virus. Says no cure, but to let it run it's course. Of 12 years????

LOL, think that was Johnny Appleseed nini.

Jnette,
I thought about placing bales inside the arch, but was afraid it would be too shady in there if the beans and tomatoes and cucumbers climb like I'm hoping they will. And I still could do that if I can find vegetables that will grow well in shade. Anyone have any suggestions?
My bales are the smaller, two string kind. The photo doesn't show that clearly. They are placed two side-by-side, three bales long, on either side of the trellis.
Lee

Irn, what would make them shady? You mean one side would shade the other? You might be right with mainly the beans. I don't think the tomatoes will grow tall enough to shade anything. Maybe the cukes. Don't know.

Ok, I see. the 2 string bales now. It did appear they were the bigger ones. How ar apart are the ends of the panels? Mine are 8 ft across and the highest at the peak is 6 ft.

Which direction it runs might make a difference too. North & south, or east & west.

I tried year old hay last year that had been kept dry in a barn and still was not happy with the results. They fell apart too quickly. I'm stickin' with straw. I do not fertilize every week like some do. I use a slow release organic granular fertilizer at the beginning of the year when the plants have been in the bales about two weeks and never fertilize again. The decomposing straw helps feed them too in my opinion. The only other thing I added last year was one Rolaid tablet under the drip irrigation outlet to each plant for added calcium to help deter blossom end rot!! My tomatoes didn't have heartburn all year!!!

Doug

OOHHHH Rolaids... learn something new every day. I was concerned about calcium for my tomatoes... will be going out to get Rolaids tomorrow.. Thanks Doug!

I am really surprised at the slow release Doug. What was sthe NPK?. I have heard of doing that with Tums.

nini, while you are about it, get some empsom salts too.

How do I use the Epsom salts? I too have put slow release organic tomato fertilizer on my bales with my tomatoes. The one I used (From Gardner's Supply) states that I should be applied one more time during the season and I plan to do this.

Disolve the ES in your watering water and give it to them when you planted them. Well, now that they are planted, do it next time you water. Or, you can sprinkle some around each plant and water it in. 1/4 to 1/2 cup per plant. I normally do a handful. Small or medium. LOL

OK, I'm a bit dim... what are the epsom salts doing for the plants?

Magnesium. Think there was something else but can't remember. I just do it automtically, knowing I am suppose to and don't worry about why. Roses too while you have them out.

Thanks... Rolaids and Epsom salts... great start to the grocery list for tomorrow.

Somehow this forum dropped off my watchlist...???

So back in Jan., I used bonemeal when it should have been bloodmeal but figured it out somewhere along the way and added the bloodmeal to my bales.

They did their thing in spite of my amateur procedures and I recently started planting my seedlings in the bales.

I noticed there were ants in a couple of the bales, which surprised me that they would be hanging out in soggy straw. Are they moving in? What to do about it? Without chemicals of course I don't want those on my food bales.

Thank you.

Check out this link in the organic gardening forum there is some info on how to get rid of those dreaded ants I used "Over and Out" before I put my bales down and so far I only found a few on one bale. That was allready there before I did the over and out.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1003875/

Thank you so much Rucky!! Unfortunately, I didn't even think about the ants before we put the bales down.

There's lots of good info over on that link you sent, and several options to try!!!