I use only hay bales now, after doing a test garden 2 years ago- 50/50 hay and straw. The main differences have been important ones for me- the hay holds moisture, imparts nutrients, needs much less fertilization and at the end of the season - POOF! It's gone! The plants completely consumed the bales! It's so cool. (This year, I'm re-tieing by bales on the open side and using a stick to 'tourniquet' them, to tighten them up)
I 'cook' my bales with urea and fertilize with fish emulsion and compost/manure tea. The really wild thing is that, when I did my test garden, I planted identical plants in hay and in straw and the difference in the resulting plants was astronomical! The zinnias, for instance, looked like they were a different variety of the flower - the ones in the stra were smaller, more pastel little domes and the ones in the hay were flamboyant, big and vivid! (More like me!!)
This message was edited Apr 24, 2010 1:03 PM
Giving it a go in 2010
Here is a picture of my haybale garden so far remember first attempt I also didn't quite leave enough room for my lawnmower and I moved a couple trying to mow around them I have weed eated around them now and should have taken pictures then but here they are
The strawberries
these aren't in straw but I took them anyway. The blueberries
These are grapes in bucket just getting started
Potatos growing in hay.
These are pole beens growing on strings connected to a ladder. and just to the left is bird house gourds
This is a picture of my raised bed garden the white flowers on the fence are thornless blackberries. They pop up in the garden and we transplant them in the winter along the fence looks like a good crop this year.
This message was edited Apr 25, 2010 6:30 AM
I'll have to admit I am amazed at how well everything is doing in the hay. So far the deer havn't messed with it I have the material for a fence but haven't had the time to build it yet.I am even seeing potatos starting to pop up so I'll add more hay to them soon this is really a fun way to expand your garden. Next year I will enclose the bales. Didn't have the time or money this year. I can see where that would help hold them together. I love the spring here is one more picture and I will bore you no longer the is our Ameryilles (can't spell) .
rucky: What straw bales are you talking about?
All I see is a nice boat, tractor, camper, and utility trailer!! :-)
Great looking pics.
Great job. Keep us posted.
Kent
i just started my first straw bale garden yesterday.....here in wisconsin it's now finally safe to have the hoses out....my bales are soaked with soaker hoses but i haven't found the ammonium nitrate....i'm sure hoping that they will be ready to plant by may 30th.....i do have the 10-10-10, should i put that on now?
Kent thats my neighbors place he bought that land from me a couple of years ago he lives in La. And comes here to fish. The man is a bass catching son of a gun not one of those wanna be's that think because they spent $45000 on a bass boat they are bass fishermen. I am mostly a white pearch fishermen and good at that but this guy catches bass. this was a couple of day haul he and his brother caught.
Magayle I used a mixture of fish emulsion and cow manure and Medina hasta grow in a tea form and soaked them with that first so I am not sure about the 10-10-10 it wouldn't hurt anything and it might help you get started untill you can get some higher Nitrogen fert. I found some later and used it too and watered it in good and it seemed to get me jump started.
rucky: 10-4 on the fish!! I don't do it no where near like I used to. Maybe when I retire!!
KR
Chock one more thing up on your list Kent. LOL I 'm telling you, after a couple of years you will wonder where you found the time to work.
Believe me since I retired I have been so busy I can't seem to get it all done. every time I start to get close to finishing one project up jumps another one. Sometimes a project starts out small and turns into a big one. I started tearing out my front flower beds a week ago to replant something different well that turned out to be a mager project I'll be at least another couple of weeks on that one.
Update:
Well I have everything planted in the bales. 'maters are doing fine as well as my peppers. Cukes, beans and zuccinni's all had problems with slugs, so now I'm on my second set of seeds. They are in the bales and doing fine now. Eggplant going strong and I'm trying some corn as to boot. I also planted my herbs along with a flower of my wife's I'm trying to "nurse" back to health... it looks to be doing good also. Next big adventure will be getting my trellis system into place. May have to got at it differently than I wanted to but I need to get something in there before things really take off. I'll post some photo's tonight to share my bales with everyone. Thanks for all the info this year.
Mike
LOL, rucky, when did you find time to work???
Jnette thats a real good question !!! I am actually taking a break today but will be back after it tomorrow I posted pictures and an update on my flowerbeds in the Texas Gardening forum entitled " Why you never plant yuccas close to the house" it turn out to be a real tough job.
My hay bale are still amazing me with how well they are doing tomorrow I'm gonna have to build a fence around them because the deer have found them. But I've got flowers all over my cantalopes , tomatos, peppers and I have pickable squash right now my eggplants are doing great for the first time in years. The strawberries are doing great but the sqirrels and deer think I planted them for them. My raised bed garden is doing well also but it allways does. I am now a confirmed hay bailer. Looking forward to fried green tomatos in a few days .....slurp :-b. ....Ron
Well Mike, where are the pictures?
First one with both bales...
Left row
Right row.
Close up of some of my grape 'maters...
Hope this is acceptable Jnette. lol
Mike
Looks like you are off to a good start Mike. How many bales did you say you have? You get a lot of sun. That is good. Don't forget to fertilize. Did you get straw or hay? Looks like straw. No nutrients in straw.
Looking good Mike !!
Sigh. More neat and tidy bales. Guess I'm the black sheep. Oh well, Mike, they look wonderful. And you have room for soooo many more bales....
Jnette,
I have 20 wheat straw bales. I am fertilizing once a week. Not sure if that is enough or if it's over kill yet. No yellow leaves and no drooping of the leaves so I think I'm doing fine for now.
Thank you everyone else for the compliments!
I may put in another row of 10 come later this year for the winter crops.
If you look in the first photo in the back to the left of the playground you can see my neighbors "dirt" garden. He thinks I'm crazy, but he bought a ton of black weed guard cloth so he didn't have to weed this year. I just laughed out loud and said I don't have that problem. Plus if we do get rain that part of his yard keeps about 8 inches of water for a day straight if not longer.