Very interesting, Kent. I see you still have plant remnants tied to the wire. Do your upright posts get put into concrete? Looks like each set of boards will enclose2 bales?
General Discussions - 2010 - Chapter 29
quiltygirl: remnants of plastic stretch ties that are a pain to take off. Just haven't got around to finishing taking them off.
4 bales between each post.
No concrete. Makes it easier to move them. 2 ft in the ground with hand-tamping is plenty tight.
Hey Kent,
Have you strolled over to Home Depot and looked at Landscape Screws. They are 1/8" diameter and are self-drilling. They come in length from 4 to 14". You don't have to drill a pilot hole. They are way easier than 3" deck screws. If you do use deck screws use some soap on them and buy square drive. 3" phillips screws are almost impossible to drive without stripping the
cross out.
I thought I had died and gone to Heaven when I started using landscape screws. This is of course, before I was attacked by my disease and realized that He had other things for me to accomplish down here.
Paul.
Paul: thanks for the tip. I've been lucky so far. No issues with stripping out the screws. Of course, the old wood helps a lot. No pilot holes necessary.
I'm about out of these screws, so I'll look for the ones you recommended.
Seems when I first started reading about this method, last year, there was talk about a desired internal temperature. Do you still do that and what do you use and how deep?
Thanks
I don't know about that, I think some were taking it when using the high nitrogen to make sure they didn't cook their plants, but I always slid my hand down inside here and there to feel the temps.
Temp is something I have to figure out. I used to stick my hands in them, too, but these bales I have now don't allow that. They're very tight, and seem to contain a lot of dirt. I think this will be a good thing in the end, but for now, I have to figure out how to judge the temps inside. I'm hoping that they'll be useable by the time I need them for my 'Maters.
I would like to get my poor little broccoli plants in, but I think they'll have to go itno the ground. Poor little guys, no nice warm hay around their little toesies....
OOOoo. Had not thought to put the brussels sprouts and broccoli in the bales. I have them planted in pots for about 3 weeks now. Not a lot of growth yet.
My bales are very tight also. Did manage to get my finger into one that is further along in decomposing due to it being one that was more, overall, wet when purchased. It was warm. How about a meat thermometer?
Do you have a compost thermometer? Don't get a soil thermometer. They are only about 6inches long but the compost are long to get into the center of compost piles. About 20 inches long I think.
Thermometer that came with my turkey cooker worked great.
Hi All,
I want to remind you of the method of using a wine bottle to force a hole in the bale.
I haven't tried it yet but it looks like it would work. The wine bottle is made of heavy
glass so you shouldn't have to worry about breaking it.
Paul.
I found the easiest way for me was to use a pry bar. I know, sounds a little heavy duty but it makes light work of making holes to put your plants in. I am a whimp as far as strength goes and I tried everything from knives to long screwdrivers or what ever I could get into the bale. My husband has a couple of long pry bars and I just jab one of those turkeys in, move in around a bit and pull it out. I then take and make a little cross cut to open up the spot a bit more with a little hack saw or serrated knive.
Hey, what ever works. Just passing on what I have learned over the last 3 years. Once the bales start decomposing its easy but when they are new and tight, its almost imposible unless you have some strong muscles the open up some of the leafs.
No, I do not have a compost thermometer. Never tested, just moved it out of 'in works' to 'finished' when it looked done. I though a meat thermometer would work, but guess it would be too short.
Thanks for the info on how to make an opening, cuz some of these guys are really tight.
Paul: the "tool" you described is actually called a "Eufaulatum" in honor of the Original Poster who gave us the idea!! LOL
Enjoying reading about every one's preparations, but am getting frustrating as the weather won't break so that I can think about getting my hay bales out in the garden. I think spring will never get here. Snow and sleet again tonight, 2 to 4 inches on the ground by morning.... Another large storm on the horizon next week.... 30 to 40 mph winds tomorrow with flurries... did I say this was supposed to be Virginia, not Alaska. Well, just so that folks know I am serious about trying my tomatoes in bales, have included a picture of all the tomatoes I have started this winter (as this seems to be as close to gardening as I am going to get for the moment ) .... Maybe one day they will actually get in the bales...
Hey nini, those are wonderful!! First ones I have seen this year!! Get some light on those babies so they don't get leggy. Don't worry about that weather except you don't want to get pneumonia. But, get those bales out in that weather and let them start working. Even the snow won't hurt them.
Those tomatoes are gorgeous. I can taste them now!!
Nini - those 'maters look great and they all germinated! I am impressed. I planted veggie and flower seeds in those peat pods and not very many are germinating - no peppers at all. There is A bush bean and AN okra that are doing OK, in fact the bean plant has its third set of leaves and will be ready to go out soon. Guess I'll get more pods and plant more seeds. Are you using one of those warming pads underneath?
Jnette and Guiltygirl
Actually they are under grow lights... Started them on a heat mat at about 73 degrees at the same time I started all my peppers and eggplants. Tomatoes came right on up in about 5 days.. I took them off the heat mat and moved them up a shelf under another set of lights so they won't get too leggy. The peppers and eggplants (still on the heat mat) are still slowly coming up. Most have germinated, but one or two varieties are still just popping up now 10 days later. When the tomatoes get their first set of true leaves I will re-pot into newspaper pots I make.... These seem to work well and the plants just run their roots right out through the newspaper. Guiltygirl, you might want to use newspaper rather than the peat pots. I found last year that things I transplanted into the garden in those pots the plants were still sort of stuck in those pots.. The roots just didn't seem to want to break through them.(these were the 2 inch ones I bought) It may have been the plants (lettuce and Chinese cabbage I started), but I moved away from them this year and am using the newspaper. So far so good with these. Will include more pictures as I re-pot them. Here are lettuce, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, kale and broccoli starts I will be potting up this week.
Here is the other picture... didn't know you could only load one picture at a time. As you can tell, I don't plant a lot of any one thing, but I plant a lot of variety... There are only two of us now eating out of this garden so variety not volume is the name of the game...
This message was edited Feb 25, 2010 10:25 PM
Those are beautiful nini. Good going!
hi randbponder--just reread your feb 3 post about what all you put on your garden. after i bot my lot i had to put something with the clay. so for our anniversary i bot betty 4 dump truck loads of pure bull manure. ( u cant love a women over 4 dump truck loads.) all that bull ate was weed seeds. thats why i am geting in straw bales. jim.
Well jim remember that tilling the soil will do that too. Bring a lot of seeds to the top that didn't germinate before due to lack of light. :o)
Jim; I have found that the first time you till up new ground you set up an ideal germination for many weed seeds that have lain dormant for years. breaking up the soil was the main culprit, the Bull manure helped to fertilize the ground. and of course weeds always seem to grow faster than what you want to raise. The first time I plowed up this ground, I didn't fertilize with anything, absolutely zip nada. I was raging war with every weed I could imagine. I had not seen there the year before. That is not to say that the bulls didn't eat a lot of weeds and help spread more but most weed seeds can lay dormant for years and years. I still get weeds popping up faster than the veggies.
Kent: I agree with whoever told you to use alfalfa - my neighbor who grows veggies for sale uses alfalfa as his cover crop when he leaves fields dormant - the alfalfa is cut and baled - and when he is ready to plant he just tills it under, drags the field and plants: The roots do go way down but don't pose any problem when the field is returned to use. He, my neighbor, has a 400 acre farm and rotates his crops religiously - always alfalfa during dormancy.......he is 87 years young and I take seriously any advice he shares: BTW - I see by a previous post you are considering joining the ranks of the retired..........good 4 u
perry
hi russ--jnette you are right about weeds. it was weeds for 30 yrs. i would get a new weed every year. russ i talked it over with the boss . she has school for her real estate lic. so takes care of that. thanks any way. do you ever fish in the mo river? i help sand bag the miss a mile below the mo. i still cant believe the water & for how long it came. jim in 93 flood.
Perry: good morning! Glad to see you are still with us.
Yeah, unless something changes, 55 will be a good time to leave the Sheriff's office and move onto something else. 3 yrs 5 mths and counting.
It'll go by fast.
It only seems like yesterday that my 15 yr old daughter was riding on my shoulders, etc!
- - - - - - - -
Ordered my bales yesterday for delivery next week. $3/bale.
75 for me and 15 for my neighbor.
Working on my boxes again today. Gotta run to Home Depot to get some screws.
Chilly willy here, but at least it's sunny.
So Russ did you get your enclosures set up enough for 75 bales? That's a lot of bales. What are yhou going to do with al of that produce, go into business? Maybe you have a good place set up for a produce stand? Is this in preparation for your retirement?
Think you better find something a little less work for your old age. Throwing those bales around takes a lot of mojo.
Hi jeanette, nope not me. That's our good buddy, Kent! Think he's going to out do me. Maybe he intends to have enough for all of us to come down for his retirement bash. !!!! LOL
Sorry, meant Kent. I think that's it. He expects us all to fail so he is going to furnish us all with them. Isn't that nice of him?
Got 2 more rows of boxing done today. Tired.
A few more to go and some double box rows for the cukes and squash.
I just may try to sell some 'maters this year! :-)
LOL, told you. Kent has come up with a second career after he retires. Produce man.
Jnette: that's funny!
I'm a happy camper! Got my bales delivered today. Putting them out and finishing up my frames.
Now, if we can get Spring Time to just get on with the the program!!!
Ok Kent, where do you get your plants? I am sure you don't start them from seed. And what ones do you grow?
Has anyone heard from Digger? She should be showing up in Ga fairly soon. From Texas. All rested up and ready to go to work.
I think she said April. But who knows she may get tired of the cold weather in Texas LOL
I'm going to get some tomato seeds started this weekend and plan to set them out around the 1st or 2nd week in April. Put a row cover over them. I have enough milk jugs but I think a row cover might offer a little more area of heat for them.
Found some Alfalfa bales $5.__ something each. Haven't checked on weather they were sprayed yet, but the goats need some & I will ask when I go in to get some for them.
Who do you get them from Russ? If they aren't the people who grew them how do they know if they have been sprayed or not?
I used orchard grass hay (they called it) and he said 40% alfalfa, yeah right, last year and my tomatoes were the worst I have ever had. I sure hope to get better ones this year or I might just give up.
I just saw on the news that tomatoes are going to cost so much this year because of the cold weather in the south. Guess if we are going to have any we better get moving on those bales. I better start looking.
Jnette: I buy my plants from local suppliers around my area. No room to start my own. Would love to have a green house someday.
Sticking with my normal plants this year:
Tomatoes, peppers, cukes, zukes, squash. That's about it.
I checked with my local food bank and they can not take veggies from me. I have to be a licensed growing, oked by the health department. Inspected etc. So I guess I'll look for other avenues for my extra veggies this year. I've got one neighbor who is quite old (87 yrs) and I've told her she is getting some of my fresh veggies and she is all excited about it. So am putting in a few more zucchini, green beans plants and carrots. Of course I have all those tomato from seeds that got sent to me from valleylynn, in Oregon.
Kent, that greenhouse is for your retirement. Better start planning now. Might even start collecting your materials to make it once you have it planned. Good retirement project.
Marti, that is really something. Guess that can't be too careful what they are giving people. The liability to them would be pretty high. I am sure there are plenty of senior centers that would love to have your produce. And other type of places like that.
s for
I'll check into that. Thanks for the suggestions.