Sure will. One of my goals with the bales is to greatly increase my available garden space by using an area that is a little shady at ground level.
Strawbale Gardening (part 7)
Kent, That is so funny 'cause I got your joke. What I said was meant to be one also. LOL Guess we both have had a long day. Jeanette
Jeanette: 10-4, I was brain-dead and tired. KR
Kent, I do envy you your load of bales, even would love to take your daughter too. Guess I will have to be happy with just a couple of bales. Have lots of ground but don't want to spend all the money they want for straw bales.
Donna
Donna, when I first started this thread last year, I was surprised at the prices and availability of wheat straw. Just because they seemed plentiful here (except now), other members had a hard time getting just a few bales at a reasonable price. Other members had only hay and grass bales available which seem to do just as well.
Just a thought, but I think I'm going to try something in some saw dust next year or the fall.
Maybe a combination of sawdust and old straw.
I'll mull on that idea for now.
Kent
Kent I found an artical on saw dust gardening. I could post it. I know in advance that I would get a lot of comments about the possibility of walnut being mixed in, not being good for most garden vedgies It was in one DG forum. I thought it had possibilities, so I saved it. I would change it some to fit my needs though. LMK . Russ
Well I just had to get some bales and try this because you all made it look like fun. My Hubby thinks Im nuts but thats nothing new. Straw bales were 6.50 each and as I have horses,donkey, and goats I told my Hubby what a deal 6.50 was! Coastal small bales are around 10.95. We need less wind and more rain here really bad. Alot of people are using the straw for bedding the farm animals as wood shavings are hard to come by at the moment. Maybe that is why straw is not so abundant this year. I only got six bales to try out. Am using bloodmeal as a bag of amonium nitrate was like 36.00. I have raised beds also and just going to compare how they do. We have pure sand and I cannot get rid of the Burmuda grass. I swear that stuff grows from 30 feet under my raised beds that have been amended well. Have enjoyed reading these threads over the winter. Oh and when you have those kids ridin on bales just make sure the tie downs on the ankles are not too long!! I got it.
randbponder: I'll find the article(s) on DG and see what it says, or you can D-Mail me the link. Thanks.
I was just thinking how I shouldn't complicate this thread with another wild idea.
I'll post any future discussions on that topic in a new thread to keep things separated.
WeedLady: welcome aboard and thanks for the suggestions about tie downs. I loved it. They would really come in hand when I get on the Interstate!!
Kent
Kent, when I was younger my Dad used to raise tomatoes in sawdust, and loved it!
He filled bushel baskets (the tall ones, not the squat ones, although I don't see that it would make much difference) with sawdust/wood shavings. I think he must've fed them a "m-grow" type feed; I sure remember him watering them every day. Sounds pretty much like something along the same lines of bale gardening except you have to use a container to hole the sawdust in.
I'd give it a try this year if I were you, even if it is just one or two containers; that'll get you some good knowledge for next year!
Shoe
Shoe: my Daddy said the same thing about growing potatoes in saw dust; however, old saw dust piles used to be common around here in the woods but not any more. I could start curing some out from a lumber yard for later on.
In a way, this short discourse on saw dust is a good tie in to what we're doing with bales.
We're finding sources other than soil to grow stuff in. Same thing with hydroponics.
Get your nutrient needs figured out based on the medium, decide how the plants need supported if at all and go for it.
I mentioned way back in one of the threads about my ag-extension agent growing veggies in plain old river sand.
Some of the advantages of the bales, however, is that they are relatively plentiful, usually aren't cost prohibitive, and give a good platform for ailing backs. The best part, I think, is bale gardening is simple to do.
We don't need a PhD in agronomy.
Great day, I've gotten on a soap box. Sorry. Just got through watching Andy Rooney.
Kent
hah! I love Andy Rooney!
And yep, I agree...it's all about the medium we grow in, eh, and learning to work with it. (I grew lettuce in a pvc pipe one year with perlite as the medium, worked great!)
Be sure to post a link when you decide to start a thread on sawdust gardening!
Shoe
kent, NO! NO! NO! you cant start something new with sawdust, I am new and need at least 2 years to catch up! Strawbale gardening, hypertufa, seed planting, round-ups, co-ops, bulbs, tuber thingy's, rhyzome thingy's!!! YIKES!! could you guys just...WAIT-UP! My brain is about to explode. 2 months ago I didnt know which way was up on a bulb, let alone a peony crown, didnt know there was different kinds of hosta or how to de-eye a caladium, round-up was something to kill everything I didnt like, and coop was for chickens.I think I learned more in 2 months than in last 20 years. Now the result is..I ave bales of hay in my garden,( my neighbors say why?..I say because I can, never have and someone else did.) money flying out the door to co-op people I dont know, and orderd more plants than I ever have in my life. Now you know there probably all gonna show up in the same week and hubby is gonna need to take the kids somewhere for the weekend just so I can plant all this stuff. So if you could just hold that though for 2 years, I will be right there with ya.
Betcha its going to look awesome when I am done. (I hope)
Thanks,
chris :)
Hehehe...too funny, Chris!
Love it! (and you love gardening, I can tell!)
Best to you!
Shoe
Yes I do Shoe, just never knew how much. I always enjoyed being outside weeding and playing around but never knew what my yard could actually become, now I have visions and dont even want to sleep. I will relax next year.
chris
I remember feeling the same way when I was a newbie and boy have my gardens changed since then! One big word of advice. Solidly tag all your plants with their name and cultivar. That way when you get into trading plants with others on DG, and believe me you will, you'll have something folks with established gardens and plenty to share want. Another safeguard you can do if you have a digital camera take pics of all your plants at different stages of growth and put them in your journal online. I try to do all my plants that way though usually fall behind in spring and summer then catch up adding new plants to my journal in the winter. Feel free to take a look at my journal, others do theirs differently so look around. The journal has helped me ID so many of my plants when a tag has been lost or faded. Sorry to get so OT folks :~)
Lana
Kent, I think the sawdust thing is a great idea to try. You know one of the ways some people do with tomatoes they plant in a bag of planting mix? Same idea except for, of course, the difference. Now isn't that a profound statement. hah!! As Shoe would say. LOL
Instead of a bushel basket, which you all must have plenty of, there must be something else, like a large plastic bag? Not a trash bag. Too thin. Guess we'll have to think on it. However, don't lose track of the great things about the strawbales. i.e. no weed, no hoe, and no??? Come on Kent!! LOL
Night. Jeanette
Kent & Group
For those who are interested; perhaps the premier "sawdust" as a growing medium site around is the Mitteleider gardening site: They have a group in the Yahoo groups with extensive postings (even bigger than strawbale!) - The business side of their operation is found at - foodforeveryone dot org - There is are links to their stuff in the Garden Watchdog section of Daves under "the food for everyone foundation" - They use sand & fresh sawdust mixed 1 to 3 and what essentially is MG to provide the nutrients - It definately works & like bale gardening weeds are few & far between and bugs seldom seen - you do however have to bend down........ enough said, if you are interested, look it up! perry
(Kent - Retirement is a good thing -I Love it :)) - We still have 30" of snow on the ground)
Jeanette: OK, class, repeat after me... no weeding, no hoeing, no TILLING! :-)
Perry: well, praise be, fella, you have returned! Retirement must really be as great as you said since we haven't heard from you in ages. Thanks for the good info. Welcome back.
Kent
LOL, thanks Kent. I do think it helps to have it repeated once in a while for newbies. Especially the ones who ask why we use the bales rather than dirt. You don't have to sell me on the strawbales.
Perry, I bought the nutrients from Food For Everyone last year. It was late in the year so I didn't get to try them. I plan to use them with the strawbales this year. I'm anxious to see how they do.
Jeanette
Shut my mouth; I should have been a little more secretive.
Kent I will be trying several gardening tecniques. The good old dirt, Strawbales. and the word we are not talking about.Ha I will share as things progress. Be forewarned I've never been good at keeping records, Will try lol.
I did have fun with my 6 an a 1/2 lb. sweetpotato this last season though. I finally brokdown and cut it up yesterday. Way too much for a 2 person meal. Saved the top though, as it has some little sprouts starting. Going to try force some slips, may not have to buy any this year. Has anyone tried to have sweet tader vines on fence or trellis? I've been thinking it should work. and will try some this year.
Russ
Russ: it's going to be great hearing from you this year, I can tell!
I do encourage you to take some digital photos, if possible, and keep a diary here at DG.
Kent
Kent can you grow long season (140 day) Squash there? If so do you have problems with Squash bugs?
Lilypon: Sorry, I have no experience with the squash you're asking about. I don't see why you couldn't. The bales certainly hold up that long. I'll leave your question out for the group.
Kent
All: I received this email yesterday and I'm posting it verbatim. This is what it's all about. Sharing ideas. Learning from each other. Doesn't get any better than this.
Hi Kent,
I used your method of gardening last year And I LOVED IT. I had a lot of friends ask me about it and they are all going to try it this year. They all thought that I was Crazy when they seen the bales in a big circle in the back yard.
But once they seen how wonderful it looked and all the veggies I had, way before there traditional gardens were producing anything ha ha they realized I wasn't as crazy as they had thought. my phone has been ringing off the hook from most of them wanting to know how it was done.
Thank you so much for this wonderful idea! And my husband thanks you too, no more tilling up a spot for him.
Kent, that's great to hear - and true for so many of us who followed along here for the first time last year.
I've got winter plants, new potatoes, and a few different kinds of greens going strong in last year's bales, in what laughingly passes for "winter" here where the city motto since 1925 has been, I kid you not with arches across the two ends of the little downtown stretch of Broadway, "Climate Best by Government Test" in Redwood City. We also had the first of this year's new artichokes off the plant that's greening strong again, t'other week.
Lilypon - I grew long season gourds last year, and they did fine; sprawled every direction across the yard (I let them have grass under them); I saw no beetle bugs, but one generally gets one season free, right? What I found is that gourds and squash grow just fine in the bales, and if you want to trellis them up, set up your trellis at the same time (or before!) you set the plants into the bales, or like me, you'll turn around and need to jump back as things Grow and sprawl. the only pest I'm finding is that we need to put out sluggo on the bales this year; the rotting-down bales give purchase to the no-shell-mollusks. In the first year, they were content to hang around Under the scritchy bales. They haven't got the idea yet this year.
San Mateo county has just this year started a Master Gardeners program, and someone's giving what they hope will be an interactive talk coming up on the 20th. I think I'll take in a few large pix of last year's bales...
This message was edited Mar 13, 2007 9:49 AM
This message was edited Mar 17, 2007 8:52 PM
Kent; Thank you for the encourgment, with the new strawbale gardeners letter.
Lilypon. I think Kent could grow the 140 day squash. //// Would he have a problem with squash bugs??
I believe any time you have squash or pumpkins they are attracted. and they need to be controled. Squash bugs do fly. They don't like liquid seven. nor do they like soap spray, like dawn dish derturgent and water.
If I keep at them, I see a few all the time but I don't see all the baby squash bugs. I don't know if using the strawbale system would make the difference. Someone else may have that answer.
As for here in zone 4, 140 day anything would be subject to frost before harvest , not always but I try to stay with 70 to 80 day anything. Sometimes we can get by with raising black diamond watermellons I believe they are 100 day.
Well, after thinking about the sawdust vs strawbales, and my arthritis, the strawbales won hands down. Also, I had forgotten about those lousy slugs. With the new strawbales last year I didn't have to worry ab out them. Guess they didn't like the stickery ends of the straw. (I turned my bales with the strings up) I might have a problem if I decide to re-use the bales this year. Still covered with snow so I don't know if I can.
I can just see those slimy things eating into any produce on the ground. Possibly not squash and melons. That reminds me about the melons, I found a very small melon about the size of a softball that looks like and tastes like cantelope. I will grow those on the cattle panel trellises with the cucumbers.
As to the strawbales winning because of my arthritis, I can't get down on the ground so having them up in the air is wonderful. Knew there was a reason I love the strawbales. Any of you that try the other things let me know how they do.
Jeanette
Jeanette, what is the variety name on those melons that taste like cantelope?
Thanks,
Gwen
Gwen I have no idea. I will ask her but I doubt she knows. I don't know where she got them. I will try to find out though. They were awfully good. We have such a short season that I think if I put visquine over them that maybe I can get them to ripen.
Jeanette
I too would be very interested, as there are just the two of us, and a regular size cantelope. we usually cut into quarters. Being able to raise them on a fence or cattle panel without having to suport the mellons would be great.
I saw a small vine peach, in Burgess catalog. I remember them from when I was a little person. I would eat two or three right out in the garden. I would order them except their shipping is over $8.00 for anything under $20.00 .
Gurneys has one called gurneys Li'l sweet that is a 1 1/2 - 2 lb. fruit. I saw one more in another catalog called crem la crem that wasn't really a mellon. can't find it right now. gotta get ready for church so look later.
Well this only proves that the mind is the first to go.. I found the cre`me de la cre`me. in burpee's but it is a 5 - 8lb. mellon. But Burpee's has a breakfast long keeper that is a 2 1/2 - 3 lb. mellon.
Think I will stand by to see if the name is found.
Would really like to try the vine peach but I don't want to pay that much freight and handleing.
Gwen & Rand, send me your addresses by D-mail and I will send you some. I have enough to share and then you will have to remember to save the seeds for yourself next year. LOL
Jeanette
No, she didn't know because she just bought the melon at the farmers market. Does anyone know if these seeds I have will come back as the one I ate, or will they revert back to the original?
Jeanette
If it is a hybrid it may revert, however I don't believe all varieties revert rapidly. But then I don't know for sure. You always hear that they do.
Sending you a Dmail
According to my Master Gardening manuel, melons, squashes, pumpkins and cukes....all have a tendancy to not come true from seed. If more than one variety is fin flower at the same time, you are likely to get some interesting crosses.
Strange, I wonder how they "guarantee" the seeds they send out from all of these seed catalogs then?? I should have looked in my MG book. I didn't take the course, just bought the book, so I will look at it. Thanks.
Large fields of the same thing, I would imagine, Jeannette. Similar to how peppers are insect-pollinated, and if you have different things flowering at the same time in the same yard, you'll get crossovers in the seeds the resulting fruits/veggies produce.
Yup one of our neighbors ( along time ago) planted watermelon and cukes next to each other.
You guessed it, The melons were a total waste. well he could have pickled them OK? LOL
So you are saying that if I plant my cucumbers and the melons on the same cattle panel they will crossover. Never thought of it that way. I was thinking more of their seed being the culprit.
Jeanette.
Blame the honey bees. and the wind, Cross polination does it.