I haven't bought any bales yet. Wasn't happy with the straw bales, But the alfalfa hay bale worked very well, but at $8.50 a bale it is pretty pricey. I think my bale from last year will work for the string beans. I want to try some strawberry plants. Has that worked pretty good for the rest of you. What is necessary different than growing other plants, anything? Donna
Strawbale Gardening 2008 - (Part 19) - General Discussion
Russ: hope ya'll get back hitting on all cylinders soon
lavender4ever: there's room for you here, too! Welcome Aboard! Put yourself on the map: www.frappr.com/strawbalegardeners
Jan: you're gonna be a big star in OR. :-)
Donna: I did a search with the keyword (strawberries) and limited it to the Strawbale Forum and got a lot of hits. Didn't read them, but maybe there's some info you can use.
Kent
Kent, I keep hoping you will start a new thread. I have to wait, and wait, and wait and - - - - - -
Jeanette
I am a little bit confused with reference to the responses by Kent and Russ to Gourds post on Soil.
Is it now the consensus that no soil is needed on/in the bales? Or just that no soil is needed for transplanting unless gap closing is an issue?
Last year I put about 1" of Topsoil/Manure mix on ALL my bales. Planted cucumbers, zucchini, and squash from seed. Transplanted tomato and pepper plants. Everything turned out very well with the exception of the peppers, not sure what happened there but they just didnt grow real well.
Anyway, I had planned on doing the same thing this year with the only change being adding a little bone meal to the planting holes prior to inserting the tomatoes and peppers. Sound OK or am I just wasting time and money by putting the 50/50 mix on all the bales before-hand?
Thanks
Ron
24to1;
I would say, that while no soil is needed for bale gardening- - - when you have already started your plants ahead a time, You are starting from seed which could make a difference. When the seed germinates, it needs to have some protection for the root. If the bare straw bale just happened to have the top inch or about that much get dry, I could see that seed dying.
In that case where you put the 50 - 50 mix on top of the bales and plant seed, I can see that helping with the germination process.
The only seed I had luck with direct seeding in the bales without some thing finer than the straw, was squash.
Last spring was my first shot at bale gardening. I also didn't get the results I thought I should with the peppers. I imagine there was something lacking in the straw bale that they needed. I haven't done a search to find what it may have been.
I also had peppers in the ground that done great! Compared to the ones in the bales. would be like the ones in the ground were like little trees. Those in the bales were never as big, and did not produce as well.
I imagine I wasn't as vigil with them as I could have been. The tomatoes on the other hand were producing at a faster rate in the bales, than those in the ground. I didn't prune them like I should have, and ran out of space to tie them up. so I had vine coming back down and going all over.
Kent has been straw bale gardening longer and he may be able to help us both, on the peppers. I know he uses miricle- Gro a quite a bit.
I am interested as to what his take on this would be.
So hang tight , and I am going to try find something out on the pepper issue.
Russ
Russ,
I think I'll prolly stick with the 50/50 again this year for all the bales. Doesn't cost that much and sure didn't hurt anything.
As far as the Peppers go, I have a friend at work who Bale Gardens as well and he had a bumper crop of Peppers last year. The only thing he did different than me during the planting stage was add Bone meal to the hole when he planted them. During growing season I think he was a little more diligent with the Miracle Grow than I was too. However I totally out performed him in the cucumber area he just whipped me at the peppers. I added a picture of his peppers that was taken July 9th, 2007. As you can see he really was doing well.
I sure would like to get the low down on the pepper growing though. Just hoping this piece of info may help.
Ron
24to1
I know that this come from normal garden tecniques, but the plant needs should be the same.
What I see may be the moisture issue. The straw bales may hold more moisture than the peppers need. and other than that it could be a ph issue I didn't do any test on the straw bales.
This came from the New England Vegtable Management guide.
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Transplant to 12” to 18” within rows and 3 to 3 1/2’ between rows; generally the larger the fruit type, the greater the space needed. When using black plastic (5’-wide plastic), plant two rows per bed with rows on each bed as far apart as the plastic permits and 18” apart in rows. Set the plants about 1” deeper than previously grown. Use a liquid starter fertilizer. Follow label directions.
Transplant Depth
There has been an increase in non-bell pepper acreage in New England for processing and fresh market. The plants of many of these smaller pepper varieties are not as sturdy as bells and can lodge much more readily. Transplanting the seedling so that the cotyledons are at the soil surface (the root ball will be approximately 2” deep) will significantly decrease lodging without adversely affecting yield.
Lime
Apply lime according to soil test results to maintain soil pH at 6.5 to 6.8.
Fertilizer
Use a liquid starter fertilizer at transplanting, especially with cool soil conditions. Use a high phosphorus starter fertilizer mixed at a rate recommemded on the label (typically 3 pounds per 50 gallons of water). Apply 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) per transplant.
Rather than sidedress, nitrogen can be applied through a trickle irrigation sysetem. This is especially helpful when growing on plastic. See page 21 for more information.
Less nitrogen fertilizer will be needed if manure or legume sod was plowed down.
24to1
I can easily see that his peppers were doing great. I may try some peppers again in the bales. and side dressing some. and probably won't water those bales as much. Think I will end that statement with a question mark???? LOL
Russ
Somebody PLEASE start a new thread!!
Jeanette
Go to PART 20 for further general discussions: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/823272/
or always feel free to start a thread on your own bale gardening topic
Ron: meet me in Part 20
Kent
This message was edited Mar 13, 2008 7:14 PM