Jnette,
" I think your hay would break down and decompose over the summer and your plants would end up in the bottom, or the middle, of your barrel. See, that is what strawbale gardening is all about. Getting the straw or hay to decompose so the roots can grow good in it. i.e. it is compost."
I guess I'm not understanding what your saying .. If the idea is for the bales to decompose so the roots can grow good in it. i.e. it is compost.
it will do the same thing in the barrel or out .
Out of the barrel are the plants reaching the ground and taking root.
If not then I would think the barrel would hold the bale together better then not ..and when it did start to decompose it would be contained as compost.
But What do I know I'm just a beginner
1st time bale gardeners - Who's trying it this year?
But do you want your "raised beds" in the half barrels to sink is what I am saying. Bales that you plant tomatoes or whatever you are going to plant in them will mostly be used up by the end of the season. i.e. The bales that you plant in the barrels that are cut lengthwise and lying down. half barrels with a whole bale lying down in it.
Am I right in that that is what you are going to do? I would think the half barrels cut the other way that you want to put flowers in and use for a couple of years or whatever you don't want them to sink do you? Or do I have it wrong? Were you going to plant vegetables in all of them???
Maybe that is where I am missing it.
Jeanette
Actually Eufaula that is my choice of 'tool' while gardening, not to garden with! I just used a garden trowel to dig down into the bales so I could plant. Once they decompose they will be fairly easy to pull apart to insert the plants into the bale.
Doug
I found some information about straw bail gardening while searching the internet for information on container gardening. I am disabled and getting down to ground level is simply impossible, this appears to be a great way for me to be able to enjoy gardening. I'm in!
Hondo, this is meant for people like you. The others are just hornin' in. LOL
Jeanette
Okay Okay! so the Bottle isnt a "Garden Tool"! But ,... you know what ? I think It will work! LOL!!
Jeanette,
I have read your last post to me 5 times and I still have no clue what it is your saying. Our growing season here is very long .. I had tomatoes in Nov last year .
"will mostly be used up by the end of the season "
so if this is what happens to your bales what happens to your plants ..
If I but bales in a barrel they should hold up longer ..
OH Well im just going to try it .... I was hoping someone had already done this ...lol
Cheryl
That is why you are planting tomatoes, vegetables, annuals in them. They will not hold up longer because they are going to decompose. What did you have in mind to plant in them? That is why I was suggesting the bottles etc. for the barrels cut crosswise because I thought you wanted to plant flowers or just use them for raised beds.
Maybe some of the problem is that you are in the south and me in the north. 2 different animals. LOL Our seasons and plants are very different.
Maybe you need to talk to someone down there. Ask Doug what he thinks. He is good at this.
Jeanette
I got my wheat straw bales..37 bales $1:00 each
Anxious to get them set up
Tubby
Jeanette, If you go back to my first post that you answered.....
"Question, I'm a real Newbie to gardening so be gentle .. I have 55 gal barrels that I have cut in 1/2 some long ways and some top & bottom. im planning on planting my Veggies in the barrels but thats a lot of dirt to dig up or buy. "
Yes Im sure that some of the problem is that WE are in Different Worlds.
anyone else have any input?
Thanks
Cheryl
Cheryl I would definitely drill drain holes in the bottoms. If it were me, I'd dump in a bag of compost or manure first then set the bales on top of that. You can buy bags at Lowe's or HD for about $1.50 each. What Jeanette was trying to say is that the bales will decompose so much in one year that in most cases they will be unusable for the second year. However the stuff that is left will be very rich in organic compounds. In my enclosed row last year I am not even going to add new bales to it this year, just grow in the "leftovers". I would say go for it, you should get very good results in the half barrels. Moisture is the key component in this type of gardening.
Doug
Hi Doug,
Yes We have drilled holes in the barrels. I have goats that I can use their bedding from mucking their pens in the bottom. I rake it out onto a hill so it should be pretty good stuff on the bottom ....
Thats what I was thinking you have left overs from having the bales in an enclosed area. Unlike just having it all fall apart on the ground.
Ok sounds good to me Still tring to find hay bales ... around here they use a lot of the big round bales not a lot of SQ.
Thanks
Cheryl
I have just gotten two straw bales, sweet straw, very expensive here. Paid Ten dollars each, but for a new try I felt good! I am wetting them now, and plan to put my new "rainbow peppers" I just ordered in one of them, havent decided yet on the other. Any suggestions? I had gotten two bales of pine straw before I read that they won't work. I'll use them to mulch something that likes acid.
I also just got two halfbarrels, which I placed one on the top of the other (inverted, drain holes open) and filled with my usual Lasagna Garden layers: wet newspaper,home made compost, gardening soil, ending with mulch. I have planted sugar baby watermelons in that.
P.S. I consider myself a new gardener, not having the opportunity much in the past.
A chainsaw plunged straight down to make a pocket will work great .Then some potting soil will give a good base to plant in and hold moister until the roots get going . Last year I also used a keyhole saw to open the bales up. It was my first attempt at SBG and am hooked on the concept. I suggest you use fungicide to start out with plants ,as I almost lost all my tomatoes ,also had problems with mites of some sort .My neighbor put me on the treatments to use for both problems and saved the crop. also, Susan tested both straw and hay in her plot and says the haybales were far superior to the straw .It's the hay for me this year . may try wraping the bales to conserve moister this year. Uffie , what happened to the cheap wine in that empty bottle?Come on up and I'll have frozen margaritas to cool the hot weather .Jnette, how is the post surgery coming along? Heard about Barb and have to touch base with Russ.Just got home about 4:30am today. Feet swollen from all that riding .Digger
Hey Sally (digger) How was the trip back? How did you find everything when you got home? Good I hope. All ready to start the search for the hay? Did you catch a lot of fish??
I still remember the pictures of your tomatoes lady. They were gorgeous even tho you did have the problems. I hope you aren't going to plant this year in the same place??? Do you have somewhere else?
You have got to go read about Russ's latest escapade!! He's a mess. Poor Barb.
Take care and keep us posted. Jeanette
My $120 Henckel bread knife worked great! (don't tell my husband).
2nd Chance, get a compost stirer. Much cheaper than a Henkel kitchen knife. And even then not as much work.
Jeanette
Yaaaaaaaaayyyy! Hey there Digger Sal ! Sooooooo glad youre back! As for the Cheap Wine, ... Welllllllll we will have to try out some different ( U-Hmmm, Bottles) to see which one will works the best!! LOL!!
I ended up using a razor sharp chef's knife. Worked OK, but was still work.
Jnette, where can I find Russ's information ? What forum and thread ? Need to send him a d-mail. The trip back was rough . My db died in feb and had to take a coupla days in Monroe , La to wind up some of his affairs. all that with 4 dogs 2 cats and a bird in the van and pulling a 12' cargo trailer . Home was just as we left it ,except for the mouse that made herself at home .Uffie, You know, just anytime. your room is ready .Hope to get started on getting garden stuff together next week.Jnette, you didn't say how you'r doing . let me know how to find out about Russ and Barb,other than having him repeat everything again . hugs all, sally
Sally, just go into your list of watches and pull up strawbale. Go down until you find it. It is just a regular one. You are on "first time balers" here.
Who is the db that died Sally? A brother?
I am doing ok. Taking longer to heal than I thought it would, but when you think about it there was a lot of cutting and to think that I don't have any numbness anywhere in my foot, the doc did a pretty good job.
We still have a foot of ice and snow, so by the time it is gone and ready to work outside, hopefully I will be dancing.
You are sounding good, like your old self. Rested and ready to start in again. Take care,
Jeanette
Sally, this is the one that Russ is on:
Strawbale Gardening: General Discussions 2009 - Chapter 26
Jeanette
Barb is writing.
I am starting this year for the first time. I have one bale of straw that has been outside my front yard since October and figure I will try it with 2 tomato plants. I have nothing to loose, and am looking forward to having juicey Tomatos to snack on...
I am planting the plants this weekend...
I will be trying it this year
Good luck, I hope it works out for you guys. Jeanette
MissJstr: I think this is the perfect week for us to plant seeds. This my first experiment with hay bales as well. I tried straw but I couldn't keep them moist here in the desert.
I was wondering if I needed to plant seeds or I can use already established plants?
2Nd Chance, I soaked my bale real good and was thinking I could put it on a sheet of Plastic to keep some of the mosture in? I got a freeze the other night, forgot to move my mint plants in, they are looking really sad.
Wow, you got a freeze in AZ? That is weird. Even we only get one now and then, now. However, we are suppose to get 14 inches of snow today or tonight. LOL, what weather!!
Miss Jester, definitely plant plants. However, if you are getting cold at night I would suggest a cover. Like maybe cut the bottom out of a gallon milk jug. If it is freezing hard enough to do damage, I would use something heavy like that. Otherwise a cover of Remay or something like that would work. (Just a light cover)
If that doesn't work, maybe you ought to wait a bit.
Jeanette
Yep it got down to 29 degrees, I live in the high desert country outside of town. I will go and get the plants today, and maybe plant them this weekend.
well I have given up on my bale garden this year cant find any bales at a good price .maybe next year,
found some 99 cent 40 lbs bags of compost and filled 1/2 the barrel with that the rest with soil out of the goat pens ...this should work
Well, darn, that's too bad. Can you just get one bale of straw? I think the straw takes more fertilizer, but it would give you something to play with. Yes, your planters sound good.
Jeanette
naw Im not going to pay the price they want ...ill wait them out we have had lots of rain the price of hay will go down the first cut is in 2 weeks and its going to be to wet when they bale so it will start to rot .... ill get some then :)
Good for you.
Jeanette
I am going to try a hay bale veggie garden this year. Started the seeds inside this weekend. Hoping to get my hale bales Friday. I have been trying to find some older bales or bales from the bottom of the pile. I am learning lots of good information here.
Betty
Betty: welcome to the hunt!!!
OK Jeanette, I still have my bales, but my manure and thus seeds were blown away in the wind stirm. So I'll be starting over!
2nd chance. Ok, this really is a 2nd chance isn't it? How about putting a clear plastic over the tops until they are stable? Do you have any of those garden staples to fasten something to the bales? Try that. Also, that would keep the soil/manure moist until the seeds come up.
Jeanette
I'm trying it this year too.
I have some old hay bales I got free from a friend and neighbor here in Ok. last year, I was using it for mulch last year for my flower beds. I saw this idea earlier this year and had some bales that were still together (with wire). I lined a few up and let it rain etc on them end of Jan 09 and put compost on the tops of them acouple of weeks ago.
Waiting for mid April of put plants I have started from seed:
tomatoes Celebrity and Better Boy
Bell peppers California Wonder
Dill
Parsley
Sungold tomato
Wild Basil
Magical Michael Basil
Cubanelle pepper (yellow)
I hope everyone has success.
Vicki: welcome aboard!
Plenty of room on the Bale Garden Express!
Sounds like everyone is doing good. Guess I better get serious about getting some hay. I hope.
Jeanette