Anyone ever gardened this way? Straw bale gardening

I am thinking of trying this out on a small scale, like 6 or so bales. Your thoughts or experiences please. I'm very intrigued with this method.
http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens ... es3.07.pdf

 

Yes, it is an interesting idea. The bales would certainly hold in moisture and allow for quick root growth. And it's a lot easier than prepping existing soil...amending, tilling, amending again. The ultimate "raised bed"!

I know, though, that straw bales tend to be full of weed seeds so I'd be more likely to plant transplants into them versus starting seeds in them. I also know that straw tends to attract critters (mice et. al.) which could be a problem around young transplants. If you decide to do this, please let us know your experiences.

 

thanks, an I will keep u updated if I do this. Hmmmm, mice..........my neighbor keeps me in those anyway when he mows his field in the summer. Only problem I see is not many folks bale the square bales much around here, they have mostly gone to those large round bales. But I have collected around 6 square ones so far. I have the Ammonia Nitrate already. I usually have problems with squash bugs an thinking of planting yellow summer squash an zukes in them. I would definitely use seedlings due to the weed seeds.

Toni, I loved that arch to. I liked all his plantings for that matter.

 

I was reading somewhere where someone outlined their garden in bales then put compost in the cener and had success with it. Now which forum was it on???

 

i've never tried this,, but please keep us posted. this is intresting, an all i ever see up here is the round bales too.

 

This is new for me too. I would love to know more.

Oh trudy you will be the pioneer in bale container gardening.

 

I thought the trellis looked very cool. Just like growing in containers. It looks like the 2 main concerns would be watering and fertilization. You will have to fertilize alot. There arent much nutrients in straight straw.

 

Go for it T!
I'm also thinking about it for this year as well.
I'll use liquid manure from the dairy I work at.
And I'm going to start with transplants as well.
Check out Jacks thread at Old Pharmer Phils.
Can't find the thread with a guest search.
This is a great way to get going and to create soma awesome compost.

For those who aren't natural/organic I have another way using minor amounts of a few chemicals that get's the straw ready in a matter of 2 weeks I believe it said.

 

I'll do that C1, an you know u might as well go ahead an post your "other way using minor amounts of a few chemicals". Inquiring mines want to know.

 

OK since ya asked so nicely T. :-D
Here ya go.

Takes 1-10 days to prepare your bales:

Days 1-3: Water bales thoroughly & keep them wet.
Days 4-6: Sprinkle the bales with 1/2 cup ammonium nitrate (32-0-0) per bale per day & water well. I found it at our local feed & seed in a 50lbs bag for less than $10. Larger garden supply stores (not Lowe's!) should be able to lead you in the right direction.
Days 7-9: Cut back to 1/4 cup A.N. per bales per day & continue to water it well.
Day 10: No more A. N. , but do add 1 cup 10-10-10 fertilizer per bale per day & water them well
Day 11: Transplant your plants into the bales. I use a spatula to make a crack in the bale for each plant. Place the plant down to the first leaf & close the crack together as best you can.

I use wheat straw for this, but you can also use oat straw; pine straw will not work. Wheat is denser & seems to hold water better than the oat which is great for our dry, but humid summers here; you'll have to decide for your own climate which is better. Look for bales that are tightly bound & bound with synthetic twine cause it holds up better through the season. You can place aproximately 3 broccoli/bale, 3 cauli/bale, 2 pumpkin/bale, 2 tomatoes/bale putting the tomato cage around it like usual. There are just a few ideas for the amount of plants per bale.

You cannot over water these! Excess will just run out the straw. Because of this, watering needs to be done 2x per day--they need to stay moist & not get dried out between watering's. Some people sprinkle them with the 10-10-10 fertilizer about once/wk. But you don't want to over fertilize. The bales may start sprouting, but scissors easily takes care of that, if it bothers you. Something else is that you don't not need to do ANYTHING for pests---the pests completely leave your veggies alone!

 

I like this,, i really do,, we have the straw left over growing from when sheep was raised here. but we don't have the means to make bales anymore. (sigh) this would of saved me a lot of work, an able to plant in the out of the way places that our tractor just can't get to...

I have some serious thinking to do on this one...i want to do this.

 

Here is a bit of information from someone that has done the bale gardening, at Phil's place.
http://pharmerphil.proboards37.com/inde ... 45&page=1#

it's a long read but a somewhat good one.

 

Darning needles.

I cannot even dare to think of this method. When I read about watering at least twice a day when it is hot, I lost hope. We might be facing water restrictions soon due to the heat and the little rain that we had and these water restrictions usually lasts for more than 8 months of any one year.

I should be thinking waterwise planting.

 

Well one of the the best ways to conserve water is to use straw as a mulch in your garden. I do this and it works great for water retention in the soil and also helps keep the weeds down. In the fall just till it in and you'll have added a great composted amendment to you soil as well.