Sep 20 2007
Information on Straw Bale Gardening
If you are interested in straw bale gardening, then first of all you should know that it is a bit more difficult than regular gardening. However if you are up for the extra bit of a challenge, then it can really be a lot of fun. It is a gardening method which produces good-looking, healthy plants without weeds, and it is especially convenient for those people who do not have a large plot of ground to till.
Getting Started
The first thing you are going to need to do here is prepare your bales. It typically takes about ten days to properly prepare your bales. The first three days you need to spend watering the bales thoroughly. The next two days you need to sprinkle the bales with ½ cup of ammonium nitrate, per bale per day, and make sure that you water it well into the bales.
For days seven to nine you want to cut the amount back to ¼ cup of the ammonium nitrate per bale per day, but continue to make sure that you water it in well. Then for day ten you want to stop using the ammonium nitrate but instead add 1 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer per bale and water it in well. Day eleven is when you want to transplant your plants into the bales and you want to be sure to place the plant down to its first leaf and then close the crack back together as best you can.
The next step in straw bale gardening is to actually start your garden. You can start your garden with seeds, as long as you use some topsoil on top of the bales, but it is recommended that you transplant all of your vegetables from flats and trays, of which you can purchase at any of your local nurseries.
If you decide to have more than one row of bales, then you want to make sure that you put them wide enough apart that your lawnmower will be able to get in between them. As well, the bales will start to sprout wheat or oat straw, but this is no big deal, and all you have to do is whack the grass off with a knife if it gets to be too much for you.
Straw bale gardening can be really fun and enjoyable, if you know what you are doing, and so if you are a beginner, just try to make yourself as informed and knowledgeable on this style of gardening before trying it for yourself, just so that you won’t have too many troubles and so that you can get the best results possible.
Okay, I probably shouldn’t be talking about Holly right now when Christmas is so far away but I figured now would be a great time to think about adding some color to your yard during those winter months. The bright red berries, distinct deep green leaves, small white flowers and the diversity of the plant [...]
I’m sure that everyone, whether you garden or not, is aware of many of the gardening tools available. I mean, if you have ever been in a home improvement store, you have probably strolled past the aisles filled with gardening tools.
Even still, I would like to go through them for any beginner gardener out there. [...]
It’s not quite time to start winterizing your roses but I figured that now would be the perfect time to discuss the topic since you don’t want to leave your roses until winter is almost upon us. You will find that most roses should be winterized in November. More than likely they will still be [...]
With all the talk of fall that I have had over the last week, I have almost given up hope and started packing in my outdoor furniture. Of course, it’s not really time to start resorting to such drastic measures and I will have a few weeks left to enjoy my outdoors.
Still, even with that [...]
Fall is coming up very quickly and before you know it, kids will be back to school, farmers will be bringing in crops and you’ll be getting your garden ready for the winter. Among many of the tasks that you will need to do, one of these will be in planting your bulbs for the [...]
Strawbale gardening sounds great for my back. My question is: How long do the straw bales last, 1 year, 2 years, 10 years?
This is my first year at straw bale gardening, and I am ready to plant. I have followed the 10 day prep instructions, have an unlinited water supply from the lake, however, I can find no information on the proper steps after planting. How often do you fertilize, and how do you tell when to water?
Thanks, Jim
Hello,
I’m on the coast on NC. My straw bale garden is small ~ 15-16 bales. I am using rain water to hand water daily around the plants. I use a soaker hose with well water every couple of day. I am fertilizing with miracle grow tomato weekly. So far so good. Take a look at mine. http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk105/Lantanalane2/Garden/