Garden Rebel - not so mobile - when you soak the bales for three days, then every other day - they gain weight like we do over the holidays!
The bales get very heavy - if they were in old wheel barrows or something they might be more portable - that would be kind of an interesting idea too. If one of the bales gets bugs or is not getting enough or too much sun you could move it. Hmmmmm.
Mikki C - Farm City is on Atlanta - which is one street East of Division and North off of East Kaley. Wow - sure know you are in Florida with those directions! They are friendly people there - they also have other 'barnyard' supplies that can be used in the yard for mulch and ground covers.
Karen B> I used a weed puller to dig up just enough straw to plant the plant - for seeds I just put a thin layer of soil amended with compost and then planted the seeds on top, then covered them with the recommended thickness of soil (as in how deep the seeds should be planted).
The greens (lettuce, spinach, kale, etc) are all growing nicely as are the green and wax beans that are now 2" tall!
...»
I am going to plant the next planting of beans next weekend on the other half of each bale so that I have a spread out harvest.
how did you make your hay planter.i think it neat would love to try one with tomato, and pepper. here my e mail onawa@windstream.net im trying to make compost. never made it need help.
Do a search online for "straw bale gardening" and you will get plenty of info and ideas. I used straw to cut down on the weeds that hay delivers. I soaked the bales three days in a row, then every other day for a week. You add some organic "foods" to start the composting process - as the bale breaks down it feeds the plants.
...»
I will be posting more pics later this week - the green and was beans have grown to 2" plus, and I will be planting a second 'harvest' on the other half of those bales this week. The lettuce and kale and spinach bales are doing great as are the rest of the garden.
I am going to start one bale today and see if I can get a quick crop in before our cold weather. I do have a head start with some wheat straw I have in a display that got rained on all week last week. :)
Ken H...what is the update on your straw bale gardening this spring so far? Do you need to get new bales?
Have you started new plants yet?
If you check my pictures on "My Little garden, help" there is a long stretch of not so pretty stuff that grows lots of grass where I am trying to grow plants. Take a look , do you think bales
...»
would look good there? And what is the biggest plant I could put in them?
Would hostas do well in them? (I would have to put the bale in the shade..,) but for other plants, like lilies, impatiens??etc?
Bernice, my garden is doing great. In Florida, we have 'summer' all year - it just gets warmer and cooler along with humid to dry. We are in the end of the fall/spring garden time. I have harvested baskets full of broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and some rather large heads of cabbage. I have replanted the tomatoes that got frost burned in a bad freeze we had just after Christmas. I have also replanted the strawberries and the peppers, as well as some new red cabbage
...»
that seems to take the heat of spring better. The Brussels sprouts are doing great, finally starting to form on the stems.
I would love to try hostas in my straw bales - too warm for them in Florida but I do love them. Most any plant will do well in straw bales, you just need to be sure to pre-treat them before planting for the first time, and keep them watered - they will dry out just like any other 'pot' of soil. Remember that the straw bales will deteriorate over time, so whatever you plant in them will need to eventually be replanted.
As to your question about how they would look, I wish you had attached a photo - I am short on time today and have not searched the site for you photo. I always say 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' - if you like the look - fantastic, if no, you can always break the straw bales down and use them as a thick mulch that can be dug into the soil in the fall to enrich the dirt.
The garden looks great - and yes, I can see some straw bales along the neighbor's porch (blue house) and perhaps to help establish the 'boarder' along the back. It would be great if you can catch some rain water to help with watering -it really helps when dry out - in Florida we are very dry right now - all my captured water is used up now - but I know we will have more soon!
...»
I also noted that you plan moon flowers - when I was a kid I used to plant what we called Moon Lilly - large deep green leaves, with big white 'trumpets' that came out in the evening. They had big seed pods that looked like a prickly sea creature - round and covered in spines.
If that is what you have, I would love a few seeds sent to me.
You have a good eye on plant placement - I think you would love trying the straw bales - you could even break a few apart to use as mulch - the acidity does seem to keep the unwanted plants at bay - give it a try - just be sure to get straw, not hay. (hay contains too many weed seeds).
Wow, food & beautiful plants, too. I've given up jealousy so I'll just have to try doing this myself. Today I'm checking out Farm City Straw who you recommended. Thank you Ken.
Ken - you have done an amazing job!!!! Love this idea! Have a huge garden area but those pesky weeds get on my nerves so we will be giving this a try this spring/summer! Any tips would be greatly appreciated! ( I have read all the comments/replies above! :)
The bales get very heavy - if they were in old wheel barrows or something they might be more portable - that would be kind of an interesting idea too. If one of the bales gets bugs or is not getting enough or too much sun you could move it. Hmmmmm.
The greens (lettuce, spinach, kale, etc) are all growing nicely as are the green and wax beans that are now 2" tall! ...»
I am going to plant the next planting of beans next weekend on the other half of each bale so that I have a spread out harvest.
Do a search online for "straw bale gardening" and you will get plenty of info and ideas. I used straw to cut down on the weeds that hay delivers. I soaked the bales three days in a row, then every other day for a week. You add some organic "foods" to start the composting process - as the bale breaks down it feeds the plants. ...»
I will be posting more pics later this week - the green and was beans have grown to 2" plus, and I will be planting a second 'harvest' on the other half of those bales this week. The lettuce and kale and spinach bales are doing great as are the rest of the garden.
So nice to have fresh veggies that will not kill you with pesticides.
Have you started new plants yet?
If you check my pictures on "My Little garden, help" there is a long stretch of not so pretty stuff that grows lots of grass where I am trying to grow plants. Take a look , do you think bales ...»
Would hostas do well in them? (I would have to put the bale in the shade..,) but for other plants, like lilies, impatiens??etc?
I would love to try hostas in my straw bales - too warm for them in Florida but I do love them. Most any plant will do well in straw bales, you just need to be sure to pre-treat them before planting for the first time, and keep them watered - they will dry out just like any other 'pot' of soil. Remember that the straw bales will deteriorate over time, so whatever you plant in them will need to eventually be replanted.
As to your question about how they would look, I wish you had attached a photo - I am short on time today and have not searched the site for you photo. I always say 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' - if you like the look - fantastic, if no, you can always break the straw bales down and use them as a thick mulch that can be dug into the soil in the fall to enrich the dirt.
http://www.hometalk.com/154874/help-with-my-...
The garden looks great - and yes, I can see some straw bales along the neighbor's porch (blue house) and perhaps to help establish the 'boarder' along the back. It would be great if you can catch some rain water to help with watering -it really helps when dry out - in Florida we are very dry right now - all my captured water is used up now - but I know we will have more soon! ...»
I also noted that you plan moon flowers - when I was a kid I used to plant what we called Moon Lilly - large deep green leaves, with big white 'trumpets' that came out in the evening. They had big seed pods that looked like a prickly sea creature - round and covered in spines.
If that is what you have, I would love a few seeds sent to me.
You have a good eye on plant placement - I think you would love trying the straw bales - you could even break a few apart to use as mulch - the acidity does seem to keep the unwanted plants at bay - give it a try - just be sure to get straw, not hay. (hay contains too many weed seeds).