Strawbale gardens

[Smart Red]

As we always like to say - Next Year Will Be Different!

 

[canesisters]

I'm sorry that it wasn't a success for some of you. But, I'm already planning next year's straw bale garden.
This year was a test. Next year will be on a much larger scale. The main problem for many is that it requires a lot of water. For me, that wasn't a problem. Possibly.. I watered too much because the slugs LOVED it and the tomatoes tended to split. But I STILL say that this is possibly the BEST way to move from lawn to garden. I'm curious to see what the area under this year's SBG looks like. My plan for closing up this year is to pull the plants and toss to the chickens. Then roll the bales off the sawdust covered tarp and see what's under. I'm hoping that if I rake the rotting sawdust back over it, cover with more, then bust the bales and cover the whole thing to compost I won't get a bumper crop of weeds next year. If so... I guess I'll be setting up on top of a tarp again.

Tomatoes, in particular, seem to really like it. But - I think it would be prudent to space them out a bit more than suggested. 1 per bale should give them room enough. And a tall, sturdy trellis is a must. This year I used a cattle panel sitting behind the bales. It was sturdy enough, but I lost 2' of height by having it on the ground instead of on - or just above - the bales. I just need to figure out what to plant around them to use up the rest of each bale's space. Carrots perhaps?? Any suggestions?

Herbs also loved the good drainage. I think that a herb/tea section may be in the works.

I didn't grow any beans at all but I plan to have a row or two dedicated to several varieties next year.

I have also herd potatoes like this method. And squashes and melons did well for me in a bale.

The key to making it successful - I think - is figuring out what to mix and match to maximize the bale-space. One tomato/bale is a waste. But 5 cabbages, then 1 tomato vine + 100 carrots, then.. something in the fall...?

 

[thistlebloom]

I've been wondering if part of my problem is caused by the straw itself. It's wheat straw and maybe there is something residual that was used in the field...? Just looking for an excuse maybe.

Obviously it works for lots and lots of people, as seen by Cane and ChickenMomma91. So happy for you guys, your success verifies the method for me, even though I won't try it again.

I do like the look of it, so orderly and weedless. Except for the darned bindweed that can grow all the way up through a bale and pop out the top.

 

[canesisters]

I've been wondering if part of my problem is caused by the straw itself. It's wheat straw and maybe there is something residual that was used in the field...? Just looking for an excuse maybe.

Wow... I hadn't even THOUGHT about that...
Mine was rye (I think) from a local guy. Was yours local - like off someone's farm - or from a feed/hardware store where it might have been shipped in from somewhere?

 

[thistlebloom]

It was from the feed store.

 

[canesisters]

WAY, WAY, WAY PAST TIME to start my straw bale garden this year.
It's been one thing after the other for the past couple of months and I JUST got some weed pulling done in the flower beds and the crepe myrtles pruned yesterday.
For those of you who have some interest in SBG - what do you think about this idea...

I bought 2 round bales of hay last month. It came from the same farm as the square bales that Eva was DEVOURING. However, once she got into this a bit, it seems to be MUCH more stemmy and she has barely made a dent in the first bale. The second is sitting in my yard..... almost exactly where my SBG was supposed to start.
Now that the pastures are coming in pretty good - I don't think that I'm going to make use of that great, big round bale as feed. Or - I don't think that Eva will eat it with the pasture as a much better option.

So... do you think, if I just rolled it out - maybe 2 layers thick - and then forked it up into narrow rows - would it work like a SBG? Or would it be too loose and not compacted enough?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've been wondering if part of my problem is caused by the straw itself. It's wheat straw and maybe there is something residual that was used in the field...? Just looking for an excuse maybe.

Obviously it works for lots and lots of people, as seen by Cane and ChickenMomma91. So happy for you guys, your success verifies the method for me, even though I won't try it again.

I do like the look of it, so orderly and weedless. Except for the darned bindweed that can grow all the way up through a bale and pop out the top.

I didn't see this post last summer or I think I would have responded. Some wheat farmers and maybe other grain farmers sometimes spray a herbicide on the wheat to help with harvest. I think the idea is to kill the wheat so it dries out before harvest so the grain can be threshed better. If some of the grain is still wet and not cured it can apparently cause some problems with threshing. If that straw is used as mulch it still has that herbicide in it. It's been a few years since I read about this but it seems one of the universities in the Pacific Northwest sold or offered some straw that had been treated as mulch and it killed garden plants. I don't know if this is something @seedcorn would know about.

 

[seedcorn]

To kill plants (wheat or corn seed fields) they use plain old salt water. Herbicides would have a withdrawal rate and it would stop them from harvesting and selling for feed or food.

Wheat straw delays or can stop germination if left on the field. Straw is also high in fiber so it stops nitrogen up take.

 

[catjac1975]

To kill plants (wheat or corn seed fields) they use plain old salt water. Herbicides would have a withdrawal rate and it would stop them from harvesting and selling for feed or food.

Wheat straw delays or can stop germination if left on the field. Straw is also high in fiber so it stops nitrogen up take.

Will that ruin the soil in time from the salt?

 

[thistlebloom]

Wheat straw delays or can stop germination if left on the field. Straw is also high in fiber so it stops nitrogen up take.

Seed, can you explain this further? What causes it to affect germination?
I used wheat straw in the garden last year, and as I said germination of seeds was very spotty, and transplants of tomatoes and peppers didn't flourish. An understatement.

I popped those bales and spread them around in the garden last fall. There are oodles of earthworms under them when you lift up a few flakes and take a peek. But it's far too much straw to try to plant in and I was planning on removing a lot of it, and keeping the remainder in the aisles (going for wide beds) and once the plants are up using some for mulch.
Do you think this could be a problem?
Would barley straw have worked better than the wheat in hindsight?

Not that I'll be using bales ever again, I'm just wondering if most of the issues were because they were wheat straw.