Starw Bale Gardening

[Guest guest]

I am going to do our garden this year in straw bales. Reason is beacse

we are currently renting and trying to find a home to buy, yet need to

find a little bit bigger home to rent till we can buy...so I am wanting

to garden in straw bales.

 

Has anyone here done this before? Can you share your experience? What

worked what didn't? Can you share the ins and outs of it? I read an

article that 10 days proir to putting plants in you have to treat the

bales with nitrogen to help the plants grow....I do organic gardening

and use not chemicals, what do i do....

 

Thank you for any and all advice...I am determined to grow a garden

this year!

 

Rebecca H

[Guest guest]

Hi. Here's some links. I do use SBG here in Central NY State,A LOT! Where nearly all methods endorse the ammonium nitrate method, I use manure water from our farm animals. Just let a bucket of 1/2 manure 1/2 water "set" for a few days, & use that in place of the ammonium nitrate. A - N can be hard to get without some legal "process" in places where meth labs are around,it's a very common farm fertilizer, & thefts of it are very common. We have an organic farm, & I've found that the ammonia in the manure water process works well to start breaking down the bales. I also just take good bales of straw or old hay, poke holes, put in a handful of soil & a young plant into each hole,without bothering about the breakdown process. A good hosing or buckets of rain water every week keeps the plants great. You will normally also get inky cap mushrooms sprouting from the bale; these are good to eat if picked & cooked as soon as they grow each day. They get black & icky as they mature throughout the day. Just make sure you know your shrooms!

 

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/kg_strawbale.html

 

http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens/thismonth/march06guide/straw.html

 

 

BRIGHTEST BLESSINGSMARIE THE DITCHWITCH

www.earthcraftyr.com

Delicious ideas to please the pickiest eaters. Watch the video on AOL Living.