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redbuddha's 2012 Straw Bale Garden

redbuddha's 2012 Straw Bale Garden:

straw_bale_garden_web.jpg


3.15.12

Today was the first day of prep for my no till wheat straw garden for 2012. I'm planting mostly hot peppers and tomatoes, but there will be some cucurbits mixed in for good measure. I'm using fresh, "green" bales that have been stored out of the weather so I need to season them before planting. Here's the 11 day process:

Days 1-3 – Water the bales twice daily to make sure they stay wet.
Days 4-6 – Sprinkle a half cup of ammonium nitrate on the top of each bale and water it in.
Days 7-9 – Cut the amount of ammonium nitrate back to a quarter cup a day.
Day 10 – Water in a cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer on each bale.
Day 11 – Start planting.

Once the bales get wet the microbes inside will begin to digest the cellulose and the internal temperature will skyrocket. The hottest I've measured was 150F. If you plant directly into fresh bales you'll fry the seedlings very quickly.

I'm doing 20 bales of wheat straw this year. Most of my seedlings are still at least 3 weeks away from planting but I'm going to get the seasoning of the bales out of the way and get some Jalapenos from a local nursery in them ASAP.

Here's a look at the bales in action from a previous garden:

straw_bale_tomato.jpg


I was much more interested in tomatoes than peppers then...that's changed a bit. The black tube is a drip irrigation system on a timer. I'll get the watering system put together next week.
 
Click to expand...
Yes, very nice. It would save me a lot of back-breaking digging. How long have you been doing this, and do you get any problems you wouldn't get in a conventional garden?
 
Great idea. Do the roots penetrate into the ground below
the bales, as well as grow throughout the bales?
 
I've been gardening like this since 2008. A few of the problems I still occasionally get: aphids, birds, sun damage. I've seen almost no instances of soil-born diseases...the bales are a pretty sterile medium after the super-heating that's part of the process. You have to keep them wet though...this method uses a lot of water. The no weeding and no tilling is the big advantage. I have a friend who uses this method from his wheelchair...the bales are at a nice level for that.


I get my ammonium nitrate in a granulated form from the local co-op. I've had people from other states say it's hard to find, not in Mississippi. I've heard you can use blood meal to season the bales too, but the ammonium nitrate is much faster.


In my experience the roots stay entirely within the bales. I've grown some pretty awesome brandywine tomatoes in straw on my concrete driveway.


You do want to try to get straw. Regular hay will do the job but it shrinks over the course of the season. The tomatoes in the pic above were grown in regular Bermuda grass hay.


Here's a few more pics from past straw bale gardens.


haybale garden_web3.jpg
haybale_garden_web2.jpg
haybale_garden_web5.jpg
 
That is just awesome! How do water requirements compare? On the concrete! wow. This is a cool technique I can't believe I haven't heard of it before. I guess over time the whole thing would just melt into the soil just like a raised bed. Can you put another layer on top of a broken down one? Sorry about the questions : )
 
Water is the big concern. The bales don't have the ability to hold water the way soil does. I use a trickle watering system set for 30 mins twice a day...that's been the sweet spot for me. The area around the bales is gonna get sloppy...flip-flops will need a rinse before coming back in the house. Everything disolves into the soil. I've been putting my bales in the same spot for years. I do increase the watering for cantaloupes and watermelons, which both grow well in straw.

cantaloupes_web1.jpg
 
3.17.12


This St. Patrick's day is off to a great start. After 14 days my superhots are beginning to stir. I woke up to a Dorset Naga seedling! I have a Trinidad Scorpion and Bhut Jolokia struggling to pull themselves up as well. These seeds were started in Jiffy pucks without pre-soaking. The trays of seeds were sat on top of an electric throw blanket...I'm all about making due with what I have. The average temperature taken off the top of the pucks with an infrared thermometer was 87F. Confidence of fiery hot peppers growing in my straw is high.

dorset naga_seedling_web.jpg


bhut jolokia_waking_web.jpg
 
3.19.12


Day four of the prep for my straw bales and it's time to amend them with ammonium nitrate. I'm adding a half cup of ammonium nitrate per bale for the next 3 days. You just sprinkle the grains evenly over the bales and water it in. I'm only watering when I add the ammonium nitrate so I don't wash it out of the bale with too much water. The bales look like huge pieces of Frosted Shredded Wheat as they get sprinkled. I'll start taking temperature readings tomorrow to check for activity in the bales.

amonium1_web.jpg


shredded wheat1_web.jpg
 
This is a great thread, Red, keep it up!
 
3.20.12

Day 5 of prep on my bales of wheat straw. I took a temp reading with a probe thermometer and the "Weekend Warrior" says they're the same as ambient temperature...roughly 82F. When this temp starts to rise dramatically I'll know I'm in business.

bale_temp1_web.jpg
 
3.23.12


Day 8 of the prep on my straw bales. Tomorrow will be the last day of adding ammonium nitrate. The bales are cooking...ambient temperature is 79F and the reading inside the bales is averaging 109F. I'd expect the temperature in the bales to be higher, but we had over 5 inches of rain yesterday. All that water likely cooled the bales a bit. I plan on getting plants in the bales within 3 days...I might give the 10 day forecast a hard look before pulling the trigger though. My area has historically had one last freeze just before Easter.

bales2_web.jpg
 
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