straw bale gardening - pddc •seed •large seeds and for individual plants (cucurbits, legumes,...
TRANSCRIPT
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Straw Bale Gardening Sharon Morrisey
Consumer Horticulture Agent
Milwaukee County UW-Extension
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Why garden in straw bales?
• Poor soil
• No space for a garden in full sun site
• No containers or soil to buy – just a cheap source of straw bales
• Accessible
• No kneeling
• Can work sitting down
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University research-based…?
• Extension Resources
• Washington State University
• University of West Virginia
• “Straw Bale Gardening: A complete guide to growing in bales without soil or
weeds” by Joel Karsten
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Steps
• Laying out the bales
• Conditioning the bales
• Planting the bales
• Maintenance
• Harvesting
• End of Season
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Tips for Laying out the Bales
• Mostly level
• Configuration
• Strings exposed
• Cut side up
• End posts
• Drip irrigation
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Conditioning
• 11 days
• 1,2, 3 – water bales thoroughly
• 4,5,6 – ½ cup urea per bale and water-in thoroughly
• 7,8,9 – ¼ cup urea per bale and water-in thoroughly
• 10,11- water thoroughly
• Check soil temperature – it should be only slightly warm
• Plant
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Planting
• Seed
• Large seeds and for individual plants (cucurbits, legumes, beets and chard, kale,
kohlrabi, etc.)
• Remove a chunk of straw and fill the hole with potting soil
• Small seeds or to plant in rows
• Put a couple inches of potting soil on top of the bale(s). Make sure it’s level
• Water carefully so it doesn’t wash away
• Or cut the bottom out of a plastic flat, pin it down onto top of bale, fill with soil and plant
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Planting
• Transplants
• Remove some straw to make a hole large enough for the root ball.
• Plant seedlings as you would in a bed at the proper/final spacing.
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Crops with Special Needs
• Root crops – carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, onions
• Fine from seed or sets
• Potatoes
• Easier in second year bales.
• Corn
• Top heavy
• Herbs and flowers
• Plant into sides of bales where no crop will be hanging over
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Maintenance
• Watering – drip/soaker hose
• Fertilizing – as for ground beds
• Support – end posts provide uprights to run wire or string to support vining crops or tomatoes (using the Florida weave).
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Problems…?
• Pests
• SLUGS!!! Use iron phosphate applied to all the bales before the slugs get bad.
• Sanitation to minimize diseases.
• Minor irritations
• Mushrooms – slimey, sporey, ukey! Just means breakdown is occurring.
• Sprouting wheat, etc. – just weedy looking.
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End of Season
• Sanitation – remove infected/ infested plant
debris
• Reuse next year – or not
• Add to compost or use as mulch or as soil
amendment