So the straw bale grow is working...

[MiHale]

Earlier this season I found out about straw bale gardening and decided to give it a go. Had a couple of bales left over from last year so figured why not? Last year the squash beetles were very troublesome (wow, not the words I used last year) and I thought this could be a way to combat them or at least hold them at bay.

We planted densely on purpose to really test the growing capacity of a bale. So far all is going well in spite of the diminished sunshine caused by the Canadian wildfires, which cut sunshine about 30 to 40 percent overall slowing growth.


Overall view.



Butternut squash… have about 6, maybe 10 eyes weren’t too focused this morning.






Zucchini…always wanted to grow “cascading” to keep fruit straight. This is one example.



The Acorn squash is obeying gravity and growing a little elongated. A couple “volunteers” Acorn’s came up by the compost pile same seeds…growing round.

Bale:



Volunteer:
The plants



Fruit: round.

[2naSalit]

1. Cool!

I might try that next year.

Those acorn squash look like they may have cross pollinated with the zucchini. We had that happen a few years ago at the old place, some were edible.

[MiHale]

5. Morning 2na!..

You mentioned that before in the very first post I had about the bales, I thought of that and am still wondering , we’ll see. That’s why I took pics of the volunteers…same seeds. My hands weren’t working too well when I was taking stuff to compost I dropped some of the seeds used to plant the bales. Thought I picked them all up…fruit is round.

Which is stronger…gravity or genetics…only time will tell.

[2naSalit]

11. The summer of...

Squash related science projects!

[kozar]

2. MrsK talked me into trying this once,

Yours looks great! My experience was like a 3Stooges movie! Just happened to have a very wet summer that year, the straw molded horribly. Neighbors dogs got loose and decided they like moldy straw to roll in. If I remember, we got 3 zucchini’s.
I find the produce aisle less stressful! I admire your skills.

KozandLilBit

[MiHale]

3. Thanks! Morning koz!

[kozar]

4. Mornin back atcha!

[BlueIn_W_Pa]

13. That was my exact experience this year in W PA

I gave up from the mold - at least this year

[Karadeniz]

14. Yay! You sound like you're feeling better !!!

[jmbar2]

6. You have a beautiful yard and garden.

Thanks for this inspiration.

[MiHale]

18. Thanks...👍

[KS Toronado]

7. Never heard of straw bale gardening, looks interesting

You add any dirt where seeds are planted?

[appleannie1]

9. I have done it both ways but preferred putting a thin layer of soil on top of the bales first.

[MiHale]

19. First year doing it...

I, in my gardener’s mind, couldn’t see putting seeds into just the straw, so I added a thin layer of composted soil to the top. Probably less than an inch enough to hold the seed. This is the video that started me off. YouTube is loaded with tutorials.

[appleannie1]

8. I straw bale gardened for about 5 years.

The farmer I was buying bales from bought a new round baler 2 years ago so I could no longer buy from him and went to a nursery to get my bales. They must have been sprayed with weed killer or something because none of them produced anything but scraggly looking plants with no fruit or what little some plants got were few and far between. I had to go to a farm market to buy vegetables for canning and freezing. This year my son made me almost waist high planters plus I put holes in 5 gallon buckets and I started seeds in my house and planted my plants asap this spring in planters. I have been picking tomatoes and hot peppers for pickling for a couple weeks now. When I was buying my bales from a local farmer, I had bumper crops. I fertilized the bales every couple weeks and once a week put a tablespoon of epsom salts around the tomato and pepper plants. At the end of the growing season I threw the much smaller bales on a large tarp and I still to this day grow my squash in them. This year I have zucchini, butternut, acorn and patty pan squash growing in them along with some cantaloupes. I have been giving the summer squash to all my neighbors because there is more than I can eat. Your plants look great. The only fault I could find with straw bale gardening is it uses more water but since I have a high producing well, it was no problem at all. Love the fact that they hardly got any weeds at all and what did grow were easy to pull out.

[MiHale]

20. We've been switching over to raised beds...

as much as we can instead of in ground. As we age it’s nice not to have to bend over as much. I’ve always wanted to cascade zucchini in some way, this seems to be the best way. Squash bugs are a thing of the past.
But all in all I think the bales next year will be for lettuce, you can’t see it in the pictures but the lettuce bale was awesome. The lettuce really didn’t get dirty, once the thin layer of soil settled down and the seeds germinated there was very little “splash” dirt from rain or watering.

I’m impressed with bales, they’ll make doing raised beds a lot less expensive and very much easier. I have a good source for the straw, he grows his own organically. Gotta put up with some wheat seeds that were left in sprouting up but no big deal. Inky Cap mushrooms were the only other “foreign” invaders but they are a benign species.

[ShepKat]

10. works great the first year

what a mess the second year. Tried it, been there.
Hopefully it won't be so bad for you

[StClone]

15. The smell of moldy rotting bales was not worth it for me.

I did potatoes and had a decent yield but I think detected a moldy flavor in them, too.

Some people utilize bales and do well. For me spending 10 dollars, or more each, for ten bales of hay is not economical. I am going back to collecting free maple, apple, birch other non-oak/pines for soil amending.

[ShepKat]

16. agreed

tried that too. I am a seed saver. used to sell my organic heirloom seeds through localharvest.org - if anyone has a questions about that, i've been doing it for over 20 years.

[MiHale]

21. For one I hope you did NOT use hay...

Straw is fundamentally different from hay. Hay will rot to a putrid mess. Straw is the leftovers from wheat production. It’s the hollow shaft that the wheat grew upon after the seeds are removed the shafts are bundled and sold. Gardeners use it mainly for mulching above and below ground. Hay is for horses. Straw bales usually go for about 5 bucks each.

[StClone]

24. I Used straw

You are so right. I used straw (oat stalks) and it got moldy. Alfalfa and clover bales are not what I used.

[MiHale]

25. 👍

[Fla Dem]

12. What a wonderful garden and yard area. All the work and dedication; Kudos to you!

I can't even grow plants in a pot! My Grandmother had a beautiful, full lot flower rock garden with paths and sections all laid out. She grew beautiful flowers. I did not inherit her talent.

[MiHale]

23. Thanks👍...

[Bayard]

17. I used straw for mulch one year

Come to find out, all you can get around here is wheat straw, and I did grow a fine crop of wheat!

Yours look lovely.

[MiHale]

22. Yeah sometimes the seeds are in there...

If you get a good source you keep it. My source grows his own, organically. When I bought my first load from him I asked if there were many seeds left. He laughed and said that’s my money you’re buying the leftovers, I get the most from my money. Not much sprouting.

[babylonsister]

26. Just beautiful and your yard is so manicured!

It's done nothing but rain here, that and hellish temps, so we've had to mow every third day.

Enjoy your bounty!

[MiHale]

27. Thank you...

We are enjoying the grow and neighbors are getting to enjoy also, wish we could pass out some here.