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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2015 20:09:20 GMT
Our tomatoes have really disappointed the last two years. They're not producing as many as they have in the past and something is getting to half of what they do produce before they fully ripen. I think it's something in the soil rather than insects. Since I really only garden because home grown tomatoes are the only tomatoes I will eat (although we grow other things) I'm determined to get the bountiful crops we've had up until recently. I'm hoping this will do it. I'm going to use a second bale for an herb garden. We did so well with blueberries last year I've decided to plant more this year and that will edge out the herbs from the regular garden.
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on Feb 13, 2015 20:21:19 GMT
How interesting. I've never seen anything like that.
Would really help get around issues with things in your soil.
Take lots of pics and let us know how it goes.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Feb 14, 2015 2:11:18 GMT
Interesting concept.
I'm a wuss though. We have too many creepy crawlies here for me to try that (black widow spiders and scorpions come to mind).
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 15, 2015 5:19:36 GMT
Elly, I'm having the same problem. We even got a truckful of new dirt to add to the garden, but my plants just aren't producing like they did before. I didn't even get a single green pepper this past year and all my tomatoes seemed stunted. I'm thinking of trying container gardens this year.
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Post by Dawn R on Feb 15, 2015 14:05:12 GMT
I have seen this and really want to try it! I have no idea how much a bale would cost but I am going to try at least two. I love the part about not needing to weed!
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Post by Desire on Feb 15, 2015 15:56:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 20:34:26 GMT
Elly, I'm having the same problem. We even got a truckful of new dirt to add to the garden, but my plants just aren't producing like they did before. I didn't even get a single green pepper this past year and all my tomatoes seemed stunted. I'm thinking of trying container gardens this year. I've heard tomatoes do well in containers. We had blueberries, green peppers and cucumbers in the same bed with the tomatoes last year, and they all did well. So it's a mystery. I figure if I try the straw bale, not only does it give me room to plant more than just the tomatoes, but I'll avoid having the same problem if I just move the tomatoes to another bed and the problem really is my soil. I did not get my daily tomato or tomato/bacon sandwich last year because we didn't have enough tomatoes. That can't happen again.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 20:37:45 GMT
I have seen this and really want to try it! I have no idea how much a bale would cost but I am going to try at least two. I love the part about not needing to weed! This time of year you can get them for $4-5 dollars at the garden centers in this area. I'm sorry I didn't get them in the fall when the guy who runs the pumpkin patch up the street, and uses them for decoration, probably would have given me a great deal on Oct 31 when he closed up. No weeding is a huge selling point for me. So is not having to kneel or bend over so far to weed. Although my current garden is already in raised beds.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 15, 2015 21:37:34 GMT
I have seen this and really want to try it! I have no idea how much a bale would cost but I am going to try at least two. I love the part about not needing to weed! the farmers around here sell straw bales for around $2.50 - $3.00. The garden centers charge a lot more.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 15, 2015 21:40:10 GMT
We've had our garden for about 15 years and,even though we fertilize every year, i'm thinking we may need to move it to a different part of the yard. Maybe the dirt is just worn out.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 22:14:12 GMT
Do you have compost Sunset?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 22:24:09 GMT
I'd be afraid the copperheads would take up residence in the hay bales. We put in wood mulch in front of our house where we planted bushes and the first year had 6 copperheads show up in a matter of weeks, one I didn't even see until I was getting in my car and it was less than 2' from my leg, ummm no. Took that out and put in rubber mulch, only saw one last year and it wasn't cozied up to my house.
Oh and the tarantulas. OMG talk about a heart attack they were constantly in the wood mulch. Ewwwwww
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kritter
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Post by kritter on Feb 15, 2015 23:24:55 GMT
Yikes at the wood mulch snakes and spiders!!!
3/4 of my yard is beds with wood mulch and I have never had an issue. But, I have outside cats which are supposedly natural predators of snakes and discourage them from coming around.
That would be really scary.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Feb 16, 2015 4:08:29 GMT
Do you have compost Sunset? Not at the moment. I'm trying to get DH to build me a tumbler type composter out of a 55 gallon plastic barrel. We had issues for many years with flooding. At least 2 or 3 or 4 times a summer, our yard and garden would flood with at least 6" of water for sometimes days at a time. I believe there was something in that water that wreaked havoc with the garden. The county fixed the drainage problem a few years ago and *knock on wood* we haven't had another flood since then. We will be doing some landscaping this spring and I think I may just get some ½ whiskey barrels for the tomatoes and peppers and incorporate them into the scenery. I don't have as much time to tend the garden as I used to.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Feb 16, 2015 6:25:30 GMT
Yikes, Peek, where do you live?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2015 22:52:44 GMT
I bought 2 straw bales yesterday, so I'll be able to try this method out with about 8 plants this year. Plus I can stick herbs in the sides of the bales. So I'll have extra room in my regular beds where I usually put my herbs. I wonder if mint will overtake a straw bale the way it will a bed. I think I'll continue to plant that in a pot just to be safe.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 21:58:05 GMT
Good luck with your straw bales Elly, I would keep the mint in the pot too just to be safe.
I'm in MO, we have crazy weather and way too many icky things. Why I'm still here, who knows LOL
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2015 23:08:11 GMT
So far, so good. I have two bales going. Mostly tomatoes and peppers, which I also have planted in my regular soil beds, just in case. Stuck a few herbs in the side which is not as easy as he makes it look in the video. That straw is packed pretty tight. It's only been about 3 weeks. So nothing to get excited about yet except the fact that the plants are alive without being in soil. So I'm encouraged.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on May 18, 2015 0:16:50 GMT
Yay, elly, you're back!
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on May 18, 2015 0:17:12 GMT
How often are you having to water the bales?
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Shirley U Geste
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Post by Shirley U Geste on May 18, 2015 2:42:51 GMT
That looks great Elly. Keep us updated with how they are doing, it's such an interesting way to garden.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2015 3:49:03 GMT
I registered for a webinar last month given by the guy from the video in the OP. He claims plants don't like to be heavily watered, allowed to dry out, then heavily watered again, rinse and repeat. Which is pretty much what I have always done with my regular garden by watering only once a day even in the heat of summer. He recommends small amounts of water, about a cup, 2 or 3 or 4 X a day so the dirt is always damp to the touch (there is about 1/2" of topsoil around the base of the plant, on top of the straw) . I am not watering like that at this point because it's not consistently hot enough yet. We still have nights below 70, and it might be afternoon before the temps climb to the 80s. So currently my plants are never drying out, even when I only water once a day. A couple of cooler cloudy days in a row, I didn't even water every day. Next month it will get warm enough to do it his way. Whether or not I will depends on if it becomes inconvenient. I put the bales on the side of the house just past the top of the driveway with a big jug of water I keep filled. So everyone can see them any time they get in and out of their car. I'm hoping in the dog days of summer that everyone will make an effort and see if the plants need a drink when they get out of their car and walk by. You can't over water (according to the guy who invented this method) because it will drain down through the straw. A long answer to a simple question.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2015 12:56:42 GMT
30 days since planting, give or take a day or two. I don't think you can see them in the bright sun, but we have some tomato blossoms on each plant. The peppers (last plant in the first bale, third in the second bale) are not showing the growth of the peppers in my soil beds. So I'm curious to see if they'll catch up and produce as well as those in my traditional garden.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2015 23:40:07 GMT
We're not even full swing into the gardening season, but I'm going to declare the straw bales a success. They've done their part. I have healthy, blooming, plants. Now I have to do my part as a gardener. I will definitely do this again. We already have raised garden beds, so the bending/kneeling involved in gardening was already a thing of the past for me. But the other huge plus is no weeding. If you had an automatic watering system (I've been looking at this one), this would be a nearly maintenance free garden. Stake up your tomatoes every couple of weeks and pick when ready! It's definitely been lower maintenance over all than our soil beds.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 1:44:22 GMT
Thanks for the update reports, Elly. Looks great. I'm definitely going to try this next year. We did raised beds & containers this year but got a late start because of the weather.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 10:55:09 GMT
This looks like a great idea if you don't have a consistently sunny spot too - you could put the bales on a wagon and wheel around the yard to follow the sun. Or if your only sun is in the driveway.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2015 20:57:51 GMT
A friend of mine does that, I was just looking at some photos on her FB page and her garden is doing fabulously. It's her second year of using the straw bales. I'm hoping our new landlord will let us put a small garden in next spring, I've missed growing my own veggies.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 15:38:58 GMT
Two summers ago I got a hair brained idea to try my luck at veggie gardening, after seeing a few ads for raised beds. I knew from past experience with SO's gardening, that I would need to take full control if I opted in. Well, I did research my options first, including straw bale. I wasn't as keen on that as I was raised beds, due to the fear of unwanted critters. Then I was convinced a square foot gardening concept was gonna rule... After proposing my idea to SO, he backed me up and we bought a raised bed kit (4' x 4')...only to return it after stumbling upon a huge closeout sale at our local Ace Hardware. They were selling Miracle Gro 2' x 2' kits for $9...the same ones HD was selling for $79 or $89! I bought a bunch...and then my plans were put on hold due to extreme weather conditions that flooded our backyard. Once it drained, I put SO to task assembling the kits (EZPZ)...and then we both about broke our backs lugging in many, many bags of various garden soils, compost, vermiculite, etc. for mixing...and filling the beds. It takes a LOT to fill a 2' x 2' x 2' area! It took weeks to get through the pain of it all, but the reward was, and still is, gratifying. No rototilling, weeding, mulching necessary... The biggest thrill was telling SO that growing 10' tomato plants in a small area was possible. He told me I was FOS...and I got to prove him wrong. But sadly, I also discovered plans for building PVC trellises...and created an absolute monster after showing him! It wasn't long before he took over almost the entire backyard building more raised beds to accommodate all the trellises he built. We did wind up with a number of 11' - 12' heirloom tomato plants, but very little fruit due to various diseases brought on by harsh weather conditions. Oh, and a destructive horned tomato worm! It was late June before the weather settled down. We got more tomato plants in then, but the fruit was still green when the first hard frost hit. Meanwhile, SO went nuts buying seeds and plants last summer and again this year...and he knows not WTH he is doing when buying... or planting! Trust me, on that one... But, it's keeping him occupied. Which is a good thing.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Jun 13, 2015 18:21:14 GMT
At least seeds are cheap
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2015 23:10:59 GMT
There are benefits to a big extended family, many of whom live in the area. You know that Lowes commercial 'how to install a washing machine with one finger?' with the homeowner directing the delivery man to move it a little this way, then a little that way with one finger? That's how I 'built' our raised garden beds years ago. I directed 4 big, strong, teenage nephews and then paid them with all the pizza they could eat in addition to a little walking around money. Worth every penny. Unfortunately the soil in those beds no longer produce the bounty of tomatoes they did for almost 10 years, and I am definitely not removing ALL the soil and filling them again. Hence the straw bales. We bought ours in April and plan to compost it in the fall (at $4 we'll buy new ones next year), so it won't be around in the cold weather to harbor mice, and we don't get snakes. Herbs, cucumbers, peppers, blueberries and beans still like the soil beds just fine. So I'll only ever need one bale per year. This first year was an experiment so I decided I needed a spare. Just think how much produce you would have if SO did know what he was doing. You might have to sell some at the farmer's market.
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