Homestead mailing list

["MaryLou Reid" <frogpond AT aimcomm.net>]

On 18 Oct 2004 at 3:15, RayZentz AT aol.com wrote:

>> frogpond AT aimcomm.net writes:
>>
>> First of all, I am using an old European practice of planting in 
>> strawbales.  
> 
> 
> Please explain a little further how you do this?
> 
> Ray

Here are some websites for the strawbale method. 

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/ghveg.html
"Organic Greenhouse Vegetable Production-Horticulture Systems 
Guide"  has a section on strawbale culture.  (The ATTRA website 
has a huge list of really useful articles and books to download!)


http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/greenhouse.html#co
nt
This article on growing cucumbers in greenhouses has a section on 
strawbale culture.  It's much more technical than the home gardener 
needs, and not organic, but I found it interesting and useful, 
nevertheless.


I don't have a website for the following--it's one of the threads from 
the Gardenweb list that I'd copied awhile ago when I was looking up 
info on strawbale culture.  It has a lot of useful ideas.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>RE: straw bale gardening 
Posted on Mon, Oct 20, 03 at 8:50 

I have a friend in Farmington MO who has set up "raised beds" in 
her hoop house using straw bales. She places two side by side, then 
puts on a layer of manure which she waters in well. As the straw 
starts to compost, she puts on a layer of potting mix and plants 
seeds for her winter salad greens and such in the potting mix. The 
heat from the composting straw helps germination but doesn't last 
long enough to provide any heat during the growth period. I read a 
post from a man in Florida on either the Market Gardener thread or 
Four Season Harvest who does the same thing outdoors with his 
lettuces in his cool season. He put the bales cut edges down on 
pallets and used a weed eater tool to carve out a depression in the 
bales. I think he used mushroom compost as a growing medium. He 
said he sells his greens for $6/# wholesale or $8/# retail Last 
summer I put a single straw bale, cut edge down in the yard. I put 
dried goat manure on it, watered it in and transplanted a volunteer 
pumpkin seedling into it--just opened a space in the cut ends and 
watered it. I emptied the chickens' waterer onto it very day when I 
gave them fresh water. It was a miniature pumpkin and produced a 
few fruits. The added benefit is that the whole bale composted 
nicely. The best thing is that all summer long, I didn't see one 
cucumber beetle on the vine or any other bug for that matter. Since I 
have livestock, I have used leftover or spoiled hay with pretty good 
results. The trick since hay can have a lot of seeds is to water it well, 
let the seeds germinate then cover the whole business for a few 
days with clear plastic to "cook" the bale and seeds. Yesterday (Oct 
19) I put "books" of hay treated this way to make an experimental 
bed in the second hoop house, wet them down and put some good 
finished compost over the top. We'll put the cover on the hoop 
house this afternoon and then I can start transplanting my seedlings 
into the beds. The other two beds are finished compost and plain 
soil just in case the straw/compost bed isn't as effective. I am 
concerned about the layers freezing where the natural soil hasn't 
done so in the past, even in extended periods of cold. At least our 
cold here in central Missouri.  <<
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Btw, I realize I wasn't too clear about how I placed the bales in my 
rows.  I should have said I made two rows of strawbales--each row 
two bales wide, placed end to end lengthwise along the row, but 
side by side the width of the row, making the rows approx. 3ft wide 
by 20+ft long with a space approx. 2-1/2 ft between the them.  Does 
that make more sense?  

Anyway, I hope this gives you the general idea. I'd like to hear how it 
works for you if you try it.  ;-)

MaryLou