As the bacteria colonize they reproduce by division. Each bacteria will divide in half every fifteen minutes, and when they split they also vibrate and give off heat as they metabolize the nitrogen and Carbon into he bale. This vibration causes friction which dissipates as heat. Indeed this is all at a microscopic level but If you could see it all under a scope you’d see the entire bale is vibrating like crazy.
I tried to grow potato and Jerusalem artichoke in straw bales this year, but obly the potato at the end of a bale came up, and that was not very strong looking. is it possible that we planted in the hot part of the bale and killed some of the seeds. what is your recommended temp for planting?
I live in a zone 7b area that does get a killing frost but the ground does not freeze. Can these be overwintered without harvesting , re; Piedmont North Carolina , Charlotte area.
You can overwinter potatoes in the bales, I do that here in MN. I’ll go out much of the winter and dig up a few potatoes here and there. They stay nice inside. But it is easier to just harvest and store them all in a box in my garage. The snow was deep last winter.
Usually two weeks but it can take longer. Shove a hand down inside and check for warmth. If warm, wait, if it feels cool, plant. Make a hole to shove the potato down inside then leave it open. It will help keep it cool and will fill in on its own over time as stem grows up.
I live in central Missouri. Is it too late to plant seed potatoes? I'm reading that they should be planted before the end of April, but if potatoes are ready in 90-100 day, shouldn't I still be able to plant in early June? Fairly new gardener here.😄
No reason at all. It will work just fine. You'll discover only that it does decompose faster than straw, and thus it need to be reconnoitered into a bale, if you want to use it the second year. We show you how in one of the other videos on our website.
No! I use hay bales and have so far grown squash, melons, tomatoes, peppers and marigolds extremely successfully. I prepped the bales before hand though. Fertilized and water daily for two weeks. Then I had to allow them to sit a few days.,,to cool down. I just used my cooking thermometer to check the temp. 🤷🏻♀️ Good luck! ❤️🌻🌹🌼🌷🌸💐🌺🌾🥀🍄🍃🎋🥬🥒🌶🌽🥕🥦🍆🍅🍒🍉🍓🧄🧅🥔🍠🍋🍊🍐🍎🍏
Bales get very hot during the conditioning process while bacteria are colonizing the interior and breaking down the straw into compost inside the bale. 150 degrees is very common. Once the bacteria have saturated he bale, the bale cools down. This normally takes about 12-18 days.
Yes, the straw must go through the conditioning process and completely cool down prior to planting the potatoes or you’ll end up with baked potatoes the day after you plant them. It works really well also to plant potatoes in second season bales. They don’t get hot, they don’t need conditioning, and you can plant them very early because of these two things. Sometimes the second season bales are a bit slumped down, but if you put a ring of chicken wire around one bale and then pile another second season bale on top, it makes a deep planting bed just as tall as the first year bales were. The long stem inside is why they produce lots of potatoes.
We never add soil, rather the straw quickly begins breaking down due to bacteria, fungi, worms, insects and sometimes mold, metabolizing the straw. This broken down straw essentially becomes new “soil” inside the bale. Most great soils that gardeners have traditionally grown gardens in comes from decomposed organic matter. So freshly decomposed straw is really virgin soil, never used before, so no soil borne diseases or insects.
Sweet potatoes are planted from slips, and they are planted rather shallow, like you'd plant a cabbage plant. Not deep like a regular potato. The sweet potatoes do love the bales though. If you want to learn how to start your own slips, try a search here on UA-cam, because there are dozens of great videos with two basic techniques, in water or in soil, and both work.
During the conditioning process, yes indeed you would fertilize them to begin the decomposition. Once conditioning is done, it is likely you won't need any additional fertilization for the season, for potatoes, however on other crops that are higher nitrogen users you may need to do some additional fertilization.
So true about them taking long. I planted this year for the first time in a container of hay and kitchen waste …. they’re growing nicely.
Very informative
Thank you for that amazing tip! I’ll use it today
Awesome tips Mr. Joel.
Awesome info, thank you so much for this!
Informative. Thanks.
After fertilizing and watering your bales DAILY for two weeks....you’re bales will definitely cook the potatoes. My bales get
to 195 degrees. 🥵😳
How long before it is safe to plant in them?
Where do I get purple vegetable to buy I need to plant some. I am a second year planter.
It looks like you're doing them roughly 12 to 18 inches apart. Is that right?
how does a bale get too hot to plant? It's still freezing temps until Mid-May. thank you for the great tips!
As the bacteria colonize they reproduce by division. Each bacteria will divide in half every fifteen minutes, and when they split they also vibrate and give off heat as they metabolize the nitrogen and Carbon into he bale. This vibration causes friction which dissipates as heat. Indeed this is all at a microscopic level but If you could see it all under a scope you’d see the entire bale is vibrating like crazy.
It’s the same process as a compost pile, the center of the mass gets hot from the bacterial processes breaking down the organic matter
I tried to grow potato and Jerusalem artichoke in straw bales this year, but obly the potato at the end of a bale came up, and that was not very strong looking. is it possible that we planted in the hot part of the bale and killed some of the seeds. what is your recommended temp for planting?
The bales should be cooled to under 100 degrees before planting. If planted at warmer than 100 the potato will be cooked.
I live in a zone 7b area that does get a killing frost but the ground does not freeze. Can these be overwintered without harvesting , re; Piedmont North Carolina , Charlotte area.
You can overwinter potatoes in the bales, I do that here in MN. I’ll go out much of the winter and dig up a few potatoes here and there. They stay nice inside. But it is easier to just harvest and store them all in a box in my garage. The snow was deep last winter.
After you get the bales ready for planting, how long does it take them to cool off enough to plant potatoes?
Usually two weeks but it can take longer. Shove a hand down inside and check for warmth. If warm, wait, if it feels cool, plant. Make a hole to shove the potato down inside then leave it open. It will help keep it cool and will fill in on its own over time as stem grows up.
What else do you have planted in there? Can you companion plant potatoes in the bales?
Indeed. Anything that matures in 60 days or less would be a good complimentary planting.
I live in central Missouri. Is it too late to plant seed potatoes? I'm reading that they should be planted before the end of April, but if potatoes are ready in 90-100 day, shouldn't I still be able to plant in early June? Fairly new gardener here.😄
Not too late, seed them right away, they will be just fine.
grass hay is cheaper and easier to find in my area than straw. Is there any compelling reason why that would not work as well?
No reason at all. It will work just fine. You'll discover only that it does decompose faster than straw, and thus it need to be reconnoitered into a bale, if you want to use it the second year. We show you how in one of the other videos on our website.
No! I use hay bales and have so far grown squash, melons, tomatoes, peppers and marigolds extremely successfully.
I prepped the bales before hand though.
Fertilized and water daily for two weeks. Then I had to allow them to sit a few days.,,to cool down. I just used my cooking thermometer to check the temp. 🤷🏻♀️ Good luck! ❤️🌻🌹🌼🌷🌸💐🌺🌾🥀🍄🍃🎋🥬🥒🌶🌽🥕🥦🍆🍅🍒🍉🍓🧄🧅🥔🍠🍋🍊🍐🍎🍏
Why would the bale be hot? If its the weather then how is waiting going to cool it down?
Bales get very hot during the conditioning process while bacteria are colonizing the interior and breaking down the straw into compost inside the bale. 150 degrees is very common. Once the bacteria have saturated he bale, the bale cools down. This normally takes about 12-18 days.
Is 46-00-00 Urea a good fertilizer to condition the bales with?
yes, but cut the suggested rate in the protocol in half. 1/4 cup days 1, 3, 5, then 1/8 cup 7-9, then 1 cup 10-10-10 on day ten.
@@Strawbalegardens Thank you,this makes sense, I will proceed as suggested.
Can you give us the conditioning process step by step please
We have very detailed videos day-by-day over on our website, FREE at www.StrawBaleGardenClub.com
How long does it take for bales to cool off and what temp is safe to plant potatoes in?
plant in second year bales which require no conditioning and you’ll have very good success.
Do you treat the straw before
Yes, the straw must go through the conditioning process and completely cool down prior to planting the potatoes or you’ll end up with baked potatoes the day after you plant them. It works really well also to plant potatoes in second season bales. They don’t get hot, they don’t need conditioning, and you can plant them very early because of these two things. Sometimes the second season bales are a bit slumped down, but if you put a ring of chicken wire around one bale and then pile another second season bale on top, it makes a deep planting bed just as tall as the first year bales were. The long stem inside is why they produce lots of potatoes.
Are you putting soil in the bales or is it just straw?
We never add soil, rather the straw quickly begins breaking down due to bacteria, fungi, worms, insects and sometimes mold, metabolizing the straw. This broken down straw essentially becomes new “soil” inside the bale. Most great soils that gardeners have traditionally grown gardens in comes from decomposed organic matter. So freshly decomposed straw is really virgin soil, never used before, so no soil borne diseases or insects.
@@Strawbalegardens Thank you so much!
I use about a cup of soil...to help get it started. 🤷🏻♀️
Can you plant Sweet Potatoes the same way? thanks
Sweet potatoes are planted from slips, and they are planted rather shallow, like you'd plant a cabbage plant. Not deep like a regular potato. The sweet potatoes do love the bales though. If you want to learn how to start your own slips, try a search here on UA-cam, because there are dozens of great videos with two basic techniques, in water or in soil, and both work.
Do you fertilize these bales
During the conditioning process, yes indeed you would fertilize them to begin the decomposition. Once conditioning is done, it is likely you won't need any additional fertilization for the season, for potatoes, however on other crops that are higher nitrogen users you may need to do some additional fertilization.