This is really great information, all supported with great visuals. Just what I need as I have just this week started off my very first straw bales. Thank you, your veg garden is fabulous, and most important - its achievable for novices without spending a fortune.
Hello, I just wanted to say that I love, love, love these ideas! Thank you ladies so much for all of the great knowledge you are giving here. I really appreciate it, and will give this a try sometime soon! Now I've got to find some straw bales that aren't $10+ each. :)
Good stuff!! Great info for TODAY!! Thank you for making this video, thorough enough to feel confident to take this on! Much better than my tilling ground and picking weeds in my youth, Wisconsin side! Good job, Vicki! #strawbailgardening
I've been doing straw bales gardens for years. I grow EVERYTHIN in them including tomatoe plants. you need to make your hole in the bale and before planting you need to put a little soil in the hole before you plant so the roots don't dry out. Also once planted I use a dripped (soaker) hose and keep everything WET you can not over water in a straw garden but you can have it to dry! . Also lay your bales NORTH TO SOUTH so they get all day sun. When preparing your bales put 1/2 cup nitrogen each bale every other day for 10 days soak completely everyday. Nothing should die unless your doing something wrong. When bales are ready, mushrooms will grow and there will be a sweet smell. GOOD LUCK TO BEGINNERS (no plastic is needed on the ground.)
For the pallet gardens, make sure your pallets are heat treated, they should be marked with a HT. Another is if you have old pallets they can be treated with methyl bromide, so make sure your pallets are newer. These are great gardening ideas, thanks for sharing!
This is a really inspiring segment, thank you!! I was wondering if this lady was still gardening using straw bales and if she had any further advice or tips. Thanks again!
you can use bales for 2 planting seasons just wrap them in chicken wire and cardboard the first year. they will stay together and bring great worms. the 3rd year use it for mulch. bales can catch fire during conditioning process keep away from your home and mulch
Hi! I asked about mice with the straw bale gardening too. Vicky said she doesn't have a problem because she has cats and a dog to help keep the critters under control. I would think the critters could be a problem if left unchecked. -Mary
what about mold does mold get in bales? I can get not real good ditch hay for cheap but I am afraid of mold. I couldn't understand what she called the black material around the bottom under the pallet
I know I am replying late, but maybe you can use the info for spring...the only reason your bales would get moldy is if you over water them. That is why you want to make sure your bales stay damp, not wet. Just like a regular garden, but since straw bales act like a mulch and hold in the water, you do not have to water near as much as a regular garden. Do not get ditch hay at all, though, or you will defeat (some) of the purpose of straw bale gardening, which is no weeding. Ditch hay will be full of weed seeds. And you don't want hay anyway, you want straw. Opt for wheat or oats. The black material is a commercial grade weed blocker. You can buy it at the garden center, or likely cheaper someplace online. Or do yourself a favor and forget about that expense altogether. breakdown cardboard boxes and use them, instead. They will block out the weeds as well as the commercial weed blocker, and they will compost back into the soil eventually. And the best part about it is, they didn't cost you a dime.
Sue Woods yes there's mold the heat kills the problem your concerned about all of my fruit bushes are growing in straw filled raised beds they are low to no water after just 1 year
NOT hay...STRAW! :) There is a difference, and you need to make sure to convey what you need to the party you are buying it from. Hay is what they feed livestock, and it is full of seeds. You will end up growing a crop of grain if you use hay. Straw is the bottom portion of the plant that has no seeds on it and it is what they use for livestock bedding. I purchased organic straw locally from a farmer...check out craigslist in your area, lots of farmers sell it that way. Or, you can also contact a landscape company. Though usually cheaper to buy it direct. I paid $4.50 a bale from the farmer, $6.00 a bale when I bought it from a landscaper.
Our Baldwin Homestead they can but if you buy from local feed lots or farmers you can get a great deal. check out craigs list see if you have opportunities in your area
I imagine you can for the first year, but the straw would decompose by the second year, so I don't really see the point. Unless, of course, you are treating it as an annual.
Elizabeth Clark yes and no.... yes you can use straw. I recommend using the old straw like after the gardening season to plant your shrubs absolutely amazing!
You can use hay bales. See this link. He uses hay bales with no weeds. Use older hay bales. Hay is more nutritious, less likely to be treated with chemicals like roundup. Wheat straw is likely GMO and heavily treated with chemicals. I always use hay. Organic straw would be nearly impossible to find. The weed thing is a complete myth. Weed seeds should be largely killed when the bale heats up during conditioning. See this video of a beautiful hay bale garden and no weeds. ua-cam.com/video/5saea2V2A9c/v-deo.html
Nature's abundance captured beautifully. 🌿
Vicky has inspired me to try bale gardening. Her place is amazing!
This is really great information, all supported with great visuals. Just what I need as I have just this week started off my very first straw bales. Thank you, your veg garden is fabulous, and most important - its achievable for novices without spending a fortune.
Beautiful garden and great ideas.
Great video lady's !! So many wonderful ideas to make gardening less of a back breaking chore ! Keep up the great work and experiments !
peter bochek n
Hello, I just wanted to say that I love, love, love these ideas! Thank you ladies so much for all of the great knowledge you are giving here. I really appreciate it, and will give this a try sometime soon! Now I've got to find some straw bales that aren't $10+ each. :)
Cool video with lots of great info.
Good stuff!! Great info for TODAY!! Thank you for making this video, thorough enough to feel confident to take this on! Much better than my tilling ground and picking weeds in my youth, Wisconsin side! Good job, Vicki! #strawbailgardening
Very good ideas I’m definitely going to try this
Very inspirational thank you ladies
I've been doing straw bales gardens for years. I grow EVERYTHIN in them including tomatoe plants. you need to make your hole in the bale and before planting you need to put a little soil in the hole before you plant so the roots don't dry out. Also once planted I use a dripped (soaker) hose and keep everything WET you can not over water in a straw garden but you can have it to dry! . Also lay your bales NORTH TO SOUTH so they get all day sun. When preparing your bales put 1/2 cup nitrogen each bale every other day for 10 days soak completely everyday. Nothing should die unless your doing something wrong. When bales are ready, mushrooms will grow and there will be a sweet smell. GOOD LUCK TO BEGINNERS (no plastic is needed on the ground.)
Love this will try it this year. Our growing season starts in Jun or late May so it is shorter but it may work. TY so much I love this!
For the pallet gardens, make sure your pallets are heat treated, they should be marked with a HT. Another is if you have old pallets they can be treated with methyl bromide, so make sure your pallets are newer. These are great gardening ideas, thanks for sharing!
Great information. I currently have 3 bales.
This is a really inspiring segment, thank you!! I was wondering if this lady was still gardening using straw bales and if she had any further advice or tips. Thanks again!
She is! You can find out more about it at lawnanddriveway.com
Beautiful. amazing. great . wow
I was just thinking if you were serious about production you wouldn't use bales. I guess I was wrong. That looked very nice and productive. Janice
jksatte yep you were wrong they have been amazing for me
Good information, excellent
This is so interesting :)
you can use bales for 2 planting seasons just wrap them in chicken wire and cardboard the first year. they will stay together and bring great worms. the 3rd year use it for mulch.
bales can catch fire during conditioning process keep away from your home and mulch
Shalom! Yah bless you!!
when you plant your carrot seeds put a board on top until they take hold-and don't wash out
Does the hay have Glyphosate residue on it? How do you find an organic source for the hay?
With using straw gardening, what about mice, rats and bugs, will it draw them?
Hi! I asked about mice with the straw bale gardening too. Vicky said she doesn't have a problem because she has cats and a dog to help keep the critters under control. I would think the critters could be a problem if left unchecked.
-Mary
what about mold does mold get in bales? I can get not real good ditch hay for cheap but I am afraid of mold. I couldn't understand what she called the black material around the bottom under the pallet
I know I am replying late, but maybe you can use the info for spring...the only reason your bales would get moldy is if you over water them. That is why you want to make sure your bales stay damp, not wet. Just like a regular garden, but since straw bales act like a mulch and hold in the water, you do not have to water near as much as a regular garden. Do not get ditch hay at all, though, or you will defeat (some) of the purpose of straw bale gardening, which is no weeding. Ditch hay will be full of weed seeds. And you don't want hay anyway, you want straw. Opt for wheat or oats. The black material is a commercial grade weed blocker. You can buy it at the garden center, or likely cheaper someplace online. Or do yourself a favor and forget about that expense altogether. breakdown cardboard boxes and use them, instead. They will block out the weeds as well as the commercial weed blocker, and they will compost back into the soil eventually. And the best part about it is, they didn't cost you a dime.
Sue Woods yes there's mold the heat kills the problem your concerned about all of my fruit bushes are growing in straw filled raised beds they are low to no water after just 1 year
Lori Benson 9
Do the bails of hay get expensive? Ty
NOT hay...STRAW! :) There is a difference, and you need to make sure to convey what you need to the party you are buying it from. Hay is what they feed livestock, and it is full of seeds. You will end up growing a crop of grain if you use hay. Straw is the bottom portion of the plant that has no seeds on it and it is what they use for livestock bedding. I purchased organic straw locally from a farmer...check out craigslist in your area, lots of farmers sell it that way. Or, you can also contact a landscape company. Though usually cheaper to buy it direct. I paid $4.50 a bale from the farmer, $6.00 a bale when I bought it from a landscaper.
Our Baldwin Homestead they can but if you buy from local feed lots or farmers you can get a great deal. check out craigs list see if you have opportunities in your area
can you grow shrubs in a straw bale like forsythia, Lillys
I imagine you can for the first year, but the straw would decompose by the second year, so I don't really see the point. Unless, of course, you are treating it as an annual.
Elizabeth Clark yes and no.... yes you can use straw. I recommend using the old straw like after the gardening season to plant your shrubs absolutely amazing!
I don't understand your speech, are you using black garden fabric. Sounds like you are saying "silt fence" fabric?
"Silt fence" fabric is a thing.
Silt fence yea that stuff the have down from the swale to catch silt
I use vinegar to kill any wheat that comes up before i plant
You can use hay bales. See this link. He uses hay bales with no weeds. Use older hay bales. Hay is more nutritious, less likely to be treated with chemicals like roundup. Wheat straw is likely GMO and heavily treated with chemicals. I always use hay. Organic straw would be nearly impossible to find. The weed thing is a complete myth. Weed seeds should be largely killed when the bale heats up during conditioning. See this video of a beautiful hay bale garden and no weeds.
ua-cam.com/video/5saea2V2A9c/v-deo.html