How To Condition STRAW BALES For GROWING VEGGIES From Start To Finish
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
- This video will teach you how to condition straw bales for growing veggies from start to finish in 3 easy steps! Did you know you can grow vegetables in straw bales? Straw bale gardening is like container gardening, but it's easier, cheaper, more sustainable and fits almost anywhere! If you want an exciting way to grow veggies in small spaces, or you don't have good soil to grow in ground, a straw bale garden may be for you!
Please see the following links for items shown in the video:
Urea 46-0-0 (5 LBS)*: amzn.to/3FvnO9o
Urea 46-0-0 (20 LBS)*: amzn.to/3lnglCw
Naturally Derived Urea 46-0-0 (5 LBS)*: amzn.to/3lt0lyS
Written instructions on seasoning straw bales: extension.illinois.edu/blogs/...
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Reasons To Grow Plants In Straw Bales
1:44 Step #1: Days 1-3 [Watering]
4:33 Step #2: Days 4-9 [Fertilizing]
6:42 Fertilizer Measurements & Application
9:47 Checking Straw Bale Temperatures
12:36 Step #3: Days 10-14 [Cooling Down]
15:34 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about conditioning straw bales for straw bale gardening, have questions about growing fruit trees or want to know about the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and garden hacks, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and "how to" garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!
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If you found this video helpful, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Reasons To Grow Plants In Straw Bales
1:44 Step #1: Days 1-3 [Watering]
4:33 Step #2: Days 4-9 [Fertilizing]
6:42 Fertilizer Measurements & Application
9:47 Checking Straw Bale Temperatures
12:36 Step #3: Days 10-14 [Cooling Down]
15:34 Adventures With Dale
5☆ and more
Can you tell me the manufacturer of the ground cover you use. I have been unable to locate it from your instructions. Thanks
I’ve been using straw bales for years between the roadway and sidewalk out front of my house (best sun). I post in local groups just before Halloween each year to try to solicit free fall decorations including pumpkins, squashes, fodder shocks and bales of straw. The straw bales are awesome scores when I get them. I align them in the same orientation as shown but disperse organic fertilizers and limestone pellets into them randomly in the fall through winter. The rain works these components into the bales so by the spring the bales are fully conditioned. Even easier than intentional watering!
That's so smart and resourceful ! Thank you for these tips !
your videos are unbelieveably instructive and well-researched.
I have a question on straw bale gardening that I didn't see on his video. How long do straw bales last? They break down I assume. I have a small garden and "had" make shift raised beds that seemed to me take a lot of my space. I pulled those down last year and now I have a flat garden pretty much. I am retired and unfortunately getting harder to bend and kneel. The bales seem to be ideal to have it raised. One guy in this channel said he put the bales in boxes as it last longer and the straw isn't everywhere when the wind blows, good idea. I will join Anthony when I get back from my long vacation out of state. I enjoy listening to his wisdom and knowledge.
Thank you so much for sharing this information. Your videos are so easy to understand!
Our bales are finally cooling down! Ready to get started planting in them!
Great information! I watched twice and ordered Urea from your Amazon store! Thank you!
This is the best video I've seen. Well done ! Thank you for the information.
Very cool! Thanks for the info.
I love the thumbnail for this video. Dale is definitely supervising!
Awesome video, thank you.
Great info, thanks!!
You are such a good teacher.
Thank you! I appreciate it very much.
Very informative like all your videos, keep them coming.
Thank you!
As usual perfectly explained, can not wait for the planting out! Regards from Sydney Australia!
I love Sydney! I went there 4 years ago. As a guy that doesn't really care for cities much, I *loved* Sydney! It may be the nicest, cleanest city I've ever seen. Just awesome.
Fascinating!
I love that our dogs have the same rain coat!
That's awesome! It works really well. Dale can't stand going outside in the rain, but he will if he's wearing that coat and it isn't a heavy rain.
You are just a wealth of knowledge. I love your channel!
I appreciate that! Thanks so much!
Very interesting. Thank you.
You're welcome!
This is fascinating. I’m definitely going to try this out next season. It’s sooo hot a humid here in south Louisiana it’s really hard to keep the pests and diseases off my plants. I just have to find out where I can buy some good straw bales.
I got four bales today and that other stuff. I will be starting that and following along. I am going to grow Tomatoes and Cumbers in it and see how they do. The rest of my garden is deep mulch gardening so I can use the bales for that in the end.
Good informative
Awesome video
Thank you!
This is also a great way to fill new planters if you dont want to spring for raised bed soil the first year.
Wow, I love your videos. I tried this before and it didn't work very well. i did treat them, but the details you provide I think will be very helpful and with more success. I am going to try this again.
And i must say this is my favorite gardening channel... and i watch a lot of them.
Thank you so much.
BTW if you happen to see this or anyone else who knows, is there a link to where you buy your strawberry bare root plants. I think I saw it on one of the videos, but can't seem to find it now.
Thanks a million for all your hard work!🥰
WOW! OK-will give this a try w a couple of bales!
Outstanding!
I've been looking forward to this for a few days. Still have a bit of time to go before I'm out of the below freezing Temps. But it'll get me ahead with getting the straw bales and urea. Thanks for the info
It certainly doesn't hurt to get started early. It's a fun little project and it'll get you looking forward to spring. I need little projects like this for my mental health to get me through winter. It makes me happy 🌞
I love Dale! 🐶
He's the best 😄
I’m starting your process today! Got my bales yesterday and today is day 1 of watering. Really hoping this works so I can get my seed potatoes in by the end of April. Thanks for the helpful steps and links.
Curious on the results of the potatoes.
Very interesting
It's so cool!
Curious! Thanks!
Looking forward to the updates.
Thank you!
Such a great video. All of your videos are wonderful. I have learned so much. I also laugh during your Dale segments. Keep it going, we are watching. Off to get my hay bales.
Thanks for your support. I'm glad you enjoy the videos!
Their is a shortage of hay bales around here.
This video is EPIC!!!!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
I've been waiting for this video. Very interesting. Thank you so much. Can't wait until the next. Dale's rubber duckies😅 he's so cute
You're welcome! I hope the temperatures agree with us. We have frost coming Sunday and Monday nights, so I can't do much just yet...which is fine, since my tomato transplants are 3 weeks behind, anyway. I may not get anything planted til April 7 at this rate.
@The Millennial Gardener False Spring gets us all every time in Southern regions. Costal is very tricky due to wind and moisture. None the less I have all my spring/ summer starts ready. Preparing all my raised beds & pots. Your straw bale system I'm interested in growing my 1st corn crop. BTW, I'm waiting for the follow-up on banana plants. I wintered mine per your demo.
Super tutorial!👍I hope folks give this a try...works great and is fun. 😃 Cute thumbnail. Howdy to handsome Dale!👋
I hope so, too. It was a real chore getting Dale to pose for that thumbnail with nothing more than a tripod and a timer 😂
I just subscribed! You’re a great teacher. Thanks so much. Zone 5, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
I really need to give staw bale gardening a try. Craig LeHoullier is a big fan of it for tomatoes.
The soil can be a challenge here in North Carolina. Pests, disease and root knot nematodes are a serious problem. Growing soilless removes some of these problems.
I love this! Are you going to make a follow up video on this subject?
The thumbnail with you and Dale is so sweet 🥰
He's a good boy. It took about 15 tries to get him to sit still 😂
very interesting
It's pretty neat stuff!
Very interesting..and you answered my question om organic
Glad it was helpful!
What a pretty boy Dale is! ❤
I maybe doing this year for potatoes.
I have bad soil. This works for me!
I had a problem with root knot nematodes *and* wilt disease in my soil last year, so I'm giving it a rest for a year. It's tough in the South.
Got 20 bales and I have a few still over 100. But I did start some seeds so the transplants will work. I know it’s late but I am only doing 60 days veggies just to see how this goes. (First frost nov 1st typically). If the weather freezes me out before any harvest I would be ok with that. I just wanted to see how this works. We are getting older and I thought this would be a better way for us than expensive raised beds and always having to add more compost. I appreciate your educating style. (Also got figs because of you!). Expect to see some questions!
Love this! More more more! Would really like to see you experiment with a couple bales of Hay. Like you always say we should always test for ourselves. I’m sure your subscribers would like to know as well
Hay works great as well. It’s hard to get straw in SE TX. I used hay two years, this year I did find some straw. Will see which is better.
I don't use hay. Hay is full of seeds, more expensive and more likely to be treated with herbicides. Straw is better in all cases in my opinion. That being said, if you have a safe source of inexpensive hay that you know isn't treated, you can use that, sure.
@@tammyohlsson7966 as long as you're sure the hay isn't treated with herbicides, it should work just as well.
Use wheat straw vs oat straw. Less viable seeds in it
Northern NV..snow last week.Night temps still in high 20',s
Dale is cute!!! He needs his own show.😊
I wish I could have a channel dedicated to Dale. He's a great boy.
I live in Montana. The ranchers have used most of the straw to keep the cows and babies warm because our winter has been so cold.
You can substitute hay for straw as long as you're sure it's not treated with herbicide. It will work just as well.
This is a fantastic video. Thanks. Quick question- Can I use Hay bale in lieu of Straw-bale?
I never wasted more money and time than trying the straw bale method. I have been successfully gardening for over 40 years. At least the compost created by using all that nitrogen and straw created some awesome compost. Money is better spent on raised beds.
What was your reasoning behind starting a straw bale garden, and what was your method of conditioning and planting? It's not helpful if you don't describe the situation and research why it failed. If the process failed, it's because something was done incorrectly. The method is sound, so there had to have been mistakes made, and analyzing them is how we get better doing this.
So just to clarify .. I can go ahead and condition my bails now even though I won't be putting my transplants in until around March 15th (I'm in NE Florida - zone 9b). Right? Thanks for a great channel that I just discovered today! I especially really appreciate all the explanations of the chemicals/fertilizers, organic vs. non-organic, etc.
Goodness I need to find that type of themoter
And wow that heater up fast
This thermometer is AWESOME! I use it for my steaks all the time. It's phenomenal. This is the exact thermometer. However, I'm required to tell you that this is an Amazon affiliate link from my store, so if you were to use it, I would receive a commission at no cost to you: amzn.to/3JqXwXl
Love your videos!! We are at the VA/NC border by Moyock and I have learned soo much from you! Thank you! In regards to the straw, will it matter if it is placed on pallets and not directly on the ground? We get a lot of flooding here and I can easily see the straw sitting in quite a few inches of water.
LOVE 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍 the thumbnail pic...so freaking cute...frame it!!!
Dale is such a sweetheart. I never thought I could love someone so much.
@@TheMillennialGardener it is very interesting how dogs choose us and not the other way around...and they give us so so much all without expecting much...i can not understand how some people can be so freaking cruel to animals...blessings to you and Dale..
My straw bales have been placed and ready to go here in Western NY for about a month now (today is April 18). We. have had lots of rain for days and they seem to be pretty saturated--too heavy to move. Should I start right in with the Urea or try to add more water? First time bale planting for me--thanks for your help!
Can you use hay bails if so do I do them the same way? Great teaching and thank you
Step two surprised me.. don’t think I’ve ever seen you without a hat 😅
All my older videos were hatless. I actually didn't start wearing one until recently. Working out in the garden, the sun can get to you.
Really cool and interesting information! Thank you MG! 😊👍
Glad you enjoyed it
I got one of the XLwhite bag with a round bale in it. How could I decompose the bale in the container. If I mulch the hay, I will have seeds everywhere. I enjoy your topics.
I'm so interested in your progress. Much of your advice on this method differs from that of Joel Karsten. I went organic with my conditioning. It definitely took longer!
I don't see the point in seasoning straw bales organically. Straw is rarely organic to begin with, and "organic" is defined as what you do after you plant the plant. "Organic" in backyard gardening means very little to me. At grocery stores, "organic" is a powerful word, because it means you can avoid all sorts of potentially harmful pesticides, but what does it mean in a backyard garden? If you grow two plants and the only difference is one plant gets a feeding of MiracleGro twice a month, is there any difference in the fruit? Almost certainly not, so I don't worry about USDA guidelines growing in my yard. 100% of everything I grow is better than the finest organic produce in a grocery store.
Thank you for the thorough systematic explanations. I decided to try this with 4 straw bales. I followed your instructions to the letter. I used the UREA 46-0-0. after my conditioning had completed, only one bale got over 100 degrees, and that peaked at 104. the others were basically the same temp as air. So I decided to repeat the process, but left out the first 3 days of soaking. Now I have completed the rest of the process and the odor of composting straw bales is present but the temperatures have not gone up at all. the one bale that went to 104 is right around 100 degrees. I would appreciate any suggestions as to how to proceed. Our weather is very hot if that makes a difference. ( Located in NC in the north central area)
The bales are only going to heat up if they're fresh. If they've already undergone composting, they won't heat up. The bales I purchased were off-the-truck fresh, so it was clear they were brand new. However, it's possible the bales of straw you purchased weren't fresh and had already partially decomposed, leading to the lack of heat. If you followed the instructions and they didn't get very hot, they could be partially broken down. You could always place a trial seedling in the bale to make sure it grows first to be sure.
Love love love your videos. I noticed you planted your Meyer lemon tree up against your house. Can you do a video on if their are any dangers to the foundation of your home by doing so.
All the trees I plant are on dwarf rootstocks. All my citrus are grafted onto trifoliate orange, except for my Meyer lemon, which is a rooted cutting, because it's even more naturally dwarfing. There is no risk to trifoliate or meyer lemon roots affecting a 20 inch thick concrete foundation. Don't plant seed-grown citrus or standard rootstock citrus, because they can be 30+ feet tall.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you for responding back, this really helps.
Hi. Love your video. I’m a newbie to bales, I just started day one. Do you have a video on how to plant? I looked through all of your videos and I can’t find any on planting in bales. Please help, in 14 days I’ll need to know!😊
Craig Lehoullier /tomato man has lots of pictures and wrote a book on straw bale gardening. Thrift books had a copy.
I have a couple bales that have been sitting on a concrete pad since last fall. Same Zone - do you think I need to do the urea treatment or might they be good to go? I can tell some composting action has happened.
I'm 76 can you make a hole in the straw put potting soil in and plant
I can't seem to find in any of your videos - what do you have on the ground? I noticed that the same black material is in between raised beds and now you are soaking bale on top of it too. I'm guessing it's permeable. Can you please tell what material it is? Thank you from California!
Hi... I am looking forward to you finally planting. Question for you. What are the dimensions of the bales? And where did you buy them?
Straw bales may come in different sizes. The most common size is 36"L x 18"W, which is what mine are. Big box stores rarely carry straw bales. Feed stores often do. Where I live, we have two feed stores: Farmer's Supply in town and Hudson Hardware in the next town over. If you search for places that sell bulk chicken and cattle feed, they often sell straw. Craigslist is a good tool, too.
I started out using blood meal, can I go ahead and switch over to urea? I started about a week ago. Thank you.
Is it possible to simply leave hay bales out over winter ( I live in northern Idaho and we get a TON of snow) and have them be ready by next spring for planting?
This is really different and interesting thanks for sharing this with us.
You’re welcome!
With the bales, you also have to watch they don’t “self combust”from the heat, particularly if you live in a hot area. If that’s the case, definitely monitor the temperature of the bales and keep them wet. 😊
What is the combustion temperature? I live in the SE.
how do you stabalize the bales - I have a slightly sloped area, and I plan to lay the bales across the slope. What do you suggest for anchoring
Have you planted in the straw bales you conditioned? I've been waiting for your video as I'm now on Day 10.
Will adding urea also speed up the composting process in the composter? Just curious
Since seeing your miracle grow vs urine that MG won, I'm wondering for straw decomp if urine would still work for straw in some way that gives an advantage over urea + water. Could it allow using less or a cheaper fertilizer for the eventual crop yields?
I'm using straw bales to fill 25" tall raised beds, which then will be topped with about 12" of soil and compost. Do I need to condition the bales if I'm not actually trying to grow in them? Thank you for your help!
Days 10-14 seems like a great opportunity to use the heat to sprout seeds on top of the bales
Im trying this for the first time. I put the bale in my wheel barrow to soak over night with home made fish fertalizer and chicken poo tea
Can i simply set them up before a good rain storm?
I'm never able to find your store front on Amazon..Hopefully by having your actual link in comments I will get to it. Thank you
All the links are in the video description. I put direct links to the products above the Table of Contents, and the link to the store is under the Table of Contents.
What do you use for agricultural fabric?
After the plants are established does the straw provide enough nutrients or will a balanced fertilizer need to be applied.
I saw Dale had a subscription to treats and heavy chewer toys. What is the name of that place? Also, what is the best thing I can sprinkle around my Vegetable and Pepper Plants to deter my dogs from digging them up? I used to use black pepper and it worked OK. But since I have been using fish emulsion they get a little more excited about digging them up. Thanks for all your helpful advice which you present in a nice usable fashion.
We have had a subscription to a product named Bullymake Box for years. Up until now, we have been happy with it, but recently, they changed the ingredients in their treats. I've noticed this at grocery stores - the handful of snacks I used to buy have *all* changed their ingredients and use lower quality oils now (like canola, corn, cottonseed, etc., which I refuse to consume) as a result of inflation, and it seems this company has also reduced the quality of their treats and now put canola oil in them. I'm not giving Dale treats with canola oil in them, so I think after 3 years subscribing to them, we're going to cancel. It's a shame 😞 We are going to have to search for another alternative.
I don't know what will deter the digging. Dale does not dig. He did when we first rescued him, probably out of fear and anxiety, but now he does not. Have you tried conditioning them to the fish emulsion? By that, I mean leave the gallon jug inside your house by the back door and let them sniff the jug. Then, bring your dogs outside when you start applying it. Have them be by you the entire process. If I'm a dog, I suddenly smell something decomposing and I want to investigate, but if I'm acclimated to the scent and know exactly what it is and it isn't actually an animal, I have no reason to investigate, right? That's my logic, anyway. Instead of trying to get them to avoid the fish emulsion, maybe try leaving it in a spot they have constant access to so they become nose-blind to the smell.
I'm excited to try this! My question is, will the heat up process kill any leftover seeds in the bale?
I'm not sure. I was wondering the same thing. I can tell you that in the month I've had them, not a single seed has germinated. None. Nada. The bales I bought last fall grew considerable wheat grass. However, while the internal temps heat up, the surface doesn't, so I don't think it would kill surface seed.
It did not kill existing seeds for me. I still got some grass seeds popping up. First came the mushrooms ( lots and lots) and then the weeds (not a lot) then, finally, seeds I planted started to sprout.
@@dehnadykeman3614 the mushrooms mean the bale is good for planting.
I am on day 6 of conditioning my bales and it doesn't seem to be working. They are not heating up at all. I bought the "Naturally Derived Urea" from your link and the contents did not smell like ammonia until today I can detect a slight odor (maybe from moisture in the air getting in there?). I am wondering if this brand of urea is weak and I need to add more of it. Any ideas? BTW, I am keeping them moist.
Seems like it took 3 weeks for me to see a mushroom in my straw bales. Was worried they had been treated with something until yesterday. I never stick a thermometer in them and grow prolific cucumbers in them though every year. Hopefully they are clean of pesticides.
THANK YOU CAPS-EYESIGHT
You're welcome!
Hey there. I watered the nitrogen into the straw bale and soked it too much. I've been through day 4-9 and would be in day 10-12. Should I put 3 more days with nitrogen and do not soak it so much in as until now? Or leave it like it is? Tomorrow arrives my thermometer but as I layed my hand on the bales it definitely felt only lukewarm. I hope I can save something in this stage.
If planting potatoes using Ruth Stout method, should the straw be fresh bales, or would conditioning like this first be a good idea?
I think a good manure tea would work for conditioning
Do you have any thoughts on using fresh chicken manure instead of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to condition the bales? The manure is obviously going to be less predictable as far as NPK goes, but it's usually fairly high in nitrogen so my gut feeling is that it would still be capable of kicking off the hot composting process. Obviously there is some concern with pathogens that would need to be neutralized, but as long as the hot composting process actually happens I don't see that being a big problem. It might take a bit longer to cycle, but I think the end result would be just as good, if not even a little better since the composted manure might provide a little more soil for seedlings to get established in while the bales are still breaking down.
What do you think?
Hi.. this is the best straw bale video! What is your take on using human urine fertilize? Thanks so much!
Thank you! I actually have a video on urine as fertilizer on my second channel. That's not appropriate for this, because you need *very strong* fertilizers to compost the bales. You can use urine-based fertilizers after you plant in the bales, but you need real Urea for the conditioning. Here is my video on urine as fertilizer: ua-cam.com/video/FnY44kdj8-o/v-deo.html
@@TheMillennialGardener oh got it. Thank you for the link! And reply. Looking forward to your next video.
My urea came in 3 days late. Will this mess up the conditioning process??
Can you use concentrated nettle tea instead of urea? I want to stay totally organic
I may have missed this, but what type of plants is ideal to plant in the hay bales?? By the way, I live in NC, and I have learned so much from your channel, Thank you so much😊😊
Almost everything! I have my potatoes in second year decomposed straw.
Anything you want. Treat them as you would a nursery container. As long as the plant is appropriately sized, you can grow any annual vegetable. You wouldn't want to grow anything like a tree in them or a perennial, since they will break down after 1-2 years, but any *annual* vegetable will do. A small point of clarification: this is straw, not hay. Hay is more likely to contain seeds and be treated with herbicides.
I am from NC also.
i do cucumbers in them every year.
Serious question, can you substitute urine for the fertilizer instead of urea? Work is kinda slow for me at the moment.
Will this kill all the seed heads in the bale or will the grass seeds on the exterior of the bale still germinate?
Works great in east-coast gardens, I'm sure. Not so much in the west coast. If you have dry summers, don't bother. They just don't hold enough water (I tried!)
That's why I have them under the hoops. It will be converted into a shade tunnel. Drip irrigation + shade cloth is how West Coast gardeners should be gardening in the dead of summer.
I’ve always had success with either drip irrigation or a soaker hose. I’ve used both on a timer