Straw Bale Gardening: Difference between revisions
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=====Straw Bale Gardening===== | =====Straw Bale Gardening===== | ||
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXtylj7P7OE by Default Name 19/8/13 YouTube] | |||
My very own, first hand experience has shown me that this is just a novelty, a hyped-up get-rich-quick scheme. It promises ease of care for the disabled and convenience to those who live in urban areas. | |||
I'm just a beginner gardener who's excited about this hobby and willing to learn all that I can. This spring, we bought 24 bales and began our new straw bale garden. Four months later, these are my conclusions: | |||
Straw bales dry out very, very quickly. Karsten instructs, "one gallon dose of water per bale, per application, when needed". | |||
And, "over-watering flushes the system of nutrients and bacteria". | |||
I learned that Master Gardeners recommended that plants should receive 1" of water per week. That is 0.623 gallons per square foot of garden. So, my twenty-four bales (3 square feet each) should get 45 gallons a week. Initially, I tried that. The bales dried out too fast and my plants wilted. Eventually, I gave them enough to keep them healthy, which equates to 84 gallons per week. Almost twice the amount needed for an earthen garden! But, still, my dosages of 12 gallons per day was only 1/2 gallon per bale, which is 50% less than Karsten recommends per dosage. This high water usage meant higher water bills. | |||
Chlorinated tap water kills bacteria- something never mentioned by Karsten. New, freshly "conditioned" straw is a fledgling system. It needs beneficial bacteria to multiply and thrive in order for the plants to flourish. Watering my bales with tap water was, in essence, killing the system and starving my plants. Every time I watered, the good stuff works down and away from my plants, and the chlorine sterilizes the upper-third of the bale. We switched to rain water and dechlorinated water- it's helping. | |||
[https://piedmontmastergardeners.org/article/straw-bale-gardening/ by Cathy Caldwell] | [https://piedmontmastergardeners.org/article/straw-bale-gardening/ by Cathy Caldwell] | ||
Straw bale gardening is rapidly turning into a trend, but it did not grab my attention until I learned that a much-admired vegetable gardener in my neighborhood had taken it up. Not only had she taken it up, she’d had great success with it. Then it came to my attention that a couple other gardeners I know had been straw-bale gardening. Why had these gardeners made the switch? As you’ll see from the interviews summarized below, there were some pretty compelling reasons. | Straw bale gardening is rapidly turning into a trend, but it did not grab my attention until I learned that a much-admired vegetable gardener in my neighborhood had taken it up. Not only had she taken it up, she’d had great success with it. Then it came to my attention that a couple other gardeners I know had been straw-bale gardening. Why had these gardeners made the switch? As you’ll see from the interviews summarized below, there were some pretty compelling reasons. | ||
