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Hay Bale Gardening

Hay bale gardening, or straw bale gardening—as it should be called—is a great way to make your growing season easy and plentiful. They’re an alternative to using raised beds and they’re great for growing vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and strawberries with little to no effort on your part. Hay bales are a wonderful growing medium; though corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes aren’t a great choice for straw bales. 

Before you start your straw bale garden it’s important to choose a location. Pick a sunny spot that’s near a water source or within reach of your hose. Once you start your garden it will be impossible to move due to the weight, so choose carefully. 

Next, you’ll want to source your straw bale. Your local garden centers may carry straw bales, but be sure that they haven’t been treated with any chemicals and that they’re straw and not hay bales. Hay bales contain seeds that will germinate once you condition the bale, and you don’t want that. You want straw, which is the stalk of the wheat plant. Hay is generally sold as livestock feed, so ask before you buy to be sure you’re getting straw. 

After you source your bales and have a location, put down some newspaper or cardboard under your bale. This prevents weeds from growing up into the bale, so make sure it sticks out a few inches around the sides of the bale. Then it’s time to condition your bale. Once you’re done conditioning the bales you won’t be able to move it anymore, so be sure about that placement!

Conditioning the bale is next. Conditioning basically turns the bale into a compost pile. You’ll begin by watering the bale. They have to stay wet, so do this once a day. This starts the decomposition process that heats up the bale. After day 4 sprinkle the top of the bale with fertilizer, such as a cup of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) or half a cup of urea (46-0-0). Your local garden centers can help you find these. Do this for three days. After that, cut the amounts in half and do it for 2 more days. Each day water the fertilizer into the bale to ensure it penetrates all the way through. On the 10th day stop adding fertilizer, but keep up with the watering process. 

On day 11 you’ll want to check the bale’s temperature. If it feels about the same as your hand it’s safe for planting seedlings. If not, continue watering and check it the next day. You want to make sure it’s not hot enough to cook tender young plants. 

Once the bale is conditioned you can use a small shovel or trowel to dig a hole in the top of the bale. If you are using container plants dig a hole slightly larger than the pot your plant came in. Then remove the pot, being careful not to damage the plant root, and place it in the hole you just made. Do not remove the potting soil around the plant. That should go in the hole along with the plant. Push the straw around the base of the plant to help secure it. 

And that’s it! You have your straw bale garden. The most important thing you’ll need to remember once your garden is going is that it will need to be kept constantly moist. This can be accomplished through thoroughly soaked waterings every day or through the use of a soaker hose and drip irrigation. Whichever way you choose the microbes in the straw need that moisture to survive and help your plants to grow, so be sure to help them by keeping your hay bale moist. 

Once your bale is done for the year you can take it apart and throw it into the compost pile so you can return the nutrients in it to the soil. It’s the perfect way to garden without waste. Give it a try this summer! You’ll love the results. 

Starting Seeds Indoors: Bring a Little Bit of Spring Inside During Dark Winter Months!

The dark days of winter can be rough. Snow and cold can make almost anyone miss the verdant days of summer. Those of us that spend our spring and summer in the garden can really feel down when there’s nothing to tend to. If you just can’t wait to get your hands in the dirt, starting your seedlings early can give you a taste of the gardening you’re missing. 

How to Start:

There are a couple of ways to start seedlings indoors. You can either grow plants from seed or buy seedlings that have already gotten their start indoors at a nursery. Watching seeds germinate can be extremely satisfying and will give you a little bit longer with the plant indoors, though buying pre-started plants is easier and sometimes more reliable. 

Before you sow seeds check the date on your seed packet. Seeds have an expiration date and while they may germinate after this date, they will be less likely to do so. Most garden centers sell seeds of all kinds all year long, so you can begin to plant from seed at any time of the year. 

To begin starting seeds you should place the seeds in a warm, dark, and moist area, such as between two damp paper towels on a set of plates. Keep them damp, but not soaking wet, and in a few days, you’ll see a root emerging from your seed. Once the root is exposed you can plant this seedling in the seed starting mix. When growing seeds indoors use peat pots to hold the soil, because once the outdoor growing season starts you can just plant them, pots and all, into the soil. This keeps the root systems from becoming damaged. 

Keep Them Going:

Once your seeds are planted keep your eyes out for the first sprout they put out. You’ll see a tiny little set of leaves come up, and that will be the start of your new plant. Once you have seedlings growing you’ll want to keep them warm; if you are using natural light place them near a window. In the winter using natural light can become very cold so provide them with bottom heat by using a heat mat. If you are not keeping your seedling by a window consider using a grow light to help it along until spring. You should also make sure you give them plenty of air circulation to ensure that your new plants don’t succumb to fungal infections. 

Time to Move:

When it’s time to move your plant outdoors you’ll need to decide whether you want to plant it into a larger pot or directly into the ground. Either way, you’ll need to “harden” the plant—meaning you’ll have to get it used to living outside. To do this, bring it outside for a few hours at a time for a few days. This will prevent shock and sunburn. If you plant in a container make sure it has drainage holes so that you don’t drown the plant. If you’ll be planting in the ground give the plant a little bit of compost to help it along and you’ll be harvesting in no time!

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