Well here I am--I can't believe I am writing a blog about STRAW BALES! LOLOL I read about this type of gardening and thought it sounded like a great gardening project for me... "Have poor soil"?.."No bending or weeding"?? You actually place your seedlings IN the straw bales-- Wow..could this be true? I must give this a try!
Preparing Your Bales
It takes 10 days to prepare your bales.
- Days 1–3: Water the bales thoroughly and keep them wet.
- Days 4–6: Sprinkle the bales with 1/2 cup of ammonium nitrate (32-0-0) per bale per day, and water it well into the bales. I didn’t have any trouble finding ammonium nitrate from my local ag-supply store. They sold it in 40-pound bags. I have heard, however, that some people have had difficulty finding it in more urban settings. Ask around.
- Days 7–9: Cut back to 1/4 cup of ammonium nitrate per bale per day and continue to water it in well.
- Day 10: No more ammonium nitrate, but do add 1 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer per bale and water it in well.
- Day 11: Transplant your plants into the bales. I used a spatula to make a crack in the bale for each plant. Place the plant down to its first leaf and close the crack back together as best you can.
I am going to document the entire experience with photos along the way..here we go!
I sent my hubby to our local feed store for 6 Straw bales (straw, not hay) and 32-0-0 ammonium nitrate as suggested. Buying the fertilizer turned out to be more difficult then imagined as it not sold to 'average' people anymore. (something about bomb making material) ..so we settled on the 27-0-0..which we still had to sign for.
Day one, position bales where you want them. Make sure you like where they are--as once placed and watered they are very difficult to move.
Place the bales with the baling wire running horizontal to the ground as this helps keep the bales intact. Thoroughly water the bales ---The torrential rain did this for me today!
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