Gardening with Straw Bales

Transcription

1 Gardening with Straw Bales DUSTIN BLAKEY FARM ADVISOR, INYO AND MONO COUNTIES UCCE

2 Today s Topics 1. What is about? 2. Is this for me? 3. Setting up bales 4. Planting techniques 5. Special issues

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4 Just $ s/h * Batteries not included.

5 WSU Master Gardeners

6 Straw Bale Gardening Process Transport & Setup Bale Conditioning Plant Establishment

7 Straw Bale Gardening s Promises: No bending over! No expensive containers or building! No expensive potting mixes! Bad soil? No problem! More productive! No tillage!

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9 Does it keep its promises?

10 Is This For Me?

11 Foundation Farm, Carrol County, AR

12 Foundation Farm Beds built from straw Never tilled No stepping in beds Hand weeding Excellent yields

13 Tecopa, CA

14 That s not snow ph = 10 EC = 13 ds/m

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16 Could Straw Bale Gardening Be The Answer?

17 Straw Bale Culture Isn t New Eastern Europe: unheated greenhouses, spring crops, 50+ years 1978: G. Wilson reports modified system for cucumbers in UK Patrice Gross: In-ground straw culture for 20+ years, borrowed ideas from France 50 Years literature on straw composting

18 The good and the bad ADVANTAGES Soilless No tillage No building End product: compost DISADVANTAGES Preconditioning process More water use Potential bale collapse

19 Good Fits for Straw Bales Remote areas with no OM access Very poor soil New garden spot Mild climates Not sure about this gardening thing

20 Good Fits for Straw Bales Remote areas with no OM access Very poor soil New garden spot Mild climates Not sure about this gardening thing

21 Setting Up Bales

22 Effect on N availability from C added to soil (Also: heat) From: Plant and Soil Science elibrary

23 Carbon:Nitrogen of Bales Source C:N Ratio Rye Straw 82:1 Wheat Straw 80:1 Oat Straw 70:1 Rice Straw 80:1 Pea Straw 29:1 Alfalfa Hay 25:1 Uh-oh!

24 Planting in Uncured Straw Limited water/nutrient holding capacity N Deficiency HOT!

25 The Process (more detail) 1 Wetting 2 Add nitrogen source 3 Maintain moisture & N 4 Cure 2 Weeks 5 Transplanting

26 All About Bales

27 This is not straw

28 This is straw

29 Hay vs. Straw HAY Grown as livestock fodder Cut from living tissue Often contains seeds STRAW Field crop residue Few seeds (we hope) Stems Not fed to livestock Not green

30 Anatomy of a Straw Bale STRING STRAW

31 Arranging Bales String Goes on OUTSIDE! Individual Bales:

32 Arranging Bales String Goes on OUTSIDE! Long Rows:

33 Arranging Bales String Goes on OUTSIDE! Creative Ways:

34 Arranging Bales String Goes on OUTSIDE! Fat Rows, 2-String Bales: T-Posts

35 Long Vs. Wide (In dry climates) LONG Easy to hand water More shape options Dries faster Poor stability after breakdown WIDE Less water loss More heat during curing Better stability? Collapses to center

36 The Curing Process 9/28/

37 Nitrogen Sources Product Full rate Half rate Urea (46-0-0) 1 / 2 cup (120 ml) 1 / 4 cup (60 ml) Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) 1 cup (240 ml) 1 / 2 cup (120 ml) Water-soluble blends: , 1 cup (240 ml) 1 / 2 cup (120 ml) , & etc. fish emulsion (4-1-1 or 5-1-1) 3 cups (710 ml) 1 1 / 2 cup (355 ml) Rate is per bale, each application.

38 Conditioning Programs Day Rate full 0 full 0 full 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 Day Rate full full full 1 / 2 1 / 2 1 / 2 0

39 Degrees F Treatment Period Date Process A Process B Air Temperature

40 Monitor daily. After 8 days watch for big drop in temp. Once 2 days below 100 OK to transplant

41 Raccoon Damage N source: fish emulsion

42 Planting

43 Pat West s Straw Bales

44 Transplanting Transplants should be in potting mix Recommend soilless Peat-based worked well for me Larger soil volume is easier Can add more potting mix Can plant directly in bale

45 Sowing Seeds 9/28/

46 Bale Preparation Sow seeds like any garden into top blanket of soil. Roots will enter bale

47 Mushrooms Emergence ruined my lettuce and radishes. 9/28/

48 Plant Density Option 1: Follow Table 13.2 in MG Manual Option 2: Follow square foot gardening guidelines Option 3: Guestimate!

49 Planting Volume This area is available for tops to grow.

50 Planting Guide Plant Number Per Bale Winter squash, pumpkin, melons 2 Summer squash, cucumbers 2 or 3 Tomatoes 2 or 3 Peppers 3 to 5 Beans 10 to 15 (seeds) Seeds: follow instructions on packets. Most smaller plants can have 2 rows on a bale, small leaf lettuce and radish use 3.

51 Possibilities Winter Squash Hot Peppers Tomatoes Beans

52 Special Considerations They re not perfect 9/28/

53 This is an annual system Not well suited for perennials (but could be converted) Need to do something with decomposed bales

54 Fertilizing Bales Tend to get nutrient poor early watch plants

55 My Thoughts Weekly 2 teaspoons of per bale (backed off after 2 months to every other week) Didn t see extra weed growth near bale Bale collapsed from decomposition by 16 weeks Bales used the extra N early Could use less Fertilize like a container garden, watch N

56 Weeds You shouldn t have too many weeds Good straw has few weeds Hot conditioning kills some weeds Remaining grass was easy to pull 1 flush

57 Problems EARLY SEASON N Deficiency Frequent watering 1 batch of weeds Mushrooms LATER ON Bale collapse Over fertilizing Trellis failure

58 California Challenges Are straw bales appropriate for the Golden State? Mostly.

59 Water Use Comparison (Warning: Made-up Numbers) 60 Bale Container time

60 Possible Solutions? Put bales together Wrap after conditioning Use in raised beds before filling them That s your compost for next year

61 Very Saline Soils Salts may travel up as bales age? Try it out before acting. Provide a barrier between bale and soil Plastic sheets tend to accumulate water and get stinky and slimy

62 Novel Uses Use heat from conditioning as heat source for early crops (+CO 2!) Hold down plastic edges for solarizing

63 Solarizing Border bales Don t let water collect on plastic.

64 Questions?