Straw Bale Garden, Take One

    Something new is happening in my yard this year, provided the home owner's association ever gets back to me in the affirmative. *crosses eyes*  We are going to attempt our first-ever straw bale garden. 

    A brief background, first. This February our local news ran a quick segment on a new way to garden using straw bales. They explained it very simply - you place a little dirt on straw bales, plant into the dirt and bale, and watch your garden grow! The premise being that the straw bales will begin to decompose on the inside, providing the medium needed to support the root system. In the diagram shown briefly on the news, such veggies as carrots and tomatoes were shown growing very well out of bales.

I was so excited! In an uncharacteristic move, instead of doing my research, I dove right in. It started like this: 

    We placed four bales of straw out in the yard. Getting them home from the TSC store was an adventure all itself! Daddy, myself, and Koala were crammed into the car with bales, dirt, and those circular wire plant supports! haha Giraffe was out for a visit with Grandma, so she missed the grand adventure of stuffing an SUV with straw while you were still in it. lol Once home, Hubs mowed down the yard and placed the bales for me. My yard is uneven, so the bales look uneven as well. 

    This was also my first mistake. *sigh* Due to that lack of research (I have been in a brain fog for a while now because of some medical issues), I neglected to stand the bales up on their sides. The reason for doing this is so that the cut ends of the straw (which is hollow) are facing upward, and able to easier absorb water and other nutrients. 

    My second mistake came a couple of days later, when we placed dirt on the bales. Hubs was gracious enough to do this for me! :) It turns out that the bales need to also be conditioned... a process in which you kick-start the decomposition inside the bale, and fill it with nutrients. Neglecting this step meant that my garden would not grow. At the time, I was still clueless. 

    Once hubs finished laying the soil for me, I jumped in and got my hands dirty as well. Together we planted broccoli, carrots, beefsteak tomatoes, and peas. We really enjoyed the experience, and were pleased with the results. 

    The following morning I FINALLY decided to look it up, and see what I could do to help my seedlings along. You can imagine I was pretty disappointed in myself when I realized that (of course) I should have done this BEFORE getting started! Drat you, brain fog! Still, I am thankful that I realized this mistake one day after starting the process instead of mid-season when plant after plant had died a pitiful death. :) 

     Now we have removed the dirt and seedlings (my poor babies!), stood the bales on their sides, and are now on day three of conditioning. We should be able to start the process of planting again sometime between Tuesday and Friday of next week. This time around the seedlings will be planted into fertilizer-enriched, pre-conditioned bales of straw as they should be. Fingers crossed for a great season!