Straw Bale Garden Update

Things are really taking off in the straw bale garden! :) :) :) 

June is such a good month, as it is. The sun is high and hot, the rain is plentiful, the breezes blow gently and then with gusto. Really, what is not to like about June? It is also the month that the SBG really begins to take off. :) 

Giraffe in the garden hand pollinating the slicing cucumber flowers.

You may remember that we've had a rough year, so far. The garden has struggled mightily - even like never before. The weather has been in the mid-nineties, causing my poor broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, and peppers to wilt every single day in the sun. In fact, the cabbage that was growing in my bale lost that battled. :( The lettuce in the same bale (which had accidentally been cut too low) was also unable to grow back. I hope to get more of that as the season progresses. From now on, cabbage and lettuce will only be grown in the planter up in the shade of the house. 

However, this left me a full bale to work with! :) Just last night we laid in some butternut squash and spaghetti squash! We also took advantage of a couple of other spaces and put in Mirabella Blanche tomatoes (think a yellow cherry tomato) and some Small Sugar Pumpkins (otherwise known as pie pumpkin). I have to say, there is something about continuing to sow seeds into the garden that I really love! 

Okay! Long enough intro! Let's go through the garden, shall we?

The the far left bale holds pumpkin and watermelon. Yes, we *have* overloaded this bale! :) There is a reason behind it. Each plant is going to be trimmed back to one well-growing vine so we can (hopefully) raise some really fat fruit. So far you can see the jack o' lantern pumpkin and the two types of watermelon. We just seeded pie pumpkin along the back last night.

Immediately next to that bale is the one containing cucumber and zucchini. The cukes are already trying to take over, even though they are the smaller plants. In fact, some of their flowers are living in with the zucchini plant! haha I personally hate zucchini, so it is okay with me if we get fewer of them than cukes. That said, they're growing famously! The leaves are huge!

The next bale is a bunch of red tomatoes which were donated to us by Farm Girl. They are either a type of roma or red tomato. I'm not positive. The singleton at the far right of the bale is a tomato plant Coffee Guy (hubs) picked up for me from WalMart. I'm drawing a blank on that one, as well. Way to go, lady! lol I was careful to place tags, but the kids weren't. lol

This brings us to my very own pride and joy. :) This is the bale which holds a husky red (far left) cherry tomato. Immediately to her right are two plants Koala planted. Those are either Brandywine or basic red cherry. Next to those are the two allium chives. You can see we cut those and they keep regrowing nicely. The tall one is my Early Girl. 

She's so tall and is already living up to the promise of her name. You can see she's bearing fruit! :) Aren't they pretty? Completely hidden by her is the Brandywine tomato plant (just behind. I've also placed some Mirabelle Blanche tomato seeds in the far left bit of dirt. That is a lot to ask, but I do feed my plants well. I'm not too concerned.

The bale next to the Early girl might appear to be empty from a distance, but she is not. This bale holds the cantaloupe plants that Koala and I laid in a while ago. Not all of the seeds came up, but those that did are growing well. We'll decide which of these are keepers later. Since half the bale didn't sprout, last night Giraffe put in some Spaghetti Squash seeds.

I'm going to skip the empty bale we just seeded last night with squash. It is an ugly mess of mushrooms, dirt, and decomposing straw. You don't want to see it. 

Next to it (these are the bales coming up toward the house), dead center, is a bale of carrot sprouts. :) Aren't they just so precious?? I'm in love! <3 <3 

The bale of Pacman Broccoli and Bell Peppers is closest to the house. These are my mid-afternoon wilters. :( Even so, you can see my broccoli has heads! Oh, how I love to watch it grow! The green bell pepper is my only survivor. He's trying to flower, so I'm praying he makes it. I did sneak some Mirabella Blanche tomato seeds in between, just in case she has the bale all to herself later this year. 

If you look at the very bottom of this picture, you can see a gray planter where the basil lives. She has more than doubled in size! We've been using her already, clipping leaves here and there. 

You can also see the carrots growing to the right/behind the basil. We lost some in a heat streak, but the rest are doing alright.

This brings me to my friends in the planter. Lettuce, cabbage, and spinach. You might ask why we have so many. The truth is, I've not had the heart to thin my spinach yet.

The lettuce is harvested all of the time, so it doesn't actually look very pretty right now. Not only we eat it, but also the Russian Tortoise (Pebbles) loves to chomp it down in huge gulps. 

You can also tell that it is time we dust the garden with diatomaceous earth again. We keep regular check for eggs and other larvae. Cabbage moths are sneaky and persistent!

So, there you have it! :) A garden growing pumpkin, watermelon, cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes, chives, cantaloupe, squash, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, basil, lettuce, spinach, and cabbage! :) :) :) We still have high hopes for our garden, rough year and wildly swinging temps be hanged. hehe I am encouraged by the growth we've seen thus far. 

I will also continue to plant new seeds in places where plants did not make it. There was a time when I would not have done that. I would have just allowed the space to be wasted all season long. I am learning that using space is at the heart of straw bale gardening. I have an idea that I'd like to put in some radishes, turnips, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. These things may be grown into the center or sides of the bales, as can flowers and a number of other plants. My goal this year is a lush, green, ever-growing set of bales that are hard at work all season long. :) :) :)