Straw Bale Garden 2017: So it Begins

Take one look at my very spring-y, messy backyard and you will know it is true: we are at it again! :)

Straw bale gardening is underway at our little home. Spring 2017 limped into view but is now fully underway. 

See that mess, folks? That's pure joy and contentment right there.

Happy little garden sticks poking up out of the dirt smile at me through the glass all day long. This little guy (and his companion) came from the local Dollar Tree. That's a buck well spent, I think.

These buckets and planters are extra-special to me. My husband brought them home from my parents' home after my dad passed away and right before my momma moved out-of-state for good. 

The little ones and I intend to plant lettuce, spinach, and possibly also cabbage plants into these planters. For now, they've been fertilized and watered.

Things are sprouting inside the house, as we speak. :) This year, I purchased a 4' long grow light so my seedlings could grow better, faster. Pictured in the forefront to the left are my little Cherry Belle radishes. I will be adding more seeds to bales when it is time to plant, of course. :) 

My cucumbers are really taking off. It is going to really upset me to thin them out. I probably should have by now but oh, how I hate to do that!

These guys prove that my long little grow lamp is doing its job. Any other year, these would be tall and wiry instead of having thick, strong leaves. I am so pleased about this!

Giraffe is most excited about the zucchini. She has high hopes for a massive, productive plant again this year. 

Her plant did beautifully last year until squash bugs attacked. We had no clue what was happening, having never experienced this particular pest previously. It was an awful experience!

B.R.O.C.C.O.L.I.... just sayin'

If the broccoli plants survive thinning and continue to grow, this will be the first time we have grown them from seed to harvesting. We are all pretty stoked about this possibility! Steamed, cheesed, or on a cold veggie pizza, all of us but the hubs love eating the small trees of this particular plant. :) 


This lone sprout holds large tomato hopes and dreams! :D Known as the 'Brandywine', it produces sandwich-sized pink, fleshy tomatoes that have a rich, deep, practically-perfect-in-every-way flavor. I would have to call this the "Mary Poppins" of tomatoes! 



Don't let these two unimpressive sprouts fool you. See the name on the stick? Steakhouse tomatoes, baby! Look it up! :D These wee sprouts purportedly grow into monster-fruit producers! Seriously, pop on over to the Burpee website and look at their photo of the magnificent Steakhouse tomato potential! Eeeekk! I can't wait!

Last year, we had *such* luck with our spaghetti squash that we simply *had* to have them again. In fact, at the beginning of April, my mom still had a small spaghetti squash left from our 2016 garden! These guys grow well, quickly, and mass-produce delicious buttery-tasting squashy innards we cannot wait to devour!

One of our 'newcomers' for the 2017 garden season is cauliflower. It is true, I also need to thin these guys out. It is just so hard to do!

We have never grown our own cauliflower but we *do* love eating it. Grow little guys, grow! :D

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OKAY... I have a million more plants and only a dozen or so more pictures. This blog post is already running long so I will try to list out what all else is in seed trays or on the docket for the season. :) I believe we have around 35 this time.

Tomato Varieties
Early Girl (My favorite 'tangy' tomato from last year... very acidic!)
Steakhouse (The hopefully monster-sized tomato!)
Big Rainbow (Large like a beefsteak, yellow/red/orange in color.)
Sunrise Bumblebee (Tiny like a cherry tomato but yellow/red striped.)
Mirabelle Blanche (Tiny yellow/orange, very sweet)
Red Cherry (large fruited cherry tomatoes)
Brandywine (large pinkish-red hue)
Beefsteak (the original big bad boy)
Abe Lincoln

Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Butternut Squash (growing in honor/memory of my dad)
Dark Green Zucchini Squash
"Big Max" Pumpkin (supposedly huge *and* edible)
Small Sugar Pumpkin

Melons
Congo Watermelon (Supposed to be huge!)
Hales Best Cantaloupe 

Cruciferous Veggies
Snow Crown Cauliflower
Waltham Broccoli
Cherry Belle Radish
Golden Acre Cabbage
Red Acre Cabbage

Carrots
Tendersweet 

Peppers
Sweet Emerald Giant (green bell pepper)
Sweet California Wonder (mixed colors)

Cucumbers
Tendergreen
Muncher
Straight Eight

Beans
Top Crop Bush Beans (long green beans for snapping)

Lettuce
Black Seeded Simpson (we grew this last year with great results/flavor)
Arianna (new to us... can't wait to try)
Summer Bibb (named such for its tiny bib-shaped leaves)
Red Romaine (thought it was high time for some color)

Spinach
Bloomsdale
Giant Noble
New Zealand

Strawberries

Potatoes
Russet
Red

This is more than we have ever attempted before. Almost all of it is organic. I believe that my dad would be proud. <3