Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - Craig's Straw bale book has been released!

JLJ_ · February 20, 2016

Two questions:

1) Is this the primary thread for questions/comments about this book? I'd thought there was another one, but couldn't find it, so hoped this was the one you were using.

2) You discuss a month long bale conditioning that's beneficial before planting in bales. What I'm wondering is, would it be OK for bales to be outside for a couple months earlier than that (and do the conditioning in the last month before planting) -- or would having them outside lead to too-rapid deterioration of the bales, so they wouldn't last through the season?

I have one of my three gardening areas that has not had much attention for several years. At that time there was a year I wasn't able to do more than very minimal gardening, so just left it, and in following years, it was the last to get attention, by which time weeds were such a problem that I didn't plant it -- just cared for the perennials that are there -- kind of.

This year I'd decided that to cover the non-perennial area with black plastic so that, by the time I get to it in early summer, it wouldn't be such a weed forest. I need to get that plastic down pretty promptly if that area emerges, even briefly, from our usually winterlong snow cover. The weeds will soon be looking hopeful if our spells of intermittently warm-for-us weather continue.

But I was thinking of putting the plastic down and putting some straw bales, appropriately spaced, on top of the plastic (I have to weight the plastic down with something) and just leaving the plastic down all through the season.

Then I'd grow something in the bales, hopefully, and meantime, beneath the plastic, the weeds would become discouraged. That area is especially rocky, anyway, and would benefit from eventual addition of the straw.

Thus my question -- if I put bales out very soon -- even though they probably can't be planted until late May at best, and more likely early June -- will they deteriorate too much for all-season use or will they be likely to hang together until season's end?

I realize you are unlikely to have done this, but thought you might have seen enough in your longer season about rate of bale deterioration to have some idea whether or not I'd run into problems with this.

February 20, 2016	#17
JLJ_ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Wyoming Posts: 759	Two questions: 1) Is this the primary thread for questions/comments about this book? I'd thought there was another one, but couldn't find it, so hoped this was the one you were using. 2) You discuss a month long bale conditioning that's beneficial before planting in bales. What I'm wondering is, would it be OK for bales to be outside for a couple months earlier than that (and do the conditioning in the last month before planting) -- or would having them outside lead to too-rapid deterioration of the bales, so they wouldn't last through the season? I have one of my three gardening areas that has not had much attention for several years. At that time there was a year I wasn't able to do more than very minimal gardening, so just left it, and in following years, it was the last to get attention, by which time weeds were such a problem that I didn't plant it -- just cared for the perennials that are there -- kind of. This year I'd decided that to cover the non-perennial area with black plastic so that, by the time I get to it in early summer, it wouldn't be such a weed forest. I need to get that plastic down pretty promptly if that area emerges, even briefly, from our usually winterlong snow cover. The weeds will soon be looking hopeful if our spells of intermittently warm-for-us weather continue. But I was thinking of putting the plastic down and putting some straw bales, appropriately spaced, on top of the plastic (I have to weight the plastic down with something) and just leaving the plastic down all through the season. Then I'd grow something in the bales, hopefully, and meantime, beneath the plastic, the weeds would become discouraged. That area is especially rocky, anyway, and would benefit from eventual addition of the straw. Thus my question -- if I put bales out very soon -- even though they probably can't be planted until late May at best, and more likely early June -- will they deteriorate too much for all-season use or will they be likely to hang together until season's end? I realize you are unlikely to have done this, but thought you might have seen enough in your longer season about rate of bale deterioration to have some idea whether or not I'd run into problems with this.