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Old May 20, 2008   #16
cdntomato
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Are you all following Ruth Stout's work?

Jennifer
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Old May 20, 2008   #17
dice
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[Ruth Stout]

http://www.homestead.org/Gardening/R...%20Duchess.htm

I think today's straw bale gardeners are retaining the straw
in the bale, at least for the first season.
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Old May 20, 2008   #18
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Ive never heard of Ruth my idea came to me several years ago and upon reserching found out about a fellow sheriffs deputy in North Carolina doing this and read his article in I believe it was Carolina Gardener and followed his method...izzard
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Old May 21, 2008   #19
kelleyville
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The link I posted earlier is from that sheriff's garden! It spurred me on to get some bales going! Getting more this weekend too and every week I can find them reasonably priced cause what I don't use this year I will use next!

Your blog link is at beginning of this post right? I will keep checking it out! But do email pics!

Never saw the Ruth stuff but am going to give it a look!

Got a dumb question though....Day 1-3 water....what if I started my soaking late afternoon on the first day, should I consider that day one, or pretend I did not start until day two?

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Old May 21, 2008   #20
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Ruth Stouts garden sounds more like a lasagne garden than straw bales but her ideas about "more mulch" as in more straw seems close.
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Old May 21, 2008   #21
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Kelley I dont think it would hurt anything to count the first evening watering as a day. Yes thats my blog at the beginning of this post, it aint pretty but It will work I guess. I agree what Ruth is doing isnt like what Im doing at all, although Im sure it works, noooooo I cant handle another experiment this year not enough hours in the day....maybe next year though lol
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Old May 21, 2008   #22
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hehehe Lasagne gardening makes sense if you have a lot of stuff to compost! Me I need something to plant in right now, not later! I think the better use of straw is in bale form, not hundreds of bales loosened!


Ok then tomorrow is day three!
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Old May 21, 2008   #23
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Im like you I get so excited about my garden and growing anything..Something else I failed to mention is that after the season you can compost old bales, or even save them and next year you can spread them a little and put seed potatos between the ground and the straw you'll be real surprised thin skinned tasty taters. Ive heard some even get two years out of their bales but I have a cheap ready supply and plan to start fresh every year and compost the old bales into my garden. Guess what yall my neighbor that i get my bales from is cleaning his barn out where he had 3000 bales of wheat straw and might i say he had alot of loose straw from busted bales and such he informed me today that he was bringing me a dumptruck load of the loose straw. Im gonna have alot of mulch for my garden...wheeee heeeee..Gizz
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Old May 22, 2008   #24
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Gizzard's straw bale planting is quite different from Ruth Stout's heavy mulching method. She used spoiled (old) hay, not straw, as a mulch all over her garden. She wanted old, spoiled hay because the grass and weed seeds in the hay bale would either have sprouted or rotted and wouldn't end up as weeds in her garden. She didn't till. Just pushed the mulch aside to plant. Each year she would add more hay mulch to the garden as the previous years' hay decomposed into the ground. She used this method to cut down on the work she would have to do. Key to her method was using thick "flakes" of hay--easily 6-8 inches thick.

People have reported mixed results with this method. It probably takes some trial and error to get it to work right. And lots and lots of old hay (she would have 100 bales delivered each spring).

Trivia item: Rex Stout, who wrote many, many detective books in the fifties and sixties (I'm guessing) was Ruth Stout's brother.
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Old May 23, 2008   #25
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I can't wait to try the potatoes next year! I am growing them in half barrels this year. Or at least I am growing potato vines Will have to wait and see what grows!

As for Ruth Stout, her garden may have been no till, but after reading that article I was exhausted! Hehehehe!

Ok Day five on prepping bales. this morning the bales still look wet, or darker on top. I am guessing that is a good sign? Giz, you did not plant tomatoes in yours did you? I want to try the tomatoes and am still wavering on two or three per bale.

I am also duplicating the post and concrete reinforcement wire trellis to tie the tomatoes too and thought the bales would be a good balance for my pots to sit against but then maybe that is too close together ?

Kelley
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Old May 23, 2008   #26
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actually I have since my last pics posted planted 15 bales with two tomatoes each. Im trying a few new varities so one bale equals two of each variety im growing. Im starting the last eight bales tommorrow and they will all but two planted with tomatoes also the other two will have bell pepper. I too am employing the concrete wire and tying them to it as it grows as did the guy in your pics. on a side note when I went to my garden todayi was plesantly surprised that my farmer friend had not only delivered one truckload of busted straw bales but three dumptruck loads oh the things i will do with all that straw I have already started putting it around each of my 300 tomato plants and plan to use it around my squash,melons, cucumbers and in betweem my rows and whats left i plan to pile up an plant melons in the rotted remains next year....I would only put two maters per though three might get crowded...I hope to update my blog sat or sun so check back..Gene
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Old May 23, 2008   #27
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Gene, if I come visit will you introduce me to your neighbor with the straw bales? Please?

You are one lucky dude to have all that straw. It is SO usefull in the garden.
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Old May 24, 2008   #28
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Your right I just returned home from a party and he was there and asked if I would like another load or two I cant believe it so ill have straw running out the wazoo....oh well Im sure ill find a use for it all..I think Ha Ha Gene
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Old May 27, 2008   #29
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Wow aren't you lucky! You can try the Ruth Stout method! Hehehe!

Ok serious questions:

Today is day nine of prepping my first four bales. How do I know they are really ready?

What size plant to put in them?

I have some tomatoes in quart pots...then I have some four week old tomato seedlings. Are the seedlings too small?

Starting to panic here a little bit!

Kelley
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Old May 27, 2008   #30
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Youll do fine i would plant the larger plants as they are better suited for wind and rain...be sure to water bales every other day and youll be real surprised...oh by the way i waited about 3 or 4 days before i added the triple 10 make sure none of the fert chunks get on the stem of the plants.....im excited for you..i expect som pics on here when you get them put in...Gene
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