I live in an area that is cursed with clay; the heavy, worthless rock-hard tan rubbish that isn’t fit for much of anything. Therefore I must purchase plants that are tolerant of poor growing conditions or amend the heck out of the beds.
This year I decided to try alternative methods to grow my vegetables. As an experiment, I planted tomatoes and green peppers in two prepared straw bales, a large bag of potting soil, and directly into the ground. My goal is to provide the same amount of water, fertilizer and sunshine to each specimen to see which will be the healthiest, generate the largest quantity of tomatoes/peppers, and give me the best flavor of produce.
For the straw bales, I followed a 10-day recipe to “cure” the bale prior to planting. It went something like this:
How to Grow a Straw Bale Garden
By Kent Rogers
Www.nicholasgardennursery.com/strawbales.htm
www.county.ces.uga.edu/chatham/hay_bales.htm
www.co.clay.mn.us/Dept/Extension/ExAPHydr.htm
Day 1-3 Water bales thoroughly and keep them wet.
Days 4-6 Sprinkle the bales with ½ c. of ammonium nitrate (32-0-0) per bale per day, and water in well.
Days 7-9 Cut back to ¼ c. of ammonium nitrate per bale per day and continue to water in well.
Day 10 No more ammonium nitrate. Add 1 c. of 10-10-10 fertilizer per bale and water in well.
Day 11 Transplant your plants into the bales. Use a spatula to make a crack in the bale for each plant.
I should have used a tarp over the bales to retain the moisture, but I didn’t think about it at the time. Instead I ran the sprinkler twice a day, two hours per session. The bales were soaked. Unfortunately, when I planted them I followed the suggestion and used a spatula. Later on, when I had to replace a green pepper that a bird had snipped off, I used a small shovel to make the hole. It was much easier to put the replacement plant’s root ball into the hole.
One of the greenhouses in Bloomington (I believe it was Owen’s) had a straw bale planted by their door. They had apparently scooped out enough straw to put in a shovel full of soil. After seeing that, I came home and forced soil around the root area of my plants. I think they perked up after that.
The mosquitoes LOVE to hang around in the bales. As soon as I bring out my watering can, which always contains a weak Miracle Grow concoction, the mosquitoes swarm up and attack me.
I have placed tomato cages around my plants. Only time will tell if the straw bale is sturdy enough to hold the cages in place.
For the potting soil planting, I used the biggest bag of high quality soil that I could find. Schultz moisture control is a potting soil that I use for container and basket plantings, so I felt confident that it was the right choice for direct planting. I used a piece or rebar to punch about a dozen holes through both layers of bag, allowing good water drainage. Next I cut an “X” near each end of the bag. I folded the ends under and planted the tomato plant in one hole and bell pepper plant in the other. I immediately added a small tomato cage, which I placed directly through the bag of soil. I pressed hard enough so that it was buried into the ground underneath by about 2”.
I did not use my Mantis tiller on the garden this year. Instead, I dug holes directly into the ground. They were big enough to bury the entire stem of the tomato plant, up to the first set of leaves. Roots will grow out the entire length of the stem, allowing the tomato to have a sturdy grip when the top is heavy with fruit. I always place tomato cages immediately over the plants. This avoids the possibility of future damage to stems or branches when the plants have become unmanageable.
Within days, a bird had snipped off one of the bell peppers that I had planted in the straw bale, and a deer or rabbit (both have voracious appetites, and both are prevalent in my country garden) had eaten off all of the plants that were in the ground.
I have purchased a six pack of small tomato plants and a one-quart size Early Girl to plant into the ground with hopes that the deer and rabbits will steer clear.
Every year I soak three to four page sections of newspaper in water, then layer them onto the garden between the rows. When I am short of newspaper I use corrugated cardboard pieces to block weeds. Rows that contain small plants, such as onions, are covered in cypress mulch. These preventative measures are not necessarily pretty to look at, but they do an excellent job of keeping out weeds and retaining moisture. PREEN also does a great job of stifling the sprouting of any weed seeds that may be present. Unfortunately, PREEN is not selective, and it will also stop radish, turnip, zucchini, and other seeds from sprouting, as well.
I originally planted my rag-tag garden on May 16, 2011. In the following weeks the only plant that has thrived has been the tomato that was placed in the bag of Schultz soil. Only time will tell how the rest of the experimental garden will grow. I’ll keep you posted.
Happy gardening,
shel
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