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There has been a recent move in gardening to plant in hay bales. I have used bales on and off for about 10 years. One year when I was having trouble getting my garden tilled I heard that some people used hay bales to plant in and being one to try the new and unusual decided I should give it a try. And to my surprise the bales were a success and they had a unique look.
photo credit: Valerie Everett

I prefer straw bales as they contain less seed and last longer but straw is more expensive so my choice for the garden depends on the best buy I can get or which crop I am growing. For squash plants and gourds I use hay bales. For my tomatoes and peppers I use straw.

Hay Bale Gardening method

So, if your soil is poor or you want to use the raised bed method but are short on soil,  you may want to consider growing your crops in hay. First get bales that still have the string tightly around the bale. This gives you control in moving the bale.

And if you know where you want your garden position the bales. The bales get heavy when wet so you will simplify preparing the garden if you select your garden area when you purchase the bales. If possible let your bales set outside during the winter. This gets the bales wet throughout.

If you are just getting your bales, give the bales a thorough soaking, and let them begin to break down before you plant your vegetables. If the weather is warm, soak them several times during the day for four days.

On the fifth day, apply your choice of liquid fertilizer to the top of each bale. I use liquid compost I have made. Manure tea works well too. Repeat this for three or four more days depending on the crop you will grow. (Gourds and heavy feeders get four days on added fertilizer) When you are done soaking the bales allow one or two days for the bales to set.

Next apply a 50-50 mix of topsoil and manure on the top of each bail or your own compost soil mix. The soil is about 4 inches thick on top of the bale. This will hold the moisture in the bale, add nutrients to the bale during the season and is a place to plant seeds.
photo credit: Average Jane

Moisten the bales with a fine water spray. You are now ready to plant your bale garden. Pull apart the bale by hand to make a hole to put your plant. I also add some soil if I am planting a transplant. Each bale should hold two tomato plants, four pepper plants or two squash plants. Cucumber and lettuce are spaced differently. I use the square foot gardening spacing guide. An example would be six to eight cucumbers, three yellow squash or 12-15 bean seeds per bale. And lettuce would be spaced 6 inches apart.

Annual herbs like basil, cilantro and parsley grow well in bales. I tend to mix them in with other vegetables. Watermelon and cantaloupe can also be planted in bales but I like to have a stronger fertilizer mix for these heavy feeders so plant them in a straw bale square.

Root crops don’t so as well in bales. Their roots are crowded but I have found they thrive in containers and are so easy to harvest – just tap the container to loosen the soil and dump the container. And grow potatoes in loose straw for a great crop.

Hay bale gardening is easy and the garden area has a unique look. I also use a square bale garden formation for heavy feeding plants, lay out the bales for an interesting garden and have mossed the sides of the bales for a very artistic flower garden. hay bale gardening a versatile form of gardening.

Tips:

• Buy your bales off season for a better price. Sometimes in late spring they will be free for the hauling.
• Plant flowers around the base for a fun look to your bale garden.
• Stack the bales two high if you want a garden that is easy on the back.
• Straw bales have less seeds in the bale but cost twice as much
• Bales should last two years.
• When you are done using the bales, compost them for more soil for another gardening year.

Technorati Tags: Creative Organic Gardening, hay bale gardening, raised bed gardening

As many of us are about to start gardening, its time to think of those garden pests that try to take over you garden if you let them. It’s been many years since I used chemical sprays in my yard but sometimes you need a way to control insects. I use natural insect control methods only. Here are a few techniques that work for me.
photo credit: Arthur Chapman

First if you keep weeds down in the garden (mulching is great) the insects will not have a place to hide.

Remove all unhealthy plants. In their weakened state they will attract insects. Proper watering and nutrition will help keep you plants healthy.

And as strange as it sounds, the best control I have found for cabbageworms are pantyhose. I take the bottom toe section of pantyhose and cover the entire cabbage plant. The white moths that lay the cabbageworm eggs cannot get to vegetable so do not lay eggs. This works for broccoli and cauliflower as well. One added benefit for cauliflower is that you can wrap the leaves around the cauliflower head when dressing the plant and it will self blanch.

Here are a few proven natural insect control sprays that work.

Tomato leaf spray: Soak one to two cups of chopped tomato leaves in two cups of water overnight. Next strain through cheesecloth and add two more cups of water to the strained liquid. Shake well and use it to spray plants to protect them from insects that feed on the liquid in plants. This will cause disease and plant death.

Potato starch spray: Mix two to four tablespoons of potato flour in one quart of water. Add two to three drops of non-detergent liquid soap. This will also protect the plants from insect that feed on liquid, also called sucking insects, in the plants.

Rodale’s all-purpose spray: Chop and grind one garlic bulb and one small onion. Add one teaspoon of powdered cayenne pepper and mix with one quart of water. Let steep for one hour and strain through cheesecloth. Next add one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap to the strained liquid. Mix well and spray plants thoroughly. This kills the sucking insects.

Garlic spray: Blend 1/4-pound of strong garlic for five to 10 minutes with a quart of water and one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth and collect the liquid. Next dilute the solution with one part per 10 parts water before spraying. This solution will last about one month if refrigerated. It will repel ants, mole crickets and sucking insects.

Hot dust: Grind dried homegrown red or chili peppers or dill weed (including seeds) to dust. Sprinkle along seeded rows of vegetables to repel ants. Store-bought black pepper, chili pepper, dill, ginger, paprika and red pepper all contain capsaicin, which repels ants. Note: when using red peppers or chili peppers take care not to get the dust in your eyes or on your hands.
photo credit: a. venefica

A garden that is well taken care of usually does not get many insects, but sometimes you may need a little natural help. But avoid the chemical sprays in the store is at all possible. They are hard on the environment, kill good insects and harm birds. They also leave chemical on your fresh healthy vegetables.

By using organic gardening ideas and green gardening techniques you will have better produce and a cleaner environment

Technorati Tags: Creative Organic Gardening, organic gardening

 For those of you who visit my site often you know I like to grow unique or odd seeds. I also enjoy growing heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are seeds with a rich historical background that have often been saved and passed down from one family generation to another. Many of these seeds were brought over on the Mayflower or when people immigrated to the United States.
photo credit: Antoaneta

There are two very important reasons to grow heirloom seeds. One is you can save the seeds from year to year and save money on your gardening costs the following season. I like saving money in the garden. I apply my savings to other seeds or plants for the yard.

The second reason and most important in my opinion is that heirloom seeds produce vegetables with a richer taste. A friend of mine recently said, “vegetables like Grandpa used to grow.” I feel heirlooms grow better, are stronger plants and seem to ward of insect problems.

One of the other seeds that you often find in garden centers is hybrid seed. These are seeds that have been chemically and structurally altered to produce a more consistent size or color vegetable or flower. For example many of the newer tomato seeds are hybrids and have been altered to produce a firmer tomato so they will ship better. Yes they ship better but they lack the taste and have a tough outer skin.

Another problem with hybrid seeds is that they do not germinate well or produce crops true to the original seed when you save seed from the crop. So if you save seeds for the following year from a hybrid crop you will have no produce or very poor vegetables.
photo credit: jillclardy

By not being able to save seeds from vegetables, varieties may die out. Great tasting or producing varieties are becoming lost, and seeds will only go up in cost. So save your seeds from your favorite heirloom variety. It’s easy and can be a fun project, particularly for children.

You can also ask your friends and neighbors to share and trade seeds, You will be saving money and helping to preserve great seeds, crops and history. Its also a form or organic gardening, which benefits us all.

Technorati Tags: heirloom seeds, organic gardening