Skip to main content

Mimi's Straw Bale Garden July 21, 2011



I want to grow in straw bales next spring. You need to prepare the bales in the fall. You add soil to the tops of the bales, and some sort of fertilizer. The fertilizer can be animal manure, or even human urine. It needs to sit in the rain over winter. This causes the bales to begin to compost. Then in the spring you can dig holes in the bales, add a little soil and plant your plants. I think productivity would be very high. So I am looking for straw bales to prep for next springs garden.
The straw bales will eventually break down after one or 2 seasons. At that point you can use the straw as a mulch for the rest of your garden. I love the straw mulch I have been using on my vegetable garden. It controls the moisture in the soil. When it’s wet, the mulch soaks up he rain so the soil does not flood. When it’s dry the straw will release that moisture back into the soil. My plants don’t dry out or get too much water. And I only had to water my garden 2 times this last summer. That not only saved me money, it saved me time. I'm a lazy gardener.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

chicken coop idea

Why not start with an IBC and cut a hole for the door? You could build closed laying boxes into it, and something for the chickens to roost on. Put some straw or saw dust on the floor. You could add vents to the side for air. If it sat inside a chicken run that you can walk into, the chickens could be safe, dry and happy. I have an extra IBC. Maybe this could be my chicken house? I bet I could even plant the outside of it with mud and grass for extra insulation and good looks.

The Opel Agilia

I think I don't want to spend the money for the VW New Beetle. It's a very cute and safe car, but cost about 17,000Euros new. I can find it for 13,000Euros (this is the most basic model) but that's more then I would want to spend. I don't really drive that much. I'm pretty cheep at heart. I need real value for my money. I keep thinking we really should take advantage of the money Germany is offering to trade old cars in for 2500Euros towards a new car. If I buy a car that's around 10,000 Euros, then the Government is actually going to pay 25% of the cost of that car. That's really a very good deal. Since I know I will need a new car in the near future, I feel I should get a new 10,000 Euro car. The Opel Agilia is around 9,900 Euros. It's got 5 doors, and room for 5. It is pretty safe, and comes with a 6 year warranty. I would not call it my dream car, but I could easily afford it. I'm trying to be wise here. There are other cars in thi...

Reading Kingdom

I am very happy to review the Reading Kingdom.   This is an online program that uses a variety of methods to teach reading.   I decided to share this product with my adopted granddaughter Ruth.   Reading kingdom uses a six skills integrative method Ruth only just began to use the program. She is only 3 years old and cannot use the program without help.   But her mom says that she can already recognize words like girl and kids when they are shown on the screen.   Sylvia wrote that she loves the repetition of the words in the program .   That Ruth is memorizing the words she sees.     She will be able to use it for an entire year.   But I expect her to become a very good reader.   And what a great gift to give to any child!   She will have a lifetime love for books.     Sylvia also works with teenage mothers in Uganda.   And many of these women have never attended school.   So she plans to use these ideas to h...