Straw Bale Gardening

So a friend and I came across 'StrawBale Gardening' - growing a garden in a bale of straw.

So I started my plants last week,

Two Beefsteak tomato plants
Two Cherry tomato plants
Two Green pepper plants
Basil
Cilantro

And about a zillion sunflower plants for Andrew.  They have always been his favorite so I try to plant some every year.

Steve at work got us some straw bales from a farm near him.  And as a bonus, a bag of mulch and a bag of organic fertilizer.  Yea.  It's what you think.  Horse manure from his farm!!  Make sure you put your straw bales down with the straps going around the sides of the bales. If your bale is tied with string or twine, it will break down and your bale will fall apart.

Getting ready to grow!  (Ignore the wood pile...we had a raccoon hiding in it and he messed it up!)

The fertilizer is in the bag that is tied shut, the mulch in the other bag.

So what I have to do now is water my straw bales...soak them...daily.  This helps to break it down and get it ready for the plants.  This is the beginning of week two.  A special thanks to the Good Lord for watering them two days for me!

Next week I start adding the fertilizer  - every other day and water on the alternating days.

Add a little top soil on top (some blogs say this is necessary, some say not) and then I can put my starts in or put seeds in directly!  I plan on also planting squash, zucchini, watermelons and pumpkins out the sides - I need to get them started soon!

I was going to add pictures of my plants, but my camera is acting up!  I'll be sure to post them as soon as I can!

Wish me luck!