Applegater Winter 2016
9
DIRTY FINGERNAILS AND ALL
Container gardening with a new lift
BY SIOUX ROGERS
Even though I work very hard in
my vegetable garden, I am basically lazy.
If there is an easy way to do gardening
and I haven’t done it, I will most likely
figure it out soon enough. I have never
been a turning-plowing-and-hoeing
type of gal. In other words, I have never
turned my garden soil over, even just
once a year. I actually pile nutrients on
top of the soil—aged animal manure,
compost I have been saving, aged leaves,
or whatever else is the garden du jour. I
let earthworms and ol’ mum nature do
the rest of the work.
I’ve discovered that straw-bale
gardening appears to satisfy most of my
garden fantasies, good, great, grandiose,
and yes, my personal style of lazy
gardening will be appeased. Whoopee
for my aching back—I barely need to
bend over to plant or to harvest the crops.
Actually, the concept, as it is evolving,
makes very good sense and has more
advantages than disadvantages. The worst
part, at least for me, is that the straw bales
are heavy and bulky.
Now for the easy one-two-
three steps. The steps below, gleaned
from several websites, are
how I plan to plant, which
means I have tweaked the
original instructions. As an
aside, if you are not making
your own compost, but buy
bags of “filthy rich soil,” the
cost of one bag of soil is just
about the same as one large
bale of straw.
Before I explain the
few easy steps for straw-
bale planting, here is why
this gardening style actually
works: “The digestive process
of insects, worms, fungi,
mold, and bacteria (the most
important decomposer)
breaks down the straw. This
process…involves keeping the bales
wet and introducing nitrogen as a food
source for the bacteria inside the bales.
This food source and water supply, along
with temperatures above 45 degrees,
encourages the rapid reproduction of
bacteria in the core of the bale. The
bacteria will reproduce or divide about
every 15 minutes given these ideal
conditions” (fix.com/blog/straw-bale-
gardening).
Now let’s begin.
1. Place your straw bale exactly
where you want to plant. Remember, the
bales are heavy and you don’t want to
be the “moving service for straw bales”
more than once. Barley or wheat straw
works hunky-dory. Make sure the twines
are horizontal around the bale and not
directly on the ground or the twine,
too, will decompose. For several days
prior to planting, heavily water the bales
every day.
2. At about day three, prepare
the bales as you would in a “low-down
dirt garden.” For example, if you plan to
grow carrots, beets, lettuce, or anything
scattered in a row, trench out long
crevices on the top of the bale. If you are
thinking about plants that go into holes,
such as eggplant, peppers, okra, basil,
etc., dig holes four to six inches deep
several inches apart on the top of a bale.
Straw-bale gardens are easy and can satisfy your
fantasies, says the author (photos: cvog.blogspot.com
and wsumgtc.wordpress.com).
Top photo: Dig holes for plants like eggplant and basil
(step 2) (photo: au.pinterest.com). Bottom photo: Begin
planting after the straw has decomposed sufficiently
(step 3) (photo: modernfarmer.com).
3. Begin
Sioux Rogers
sprinkling
the holes or trenches with your own
compost, store-bought compost, aged
manure, clean healthy garden soil, etc.
The decomposing straw will also provide
ongoing nutrients. It takes at least 12
to 18 days for the straw to begin to
decompose sufficiently before you can
begin planting. If you have seedlings or
small starts, gently place them in holes
and hunker them in also. Now cover with
whatever material is hanging around.
Next season, plant in the same
holes again, which will now be even more
nutrient-filled. I personally will likely
add some fresh but aged amendments to
the previously used holes. As the straw
sitting on my raised beds decomposes,
underneath I will have an abundance of
earthworms and microbial activity to add
to the next growing straw-bale “planters.”
This is just my fantasy, but approximates
what I have learned from my research.
Although I don’t know how many
seasons each bale will last, I’ll find out
starting next spring. At the very least, I
will have some wonderful “alive” straw
that can be used just about anywhere in
my gardens.
Sioux Rogers
541-846-7736
dirtyfingernails@fastmail.fm