Questions and Answers III

Question: Can you garden with straw bales by combining soil? I like the idea of deeper beds but have invested in good soil that I want to continue to use... I also want the beds higher (bad back)... 

Answer: It really depends on what you are growing and how composted your bales are. I put a chart in my book, "Hay Bale Garden Habitat" that helps in determining the root depth of many plants. I have made a lettuce patch with bales underneath the soil. Lettuce has a root depth of 6." Tomatoes have a ideal root depth of 6-10 feet. You can get by with less, but a depth guide gives you more of an idea on how much soil to add on top of your bales. 

Question: I've been conditioning our bales for a little over a week with no signs of decomposition and they are cool inside. are we not fertilizing enough or not enough water? 

Answer: I don't compost my bales. I grow in them. If you are doing the straw bale method, you probably need to water them more often. I would start growing your plants anyway, even if the bales are not decomposed. Dig a hole in your bale and add a lot of soil as deep as you can go. Sooner or later the bale will decompose and you'll be having to support your falling plants. When bale get older they start to fall over. That's why I grow in a trench, it keeps the plant more stable in a trench or hole than without one. 

Question: I'm on day three of conditioning, I'm confused about day ten. It says to "put down three cups with phosphorus and potassium (bone or fish meal mixed with 50% wood ash works like a charm)". Is that three cups of fertilizer plus phosphorus & potassium mixed with it, how much p&p? Please help!

Answer: What you are doing is making soil. Why not just grow like you are growing in soil. What does your fertilizer recommend on how much to use? No book I seen on conditioning bales goes into detail on how much to use. You're on your own. You wanted to be a scientist in mixing chemicals so go at it. I use soil, manure, wood chips or peatmoss, and biochar. All organic. While your making soil in a haphazard way, I test my soil and give it what it needs.

Question:I am wanting to know about root vegetables. Can you grow them as well in the straw bales?

Answer: I would make a raised bed on top of straw bales. Dig out a spot and place the bales in the earth. Use the dirt that had been dug out of the pit and sift it to get out the rocks. Add peatmoss and perhaps organic fertilizer or manure. I am modern in my techniques so I also use biochar. Place the dirt on top of the bales. The more the merrier. At least a foot. Now grow your root vegetables. If your carrots grow longer, you better add more soil.

Question: What is biochar?
Answer: http://www.carbongold.com/biochar-bringing-soil-life/

http://www.biochar.ac.uk/what_is_biochar.php

http://www.britishbiocharfoundation.org/?page_id=43 (This is my favorite site.)