Straw Bale Gardening How To

If you would love to grow fruits and vegetables this season, but you have never had success, this gardening method is for you! This will be our third year harvesting all kinds of produce from our own yard, and I was an avowed plant serial killer who lived my life dodging arrest warrants from the EPA for garden genocide. But, no more!

Please click here for the printable/downloadable version of this post.

More info: Straw Bale Gardens Complete by Joel Karsten

Straw Bale Gardening

Benefits

•         Grow an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies at home with ease.
•         No lawn needed. You can garden on an apartment balcony, pavement, a deck, an abandoned lot, a rooftop, anywhere.
•         If you have no time for gardening, you DO have time for straw bale gardening.
•         If you tend to kill all plants, you’ll be shocked that you are not killing plants.
•          No weeding necessary. Ever.
•          No bending. Easy on the knees/back.
•         Impossible to overwater.
•          If your soil is bad, no problem. You’re not using any. No grubs, soil disease, or rocks to deal with.
•          Bales discourage burrowing pests.
•          Enjoy the outdoors.
•          No need to buy a truckload of good soil.
•          All it takes for success is watering every morning (and late afternoon on very hot days).
•          90% maintenance free (almost 100% if you automate watering with a soaker hose and timer!)

Shopping List

·         2 or 3 straw bales (not hay bales), or as many as you want for your space

·         1 bag cheap lawn fertilizer without weed killer or crabgrass preventer, not slow release, and at least 20% nitrogen (like Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food)

·         1 small bag 10-10-10 general garden fertilizer (like Expert Gardener Flower Food)

·         1 bag planting mix (like MiracleGro Planting Mix)

·         1 roll landscape fabric (or use flattened cardboard boxes)

·         Vegetable/fruit seeds or seedlings

·         Hose or watering can, gardening gloves, trowel, measuring cup, pinwheels to keep birds away

·         Optional (recommended): lawn stakes and chicken wire to surround bales to keep animals out

Note: You’ll have enough leftover fertilizer and planting mix for another 2-3 years. Straw bales can also be reused next season.

 

Straw Bale Gardening in 8 Steps

1.       Plan: First, get your start date. Look up this year’s predicted date of last frost in your area by entering your zip code here: https://morningchores.com/frost-dates/ or Farmer’s Almanac or another site. Then check your calendar for the date that comes NINE DAYS BEFORE THE LAST FROST DATE. Plan to set up your straw bales on that date or soon afterwards. (Example: if the last frost date is May 7^th, then you can set up on April 28^th.)  What’s your setup date this year? ____________________________

Next, decide how many bales you need. If you don’t have a yard and will be using an apartment balcony, 1-2 bales would be good. If you have a driveway, yard, or patio and it’s your first year, maybe 3-4 bales. If you’ve done this before and you kept last year’s bales, you can reuse the bales by propping them up or putting the straw in crates or pots. How many bales do you need to purchase this year? ___________________

Watch your space for a few days. Where is the place in your yard/patio/balcony that receives the most sun? __________________________________________________________________

 

2.       Purchase: Buy straw bales (not hay bales) from a local feed store or craigslist. Likely $10 or under per bale. If you can find organic straw, great. Most people cannot. (Virtually all straw is sprayed with something and it all breaks down over time. It’s very unlikely any will end up in your veggies.) If you don’t have a truck, place a disposable plastic table cloth or tarp in your trunk to avoid getting straw bits all over your car.

 

3.       Place: Arrange your bales north to south in the place in your yard/area that receives the most sun. Place bales so that their straps are on the SIDES of the bales. (The straps should NOT be on top of the bales.) Put landscape fabric or cardboard under bales. You can also put chicken wire under the bales to prevent burrowing, but I never had to do this and I have many critters in my yard. Again, be sure bales are standing with their straps on the SIDES, so the straw is vertical, like grass growing out of the ground.

 

4.       Fertilize/Condition: You have to condition the bales before planting in them. Conditioning takes about 5 minutes a day for 10 days. Day 1: Sprinkle ½ cup lawn fertilizer evenly on top of each bale. Use a hose-end sprayer to spray the fertilizer granules into the tops of the bales. Water bales till water runs out bottom. Day 2: Water only. Water bales till water runs out bottom. Day 3: Sprinkle ½ cup lawn fertilizer on top of each bale. Water them. Day 4: Water only. Day 5: ½ cup lawn fertilizer per bale again. Water bales. Day 6: Water only. Days 7, 8, 9: ¼ cup lawn fertilizer per bale each day and water. Day 10: 1 cup per bale of 10-10-10 general GARDEN fertilizer. Water. Fill in any cracks formed in the conditioning process with straw or sterile planting mix.

 

5.       Plant: After conditioning for 10 days, buy seeds or seedlings and plant them. For plants you are starting from seed, put a 1-2” layer of planting mix--not soil from your yard!--on top of the bale and plant seeds in that. Follow spacing directions on seed packets. Makes no difference if you start from seeds or you’re more comfortable planting seedlings, or you use a mix of both. If you are planting seedlings, you do not need to put a layer of planting mix on top of the bale. Pop the seedlings out of their pots (with potting mix still attached to roots), open up a crack in the bale with a trowel or your hands, and plant the seedling with its potting mix into the crack. Water everything after you’ve planted. Planting tips: If your bales are on pavement or a balcony, I do not recommend pumpkins or melons, as they will need to trail on the ground, spread out, and put some additional roots into soil if you want a lot of them. Tomatoes, cukes and beans are fine anywhere, as long as you give them something to climb (ladder, fence, poles, wire, chair). Potatoes are the only thing planted differently: Stuff the seed potatoes a few inches up into the bottom of the bale, no more than 3 per bale. You can plant radishes or another early crop on top of the potato bale. Potatoes will be ready at the very end of your growing season—October in the northeast. (See “Straw Bale Favorites” below for tips on highest yield crops and how many seeds/seedlings of each you can plant in one bale.)

 

6.       Care: Water each bale for about 2 minutes per bale each morning, aiming at roots of plants (or at seeds if no plants showing yet!). As plants grow, do not water leaves as it can spread disease. It’s impossible to overwater straw bales. Whatever the plants don’t need will simply run out of the bale. If you do not have a hose, empty a gallon water jug twice onto each bale. On hot summer days, water the bales in the late afternoon as well. You should use liquid Miracle Gro or another fertilizer every couple of weeks (except on very new seedlings; wait till they mature a bit). Mushrooms may pop up the first few weeks; this is fine; just ignore them and they will die off. Your bales are composting, which is good.

 

7.       Reap: Pick things as they ripen and enjoy!

 

8.       Protect: You may want to encircle the bale row(s) in chicken wire with some lawn stakes if you’re concerned about rabbits, woodchucks, etc. Though I have tons of rabbits and they never bothered bales, even when I didn’t have fencing up. The bales themselves and the height are a deterrent. If you have deer… you’re going to need higher fencing! Highly recommended: Shiny pinwheels stuck into the bales will completely keep birds and their poop away!

 

 

More info: Straw Bale Gardens Complete by Joel Karsten, SBG Facebook groups, Google, YouTube.

 

Straw Bale Favorites

I like to plant half a bale with one crop and the other half with something else to diversify!

Any herb or flower imaginable: dill, mint, rosemary, basil, zinnias, cosmos. (You can even plant them in the sides of bales to pretty them up and have flowers for vases!)

Beets: 48/bale, 2 crops.

Cabbage: 4/bale, 2 crops.

Green onion: 60/bale, 3+ crops.

Leaf lettuce (start from seed): 30/bale, 4+ crops.

Onion: 48-60/bale, 1 crop.

Radish: 60/bale, 3 crops.

Turnips: 30/bale, 2 crops.

Potatoes (plant lettuce or radish on top): 3/bale, 1 crop.

Tomatoes: 2/bale, 1 crop. NEEDS something to climb. A tomato cage stuck in the bale is a good start. May need propping up later as plant becomes enormous.

Cucumber: 4/bale, 1 crop. NEEDS something to climb. A tomato cage stuck in the bale is a good start. May need propping up later as plant becomes enormous.

Melons: 3/bale, 1 crop.

Peppers: 4/bale, 1 crop.

Pumpkins (Sugar; Jack-Be-Little, etc.): 2/bale, 1 crop.

Jalapenos: 2/bale, several crops.

Watermelon: 2/bale, 1 crop.

Butternut squash, any kind of squash: 2/bale, 1 crop.

Bush beans: 2/bale. Several crops.

Yellow Crook Neck Squash: 2 seedlings/bale. 1 crop.

Zucchini: 4/bale, 1 crop.

Egg plant: 2/bale?

Strawberries (seedlings): 5-6/bale, several crops. But I only recommend in bigger quantities (probably at least 2 bales dedicated only to them) to make it worthwhile, otherwise you probably won’t have enough berries to eat all at once!

I do not recommend carrots in bales. They do not come out carrot-shaped! However, if you have straw left over from last season, which will be somewhat broken down, I bet they would grow very well in that with a 1-2” layer of potting mix on top in a planter. Note: In fact, everything grows well in last year’s straw in whatever pot or container you have hanging around! Just make sure there are a few holes in the bottom of the container for drainage. Don’t waste last year’s straw!

Calling Out Cancel Culture

I posted last week on Facebook regarding Cancel Culture, i.e. Sick. Of. It. I finally did this because Disney fired Mandalorian actress Gina Carano for her political opinion and began cancelling her out with defamatory statements. I then pulled my subscription to Disney+ in response, not for Gina Carano (about whom I know little) but AGAINST Cancel Culture itself, which seeks to destroy people for nonconforming thoughts. To paraphrase, in my post I said I was cancelling a canceller. So much for dramatic flourish! Like one of those tedious Captain Obvious commercials of yesteryear, someone essentially commented, “You used the word cancel twice in the same sentence, haw, haw.” Um, yes. Instead of using the word “boycott,” I made the stylistic choice for a little ironic wordplay. But, as the gotcha comments persisted in seriousness, as if I had been caught red-handed inside a faulty syllogism, I realized there might be an honest misunderstanding of terms among those of us in the conversation. We might simply mean different things when using the same word, Cancel. For some, the term “Cancel Culture” apparently carries no more weight than simply canceling a subscription service one might have. For me and for others who are against the phenomenon, the term “Cancel Culture” is loaded with enough weight to crush the soul of a nation—because it has many times throughout history. So, assuming anyone who disagrees and who has read this far is doing so in a good faith attempt at understanding my perspective, thanks and feel free to read on. We may never agree, but if we agreed all the time that wouldn’t be any fun!

(Alternatively, also feel free to join in by posting petty, mean-spirited memes about Gina Carano that precisely illustrate Cancel Culture itself with a “she should have known better” line of victim-blaming, which shows precisely what can be expected to happen these days if your thoughts deviate from the acceptable script by even one letter. So true! Preach it, meme gods.)

When I talk about Cancel Culture, I’m referring to the practice of de-platforming, defaming, financially ruining, erasing, shaming, slandering, and branding an individual for not sharing every single one of a very specific list of currently acceptable cultural beliefs, whatever they may be Right Now. (It’s hard to keep track of, even for proponents. Like the hypocritical Pharisees heaping new “sins” upon the people in Biblical times, more and more opinions are deemed beyond the pale and sinful as the days go by.) It’s the belief that anyone with a different political opinion should not be allowed to speak, they should not be heard, they should be shouted down and made outcasts never again to find meaningful work; we should go after their families; send death threats and harassment at all turns; dig up uncharitable quotes from high school and baselessly call them misogynists, racists, fascists. It is a ghoulish movement based on unforgiveness, sin, and division. There are many other branches to this, and I’m oversimplifying (it’s a blog post!), but these are the hallmarks of what I’m talking about when referring to Cancel Culture.

While Cancel Culture is a movement of the progressive “left” at this moment, it is a tactic that has been used by all sides throughout history. The “right” used it during the McCarthy era to ruin suspected communists, jail them, cast them out, impoverish them in every way. When taken to its most horrific degree, it results in not just “idea cleansing” but “cleansing” plain and simple, as in religious zealots burning through witches in Salem, or atheist zealots and the atrocities of their totalitarian governments of the last century. Cancel Culture is used as a tool of terror out of the terror of losing power. Oftentimes, and perhaps as the most cruel twist of fate, it cycles back around rather than dies out because a group of people has been truly oppressed, has now thrown off the oppression, and then gives into the temptation for revenge, rather than grace, falling into the evil they once overthrew.

I have not made a political post on social media in quite a long time. I don’t find it worthwhile. But last week, Disney fired and began defaming an actress for having political opinions they purport to disagree with. (Side note: It is difficult to know if they actually disagree with them, or if they are simply scared of not disagreeing about it in public. Cancel Culture may seem like freedom to proponents, but it is really a restrictive prison for them, which does not allow for false moves. The Culture eats its own and forgiveness is not seen as a virtue there, even when groveling apologies are issued.) Rumor has it that Disney had wanted to fire Carano for some time (again, merely because of political views), but the final straw came when she tweeted about the creep of totalitarianism, and how neighbor being led to hate neighbor is the first step in that system. With apparently no trace of irony, Disney then fired her and drummed up hatred for her by calling her anti-Semitic and intolerant of other religions. (Only in Disney’s America can you tweet about the evils of Nazi Germany and also be anti-Semitic! I guess someone should tell Ben Shapiro, who is Jewish and just hired Carano to produce her own movie.) You can make an argument that a private company can hire and fire whomever they want. But is there an honest argument to be made that it is okay for Disney to instantly come out and smear an actress’s character in one of the most despicable ways possible? Accusations of anti-Semitism? Abhorring other cultures and religions? Imagine how difficult it is for the wrongly accused to come back from such accusations, especially in light of the loudness and pervasiveness of Cancel Culture. (Spoiler alert: Lives have been ruined.) Meanwhile, Pedro Pascal, the star of the same show Carano got fired from, had made frequent online references to those who don’t agree with his politics as Nazis for years, and Disney has not so much as uttered a statement about it and he still has his starring role (as he should). Can an honest argument be made that Disney is justified in cancelling Carano but not Pascal…?

I usually let Cancel Culture slide without mention. “Cancellings” like this happen all the time. It’s the moment we’re in. But I was so revolted by the double standard and hypocrisy on display with Disney’s move last week with the defamation of those who don’t share their views, that I canceled my Disney+ subscription and posted about it on Facebook to let people know they aren’t alone if things like this bother them. I’ll still cherish memories of our family in Disneyworld, watch Disney films, pack my preschooler’s Minnie Mouse lunchbox each morning, celebrate the good things about their creations. But I’m not going to pay Disney any more money for a subscription to watch a show I love when they used that very show to embrace the bully tactics of Cancel Culture.

Unfortunately, Disney’s is only one of the most recent examples of a very long string of Cancel Culture character assassinations and trashings of people’s lives—and not only actors, but “regular” people, college professors, doctors, neighbors. Many people (from many political backgrounds) have spoken with me since my Facebook post and said they agree and are afraid to say anything in agreement online or anywhere else. Even if one doesn’t get “cancelled,” a commitment to Free Speech and open discourse will significantly lower your standing in the eyes of many, and instantly align you with every evil “ism” out there. I’m well aware people can’t believe what a confused, unenlightened rube I am because I don’t fit the mold and I’m “against accountability.”

What can we do rather than ruin/cancel each other out of fear? A better way to handle an opinion you don’t like is to use your free will, something we all have. If you didn’t agree with the actress in question, you could have A) ignored what she said because who cares, or B) stopped watching the show, or C) either A or B plus try to convince others of the wrongness of her views, not by destroying her or blocking her out, but by talking with people. (When Pascal made his Nazi comments, I chose “A.” Really, who cares.) Was the actress doing a poor acting job? Was she breaking laws? Espousing racist views? No? Then what business does Disney have firing her and making a statement defaming her, and yet keeping Pascal on? Why not simply let people decide for themselves if an actress’s views are worth their time or not? Would that be too freeing for the dumb, unwashed masses?

My friends supporting Cancel Culture refer to it as “accountability” or a similar term. And I agree that we do need to hold public figures (or any individual) accountable for harming others, breaking laws, lying, etc. Also, private companies can surely choose who they want representing them and hire or fire based on that. But neither individuals nor companies have the right to attempt to annihilate someone through slander because of differing political opinions. Trying to absolutely silence and then destroy someone’s life for holding a differing opinion is not the same as accountability. It is oppression. And it can happen to you, even if you’re sitting pretty on top of the Cancel Tower. All it takes is one “wrong” move.

How can we have some real accountability for crappy ideas? Wacky/loony/irrational/evil ideas have less chance of gaining a strong foothold in the marketplace of Free Speech—IF THERE IS FREE SPEECH. MORE speech is what rids society of poor ideas, not less. Debate, listening, discussion, forgiveness as opposed to throwing a tantrum and shouting people down or blackballing them; that’s the real cure. It keeps us on our toes. Makes us question, hone, evolve. Stuffing Play-Doh into our ears in the campus Safe Room just makes us incompetent, unempathetic, intellectually impoverished, and doomed to repeat the bad ideas of history—of which Cancel Culture is one.

There are many things on which honest and well-educated minds can disagree or be nuanced about. There are many topics on which the science is young and we don’t know what we don’t know yet. WE are very young, too, all of us. We don’t get many years. And there are also many topics which we can never fully grasp because they are of a spiritual nature and here we are on a physical plane. And it’s okay! I might be wrong on some things. You might be wrong on some things. Or we might both be a little right, who knows? We do not all have to think the same and agree on every single thing to be decent human beings. Likewise, if we disagree on some things or have some lame or even dangerous ideas, it does not necessarily mean we are any kind of “ist” (misogynist, racist, bigot……. ist….). Sometimes it does, but in the vast majority of cases it does not.

It’s Ash Wednesday. We all come from the same dust—even atheists agree on that. Let’s stop trying to bury people in it out of revenge and extend a little compassion, or at least a little “live and let live.” I won’t use the word “tolerance.” It’s bloodless, empty, sterile, dated. Kindness is pretty toothless and wishy-washy too, when it comes down to it.

Is love for neighbor too old fashioned and out of reach?

Veiled and Unveiled: The Nakedness of Liturgical Head Covering

Have you ever been curious about a woman sitting near you in church wearing a mantilla? If you’re a woman, have you ever been alarmed to find yourself clipping a chapel veil to your own hair for the first time? And you live in 21^st century AMERICA. And you’re not even a NUN. But Jesus’ love is both curious and alarming; one should dress for the occasion. Ideally, we –both men and women—dress ourselves interiorly for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb every day, but outwardly dressing the part can also be a beautiful symbol and reminder that the Bridegroom consummated this marriage with us on the cross, is here with us now in the Eucharist, and comes again.

I have noticed a handful of women in my parish wearing veils. While I’ve been discerning the practice for some years, I do not yet wear a chapel veil regularly and don't know that I ever will. But, for the past few years, I have worn a veil at the Great Easter Vigil, the apex of the liturgical year, full of solemnity and joy, longing and intimacy, familiarity and wonder –all the paradoxes of a Church that could only possibly have been created by God Himself. The Sacrifice of the Mass is a banquet that could only be set out by a madman by worldly standards, but by the God-man madly in love with his spotless, virginal bride by God’s standards. “This is My Body; take, eat.” It’s almost too much to bear. So, when words fail, veil.

Each day I try to some degree to dress my heart as He sees me. At least, I want to. I can’t say this has been a stellar year for that, or a stellar life. But when I wear my heart’s invisible veil on my head for that one night at the Easter Vigil, it somehow resolves my Yes to His gift anew. And with a mantilla, I do not stand with my face covered. Quite the opposite: the lace is draped only over my hair, perpetually at the point in the wedding ceremony where the Groom has just lifted His bride’s veil revealing her face to Him and to herself in His eyes. Veils are sometimes referred to as “head coverings” and I have to smile when I hear that. A veil worn out of sheer love covers nothing at all. It is the most naked you will ever be in public. And if you just keep looking into His eyes you will forget you ever cared that anyone else would see.

Jesus does not look at you and see your less-than-stellar year or your less-than-stellar life. All times are Now to God. He knew you before you ever sinned and were only carrying the weight of the Happy Fault that brings us to this Easter. He also knows you as you are with Him in heaven when this life is done and you have poured out what little you can offer for Him and have come out the other side of purgatory, radiant in His love and forevermore untouched by any stain of sin. Veil your heart for so patient and sure a Bridegroom! If you give your resounding yes, do you not believe He will make you holy? He turns water into wine, wine into Blood, and Blood into eternal life! As unlikely and undeserved as it is, you are beautiful and holy to Him. Give yourself to Him as the bride you are, the bride He sees you as, holding nothing back. What better symbol is there of this mutual laying down of lives than a bride’s veil, a veil that bares the soul?

Note: This is merely one reason why I wear a veil for Easter. I neither claim to speak for all women who wear veils, nor do I claim that all women should wear veils. But, I do get the sense the Church is not enriched by the sudden dropping of the ancient tradition of veiling from the liturgical books a handful of decades ago.