Straw Bale/ICB container gardening
Jun 27, 2024 9:39:56 GMT -6
heavyhitterokra, rdback, and 1 more like this
Post by macmex on Jun 27, 2024 9:39:56 GMT -6
This is a project which my wife pulled me into. I've always preferred to grow in the ground rather than in containers, yet some years ago we visited with Bob and Loretta Merritt of Shortline Elderberry Farm. They also grow a lot of other produce to sell in various farmers' markets. They were so excited about showing us their ICB container garden, which was very productive. I can't remember everything they grew in these containers but I know they did some kind of greens, onions and sweet potatoes. They claimed to harvest an incredible amount of sweet potatoes from one of these beds. We have two planted, now, with sweet potatoes. I aim to find out if this is really so.
This isn't just container gardening. It's straw bale container gardening with drip irrigation. Essentially, one purchases one of these used containers and cuts it in half, making receptacles for two ICB beds. Here, we have two different size iCB containers available. I go with the larger, as it's much easier to get two decent containers from one. I can squeeze three bales of straw into each half. It's a tussle, but we manage to do it. Then there's a conditioning process, which involves several weeks of wetting and inoculating the bales, preparing them, so that plants can sink their roots into them. When this is done we top the whole thing off with a few inches of potting soil, to plant seedlings into.
The first year or so that we experimented with ICB Straw bale gardening, our crops didn't do very well. That's because I failed to recognize that this is almost akin to hydroponic gardening. One must supply the required nutrients, especially nitrogen, on a regular basis. This year, we've hit our stride! Things are going great.
For the first time in years we've had bumper crops of beets and carrots. Lettuce and English peas did wonderfully. I planted our hot peppers in ICB bins and they grew much more rapidly than usual. We're already abel to harvest some!
Here are photos of the Murupi Amarela peppers.
Chile Rayado is growing in another bin and is even further ahead. It'll be interesting to see if having them in ICB bins will allow our peppers to avoid their annual attack by blister beetles.
The sweet potato slips I tucked into ICB bins are looking great. Apparently they like the arrangement.
Disadvantages:
1) It costs a pretty penny to set these up.
2) We have to by straw bales to replenish our bins as well as fertilize.
3) The bins dry out quickly in our heat. Literally, I have to run the drip irrigation every day.
Advantages:
1) This is a form of gardening we could do when too frail to work the soil.
2) For the space, they are quite productive.
3) We're learning a lot by doing this.
4) My wife is ever more involved in the garden because of this. She's glorying in the gadgetry involved and in the beautiful harvests.
This isn't just container gardening. It's straw bale container gardening with drip irrigation. Essentially, one purchases one of these used containers and cuts it in half, making receptacles for two ICB beds. Here, we have two different size iCB containers available. I go with the larger, as it's much easier to get two decent containers from one. I can squeeze three bales of straw into each half. It's a tussle, but we manage to do it. Then there's a conditioning process, which involves several weeks of wetting and inoculating the bales, preparing them, so that plants can sink their roots into them. When this is done we top the whole thing off with a few inches of potting soil, to plant seedlings into.
The first year or so that we experimented with ICB Straw bale gardening, our crops didn't do very well. That's because I failed to recognize that this is almost akin to hydroponic gardening. One must supply the required nutrients, especially nitrogen, on a regular basis. This year, we've hit our stride! Things are going great.
For the first time in years we've had bumper crops of beets and carrots. Lettuce and English peas did wonderfully. I planted our hot peppers in ICB bins and they grew much more rapidly than usual. We're already abel to harvest some!
Here are photos of the Murupi Amarela peppers.
Chile Rayado is growing in another bin and is even further ahead. It'll be interesting to see if having them in ICB bins will allow our peppers to avoid their annual attack by blister beetles.
The sweet potato slips I tucked into ICB bins are looking great. Apparently they like the arrangement.
Disadvantages:
1) It costs a pretty penny to set these up.
2) We have to by straw bales to replenish our bins as well as fertilize.
3) The bins dry out quickly in our heat. Literally, I have to run the drip irrigation every day.
Advantages:
1) This is a form of gardening we could do when too frail to work the soil.
2) For the space, they are quite productive.
3) We're learning a lot by doing this.
4) My wife is ever more involved in the garden because of this. She's glorying in the gadgetry involved and in the beautiful harvests.
