|
|
Post by amyinowasso on Apr 18, 2023 9:08:07 GMT -6
Test to see if the pictures show up. It appears the link works. I don't know how to make the thumbnails show. These are Lori from shortline elderberry farms near Tahlequah. I believe she grows in straw bales which are used the next year in these raised beds. She has several of the large water storage tanks and the corrugated metal as well. She just happened to post these pictures after I mentioned her to George.
|
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Apr 18, 2023 10:02:23 GMT -6
Yes. She and Bob got us into this. We're up to 6 such planters. It's the only way we've managed to get a crop of Swiss Chard in our garden. Bob & Lori even grow sweet potatoes this way!
Photo from last summer
|
|
|
|
Post by amyinowasso on Apr 19, 2023 9:41:18 GMT -6
I used bales in 2015. I remember it as the monsoon spring. Many people's potatoes rotted in the ground. I actually got a harvest, but my husband didn't think it was good enough to try that way again. I planted tomatoes in bales, but they didn't really take off until their roots hit the dirt below the bales. (And I saw Bermuda grow up through a bale!) I don't think my bales were conditioned properly. They made good mulch the next year.
You have one of those water tanks in the picture I think. Tell us what you did to get to that point.
|
|
|
|
Post by macmex on Apr 19, 2023 10:01:55 GMT -6
Amy, I have several pages which Lori Merritt gave me. I'm going to email them to you as they are in a pdf form that I cannot just copy and paste. No time right now to transcribe.
It is a rather complicated process. My take on it is that it is labor intensive and produces intensively. Has to be watered almost every day. Requires potash, fertilizer, bone meal and straw. The conditioning process takes a little under 2 weeks. We top the bales off with potting soil at planting time.
|
|
|
|
Post by Tucson Grower on May 31, 2023 16:29:56 GMT -6
I used to use straw bales regularly, to mulch with. But since COVID there hasn't been any straw available around here. I'm using alfalfa hay, but t's way too expensive for much use.
|
|
