Cold, Straw Bales, Greenhouse Planting

Spring is officially here; based on the news, calendar, Farmer’s Almanac, and the temperature on certain days :-)

Today the temperature was 41, with winds and all kinds of rain; now the weatherman states our high will be 54 today.  I had to use my husband’s rubber boots, and a rain/winter jacket to work outside today.  Talk about cold and soaking wet, yep that’s what I was when I came back inside.

Tomorrow……………well that’s another story, low 43 with high at 80 degrees.  

I’ve been prepping straw bales for a straw bale garden experiment. 

The bale conditioning process starts as follows:

Place paper or plastic below straw bales to prevent grass from growing up inside straw bale.

Place bales on side leaving wire in place.

Days 1 – 3: Water new bales thoroughly for three days; this helps with   the decomposing.

Days 4 – 6: Sprinkle the top of each bale with 1 cup of fertilizer; ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) or ½ cup of urea (46-0-0) daily, then water the fertilizer in after each application.  This speeds the decomposition process.

Days 7, 8, & 9 cut the amount of fertilizer per bale in half.  Don’t water excessively, to prevent runoff and leaching of the nitrogen out of the bale.

Day 10 Stop fertilizing, but keep the bales moist.

Day 11 Feel the top of the bale for heat.  If still hot, check every day until the bale cools down to about 99 degrees or lower.  Still keep bales moist with water when needed.

The next step will be the planting step.  When I get to this point with my bale garden, I will do another update to my blog.  Until then, I will post about other interesting (I hope) things for your reading pleasure.

** Straw Bale Gardening Instruction Source: Washington State University Extension FS109E

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Here are a few seeds I’ve planted in my greenhouse, and garden; along with seedlings I purchased at our local Farmers’ Market. 

Seeds/Seedlings Started & In Greenhouse

Celery(4 stalks) purchased from store for salads etc…., I chopped the ends off and placed them in water to root inside my greenhouse.

Farmers’ Market Broccoli (Green Magic, Tasty, Packman, and De Cleen).

Farmers’ Market Tomatoes (Heirloom Pineapple, Lemon Boy, Cherokee Purple).

Greenhouse Seeds (Oregano, Chives, Garlic Chives, Hyssop, Borage, Rosemary, Spearmint, Chamomile, Thyme, Parsley, Paprika, & Cilantro).

Greenhouse Seeds (Tomatoes-Pink Brandy Wine, Cherry, Plum Lemon and Beef Steak; Onions, Leeks, Cauliflower, Beets, Peppers Ancho, Green).

Seeds/Seedlings Started & In Garden

Onions