#ranchgarden

2). Day 4-8: Water, Feed and Take the Temperature

February 20-24 The storm that passed through over the weekend really helped to thoroughly soak the bales, so much so, that its temperature raised to an average range of 110-114 degrees F even before applying nitrogen fertilizer.  Nitrogen fertilizer is added to the bales 1) to enrich the bales with plant nutrients and 2) to further help the decomposition process along. While some how-to’s suggest to use a potent nitrogen based fertilizer such as ammonia sulfate or urrea, I decided to use a 7-1-2 organic, non-GMO Soybean Meal. I sprinkle 1/2 cup evenly over the top surface of each bale and thoroughly water it in. After a couple of days, the bales did rise in temperature, but there was a variance; some bales were hovering around 115-120 degrees F, some around 120-130 degrees F.   

3). Week 2 & 3: Continue to Water, Feed and Take the Temperature February 27 - March 13 Week 2: The temperature of the bales are ranging from 90 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Though still reaching above ambient air temps, my hope was that they’d maintain their heat above 120-130 degrees F for a full week or so. I am assuming this can be done at a quicker pace and a more sustained level through the application of some kind of high octane chemical fertilizer. The process will be slower since I’m going the organic route, which is fine by me, and ultimately more a preferable practice. 

Week 3: The bale temperatures have gone down to match the ambient air temperatures. I’ve cut back on both watering and feeding to roughly every other day. The bales are retaining their moisture well.  

As shown from the images above, the bales have shrunken in size. They will continue to slowly break down throughout the season. Patches of wheat seed has sprouted and should be weeded out.

4). Week 4: Add Amended Soil.

March 16 Success!! I spotted mushrooms growing out of some of the bales after the weekend. Mushrooms are an indicator that the bales are now ready to plant in. 

Create holes in the bales with a trowel and fill them in with planting mix. I mix 1/3 potting soil with 1/3 compost and 1/3 native soil. The holes are spaced out according to the size of the plant. In the row of bales shown in the picture above, I plan to seed in squash, so I spaced the holes roughly 18-24″ apart.

5). Time to Seed or Plant.

Now that the bales have been properly (and successfully) conditioned, I can take my time to choose the seeds or plants that I’d like to put in them. On March 27th, my intern and I seeded in roughly 4 different kinds of squash in this row of 9 straw bales. The picture below was taken on April 7th. Seed germination has been very successful so far. 

6). Thin and Feed.

April 20 The squash has been thinned to one plant per hole and are continuing to grow out their true leaves at a quick and even pace. 

I noticed that some squash leaves were turning a bit yellow, which could be caused by the nutrient leaching when the bales are watered, or that particular squash cultivars just need a bit of a boost from time to time. I sprinkled some organic fertilizer around each plant and that should help them along their way.

May 5 & 25, 2017

May 5th: The straw bales are continuing to hold in moisture. Now that the plants are established, I will cut watering down to about twice a week. We planted tomatoes and eggplant in the straw bale rows on the left. Corn and beans will grow on both sides of the squash row on the right to show the ‘3 sisters’ way of planting.

May 25th: It’s nice to see the rows taking shape in just 20 days! The bottom left picture shows how much the bales have shrunken in size - some have collapsed more than others. As you can see, there are now crevices in between the bales. From time to time, I reach inside one of them to check its activity and always pull out moist, decomposing straw with some with some healthy worms attached. This is a good sign!

June 12th, 2017

The straw bales are barely visible underneath the vigorously growing squash and tomato plants.  The bottom picture shows our first summer harvest: 

Top row: Summer Crookneck Middle Row, left: Guatemalan Blue Banana (should be harvested when larger) Middle Row, right: Patisson Panache Bottom Row: Green, Striped and Golden Zucchini

Click here to read more about our harvest yields and vegetable varieties in the Vegetable Row Garden 

July 24 & 26 2017

July 24th: We had a very successful harvest of squash in the straw bales and a decent harvest of melons and other fruits and veggies in non straw baled areas (see my post on the Vegetable Row Garden). The final count for our squash harvest in the row of 9 straw bales were 145 pieces. In that row, we planted 6 cultivars with 4 winter and 2 summer varieties.

July 26th: The straw bale row where we planted squash has broken down quickly and beautifully in only 6 months. Moisture is being retained and nutrients are being added to the soil at a quick pace.   

August 23rd, 2017

Just under the straw bale mulch is soil that is dark, moist, and fluffy.  There are earthworms present in every handful - it is an indication of a healthy soil ecosystem.

October 12, 2017

Oct. 12th: The straw bales continue to break down nicely. The Netafim lines buried under the straw help keep the soil moist. Having said that, I see definite improvements with how the soil is retaining moisture and how much more evenly the water is being distributed. In other words, drip line systems work far better when the soil is good.

Leaf damage on beets, presumably by goldfinches.

Small broccoli head about to flower.

Aphid damage.

Water damage on cauliflower from heavy rains.

I’d say it has been a decent first season of listening to, observing, learning from this piece of land. Each season doesn’t come without its lessons and mistakes. It’s good practice for me to take the time to document both the successes and failures in order to continually improve my skill. Above are four examples of some mishaps that occurred this season. Keep reading for more thoughts on the matter..

1. Leaf damage on beets

It was a bit of a challenge to figure out what’s been eating the beet leaves. Whatever it was, it’s food choice was very particular. It would skip the kale, carrots and celery and go after the beets and chard patches. After mulling it over for some time, I (with the help of the botanical director), figured out that it must be the goldfinches! Not a widely reported topic (I can’t imagine why) but here’s a 2012 article from the Minnesota StarTribune: Goldfinches are nature’s ‘turncoats’ which explains the late summer breeding seed based diet of goldfinches, presumably relying on greens and sap in winter months.

Solution: Netting on spinach-related veggies.

2. Small broccoli heads

Broccoli is considered a heavy feeder, according to SFGATE, they also have particular soil, moisture and temperature parameters (will grow larger between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit without bolting) which is why mt former supervisor always preferred broccoli raab to the large-headed type.

Solution: Put them on a regular fertilization schedule, improve the soil.

3. Aphid control

I can try a variety of organic or homemade soaps. I think feeding and amending the soil will also help to prevent bug attacks by keeping the plant healthy from the very beginning.

4. Water damage