Can you overwater a straw bale garden?
Don’t Overwater “In the straw bale, the water runs down through the bales,” he said. If you overwater, what that’ll do is it leaches through the bale and it’ll carry with it any soluble nutrients. Karsten recommends 1 gallon of water for each bale. Day 1-3: Soak bales thoroughly and keep them damp. Day 4-6: Sprinkle each bale with ½ cup urea (46-0-0) and water well into bales. You can substitute bone meal, fish meal, or compost for a more organic approach. Days 7-9: Cut back to 1/4 cup of fertilizer per bale per day, and continue to water it in well.Spread 1 cup (8 ounces) of general 10-10-10 fertilizer evenly per bale. Sprinkle it all over the bale surface, side-to-side and end-to-end. Water the bales to push the fertilizer down and thoroughly saturate the straw. Water thoroughly and your bale(s) should be ready to plant.Use a ½ cup of a complete garden fertilizer or three cups of an organic fertilizer like Milorganite®. Then completely moisten the bale. The organic fertilizer feeds the microorganisms that help decompose the straw into a nutrient rich planting medium. Thoroughly moisten the bale.
What are the disadvantages of straw bale gardening?
Disadvantages The disadvantages to strawbale gardens are that they only last about a year and a half. You can usually put in one winter crop followed up by one summer crop and then they are mostly done. You are also working with a soilless system, so you have to provide all of the nutrients for that entire time. Since the bales provide some height, straw bale gardens have many of the same benefits raised beds do—they’re easier on gardeners’ joints, provide better protection from pests and disease, require minimal weeding, and are a good option for gardeners with poor soil.Moisture intrusion is the #1 concern with straw bale homes, just as it is with conventional homes. Because straw bales can provide food for decay fungus, widespread, long-term fungal activity can destroy a straw bale home. In addition to decay of the straw, decay fungus is a concern because mold fungus releases spores.
How long do straw bales last outside?
Hay stored undercover can maintain its quality for more than 12 months, but hay stored outdoors without cover will show significant reductions in quality, dry matter and nutrients over time. Hay can typically be stored outdoors and uncovered for up to three months, with a maximum of six months. Hay is dried herbaceous plants such as legumes or grass. As such, its lifespan is anything but infinite. From the moment hay is harvested, it begins going bad. The average lifespan of a round bale of hay is five to six days, which isn’t very long.
Which of these can damage a straw bale?
Durability and moisture resistance The factor that will most affect straw bale wall durability is long-term or repeated exposure to water. If the moisture content is above 20% by weight, the fungi in bales produce enzymes that break down straw cellulose after 2 or 3 weeks. However, erosion control blankets are stretched over the surface and pinned in place. Straw takes less time to decompose than most blanket fibers. Straw can break down in less than three months, while erosion control blankets typically last 3 months to 3 years.
Can straw bales get rained on?
It is preferable for hay bales to not get wet and be kept dry at all times to maintain their quality. Hay bales will be able to accept a small amount of rain but you should monitor their moisture content carefully. Unfortunately, that’s far from the case. October hay also is hard to dry, however. To get it off the field, many times it gets baled just a little too damp, especially for the extra tight, heavy bales it makes. While high forage quality is great for feeding livestock, it also provides plentiful nutrients for fungi and bacteria in the hay.To make high quality hay: cut it at the perfect time, dry it down as fast as possible, then put it up quickly at the optimum moisture level and store it out of the elements. Of course, if these were simple steps, every farmer would have premium hay every year.
How long does it take to condition straw bales?
Condition the bale As soon as moisture hits the bale, it will start to decompose, and the inside will heat right up. Be sure to condition the bale before you plant it. This process usually takes around 10 to 14 days. Conditioning” the bales is basically the process of getting the inside of the bales to start composting. This process takes approximately 10 to 12 days. Since I was just experimenting, I didn’t worry about how long it would take, as long as the conditioning was done correctly.