Straw Bale Gardening Temperature

The following chart is published in Gardening with Straw Bales by Dustin Blakey University of California Cooperative Extension. Once your straw bales are in place take the garden hose and water each bale thoroughly.

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Highest temp I got was 60 degrees Celsius and that was using Urea water soluble.

Straw bale gardening temperature. When it the temperature of the straw bale comes down to equal the air temperature your bale is ready for planting. If it feels hot to the touch water the bale another day and check it again on Day 12. After two weeks of preparing the bale stick your hand inside the bale to determine warmth.

You will have to provide your. You need to do this once a day for three days to start the conditioning process. Check the Nitrogen content in the fertilizers.

Soak it with water. If it feels about the same temperature as your hand you can plant your vegetables. Urea can be used as a bale amendment as can fish emulsion or fertilizer.

This happens as it begins taking in moisture and decomposing. Add compost seed-free soil or bone meal to the top of the bale before starting a straw bale garden. At the two week mark the temperature drops to just above day-time air temperature.

The conditioning process in Straw Bale Gardening will easily generate vigorous bacteria and fungi growth so much so that they cause the bales to generate heat often exceeding 140 degrees. Feeding your plants that are growing with straw bale is important as the straw bale holds very few nutrients. For the first few days of conditioning the temperature inside the straw bale rises to anywhere from 100 -125 degrees.

Make sure bales stay damp. The bale should feel warm but not super hot to the touch. They require temperatures between 70F and 80F to germinate properly.

Planting Seed Large seeds and for individual plants cucurbits legumes beets and chard kale kohlrabi etc Remove a chunk of straw and fill the hole with potting soil Small seeds or to plant in rows Put a couple inches of potting soil on top of the balesMake sure its level Water carefully so it doesnt wash away Or cut the bottom out of a plastic flat pin it. Youll be able to plant tomato seeds into your straw bales directly and allow them to germinate on their own. Quick tips for straw bale gardening.

With the proper fertilizers and water your straw bale should warm up to a temperature of about 100 degrees. You can check this with a meat thermometer. A temperature check with a thermometer or a bare hand stuck into the center of the bale will give a good idea of whether the bales are below 100 degrees.

As in many gardening techniques there are proponents of several different methods. Choose your plants On day 10 return to simply watering the bale and continue doing that until the temperature inside the bale starts to reflect the temperature outside. You can prepare your bales by just keeping them wet for three to four weeks prior to planting.

Prior to planting Day 11 make sure the bale s have cooled down internally to 99F or below around body temperature or lower. The temperature was a cool 48 degrees and the bales were all between 60 and 62 internally. Not only is a straw bale garden a great temporary way to start a vegetable plot in your backyard it is also a means to self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

This bacterial colonization of the bales completely metabloizes these chemicals and certainly with a half-life of 30-40 days these chemicals will be long gone once a bale of straw is completely decomposed. Growing food in straw bales is a technique developed by Joel Karsten in his book. Day 9 of straw bale conditioning.

If the temperature is cooler than your body temperature youre ready for starting. If you fail at strawbale gardening. Straw Bale Gardens Complete Breakthrough Method for Growing Vegetables Anywhere Earlier With No Weeding.

I use the bale as the warming table to germinate all my seeds in a large tray and then transfer then after the bail has cooled. As the bale goes through the conditioning process the internal temperature may rise to 120 degrees or even higher. Excessive heat may impact transplants or seeds placed into the bale s.

But I will finish the straw bale conditioning as Joel describes it and should be planting within a few days. I put the last bit of nitrogen rich fertilizer on the bales today. The bales begin to decompose.

Always keep the straw damp. Check the bale on day 11. You can see that there is a huge increase in temperature during conditioning.

Days 1 to 3. Alternatively if they are large enough you can grow tomatoes in pots as long as. When I activate a bale cook I measure the temps with a probe every day for 2 weeks.

As the microorganisms start to work the inside of the bale. It can dry quickly. Feel the top of the bale s for heat or use a compost thermometer to measure the temperature.

Straw Bale Garden Results After My First Season The Beginner S Garden