When: Sat, June 22, 10am - 2pm

Planting a garden is always a fun experiment - especially combining it with a new technique (new for me, that is). Today I planted the straw bale garden. I purchase transplants and seeds, and followed the recommended techniques as noted in Karsten's book, pages 69-71. I planted the following:

Seeds - pole bean 'Romano', nasturtium 'Peach Melba Superior';

Transplants - cherry tomatoes 'Yellow Pear', 'Sweet One Million', 'Moby Grape' (obviously named by a music fan); sweet peas 'Knee High', Swiss chard 'Bright Lights', peppers 'Hot Banana'.

A conversation about climate change and gardening with Master Gardener, Del Hampton, got me thinking about giving straw bale gardening a whirl. While Master Gardeners Betsy Massie, Kate Wodtke and I were planning the 2013 Gopher Adventures youth gardening program, I hit on the idea of trying a straw bale garden as part of "Goldy's Garden", the kids' garden area located in the Horticultural Science display and teaching garden at the corner of Gortner and Folwell Avenues on the St. Paul campus.

Joel Karsten, author of Straw Bale Gardens: The Breakthrough Method for Growing Vegetables Anywhere, Earlier and with No Weeding, has been making the speaking rounds these days. As a result, I've received quite a number of questions from people about the feasibility / practice of straw bale gardening. I didn't know how to respond, so I thought it would be a good idea to give it a try. Besides, I'm always interested in alternative growing methods for small space / urban gardening. In addition, Stephanie Kasper, a student in my online class, wrote a very good article on pallet gardening. Both of these alternative growing methods present interesting options and fit well with our vision for Goldy's Garden. "Goldy" is always eager to get kids interested in gardening!

Currently, I am at the tail end of "conditioning" the bales. I've added 20-0-4 fertilizer to the bales at a rate of 1/2 c. (nearly) every other Days 1-9, and then 10-10-10 on Day 11. Planting is supposed to be scheduled for Day 13 (tomorrow 6/13).

I've done a fairly good job following Joel's schedule, though I admit missing a day or two of the initial applications. I also added 1/2 c. of 20-0-4 days 7-9 (skipping day 8) instead of 1/4 c. each day. The cool weather also hasn't been very conducive to heating up and breaking down the bales though the rain has been welcomed, but my trellising went up easily and the bales make a great entrance to Goldy's Garden.

Plants selected for the straw bale garden include cherry tomatoes, swiss chard, malabar spinach, pole beans, basil and nasturtiums.

Two pallets were recycled, covered on the back and three sides with landscape fabric, and filled with potting soil with fertilizer included I planted one pallet with a 'Twice As Nice' melon and three mints. The second pallet was planted with four bush cucs. I propped one end of each pallet up on cinder blocks pointing south to maximize light and add some interesting form to a flat area of the garden. Watering is a litte messy, but I'm guessing this will lessen as the roots develop.

Stay tuned for updates!

Dr. Scott Hygnstrom will be giving a webinar entitled "Dealing with Deer." Dr. Hygnstrom will provide actionable information to resolve human-deer conflicts.

Webinar will occur on Friday June 21, at 11:00 am to Noon Central time.

Pre-registration is not required. Simply show up at https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/wildlifedmg at the appointed time.


The webinar will be recorded and posted here: https://learn.extension.org/

Presented courtesy of the Wildlife Damage Management CoP.

Webinar contact:
Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, MNI, ACP
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - School of Natural Resources
414 Hardin Hall
3310 Holdrege St.
Lincoln, NE 68583-0974
402-472-8961 central
Svantassel2@unl.edu
http://icwdm.org

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Are you interested in improving your landscape to "bee-friendly"?

Here are some fantastic new educational modules for Extension Master Gardeners, MN Master Naturalists, the International Society of Arboriculture, and Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association members - or anyone else interested in improving landscapes for all-important pollinators.

Created by Extension entomologist, Vera Krishik and staff, in collaboration with the Xerces Society, has produced a fabulous new educational website and presentations called "Pollinator Conservation"! Included are many great resources AND five online presentations as part of "Bee-Friending Pollinators" workshops (four of the five are recorded).

Watching these can studying this website overall can be counted toward Extension Master Gardener CE hours.

Here's the link: Pollinator Conservation

Let's all do our part to make our landscapes and gardens havens for pollinators. Our lives literally depend on these creatures thriving.

Here is a MG continuing education opportunity: the 2013 Midwest Extension Compost School, June 3-5, 2013.
If you have questions, please contact:
Tom Halbach
Professor and Extension Educator, Waste Management and Water Quality
Phone: 612-625-3135     
email:   thalbach@umn.edu
web:  http://www.soils.umn.edu/