Sentry Page Protection

An Easy No Dig Garden - August 2018

If you're short of space, or just hate to dig, try growing your vegetables on straw bales. Straw bale gardening is seriously simple and loads of fun. Keep the string tied around your bales to keep them intact, then prepare them for planting. Preparation needs to begin about 10 days before planting, so get them ready now for your spring garden. First, apply a manure tea or liquid fertiliser high in nitrogen to the bale to initiate decomposition (as the bale slowly decomposes over the growing season, heat and carbon dioxide are generated, which promote plant growth by warming the roots), then keep the bale wet for the following two days. On the fourth day apply blood and bone (watered in), then keep the bale wet for another two days. On the seventh day, add more blood and bone, followed by another two days of watering. On the tenth day, apply an 8-8-8 (N-P-K) fertiliser and lightly water into the bale. If you want to go organic, use manure teas, liquid seaweed or fish fertilisers. On the eleventh day, apply a 10cm layer of potting mix to serve as a bed for your plants. You can either lay the potting mix over the entire bale, or plant in pockets. Then simply plant your veggies and keep them watered. Tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, cabbages, cauliflower, silverbeet and melons all grow well using this technique.  
Contributed by Harry