2012

Bisbee Presentation at Ecoasis Cado Daily, UA Cooperative Extension Water Wise Program

waterwise.arizona.edu cdaily@email.arizona.edu

The garden goes IN the bales,

not AROUND them

What?

Why?

Poor soil

Bermuda grass infestation

Higher beds

Creaky bones and squeaky joints!

Where? Accessible

East-west axis

Visual

Integrated into yard

Rainwater use

Who?

Who will be doing the gardening?

Any special considerations?

Make sure to get the right materials

Bales of straw

Edging

(corrugated metal or other similar material)

Posts

Misc.

Bales – the most important part

hay is green

Do not get Bermuda

grass hay!!!

OH NO!!! Bermuda grass hay!!!

Straw Bales (about $7.50/bale, weight about 80#)

Oat

Wheat

NOT BARLEY

Hay Bales

Alfalfa (about $25/bale)

Is it worth it for the nitrogen?

Nope!

Building the straw bale garden

Choose a site with 6 hours of sun

Place on East- West axis if possible (not as hot on east and west ends)

GARDEN

Size the garden “Three string” straw bales are approximately 4 feet

long, 2 feet high and 18” wide

The gardener wants the garden 12 feet long, 4 feet wide and 38” tall = 48 sqft

Therefore the garden will be made of 2 layers of 6 bales.

Ideally, the cut part of the bale is facing up (this one is not)

Measure and mark the area

Prepare and level the site

Done! And there is the straw!

Plastic if Bermuda grass

Lay down the bales

Done!

Put on the sides (recycled roof metal)

A note about using metal roofing Use unrusted metal

If must use metal with rust spots, paint with Rust-Oleum and then paint over with rubberized roof paint (Elastomeric is one trade name)

Can paint inside of metal with the rubberized paint, rust or not, to help it last longer

Cutting metal Metal roofing can be cut with a power saw

with a blade for cutting metal.

Don’t forget tool and person safety when working with any kind of tools! (Glasses, gloves,keep tools out of working area, etc)

Stakes

Staking Use stakes that will penetrate ground deep

enough to hold sides of garden (approx. 1 foot)

Weight will push garden sides out as bales disintegrate

4 foot utility posts (just like short fence posts) with a metal plate at the bottom are good (approximately $3.50 Home Depot)

Lay out stakes and sides

Place stakes equidistant

Pound in stakes with a sledgehammer getting them as close to the sides as possible

Level sides

A line level

Dig out under the sides if need to lower them

Wire corner edges and stakes together

Use galvanized wire – not tie wire

Wire sides and stakes across bales

Close to done, the gardener is happy!

Add metal edging

Presto!

One year after building a straw bale garden

First year tomatoes!

Complete garden Fill in spaces with loose straw

If needed, get soil mix (3 – way is nice: 62% “topsoil”, 30% compost and 8% manure. This mix is from Cochise Stone for $36/180 sqft)

Bales can be planted in directly, or in soil placed on top.

Leave 2-3 inches from the top of the garden to the top of the sides for mulch

As the bales disintegrate, more soil should be added

Planting Follow instructions on handout

Wet bales for a few days

Sprinkle with ammonium phosphate to stimulate root growth

Cut a hole in the straw with a knife and plant, or plant in soil covering top of bales

Other options

Rubber watering trough

Cold frame with left-over windows

http://www.savewater.com.au/library/Bluescope_Water/ColoVale6.JPG

MULCH

Rainwater for the garden ½ gallon (or .60 gal)/sqft

is needed to soak 1 foot deep

so,

60 gallons is needed for each 100 sqft of planted area each watering

How much water at each watering? Example:

250 sqft garden, with approximately 50%

of the area needing to be watered

=

62.5 gallons/watering

How often do you water? Cool months (Nov – Feb), no rain, approximately

weekly = 4 months x 4 weeks x 1ce/week = 16 waterings (1000 gals)

Hot months (May, June), no rain, approximately 3x/week = 2 months x 4 weeks x 3 = 24 waterings (1500 gals)

Warm months (March, April, July, August, Sept, October), rain, approximately 1ce/week = 5 months x 4 weeks x 1ce/week = 20 waterings (1246 gals)

Total water use = 62.5 gal/watering x 60 waterings =

3750 gallons of water annually

for the 500 sqft garden

Gravity feed or pumped? For gravity feed, level of water must be above discharge

Bubblers are the easiest

Drip irrigation needs 20 psi, t-tape can use 2-10 psi

2 feet in elevation = 1 psi

Need to elevate tank 45 feet for 20 psi

For pumping need:

Electricity

Solar

Gravity fed garden

Watering trough (165 gal)

550 gallon tank

Corrugated Metal Pipe

Pumped for drip irrigation

Rain-fed straw bale vegetable garden - “Bisbee Grown”!

2012

Bisbee Presentation at Ecoasis Cado Daily, UA Cooperative Extension Water Wise Program

waterwise.arizona.edu cdaily@email.arizona.edu

The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Cooperative Extension is implied.

Any products, services, or organizations that are mentioned, shown, or indirectly implied in this publication do not imply endorsement by the University of Arizona.