Straw bale gardening is one of many options for dealing with poor soil. How do you know that you have poor soil? To begin, have your soil tested by your local Cooperative Extension Office. These tests can determine the pH level of your soil, assess the fertility and health of the microorganism colonies living in the soil, and provide you with useful information on which organic amendments to add. In order to make the straw bales a good habitat for garden vegetables, you’ll need to condition each bale, which turns it into a growing medium. This is the most time-intensive part of the project, but don’t worry! Nature does most of the work. Days 1 to 3: Once your straw bales are in place, take the garden hose and water each bale thoroughly. Soak it with water. You need to do this once a day for three days to start the conditioning process. The bales begin to decompose. As the microorganisms start to work, the inside of the bale heats up. Days 4 to 6: On days 4, 5 and 6, you will nee
1) Choose the right time: cuttings can be made from August to November, when the stems of the year have grown well and matured / aged. 2) Clean your pruning shears thoroughly: remove any grime, then use alcohol and / or flame. This is to avoid staining the wound, and an infection reaches the plant. 3) Prepare the soil / pot: the soil must be very loose, draining but able to retain a little moisture. For example, you can mix 1/2 potting soil and 1/2 sand, or 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 sand and 1/3 peat. If you are planting in pots, you need a pot at least 10cm high. If you plant in the ground, plan ~ 20cm deep and complete with 5cm of the above mixture in the bottom. 4) Choose the right stems: choose stems that have grown in the year, straight and with 2-3 eyes / buds, about 15cm long if you plant in pots, 22-23cm long if you plant in full Earth. Make the lower cut a few millimeters above a bud, beveled on the side opposite the bud, to promote the recovery of the mother plant on this b