straw bale gardening and rainwater harvesting: a construction handbook
DESCRIPTION
Straw Bale Gardening and Rainwater Harvesting: A Construction Handbook ~ ArizonaTRANSCRIPT
2012
Bisbee Presentation at Ecoasis Cado Daily, UA Cooperative Extension Water Wise Program
waterwise.arizona.edu [email protected]
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 [email protected]
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.