Joel Karsten podcasts references
Next thing is the cost. $5-10$ per bale is not free. Then the fertilizer is not free either, the water is not free, there are states where water is the commodity. 3 cups per bale per application of blood meal is a lot of blood meal that cost will add up. And the straw bales are the temporary garden structure. They do collapse because they do compost.
Folk can get free bails after Halloween. Those are sold for decoration. Are they clean or not? Would store overpay for organic ones unless the poor farmer is selling of overstock at a dump prices? About these risks see More of straw bale gardening: listening to podcasts and presentations 2#N
Planting a tomato into a bale that is 85-100F (forbid you a hundred) is the transplant shock esp if rge outside temperatures just did hit 50-th and may dip into 40-th at nigh... That is an odd thing to suggest. In Siberia folk do not do that kind of a thing either... it not elevated like straw bale, it's a trench...
By 12 days... it's not yet compost, that does not happen that fast.
I really would like to see life forms data on day 12. If that bale is compost already why the method is calling for by-weekly fertilizing. In every forum about that method.
Also there is one thing I do not get ... the author does it for 20 years on one spot, bales last 2 years or so... they decompose and that's a lot of compost. If his straw bales are so good and clean how come he is not planting in pure compost by now and still doing beginning of the succession path bacterial compost start every year with 24 bales or so... His system should become self sustainable a long time ago, so why it did not... why is he still buying straw bales and fertilizers? On 20 years say 24 bales each year $5 a piece that's 2400... what kind of garden can I make with that...
Mine cost me 340 for cattle panels, 60 for t-posts because I have rabbits for the fence... garden itself cost 250 to hire the guy with tractor and bed of manure to till first 5 cm of pasture because it did not go ant deeper (and that was good). My garden is way bigger than 24 bales so. It became self sustainable by the end of my first season, now I do add leaves and free wood chips to it. And I yet to pay for any fertilizers...
Makes me wonder is that straw bale thing really economical.
I've got mine free except truck gas (was less than 1 mile trip twice).
Now I wonder do I want to pay for all that fertilizer thing or do I want to let my chickens to tear up bales or poop on them real good and see where that would go just for giggles.
Then there is the cost of the trellises and pests control (rodents and bugs)
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