STRAW BALE GARDENING DAY 1 | & Complete Spring Garden Update

Conditioning the straw bales for gardening season this year, followed by a quick tour of what's growing in the garden. Oh, and we'll plant some corn too!
Square Foot Seeding Square: amzn.to/2SDp0C5
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[@1870s]

A couple people have asked about sandals. We've mentioned them before, they are by far Rachel's favorite: amzn.to/3eF9qP3

[@justpatty7328]

I'm so happy that you are planting corn. It is so fun to grow! A little fish fertilizer every other week.

[@deannewilliams3321]

“Lettuce” know how they react to your presentation! Everything is looking great!

[@katsgardenkitchenandmore9050]

I guarantee it's the barn clean out that got your garlic so big and healthy looking my mother-in-law and father-in-law built a house in a neighborhood that was brand-new where it used to be a farm and in several places as they were digging the different houses including my inlaws property my mother-in-law planted some marigolds that first year that they live there and they got three times as big as marigolds normally get all the neighbors as they would walk by what comment about how huge they were and where did you get them and all us kids told her we believed it was from the manure from the farm that was there before so I believe it is your barn clean out that is what is doing your garlic some good.

[@justpatty7328]

Yes, I think it has made mine super happy too. Composting chicken poo here.

[@mojoflyingsolo639]

I have peas, carrots , onions, lettuce, basil, dill, cabbage, cucumber, beans, and I just planted tomatoes today. I will wait until I know the lows will not dip into the 40's, to plant my peppers, like their feet to stay warm . I still have my Pineapple ground cherries to plant too. Love the way your fence around your garden end up.

[@miz.harrington85]

I love how organic your garden is! I bet you food tastes amazing!!

[@chpbd]

FYI...regarding the rye (or any other grain sprouting); I have found if I have the time that it is easiest to cover the bale with black plastic for a few days prior to planting. This usually kills all the sprouts. If it is only a few, here and there, then I just pull them but sometimes there are a LOT so covering them works great. Even if you have sprouts during the "conditioning" process, you can remove the plastic long enough to apply fertilizer and water then put the plastic back on. Just a hint.

[@pattiperrin6965]

I am in T or C NM, I have onions, lettuce you name it I planted I love gardening, am 71 yr's old, I move here 2 yr's ago and I just love it here, I love watching the both of you, and I have chicken's I get about dozen egg's a day,

[@pattigsbh4392]

I love your compact garden. You grow so much! I would love to grow corn if the raccoons wouldn't eat it. I'm late at getting things in this year for several reasons but mostly I'm still reorganizing it and laying it out. Just trying to improve and get better every year. Looking forward to seeing everyone's gardens productive! ❤🙏

[@darlajohnson2020]

I bought one of those planting squares this year, and I LOVE it. Makes it really easy to plant my raised beds.

[@stac_cadet2284]

I feel like my garlic is looking awesome this year as well.

[@willow8094]

Everything is growing great ! Barn clean out is awesome !

[@1870s]

I think so too!

[@karenbillings6038]

My residential container garden is pretty small - usually four tomato plants (one Roma type, one slicer, and two different cherry tomatoes) (and a yellow pear tomato), three pepper plants (a Shosito, an Anaheim, and a jalapeno), two cukes (a burpless and a pickling), and a dozen or so herbs that are annuals in our zone (two types of basil, chives, three types of sage, two or three types of thyme, and rosemary) along with the perennial herbs - dill and lemongrass. Hopefully I can get the drip irrigation system set up by this weekend, too. I love your garden area and your soil looks awesome! Ours is mostly clay and since I don't have the yard space, it's a yearly experiment to see what works best in our containers. Keeps me out of trouble (mostly 😉)!

[@nenemaria-cornfieldsgarden]

It'll be interesting to see the results between the beds, and the tomato experiment. The garlic looks great!! I find that I never seem to get excited for the garden until the frost has finally gone and the days are longer. I've just got all my tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse, now it finally feels like gardening season :)

[@1870s]

Now that you mention it, it's definitely the days getting longer that gives me all the happy feels

[@belieftransformation]

Wonderful garden progress! You’re a wonderful team! We can’t plant much out in west central Alberta, Canada until the last week in May. Thanks for sharing🤗🇨🇦

[@rainlyte2003]

We did bales for 4-5 years. I loved strawbale gardening. We chose not to die to cost of bales here. I will say I never had luck with root vegetables but above ground did awesome! I would use the composted bales the following year for beds.Look forward to your videos.

[@christinedewing4577]

Baby beets seedlings are coming up here, as well as itty bitty carrot leaves. I have to do my taxes this week, but should be able to direct sow some green beans and get the flower seedlings in the ground--they came up so fast in the hex cells and it's been so chilly and rainy that they'll be growing out the bottoms. I use water reservoir grow boxes for the squash, corn, peppers, and cucumbers but too soon for them. Bought asparagus roots, so those are waiting, too. I'm loving all the space you have to play in!

[@DeborahBrown-tj7wx]

Louisville, Ky here...just now getting ready to plant my potatoes, then next week peppers and tomatoes. It's been soooo wet, cool and rainy here, everything is running a tad late but that's ok. Honestly, last year it was the same scenario and a lot of warmer weather things didn't get planted until the first week of June! Cool and wet doesn't work well for maters and peppers lol. Cabbage and broccoli doing well. Have some peas and Asian greens that are doing well also. Lettuce seeds coming up nicely. Still have melons, cucumbers, squash and some various flowers growing under my grown lights just waiting for everything else to fall into place lol. My Dixondale onions and my garlic are doing awesome too. Strawberries loaded with blooms. Zone 6b.

[@kimdowning8736]

Your baby onions looks as awesome as mine do!! I'm finally super excited also to be planting.

[@lisabrown5976]

Once again other interesting way to garden!

[@normamead4511]

I also started my seeds and for the first time I got a 85 percent success. I did progression seeding and I am really happy 😊 with the result. I live in California so I will be able to grow more food for the first time this year.😊❤️🏡🐶😺

[@heidicamicia2755]

I use a flat container with beer and the slugs like it and die happy 😊

[@Emeraldwitch30]

I'm glad it worked for you. But geez it drew raccoons into my garden and they made a drunken mess lol. I use organic slug pellets. I put them in a shallow dish and I put a flat rock over the the dish with other rocks holding it up a bit.

[@jackienoel2864]

Your garden is looking sooooo gooooddd!!!! You’re doing a great job!! I love carrots! Peas n carrots!

[@1870s]

Me too!!

[@Gardentogriddle]

It was good to see you A little more back to happy Rachael! You’ve seemed a little sad lately which we all go through from time to time. You frequently say were your friends well we think about you as our friend too! Praying life moves smooth this week for you😁

[@daisygurl3601]

Fun! I’ve grown using straw bales, but can’t find organic straw this year. It’s an easy way to grow and a great alternative for those who don’t have space or soil in which to grow. Enjoy the experiment!

[@AndreaRuralMN]

Besides helping in my mom's in-town and grandparents farm gardens as a kid, I haven't done much gardening myself. This year I'm growing 3 5gal bucket tomato plants.

[@mariagarcia-po6kl]

🌽🌽🌽🍅🍅🥕🥕🥕Hi Rachel. You are so lovely in the garden. I hope your corn grows really big. Thank you Rachel for sharing such a lovely video. God is always with you and Todd. Take care. Maria.🌽🌽🌽🌽🍅🍅🍅🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕

[@DebbiesHomeplace]

I have never done straw bale gardening but everyone is saying it is the way to go. Wow! The garlic looks amazing Rachel. I was wondering about Corn, so glad to see you are planting some. Everything looks so nice and growing very nicely. Great job! Glad you have your garden fever back, amazing!

[@monikahadfield4619]

Garlic loves nitrogen at the early stages of its growth together with moisture. The thicker the stem, the bigger the bulb. Just like onions. Glad to hear your onions are growing now. Give the cabbages some blood fertilizer, it will give you bigger harvest. Keep going. Where do you get your square spacing board? My daughter is blind, loves gardening and it would make her planting easier. Many thanks.

[@loric3455]

I have those tiny slugs too. I put a little beer in an old cat food can. They crawl right into it and drown. I empty it and replenish it each day.

[@lynsmith2698]

Our snow is finally gone and everything is coming to life. We have been building a greenhouse so next week, all going well, i can get my tomatoes out in it. We can't see out any of our windows right now for these huge tomato and pepper plants. We are also going to plant another cherry tree and an asparagus plant. I am pretty excited about that.

[@laurastirling4772]

So far I have corn, tomatoes, egg plant, pumpkin, melons, peppers, and cabbage in the ground. I have squash, zucchini’s, more tomatoes starts to plant. Looking good Rachel ❤️

[@lorithornhill649]

I love your garden and watching it coming along. My garden is in and0 my tomatoes are 4ft and have already had a few cherry tomatoe snacks.

[@juliebeal8574]

I have a tea and herb garden that I'm expanding a little.. a small row of carrots, a few beans, 2 cucumbers, 2 watermelon, 8 peppers, 8 tomatoes, some flowers, a new asparagus and strawberry bed, 4 potato bags, 1 pear tree/1 plum tree/1 peach tree/1 fig tree (which isn't looking too great :( )... we have 3 blueberry bushes and some elderberries, and I'm sure I'm forgetting things! :)

[@shuvanidev]

Gosh, tomatoes going in already...... I wish. I live in central MI and it's going to be in the 30's at night here for a bit longer. I don't usually put anything tender in until right after Memorial Day - unless we are still cold that is. This is the spring that won't let go of winter here. We just had nightly freeze warnings and even snow flurries two mornings ago! Gah......

[@leahhitz7183]

Great garden! I started my whole garden seed to ground...and one 2 of the 15 things I planted are growing...argggg now I have to go get plants. Lesson learned. I'm going to start seedlings next year. Hugs

[@meganross]

My garlic is going crazy! It’s my first time growing it😊

[@denisebrady6858]

Hey great video- I am about to pull my corn & YES ! my lettuce for the first time is looking amazing. I have one bed with some Cabbage & Pak Choy seedlings that I checked this morning ALL EATEN so I am on the prowl now (not slugs jut pesky grubs)- all good though as I will get rid of them. Cheers Denise - Australia

[@denisefalusi8070]

Burdock! When I was a kid growing up in the UK, we drank what's called Dandelion & Burdock. Delicious!

[@Emeraldwitch30]

I dig up a few of the big first year burdock last year in an area we are working on and I stir-fried them Japanese gobo style. I was surprised at how nice the flavor was. There are a bunch over there this spring too. I'd read you can steam and peel the emerging flowering stalks andceat them too. Freeby food.

[@jamesbrown3621]

You are amazing!!! I love your gardening style you are so soft spoken and soothing. I got my cabbage peppers squash and cucumbers planted in my raised beds. Got to get my tomatoes and carrots going this weekend.

[@magcspells]

I'm trying straw bale gardening this year as well and I've been conditioning them pretty passively for about a month. (Michigan's UP) I've been doing milorganite as well but really letting the rain and weather do a lot of the work till I'm ready to start planting. Internal Temps are in the 60s in my bales :)

[@rosiemarsh2071]

Love!!

[@cindyhemenway2738]

You said you like to talk to us, my son was asking me why I was talking to the tv lol, cant wait to plant my tomatos and peppers, my zucchini took of and r ready to plant too, just been so cold here in Michigan

[@Emeraldwitch30]

I'm here in Central Michigan and its been so 🥶 cold here too. My tomatoes and peppers and eggplants are bursting the seams under the growlights. (EtA:Oops I'm cooking dinner and commenting-and my war with autocorrect rages on).

[@GrammaDebsStorytime]

I have never heard of milorganite...I am learning so much from you guys 💕

[@tdewtx]

Burdock root is good for you. Transplant them somewhere out of the way to utilize for the health benefits.

[@hollynelson543]

NICE TO SEE YOUSO HAPPY TONIGHT. YEAH, GARDEN SEASON !

[@catracampolieto8989]

I have 2 kinds of garlic. Sweet and red onions. 3 kinds of carrots...about 600...lol. 3 blueberry bushes. Black and red raspberry bushes. Beets and radishes. Oregan sugar peas and a nice size strawberry bed...Ozark beauty. So nice to see you have your garden state of mind again...me too. It's therapy for me.

[@CopperIslandHomestead]

Looking so good!

[@hollyu48]

Today I potted zinnias and nasturtiums and planted dill and cucumbers

[@turtlelilysgarden5258]

My garlic is unusually large this year also.

[@HoeIngandSowIngGardening]

Growing in hay is pretty cool. I'm interested to see how thing grow. I haven't seen anyone else share anything like that, but I also haven't been looking. LOL Onions are looking good. I'm in Florida so I didn't do any cold weather crops last year. I will probably try it this year in the fall. I love the spacer you use. I'm growing in containers so it would not be useful for me. Enjoyed watching you play in the garden. 👍😎🌴🌻🌸😀😎🌴👍 - LazyLizLife

[@ChristieOconnor]

crushed egg shells help to deter slugs and snails

[@carmentrevino4704]

It's going to be a beautiful garden. I am sure you work harder on you spare time, then you do at work. All the things you guys do, hard work and takes a lot of time.😊❤

[@patsyspaeth3809]

Ohio here we have done this for past 2 years we already have happy lima beans peas pep and tomato plants

[@micheleleone3872]

I have the itch to get out and plant also, this is my first full season of gardening and I'm a little nervous about putting my starts outside🤞🏻. Good luck!! 🌽🌽

[@ezd1023]

We've got Corn planted too. 🙂

[@judyabernathy80]

Such fun to watch you plan and plant your garden. It’s so pretty. ❣️♥️🙏🏼♥️❣️

[@lauracastellanos7303]

I was just thinking that you looked very happy in your garden! Glad you got your energy back! Looks like you will have a great harvest this year!

[@stephiefultz]

Everything looking Great!! It’s so exciting seeing everything growing and coming to life. Thanks for bringing us on your journey.

[@nellieann9661]

Looks great

[@denisebrady6858]

CORN he we come it will be interesting to see what you do with it. :):)

[@juliekraft4102]

Things are looking great!

[@timbrant1538]

So far just brassicas planted along with swiss chard, carrots, potatoes, beets & kolorabi. Putting up the hoop house plastic this week, soon will fill it with tomatoes & peppers. Enjoy your channel!

[@emilyneal7888]

Can’t wait to see what the bales do. I want to try that too.

[@bobwilliams5506]

I've got some Ruth Stout potatoes going for the first time. Looking forward to the results.

[@MatthewSherriff85]

Your wind chime sounds like my fridge door alarm noise

[@Maranatha_Acres]

You are giving me the gardening bug Rachel!! 🐛

[@sarahhankins5644]

You guys don’t have frost Wednesday night?!! We are in central Ohio and a frost is forecasted for Wednesday night here 🙄 I had gotten my seeds started late so they aren’t too overgrown thank goodness and fingers crossed this weekend we will be planting our tomatoes and squash etc 💕🙌🏻

[@lorihunsaker7584]

Wow. I didn't know you could ant corn that close together. Great information. God bless!

[@brendacarroll498]

Your garden is looking wonderful!

[@sheilamesick96]

You have been busy. Your garden looks gorgeous!

[@druemiller3111]

Harvesting potatoes and elephant garlic soon. Planting okra this weekend. Also planting field corn and rosella hibiscus in raised beds for the first time. Harvesting turnips soon. What to plant in that space? I don't know yet 🙈. Acorn Squash, maybe? We'll see. Good luck with yours. Watch out for light freeze mid May 🥶.

[@ger_gerxstiches]

I was noticing how big your garlic is looking already. Glad you pointed it out. We are in W Mi and mine is definitely not that far along.

[@suefreeburg5813]

Your garden is looking great! I can't wait to get mine going.

[@gretchenhaugen7303]

Milorganite is sewage sludge from the city of Milwaukee. It has decomposed humans and other biosludge in it. This is why it makes an excellent deer repellent.

[@jenniferrosario1489]

I did corn using the square foot gardening method. It suggests 4 per foot and then to thin to 2 per feet. But I left all 4 and it's doing great

[@mawpatti]

you had me thinking when you said 20X4 was 60 lol I was always taught in school it was 80 not 60 hahaha!

[@1870s]

And that is why one should never try to do math on camera 😀

[@mawpatti]

@@1870s LOL LOL LOL

[@Drkakfood]

Hi! You are doing excellent grading. You can use banana peels water and eggshells powder as powerful organic fertilizer

[@bloominginplace4791]

I would love to see a cost break down on your hay bail garden at the end of season.

[@1870s]

I don't see cost changing, 6$ per bale. I already had the fertilizer and plastic fencing

[@bloominginplace4791]

@@1870s awesome, and in time to try it. :-)

[@SageWolfStudio]

This is my first year gardening, I have lettuce, kale, collard greens, lima beans, cucumbers, tomatos, watermelon, corn and some other stuff like strawberries and herbs. I have been experimenting and some of the things that can't go out yet are inside under a grow light, I have been hardening off my cucumbers, tomatoes, and watermelon though so I can plant them sometime this week or next week. I am in zone 8b

[@_thatchickchris8246]

Everything is looking great! I just got a raised bed filled that I got for Mother’s Day. Going to get it set and try some spinach and beets (hopefully tomorrow).

[@valeried4504]

Looks awesome...

[@MatthewSherriff85]

You should check out the Geoff Lawton instant garden, by far the simplest garden bed I've ever put together, its only been a week but it looks promising. I will be doing a more in depth explanation of how i built mine on my very new KZbin channel, but it is very similar to this.

[@cherylbertolini3140]

cucumbers grow well up sunflowers

[@JennyfromTheD]

My garlic is crazy this year too! I wish I could share a pic lol My husband said that they look like corn hahahaha

[@wild_free_homestead]

I plant my corn seeds 4 inches apart and the rows are 1 foot apart. That's what farmers have their seeders set at. They don't plant the rows 3 feet apart. At least the farmers I know.

[@Emeraldwitch30]

I plant that way too. And hill up once they hit about 2 feet tall. We get some wicked winds with the thunderstorms here.

[@nicholaceho9679]

Hello Rachel, it looks great the nice new growing space. 90 corn in one and 60 in the other I will try corn again this year can't seem to get a decent harvest from it.

[@Emeraldwitch30]

Corn is a huge nitrogen hog. I side dress my corn at least 3 times with espoma fertilizer (its organic and I think the bag is for general veggie growing the bag is red) I grew popcorn last year and ended up with 3/4 of a cup after the crows and raccoons ate their fill. Silly things never share.

[@kirstmlarson1]

My garlic is at least 2’ high also! I’ve planted glass gem popcorn for the first time and spaced it in a 12” square also. We will see how it goes!

[@kirstmlarson1]

I canned sweet corn last year and loved having it as an ingredient. It was about 4dozen large ears to a 9pint canner load (I think). So if you have plenty - can some 😀

[@shamancarmichael5305]

Oooh, I love a good garden experiment! Let the mad science begin...mwahahaha! 🤓

[@homesteadingintheheartland8106]

We wanted to do this w potatoes this yr, but couldn't find organic straw anywhere....😕 will be growing in ground....and large containers again😉...I hear ya w the weather, my asparagus crowns are growing in the bag in laundry room, was 30 F again lastnight....ND here, so I'm zone 3/4....goes from winter to summer here too.

[@lucythomas4077]

I’ve planted bell peppers, jalapeños, bush beans, pickling cucumbers, tomatoes one early girl. And spices. Not as big as yours but small to start. It’s been fun and am learning lots. Have you ever put straw down in your vegetable garden? I just put some down guess I’ll see what happens.

[@tdewtx]

Tuck in the back of your mind to take all your cobs from the corn and make corn stock. I saw the Thrifty Chic Housewife make it and she swears it is liquid gold.

[@joy-unhinged]

Really!! You're planting corn already, my bed isn't even setup yet. I'm slightly ahead of you on most crops, in NY

[@urbanohiogardener]

I noticed my garlic is especially tall already also. I wondered if they were going to be ready before July.

[@foster3316]

Some crops will do well. Some will not. Either way it takes a few years for the hay or straw to really get composted. Tomatoes do great this way.

[@kimiyemlsmallgardendream8115]

Straw bales would attack every mouse and rat for a mile away to make their homes in 🤣🤣🐀🪤4x20=80🤣🤣🤣💕💕💕💕

[@elynndrake]

I wonder what charging is ?

[@cynthiafisher9907]

The nitrogen in the barn cleanout is probably what is giving the long leaves on the garlic. I don’t know if that means the bulbs will suffer from it.

[@Finnswife3]

I started a new job last week too. Congrats! I’m trying veggies for the for time this year, homemade self watering buckets. Just salsa ingredients so I can try canning too. Any tips on varieties to plant?

[@1870s]

I love a blend of varieties for salsa, definitely include one cherry tomato, jet star is a good all around tomato, and maybe a Cherokee purple for depth of flavor, then jalapenos for spicy salsa or banana peppers for milder salsa and plant cilantro for seasoning

[@amilynnstapay796]

I plant spinach next to the pole beans also. It's over and out by the time the beans start.