Week of June 4th, 2017

Things are coming along.  Most of my seeds have turned into small plants.  It has been unseasonably warm and dry for my part of Minnesota in June.  I have had to water every day.

I also thinned my radishes this week.  This is something I have never done and is quite possibly the reason I only get a few big ones.  I was apprehensive about it at first but when I got going I could see how much better they looked.  They were a bit sad after, so I gave them a drink.  Woke up the next morning and they had all perked up and looked great.

Removed

All Done

May 2017 - Planting has Completed!

Mothers Day weekend was productive, and painful, LOL!

I picked up some cheap, sad plants at Menard's on Saturday and planted for a few hours before dinner.  I spent another 3 on Sunday and got sun burned.  It has been so long since I have done something stupid like that.

Where the radishes are now will hopefully occupy some left over tomato plants I plan on nursing along.  If I lose any, the one that makes it will be worth the $1.88 per 6 pack!  I repotted the plants in to some small containers I had in the shed.  We will see how it goes!



I have a post here of what is growing and where.

I also installed a drip irrigation system.  My hubby suggested quick release valves, and what can I say - He was right.  So much easier to attach and remove the hose from the house to the garden.

And the beautiful butterfly was a gift for Mother's Day.

What's Growing - 2017

2017 Garden Layout

My First Post

Well , After many questions and interest in the craziness happening in my garden, I have decided to start this blog to share with my friends.

As many of you know, I like to try new things.  Straw Bale Gardening is one such thing.  Where I live our soil is very heavy clay.  It takes a lot of amending and needs TLC.  I stumbled across Straw Bale Gardening in 2015. In 2016, I started with 10 bales to try it out.  I had some successes and failures, but realized one major benefit for me... NO WEEDING!

This year I am planting 25, yes that is right, 25 bales!  I picked up some bales locally, another benefit of living in farm country, in April and began conditioning them.  If you want more info on the process check out Joel Karsten's book on Straw Bale Gardening.

Here are the pictures from 2016.

And here is later in the season.

I just finished 7 hours of planting over 3 days.  I am guessing if I would have laid out the plants instead of trying to design and plant, it may have gone faster.  I will make a new post with my progress in 2017.  Stay Tuned...