bennett
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i've heard this will help keep the weeds down? just looking into doing to doing it next year b/c crabgrass has KILLED me this year.. any thoughts?
a garden on haye bales?
- Thread starter bennett
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I have a bad grass and weed problem in my garden in the aisles. I had cut the grass down super short, lined it wall to wall with weed cloth and put wood chips down. I have a full bed of grass that grew though all that.
So, yes, will hay or even straw keep the grass from growing??? Does anyone have experience with this? it did a good job in the goat pen where I didn't want to lose grass :/
So, yes, will hay or even straw keep the grass from growing??? Does anyone have experience with this? it did a good job in the goat pen where I didn't want to lose grass :/
vfem
Garden Addicted
I think you mean actually growing the hay bale gardens you see OFF the ground. Just right from the bale, am I correct?
Just remember to let them sit and get those seeds out of you will have straw growing. Turn them on their sides and pour in dirt... got yourself a little garden. Someone in my neighbor is doing it... its looking good to me! Haven't asked their opinion...
but its just IMO that you're still going to have to weed... I don't think there is any weed free gardening at all. My raised beds have to be weeded, they're just not that bad actually!
Just remember to let them sit and get those seeds out of you will have straw growing. Turn them on their sides and pour in dirt... got yourself a little garden. Someone in my neighbor is doing it... its looking good to me! Haven't asked their opinion...
but its just IMO that you're still going to have to weed... I don't think there is any weed free gardening at all. My raised beds have to be weeded, they're just not that bad actually!
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bennett
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i know i'll still have some weeds - but i had heard they weren't as bad on a haye garden..
VT Chicklit
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I am growing some of my tomatoes, green peppers and egg plants in hay bales this year, for the first time. I too have had weed problems in the past. The weeds are almost non-existant in my hay bale garden and they are not too bad in my regular garden this year, as well.
What I did was to first rototill the garden areas first and then lay down news paper (black and white pages only)2 sheets thick to cover tha garden area. I then positioned the hay bales where I wanted them. After placing the hay bales, I covered the exposed news paper with a thick (8-10 inch) covering of grass clippings. The bales were treated with fertalizer per the instructions on http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens/thismonth/march06guide/straw.html , which gives great instructions. I have kept adding to the grass clippings every time I mow the lawn. This keeps a good covering as the clippings decompose. I also used news paper and grass clippings in my regular veggie garden this year. I just laid them in between the rows and around the plants.
The reason I rototilled was to chop up the grass and hopefully compost it into the soil below the news paper and grass clippings, which have smothered the growth of new grass/weeds. My intent is to be able to grow my garden normally in this spot in a few years. In the mean time, the plants in the hay bales look good. I don't have fruit on them yet but those that I planted in the ground don't have any, either. It has been very rainy this summer. There are flowers, so I am hopeful. One thing to remember . . . water well. The hay bales dry out quickly. I use a soaker hose and "sprinkle" them as well. I have also sprayed them with a hose end sprayer full of a mixture of beer, dish soap and ammonia once this summer because they seemed a little peeky. This perked them right up.
What I did was to first rototill the garden areas first and then lay down news paper (black and white pages only)2 sheets thick to cover tha garden area. I then positioned the hay bales where I wanted them. After placing the hay bales, I covered the exposed news paper with a thick (8-10 inch) covering of grass clippings. The bales were treated with fertalizer per the instructions on http://www.carolinacountry.com/cgardens/thismonth/march06guide/straw.html , which gives great instructions. I have kept adding to the grass clippings every time I mow the lawn. This keeps a good covering as the clippings decompose. I also used news paper and grass clippings in my regular veggie garden this year. I just laid them in between the rows and around the plants.
The reason I rototilled was to chop up the grass and hopefully compost it into the soil below the news paper and grass clippings, which have smothered the growth of new grass/weeds. My intent is to be able to grow my garden normally in this spot in a few years. In the mean time, the plants in the hay bales look good. I don't have fruit on them yet but those that I planted in the ground don't have any, either. It has been very rainy this summer. There are flowers, so I am hopeful. One thing to remember . . . water well. The hay bales dry out quickly. I use a soaker hose and "sprinkle" them as well. I have also sprayed them with a hose end sprayer full of a mixture of beer, dish soap and ammonia once this summer because they seemed a little peeky. This perked them right up.
