Straw Bale Gardening Plants Entered

We scooped out some of the straw in order to make the hole bigger and deeper. Then, we added potting soil and put the squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers into the straw bales earlier this week. They are doing quite well.

We also have corn and beans planted in the ground nearby, but these have not sprouted yet. Will post photos when that occurs.

Straw Bale Gardening Experiment

Over the past few years, our crops have been producing less and less. The soil is worn out so we decided to give it a rest and do something different. We are trying straw bale gardening in a small section of our yard this year.

In this first photo, we have treated the bales with a fertilizer containing a high amount of nitrogen and water them well. Since we are so late in the year getting started, we have covered the bales to keep the heat in. This speeds up the composting process. This is day 4.

In the second photo, I have punched holes in the bales and added some top soil and watered it in. This is day 5.

I'll try to add new photos, about every 3 or 4 weeks, to show the progress of my experiment. In the meanwhile, see https://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/strawbales.php for info about straw bale gardening.

No More Tangled Ear Buds

My iPhone and iPod came with a private listening device (a.k.a. ear buds) on a thin white cord. Every time I started to use it, I had to untangle the cord. Not only is this aggravating for me, it's not good for the cord as it can damage it. So, I crocheted around the cord to keep it from wrapping into a knot in my purse.

I fall asleep most nights listening to my iPod. No more waking up tangled in what one might think is a spider web for a tarantula on steroids! Now if only the hot flashes would stop waking me up.

Pretty and clever. I bet you could do this!