Fertilizer

Do you know how many ways there are to do a straw bale garden? About a million. I'd like just one way please. But that's not the case, everyone does it differently and then they all create mass confusion for me. So I'm basically winging this operation and praying that it works. No guarantees. And now that my mom is copying my moves I'm even more nervous, you see she actually has a green thumb!

So today's topic is fertilizer. There are a million different types and ways to fertilize your bales. If your doing it organically you can use anything from Blood Meal to coffee grounds to manure of any sort. If it's not organic then ideally you would want to use ammonium nitrate. However, thanks to Timothy McVey, ammonium nitrate is not easily available. And if it is, you'll be questioned and ID'd about your intentions with said product. So if you can't get your hands on any then your best bet is to find a fertilizer that has a high nitrate value. Ammonium nitrate has a nitrate level of 34-0-0. (Don't be fooled by my knowledge, I have no idea what 34-0-0 really means, I am not a chemist). So you'll need to visit your local garden center to find an ideal fertilizer. (Home Depot, Menards, etc don't seem to carry the right stuff, at least not in my area). I settled on this one.

Nitrate of Soda. No idea if it will work but it had the highest nitrate level I could find, 16-0-0. Remember, I'm winging this whole operation. So days 1 through 3 consisted of water, water, water and then day 4 is the first day of fertilizing. I skipped day 4 because it was cold, windy, rainy and just plain miserable outside. Typically this is the fertilizer schedule you want to follow...
Day 4 - Add 1/2 cup of fertilizer and SOAK it in.

Day 5 - Add 1/2 cup of fertilizer and SOAK it in.

Day 6 - Add 1/2 cup of fertilizer and SOAK it in.

Day 7 - Add 1/4 cup of fertilizer and SOAK it in.

Day 8 - Add 1/4 cup of fertilizer and SOAK it in.

Day 9 - Add 1/4 cup of fertilizer and SOAK it in.

Day 10 - No more fertilizer but continue to water.

So we are on Day 7 around here. The boys have been busy helping me fertilize and are eager to plant. Out plan is to plant on Thursday before we hit the road for 10 days.

Good Luck!