I think OneShotOneKill (OSA member) did the straw bale thing for tomatoes.
I built a greenhouse for my wife out of half inch EMT couduit and clear poly carbonate corrigated panels. Here are a couple of pictures of it, she uses it to start plants early. Mostly flowers, but some vegies as well.
I like that. Were you working from a plan or just figure it out yourself?
She started with one of those green house kits that use short pieces of tubing with plastic couplings and a green flexible cover that ziped up in front. I think it cost her bout $60.00 and when I put it together it lasted 45 minutes before the Oklahoma wind destroyed it. The only thing I kept from it were the wire shelves and that dictated how wide I made the shelf spacing. I designed and built the entire thing, Each frame slice from front to back will detach from the longitudinal tubes and allow the unit to be taken apart and stacked. I anchored it with 3/8" rebar spikes about 18" long that I made a hook on the end in my forge. That allows the anchor to be driven in with the hook holding the bottom tube to the ground. The pictures don't show it very well, but I used a piano hinge on each top side so I can raise the roof in the hotter part of the summer to allow it to stay cooler. I also have a drip irrigation system feeding the shelves. I bent the frame sections using a couduit bender, Mig welded the tubing where it needed to be welded and connected each section with 1/4" bolts from Tractor Supply in their bulk cheap hardware. I cut the poly carbonate with an air shear, you can use a jig saw, skill saw or reciprocating saw to cut it, it works pretty easy. I got it at lowes where they keep the roofing materials. Two 150 watt flood lights provide both light and heat in the colder temps.
Have never done the straw bale garden but have took my potatoe cuttings and scattered them on the ground and covered with about 6 inches of old grass hay had to dig very few potatoes most was just sitting on the top of ground when the old grass hay raked off. And if you want some new potatoes just take your hands and rake the hay back to find what you want then cover back when you have enough.
Start preparing your bales NOW for tomatos, peppers and such. They have to be pretty well rotted to work properly.I tried a couple years ago but didn't prepare early enough. The bales also take lots and lots of water.......
I know it's primarily a fall crop, but any of you had any luck with kale in central oklahoma? I hated the stuff the first time I tried it (store bought), but it's grown on me. I had a few decorative/edible kales growing in some pots that did surprisingly well over the winter. Made everything from salads to some dehydrated chips out of it. Just wondering if its feasible to do as a ground crop in central OK.
Got tired of turning the ground with a shovel so made an investment yesterday. Never seen one of these before so I hope it works as advertised. Any feedback from someone with experience would be appreciated.
http://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/...Id=-1&pageName=en_US/featured/axis/index.html
http://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/...Id=-1&pageName=en_US/featured/axis/index.html
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