Small Square Bale Grapple

Just give them a haircut! Also, mushrooms may grow in the moist bales. The goal is to get some straw breakdown starting so the bales are past the initial heat of decomposing before planting lest you burn the seedlings.

When using a tree limb for support, be sure it's thick enough to bear the weight of the watered pot without breaking the limb or damaging the bark. Hot weather and windy conditions will "fry" fragile plants.

You can also grow marigolds indoors as house plants.Marigold varieties can range from 6 inches to 4 feet in height, and 6 inches to 3 feet in width. Or you can plant the seeds directly in the pot you'd like to display the plant in.

There is no need for storage capability, and it is generally free of contaminants such as fungus and bacteria. Tap water can be used for most plants unless water quality in a problem in your area.

Amend the soil with one or two tsp. You can prune the vine to maintain its shape after it stops flowering. They will make a big show from early spring to late summer and grow quickly.

While other nectarine trees can grow to 20 feet or higher, dwarf varieties can grow in small spaces and attain a height of 4 to 6 feet. These fruits are enjoyed fresh, used for jams and jellies or canned.

As I worked the soil, remnants of a previousWhen I first moved into this house, this spot in the garden was an empty canvas. The thumbnail is courtesy of This gesture was quite beautiful I thought.

The outer 4-inch layer of a 5-foot diameter bale contains more than 25 percent of its total volume—you don't want to throw that much away! Choose tightly wrapped bales that don't sag.

Airtight homes stay cozy and warm during freezing weather, but they also accumulate odors from cooking, oil heaters, pets and aerosol sprays such as hairspray. The green leaves are heart-shaped with streaks of yellow.

Pots, on the other hand, confine a plant's roots in a small space but can be quite successful. Match them with flowers of a different texture or height, perhaps upright snapdragons, also with a wide range of colors and short, medium or tall varieties.

The standard weeping willow doesn't have a true dwarf form, but the pussy willow has a grafted miniature weeping variety that is ideal for small spaces and even container gardening.

Fit as many bulbs into one pot as possible without having them touch. Depending on when they are planted, indoor tulips can take eight to 16 weeks to bloom. Most tulip bulbs require a minimum of 14 to 20 weeks of cold temperatures before they blossom...

It will be hard for my daughter who likes straight and even rows, but we will let a bit of the plants spill on to the edge of the walk, and we will repeat some of the colors and plants on pots on the front porch to draw your eye away from the long walk...

I hadn't considered the need for structure in a balcony garden, but it really makes a difference. For additional ideas, visit DG's Container Gardening Forum (subscribers only). Balconies with barely enough room for a single chair still boasted tidy shrubs...

Water logging hay bales in strategic locations near the shorelines of lakes, rivers or other bodies of water will form a nearly immovable barrier that will help control the force of wind and waves on the shoreline, which will lead to quick erosion.

Finishing the carpentry work. In terms of cost, straw-bale buildings end up about the same per square foot as conventional buildings. With post-and-beam infill construction, like the one we used on the granary, straw bales are inserted between supporting...

Bales of hay can also be used for this type of garden, but are more prone to sprouting weeds.freestar.queue.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-300x250-ATF-1"); });You'll save yourself some effort if you buy the bales in fall before you begin...

Hay, which farmers use as animal feed, contains more seeds. It doesn't matter how deep you plant, as long as a portion of the green, leafy part of the plant extends above the straw.

As the bales continue to decompose, they hold more water and retain it for a longer period. Place bales on top of the plastic, end to end tightly, in rows with the twines facing up.

This is certainly the case with round bales, but it's technically possible for small square bales as well. But it is difficult, especially if you produce the small square bales that are so convenient for many hobby farmers.

Some make it all the way to South America, some to Mexico, and some say Texas is just right by staying for the entire winter! This has been a real joy in my most recent years of bird watching.

Straw makes a great cover for growing potatoes. The seed potatoes can be cut large, but do not cut them smaller than into quarters.Place the potato pieces 2 feet apart, in a row. They can also grow in almost any type of soil, and it is even easy to grow...

If the plants look identical, the compost is safe for food crops. The shorter front allows you to reach into the square to shovel andweekly and the higher walls help keep in the heat to make the materials rot faster.Once the compost is complete, you'll...

After I adopted the concept of building with bales and added my “flavor” of techniques and detailing, my wife suggested that I should do more to teach others about the process.

In Italy, people insist on paying more for top-quality ingredients for their kitchens. This is not to say that farming is easy in Italy. The weekends are loaded with agricultural television content.

Or, if you have a male fig tree, plant a lady friend close by to allow for pollination via the honeybees. Overly hot, dry weather and lack of irrigation will definitely result in figs too small or evenfreestar.queue.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-300x250-ATF-1");...

Flowers and fruit may stop growing and eventually drop off the plant when stressed.Lack of water from drought or improper care is the number one reason tomato fruit won't grow. In southern regions, extreme heat has been known to cause small tomatoes.