Straw Bale Gardening is the latest trend in gardening for growing beautiful veggies, herbs, and flowers without using traditional soil.  Wells Brothers have all the supplies you need to start your own straw bale garden project: straw bales, conventional and organic fertilizers, trellis hardware, and, most importantly, high-quality vegetable and bedding flowers as well as seed products.

When it comes to thrifty, versatile ways to garden, it’s hard to beat a straw bale garden. It’s inexpensive (we sell it for $10.50 per bale), you can put it wherever you want, and it’ll eventually turn into compost – so what is your garden this year can feed your garden next year. How’s that for recycling?

Pick up your straw bales at Wells Brothers. Once you bring yours home, there are just a few steps you’ll want to take to get it ready for planting.  Follow the easy instructions below.

Position the Bale

Turn the bale narrow side up, so the strings holding the bale together are now on the sides (you don’t want those strings to be on top, just in case you sever one while you’re planting). On one narrow side, the straw will be folded over; on the other, it will be cut. Make sure the cut side is up, as the hollow straws will allow moisture to penetrate better.

Condition the Bale

As soon as moisture hits the bale, it will start to decompose, and the inside will heat right up – definitely not a good thing for the plants. The solution? Condition the bale before you plant. This process usually takes around 10 to 14 days. For the first 3 days, simply water the bale thoroughly so it stays damp. For the next 6 days, in addition to watering the bale, use a liquid fertilizer like HASTA-GRO 6-12 6QT to add nitrogen to speed the decomposition. Simply add a capful to a gallon of water and pour it all on the bale. (Another option is to sprinkle a cup of ammonium sulfate on the top of the bale on days 4 through 6, then a half-cup on days 7 through 9. Each time, water the fertilizer in.)

Choose Your Plants

On day 10, return to simply watering the bale, and continue doing that until the temperature inside the bale starts to reflect the temperature outside. Use a compost or meat thermometer to keep tabs; you’ll see the temperature start to rise after the first day or two, spike about midway through the process, then start to come back down. Once it reaches ambient temperature, the bale is ready to be planted. Choose your plants

You can grow just about anything in a bale that you can in the ground — with a few exceptions. Tall plants like indeterminate tomatoes and corn, for example, get too tall and heavy and can start to break the bale apart. (If you wish to grow tomatoes, stick with bush or other determinate varieties.) Running plants like sweet potatoes can be harder to grow in a bale, too. Also, if you live in a very warm, humid part of the country, the bale may begin to decompose more quickly than in other climates, so you’ll want to stick with smaller plants like herbs and flowers, or use it for your cooler weather leafy crops. Whichever plants you choose, space them the same as you would in the ground.

Plant the Bale

Remove straw to form a hole that is as deep as the rootball of your plant (though if you’re planting a tomato, of course, you’ll want to go deeper.) Place the plant in the hole, add some quality potting soil around it for extra nutrients and stability, then fill the rest of the hole in with some of the straw you removed. Water well.

Water and fertilize regularly

Your plants will receive less nutrition from the bale than they would from the soil, so it’s important to fertilize them every week or two. You’ll also want to make sure not to let the bale dry out.

And you’re done! You can create your garden out of as many straw bales as you want, arranged in whatever shape or style you like. Happy growing!

Source: Bonnie Plants

Come learn how to successfully grow the most popular garden crop on the planet, the tomato. Our Tomato Growing Workshop kicks off  Saturday, March 5, 2022, at 1:00 pm. This class, held here at the store and will cover all aspects of growing tomatoes.  Want to know the difference between “indeterminate” and “determinate” tomatoes and “heirloom” and “hybrid” tomatoes? Come to our workshop and find out!  Learn the varieties that are best suited for our area, bed preparation tips plus much more.

When: Saturday, March 5, 2022, at 1:00 pm
Where: Wells Brothers Pet, Lawn & Garden Supply – 5001 K Ave, Plano, TX 75074

 Space is limited to the first 20 people that sign up. If the weather turns nasty they will be rescheduled.

There is a nominal fee of $5.00 per person to attend this workshop and you can pay online below. Or, if you prefer, stop by the store and register. Registration is confirmed with payment. Each paid participant will receive a $5 coupon to use in the store after the meeting. Space is limited to the first 20 people so get your name on the list. All workshops start promptly at 1:00 pm and will last approximately 1 hour. If the weather turns nasty, workshops will be rescheduled to the following Saturday. Questions? Give us a call at (972) 424-8516, we’re happy to help!

Click the Paypal “Buy Now” button to register for the Tomato Growing Workshop & and remember, you’ll get $5 off your purchase at the end of the workshop.

Is it time to plant tomatoes? Sure, if you feel lucky. The nice weather in February will lull gardeners into a false sense of security. The almanac says the last freeze date is March 17th. I resisted that tomato urge but I do have my garden prepped and I hope that everyone has theirs ready as well.

The most popular garden crop worldwide is the tomato. Hopefully, the following will answer the most common tomato questions.

I recommend a pre-plant fertilizer application 3 to 4 weeks before. Since I try to keep my garden all-natural I pick fertilizers accordingly. I have had excellent results with Wells Brothers Dirt Diet 4-1-2 and Medina’s 3-2-3. Once the plants are growing, choose a fertilizer with an equal or lower nitrogen (1st number) than phosphate (2nd number) and potash (3rd number). Too much nitrogen will grow large plants with little or no fruit. My go-to fertilizer is Espoma’s Tomato Tone with a 3-4-6 ratio. Synthetics with an 8-10-8, and 13-13-13 can also be good choices. If you like liquids, it’s hard to beat Medina Hasta Gro 6-12-6.

Heirloom vs. Hybrid vs. GMO

The term Heirloom is used to describe any type of plant or seed that has been saved and grown for a period of years. Heirloom seed must be of the openly pollinated type. Heirlooms are simply varieties that are capable of producing seeds that will produce seedlings just like the parent (true) plant.

Hybrids mean crossbreeding compatible types of plants to a plant with the best features of both. Many modern plants are the result of these crosses. Seed from hybrids will not produce plants with identical qualities. Plants can cross-pollinate in nature and hybrids repeatedly selected and grown may eventually stabilize into Heirlooms.

GMOs, (Genetically Modified Organisms) can be any plant, animal or microorganism, which has been genetically altered at the molecular level. Wells Brothers sells NO GMO plants or seeds.

The two most important terms:

Determinate: relatively compact (bush) plants that do most of their growing before setting a limited number of fruit that tends to ripen all at once. As a rule, determinates set fruit the fastest.

Indeterminate: a vining plant that can grow very large (needs support), blossoms, and produce tomatoes throughout the growing season.

The Celebrity is the exception to the rule; it is called semi-determinate even though the tags say it is determinate. It grows like a determinate (bush) and in some cases will produce more than one crop. All tomatoes are planted the same way regardless of variety. From 70% to 80% of the total plant (including the roots) should be below ground. Remove any container material, including the fiber pots. I add Wells Brothers’ “Jump Starter” to the prepared hole. Then lightly break up the root ball and dip it in water just before planting. Now is the time to install any support structure that the plant will need.

Everything you ever wanted to know about tomatoes click here:

Some tomato names to remember:

Celebrity
Sweet 100
Arkansas Traveler
Big Boy
Better Boy
Roma (paste)
Porter
Patio
Husky Cherry Red
Grape
Brandi Wine
Yellow Pear
Super Fantastic
Better Bush
Rutgers
Indigo Rose
Homestead
Cherokee Purple