A few grasses have found their way back into the bales, but everything is growing so well, they have no where to go. I'm not losing any sleep. It seems I have to keep checking the beans and tomatoes every few days, with a large majority of the tomatoes probably ripe later this week. A few carrots have survived, it will be interesting to see how they look. The leaf lettuce has officially gone to seed. I could probably re-seed...
Get this, just when I had given up on my strawberries, it seems the fat ground squirrel has had his fill, and they are now growing again! I had 2 last week, with several more ripening right now. I may yet hit 10 whole strawberries (woo hoo!).
The beets are getting big, as is the kale. Not sure when I should harvest them... The pea pods seem to be done, but they were really good while they lasted. At this point, I think I can call the straw bale garden experiment a success!
Notes for next year: Either try different carrots or don't bother with them. We should put in some fingerling potatoes (not sure if the sweet potatoes are actually doing anything). Label things a little better....but at least it's now clear what is beets and what is kale. This years beans were apparently wax beans, so we should try another variety. The impatiens in the sides of the bale worked well (the shaded ones anyway), and I think I'll skip the zinnias next year (or just put them elsewhere-they;re infringing on the beans).
