Friday, 20 May 2016

What does Mick Fanning do after battling a shark? Brews Australian beer and 10 More

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What does Mick Fanning do after battling a shark? Brews Australian beer

Australia's surf legend and shark-battler, Mick Fanning, has spent the year doing what all surfing legends and shark-battlers should do.

1,500 water balloons on a trampoline make for one beautiful video

A slow motion splash zone for the ages

This is a video of our future, and it's scary as hell

It's unnerving from the get go.

Adam Sandler brings 23-year-old doppelgänger to red carpet event

The two met through Reddit.

Scott Disick's sponsored Instagrams reach a new low, even for him

Do not copy and paste an entire email as an Instagram caption.

This gloriously disturbing BBC tweet has created the year's oddest hashtag

You're weird, nature.

Google I/O recap in 60 seconds

Jam-packed announcements and glorious tech.

We attempt to explain the 'X-Men' movie timeline

It wasn't easy.

Learn how to celebrate #NationalSendANudeDay from these wise tweets

We are pushing the limits of DM's being slid into.

How anti-hackers are using tech to protect your privacy

Leaders in the financial industry have been dedicating — and continue to dedicate — significant resources to ramp up security that keeps your data safe.

John Berry, founding member of the Beastie Boys, dies aged 52

Some of their first shows were at his New York apartment.

Build a Straw Bale Garden

Create a Garden Anywhere with Straw Bales
By Melinda Myers

Add productive garden space and raise your planting bed with straw bale gardening. This technique allows gardeners to create raised bed gardens on a patio, lawn or any area with poor compacted soil. Straw bale gardening has been around for centuries, but thanks to Joel Karsten's book "Straw Bale Gardens" it has gained new popularity.

All that is needed are a few straw bales, fertilizer, a bit of compost and time to condition, plant and water the garden.

Type of Straw Bale
Be sure to purchase straw bales made from alfalfa, wheat, oats, rye or other cereal grain that have less weed seeds than hay. Start a few weeks before the designated planting date.

Permanent Location
Place the bales in their permanent location with the cut sides up and twine parallel to the ground. Once you start the condition process, the bales will be very heavy and hard to move. When the bales are in place you are ready to start the conditioning process. This is done to start the inside of the straw bales composting, so they'll support plant growth.

Day One to Six
On day one, spread fertilizer over the top of the bale. Use a ½ cup of a complete garden fertilizer or three cups of an organic based fertilizer like Milorganite. Then completely moisten the bale. The organic fertilizers feed the microorganisms that help decompose the straw into a nutrient rich planting medium. Thoroughly soak the bale every day. On days three and five you will add more fertilizer at the same rate used on day one.

Day Seven to Nine
Days seven through nine use half the rate used on day one. This would be ¼ cup of a complete garden fertilizer or 1 ½ cups of an organic fertilizer. Thoroughly water the bale each time.

Day Ten
On day ten you will add one cup of 10-10-10 or three cups of an organic fertilizer rich in phosphorous and potassium. This completes the conditioning process.

Get Ready to Plant
Bales treated with a complete fertilizer should be ready to plant. You may need to wait a few more days when using an organic fertilizer. The inside of the bale should be the temperature of warm bath water or cooler for planting. If it is hotter than this, wait for the bale to cool a bit before you plant.

Use a trowel to pry open a hole in the bale. Place the plant in the hole and cover the roots with potting mix or compost.

Planting with Seeds
Create a planting bed for seeds by covering the bale with a one- to two-inch thick layer of planting mix. Follow the planting directions on the back of the seed packet.

Watering
Regular watering is critical for success with this method. Soaker hoses or drip irrigation make this an easier task. You can also use gallon milk jugs with holes in the bottom or inverted two-liter soda bottles placed near the base of each plant to provide water where it is needed.

Nutrient Boost
Give your straw bale garden a nutrient boost with Milorganite about once a month or as needed throughout the growing season.

Follow these steps and you'll be well on your way to growing a productive straw bale garden to enjoy throughout the season.