Straw bale gardening has become a big thing for gardeners.

Lots of stuff on the Internet along with the book Straw Bale Gardens by Joel Karsten.

I've poked around online and here's how I'm trying to make a straw bale garden.

These two bales will be watered every day for two weeks and will start to break down over that time. Photos by Doug Oster

You can see from the picture above, I'm putting two bales together. Some gardeners lay them flat, I'm trying then this way. One thing I've learned from looking at all the information, every gardener creates their straw bale garden a little differently.

I'll water the bales every day for two weeks. They get really heavy and will start to break down. Make sure you've put them in the spot you want, they are hard to move once ready for planting. The second week of the watering I'm also adding some organic granular and liquid fertilizer.

After the second week I'll force my hand down into the bale to see if it's still in the initial stages of composting. If it's really hot, I'll wait another week to plant.

For the planting I'm using a trowel to get down into the bale and putting compost in where ever I plant.

The bales I first planted have sat out all winter and were very heavy, wet and started decomposing.

This is my first experiment with this style of gardening and I'm excited to see how it works.

The three bales which I have stacked together are growing lettuce, arugula, dandelions, peas, beets and some flowers.

I need more room to plant favorites and if my first try is successful, I'll keep adding bales. I hope to plant lots of different crops in the bales including tomatoes, peppers an vine crops.

These bales sat out all winter. I planted them with cool weather crops and it will be interesting to see how they do.

Standing in the kitchen, looking out at a budding crabapple tree, I'm reminded of the huge specimens which graced the lawns of the old school buildings I attended as a child. They offered a place to climb to burn off ever abundant energy and also a shady respite when we tired.

In my mind crabapples are most beautiful the day before they blossom.

The deep rose colored flowers will unfurl soon and when they do I'm transported back to my childhood.

Teachers did their best to keep me interested, but those pretty pink flowers called to me. Soft spring breezes made them dance and sway, eventually sending the petals drifting across the asphalt playground.

I tried hard to stay focused, but eventually my teachers voices faded away and I was once again staring out the huge windows spellbound by the flowers. I enjoyed a thousand daydreams, lived a hundred fantasies and frustrated dozens of teachers back then.

Flowers can be a wonderful tool for understanding ourselves.

In this case, those pretty buds made me realize many of my strengths and weaknesses. Once they become clear, life is a little easier. I joke with friends who spend endless hours in work meetings, explaining to them I just can't do it. For me, it's just like being back in school.

Seeing crabapple trees swaying in the breeze washes away the guilt of being unable to do what others do effortlessly. We're all wired differently and that feels good.

When those buds open all I can do is smile and remember another life, long ago.

This is the segment I did for KDKA's Pittsburgh Today Live. It details how to plant blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and other fruits.

I had a lot of fun with Brenda Waters on this one!

This is my favorite time of the year. Daffodil season is what I live for.

I'm recording where they are bloom and where they aren't so I know where to plant in the fall.

Take a look in the gallery and see if you can identify one of the daffodils, because I can't.

Pansies, daffodils, tulips and more explode with color.

Spring is wonderful!

A blue scilla flower placed on top of a yellow double daffodil makes a wonderful contrast. Photos by Doug Oster

Anyone know what variety this is? I love it!

Double daffodils make me smile.

The day after a rain this pink trumpeted daffodil has mud splashed on its pretty face.

My daffodil hill.

Soft edges of violas.

These pansies will thrive until July when it just gets too hot. Then I'll put shade loving annuals in the container.

Violas in front of the fountain.

Tulips blush, preparing for their show.