have any of you heard of or tried straw bale gardening? I just saw some this morning and I'm intrigued.
Heard of it, but never tried is. Seems like a good way to get well drained raised beds that can be mulched in at the end of the year. Never priced a straw bale, any idea what they cost?
I have a book that talks about it in detail. I've never tried it, but I'm beginner at gardening... I think the book is called backyard homesteading. Hubby picked it up at Lowes for Christmas a couple years ago.
Around Ponca, straw bales sell for around $4-$5.
I tried it once with a tomato plant. Just stuck it in the bale. It didn't work well. I suspect it was my fault.
I'm sure the bale has to be prepared and maintained differently than just sticking it in the bale
I tried it once with a tomato plant. Just stuck it in the bale. It didn't work well. I suspect it was my fault.
I'm sure the bale has to be prepared and maintained differently than just sticking it in the bale
We do raised beds using straw bales. We use the bales for a nativity scene at Christmas and then move them to garden and make a large raised bed for the kids in the spring. By the end of the growing season they are realy starting to get soft and need to be replaced, but we leave them through the winter and replace in the spring. It allows for really good draining, almost to good. But our soil is heavy clay and even after 20 years of adding addmendments it's hard to get get good looking root vegetables from the garden, so the straw bales allow us to make great soil that will grow root vegetables really good. We get some big carrots this way.
*shamed* I have this book... obviously I need to study it closer!
Wow Clock, thanks for that! Its a little more involved than I had thought but it doesn't seem to bad! I may try this with my tomato plants this year! I love the idea of planting the side of the bales also. That really creates more square footage in your garden!
