Straw bale gardening is also called bale gardening or mistakenly, hay bale gardening. Advantages of straw bale gardening climatefriendly gardening strategies straw bale gardens are much more pest resistant than traditional soil gardens. People who find heavy lifting, digging or weeding difficult will benefit because once the bales are in place, less lifting, digging or weeding is necessary to maintain your bale garden. Straw bale gardening removes the possibility of soilborne diseases. Some of the perks of a straw bale garden is it requires less effort than setting up a traditional or box bed garden, the straw absorbs and holds water well, and the constantly decomposing straw bale provides the perfect growing. A straw or hay bale garden is a gardening method used for. What is great about straw bale gardening is that it doesnt take long to prepare the bales for planting. I also have a small greenhouse that houses the malabar spinach, peppers, and a few winter tomatoes. This technique allows gardeners to create raised bed gardens on. Here are the easy steps for setting up and preparing your straw bale garden for planting. Straw bale gardening kindle edition by karsten, joel.
The hidden dangers of straw bale gardening the grow. This fact sheet is part of the wsu extension home garden series. Once the straw inside the bale begins to decay the straw becomes conditioned compost that creates an extraordinary plant rooting environment. Straw bale gardening grow more food, in less space, with. It has been a season of gardening firsts this year for me. Rather than planting in soil, gardeners plant directly into a straw bale. Free straw bale gardening pdf tutorial urban garden, straw. The best straw bales for a garden are wheat, oats, rye or barley straw. Because of this, hay bale gardening is easier for people with back problems. Straw bale gardening veers from the traditional approach to gardening in soil. An indepth guide to straw bale gardening for beginners.
One of the most interesting has been experimenting with straw bale gardening. Hay bale gardening uses bales of hay in place of soil. When my publisher asked me to write about strawbale gardening, i tested the techniques in my own gardens and was quite impressed with the results. A bale garden uses hay or straw bales in place of soil. Step by step of creating a straw bale garden straw bale. The first year i tried it, i planted 20 bales each straw and hay and treated them identically. Last year i tried a few offthewall types of gardens, including a straw bale garden.
Were following west virginia university extension services straw bale gardening advice. A variety of crops can be grown in bales, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons, and. I highly recommend this book as a basis for starting a straw bale garden. They suggest a 12 cup of urea per bale or bone meal, fish meal, or compost for a more organic approach. This makes it a great choice for anyone with hard soil or no soil at all, as all the magic takes place above the surface of the ground. You apply, you water, you apply, you stick a thermometer in. You dont need to till soil to plant in straw bales. Soilless mix, with no potential to harbor disease, insects or weed seeds. It cuts down on the amount of weeds, and as the hay deteriorates, it leaves rich compost behind. After reading the book, it gave me the basic information that i was looking for in how to do straw bale gardening. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Take a flake those are the square chunks that make up a bale from the bale and gently pull it apart.
Straw bale garden straw bales allow you to set up a garden anywhere, even on hardscapeadding valuable greenspace to your urban habitat. Seeds can be planted directly on top of the bale or seedlings can be used. They function essentially as a raised bed each bale is 1416 inches high and a container garden in one. The hay bale garden everything you need to get started.
Straw and hay bale gardening explained flowerpotman. Try adding a few annuals or perennials, especially vining ones, to cover up some of the bale corners and add a little extra color to your straw bale garden. Gardening with straw bales alan windham professor, plant pathology what is straw bale gardening. Hay bale free vector art 1,327 free downloads vecteezy.
Add productive garden space and raise your planting bed with straw bale gardening. Faced with the expense ok, and effort of building raised beds, i decided instead to go cheap and easy. Whatever you call it, its a great way to grow herbs and vegetables. Frequently asked questions answered by joel karsten, straw bale gardener expert, author and speaker. Consider the pros and cons to determine if straw bale gardening is right for you.
Growing vegetables in straw bales, strawbale gardening. Search the internet for information on using hay vs. A straw bale garden bed starts with a bale of straw. Choose from over a million free vectors, clipart graphics, vector art images, design templates, and illustrations created by artists worldwide. Although the practice of gardening in straw bales dates back to ancient times, i learned of it only a decade ago during a chance encounter with a local strawbale guru, kent rogers. Straw bale gardening is just that, planting your seedlings into bales of straw. Straw bale gardening has its many perks, which may be why so many people are starting to take advantage of it. Straw bale gardening is a great alternative for building raised garden beds, and the modular nature of straw bales allows for gardening at any scale, from a balcony to a community garden lot. This looks like my best gardening year ever, using raised lasagna or keyhole garden beds, cardboardmulchhay for potatoes, and the 4 x 6 round hay bales. There is no need to rotate crops, since each season you start with new hay bales. Setting them up is the hardest part but there are many benefits to this type of garden. A complete guide to growing in bales without soil or weeds by joel karsten.
Straw bale gardens have taken off over the last decade or so. Straw bale gardening is a gardening technique where the bales acts as natural containers for your plants. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Strawbale gardening, like container gardening, isnt. Is elevated on top of hay bales is nearly weed free is fertile based gives you control of planting mix is easy to maintain by nearly anyone.
After watering our straw bales for three days our next step is to apply a high nitrogen fertilizer. The plant roots then take up nutrients from the rapidly decomposing straw inside. While i like growing melons and gourds in the bales both are heavy feeder so i created a hay bale straw bale square garden technique to use with these crops. In forest glen, girl scout annie aguirre and other members of troop 20804 used straw bales to plant an organic vegetable garden in the back of a community church. Karsten argues that straw is an ideal container for growing vegetables. Hay bale or straw bale gardening is a unique gardening method which uses hay or straw bales as a planting medium. The main difference is that the container is the straw bale itself and is held together with two or three strings. Straw bale gardens are a growing fad among urban gardeners and others looking for a challenging way to raise plants away from natural soil. Using straw and compost rather than soil as beds for plants, straw bale gardens can be planted almost anywhere and are easy to design and manipulate. How to use hay bale gardening to increase your harvest. The bale garden really is coming a long now and the oldest bale is about 5 weeks. Hay bale gardening janean thompson, master gardener potter county agrilife extension.
Leafy greens love the bales, as do root crops, vines, cucurbits, herbs and even flowers. Beyond that, plant everything else that you like to eat. Gardening with straw bales university of tennessee system. Ever since the publication of his book, straw bale gardens cool springs press, joel karsten has become something of a gardening celebrity, making television and youtube appearances, being interviewed by major papers, and gathering a facebook following that counts over. But it also goes much deeper, with nearly 50 pages of allnew advice and photos on subjects such as growing in a tight urban setting, making your straw bale garden completely organic, and using new fertilizers and conditioning products. Straw bale gardening is simply a different type of container gardening. I also use a square bale garden formation for heavy feeding plants, lay out the bales for an interesting garden and have mossed the sides of the bales for a very artistic flower garden. Remove a chunk of straw and fill the hole with potting soil small seeds or to plant in rows put a couple inches of potting soil on top of the bales.
Better yet, it is available as a digital download through the kindle app. This is especially useful if you do not have space for a huge garden, or if you have difficult soil, or gravel, to work with. You can substitute bone meal, fish meal, or compost for a more organic approach. Easily accessible to those who battle to reach normal garden beds, this type of gardening can be very effective and useful. Its economical, easier on your back, and is great for people with mobility issues.
Theyre like growbags at a fraction of the cost and without the plastic waste. Hay bale gardening can be a great way to grow lots of delicious veggies without a lot of work. Remove a chunk of straw and fill the hole with potting soil small seeds or to plant in rows put a couple inches of potting soil on top of the bale s. Cut back to 14 cup of fertilizer per bale per day, and continue to water it in well. The best part of hay bale gardening is how easy it is so if you have a brown thumb or are just looking for a really simple, low maintenance way to start a garden, then hay bale gardening might be for you. If you normally plant using seeds, then use seeds in your bales as well, but create a seed bed on top of the bales first using about an inch or two of sterile planting mix. Straw bale gardens complete contains all of the original information that has set the gardening world on fire. See more ideas about vegetable garden, garden and outdoor gardens. A variety of crops can be grown in bales, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons, and herbs. If you get green hay there are a few steps you need to follow before you start planting.
Bale gardening is one way to garden if you do not have a lot of soil or space. Sometimes in late spring they will be free for the hauling. Container gardening without the container advantages of straw bales height 2 foot raised bed no digging, cultivation soil type doesnt matter inexpensive raised bed used bales can be used as mulch, compost mobile at least. The book is very informative as i am new too this type of gardening. I think they mean blood meal as bone meal does not have much nitrogen in it. Hay bales create an environment similar to gardening hills in soil. You may download copies of this and other publications from wsu extension at.
Ive never made the mistake of using hay, or straw makes great mulch or, for that matter, a great addition to your compost pile. Please share your bale gardening experiences with us. Hay bale garden bed updates continual harvests youtube. Enjoy organic home grown vegetables in a space as little as 4 ft x 2ft. As the straw breaks down over the course of the summer, it turns into compost that feeds your plants. Straw bale gardening university of wisconsinmadison. My tomatoes are loaded but havent started to turn yet. Use one or umpteen bales as you need and in any pattern.
I am gardening this year in the compost from my last two seasons of bale gardening ammended with horse manure and sawdust from my barn. Creating a straw bale garden by melinda myers horticulturist and gardening expert may 1, 2017. I started hay bale gardening about 10 years ago, after learning all about straw bale method and deciding that it made little sense to use a medium that doesnt hold moisture or offer nourishment. Planting seed large seeds and for individual plants cucurbits, legumes, beets and chard, kale, kohlrabi, etc. Make sure its level water carefully so it doesnt wash away or cut the bottom out of a plastic flat, pin it. See more ideas about hay bale gardening, straw bale gardening, garden. Here are 6 secrets for growing a successful hay bale garden. Straw bale gardening is an easy way to setup your own veggie garden, by using the decomposing straw bales as the foundation for your garden. They are all free plants i got from the heirloom plant give away sposored by the local 4h and county extension office. The bale is first conditioned and then vegetable plants are planted and grown inside the bale. Hay bale gardening center for excellence in disabilities. Download thousands of free icons of farming and gardening in svg, psd, png, eps format or as icon font.
Hay bale square garden technique in my garden adventures with hay bale ad straw bale gardening i have tried several different gardening techniques. So i called up joel karsten, author of straw bale gardens, and lead authority on all things straw. Organic soilfree potting media will help hold nutrients and water more efficiently for faster growth. Oh, im just going to stick the straw bale there, add some stuff to the top, and then go on vacation for a few weeks. Benefits of gardening in garden beds made from hay and straw bales. Sep 29, 20 we do a lot of gardening and grow a lot of our own food, but straw bale gardening was completely new to me. If youre growing hay potatoes for the first time and are putting your hay down on grass, its best to use the whole bale for the base that first year, so buy 2 bales.
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