Have any of you farmgirls out there done any straw bale gardening? I just came across an article about using straw bales to grow veggies (I guess it's sort of like container gardening). I'm trying to decide if I want to give the bales a try for a patio garden.
Hi Donna, do you make a hole in the bales & fill w/soil???? or do you use the bales to create a raised bed? Could you share where you read the article, in am interested too! farmgirl hugz,
i tried it and ended up with a mess. every seed in the straw wanted to sprout and created a VERY weedy garden. also, the straw was too densily baled and my plants became root bound very rapidly. i had to hurridly prepair some soil and transplant everything. i ended up tossing the straw in the compost heap and using it the next spring.
What we write today slipped into our souls some other day when we were alone and doing nothing. -Brenda Ueland
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts
Posted - Feb 10 2008 : 12:02:14 PM
Using Straw bales to make a raised bed is what I was thinking too! That actually might be a really great and cheap way of making raised beds. I bed you could sink rebar into the soil and then slam the straw on top of the re-bar to make your bed. Anyone ever tried something like that?
The main component that I keep reading is to use clean straw bales not hay. Hay will have grass seeds and weeds in it that will sprout also.
If you google straw bale gardening there are tons of links talking about this concept. Even though the weather is cold here, hubby says he will help me get started this week so I won't lose out on the lettuce growing season. He loves a fresh salad, so there is an incentive for him to help me.
Straw bale gardening
Posted - Feb 09 2008 : 9:35:38 PM
