Published in 20, straw bale gardens is now printed in more than 20 languages, and karsten states that its the topselling gardening book on. And if youre interested in growing 10 foot tall tomato plants, then look no further. The looseness of the bale will allow the stem to easily reach the surface, and the potatoes will form along this stretch of stem, filling the bale with potatoes. The hidden dangers of straw bale gardening the grow. Storey publishing liked the way epic tomatoes came out, and they said theyd really like to have a book in their portfolio about strawbale gardening, and i said, great. Pine straw is simply the dropped dry foliage from pine trees.
This is a book for the gardening reference shelf of your library, especially if you want to try straw bale gardening. Think of the straw bale as a large container with a volume of 40. Craig lehoullier, who gardens in raleigh, nc, is the author of epic tomatoes and growing vegetables in straw bales storey, 2015. The breakthrough method for growing vegetables anywhere, earlier and with no weeding youll find a bumper crop of vegetable gardening books on the shelves today, but it is a very rare title that actually contains new information. The photos above are of my neighbors garden of straw bales. 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. If your soil is so poor that amending, or enhancing, it with compost, fertilizers, or leaf mold makes you exhausted just thinking about it, then using straw bales for. If the second and third set of leaves look normal, the straw, hay, or. Rice straw is very good, as it rarely carries weed seeds, but wheat straw mulch in gardens is more readily available and will work just as well. A straw bale garden is especially convenient for people. Growing 10 foot tall tomato plants in straw bales straw. If you want to garden organically, the person at the garden center wont likely know how the straw was grown.
As interest grew, he became one of the most indemand garden lecturers in the country. When my publisher asked me to write about strawbale gardening, i tested the techniques in my own gardens and was. Straw bale gardens complete contains all of the original information that has set the gardening world on fire. When my publisher asked me to write about strawbale gardening, i tested the techniques in my own gardens and was quite impressed with the. When it comes to thrifty, versatile ways to garden, its hard to beat gardening using a bale of straw. Straw bale gardening ultimate 5chapter beginners guide. Heres the method that has made karsten the goto guru for straw bale gardening. Keep an eye on the legumes to see how they respond. Straw bale gardening is just that, planting your seedlings into bales of straw. Pine straw isnt the best choice, as the waterproof pine needles shed water too. That means i am going to try it, and fortuitously someone near me named kent rogers is considered a local straw bale expert. Swift straw baled pine straw is here to help enhance the looks of your lawn. This year my bales have a lot of fungus and mold on them and so do many of my plants, honeydew, muskmelon, zucchini and some tomatoes. The good guide to extreme composting may be wondering why in the world id state that straw bale gardening can destroy your garden.
Or cut the bottom out of a plastic flat, pin it down onto top of bale, fill with soil and. People with less than desirable soil conditions, thin soil and limited space have had great success raising vegetables where they previously were unable to. Straw bale gardens have taken off over the last decade or so. All you need is a couple of straw bales, a bag of organic compost, some organic fertiliser and seeds or seedlings. Planting in straw a recent trend though not a new technique in gardening is straw bale gardening, essentially conditioning bales of straw not hay hay has seeds and will sprout too much and planting vegetable plants right in them. How to make straw bale gardens organic gardener magazine. I highly recommend this book as a basis for starting a straw bale garden.
Pine straw bales are messy and difficult to transport. Theyre like growbags at a fraction of the cost and without the plastic waste. Take your straw bale gardening to the next levelin more places, with new products, and even sometimes skipping the straw entirelywith straw bale gardens. Just want to let you know i put down my first bale. 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 straw bale guru, kent rogers.
Aug 01, 2017 although straw bale gardening is an ancient practice, it has become a trending gardening technique in the last several years. Mix the straw or hay with water in a fivegallon bucket and stir frequently for a day or two. Plus, as an added bonus, straw bale gardens are virtually weedfree and naturally. You can toss the dice like i did and purchase straw bales from your local garden center, but its best to source them direct from the farm. One bale covers 25 square feet if you put it down 3 to 4 thick, that is a 5 x 5 area. The hidden dangers of straw bale gardening the grow network. Its a bit like container growing, only the bale of straw becomes the container. Joel karsten, author of straw bale gardens, straw bale solutions, and straw bale gardens complete, developed the straw bale gardening method more than 10 years ago. Straw bale gardening is an ancient farming technique used in many cultures. Garden guides how to grow vegetables in bales of hay or straw. You will receive the pine straw from the pine straw store packed in boxes or on pallets, the pine straw should be taken from the boxes in handfuls and shaken over desired area so that it is distributed in a loose, fluffy manner. By planning and preparing in advance, conditioning the bales, and choosing the right plants, you can build a solid basis to start growing and harvesting your own fruits and vegetables from straw bales this season.
This gardening myth is just that, a myth and like all myths are very hard to dispel. Once the straw inside the bale begins to decay the straw becomes conditioned compost that creates an extraordinary plant rooting environment. So far i put in tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and collards. I say to leave the clippings and leaves and just cover with new pine straw. The main difference is that the container is the straw bale itself and is held together with two or three strings. Straw bale gardening provides many advantages over traditional soil gardening, some of which have already been alluded to. Is it possible the mold and fungus from the bales is transferring to the plants. If garden space or physical mobility is limited, straw bales provide an easily accessible growing medium for everything from herbs and lettuces to tomatoes and squash. Or imagine, if you will, the old saying, i am going to hit the hay, but substitute it with straw. An indepth guide to straw bale gardening for beginners. 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.
These handraked pine needles provide a natural look to complement almost any landscape. The straw bale process is for the person who is tired of tilling, trying to. Straw bale gardening is simply a different type of container gardening. If weve positioned the straw bale garden atop a potential garden space, then weve hopefully put it on a weed barrier of cardboard or newspaper, snuffing out weed problems early on. As the straw breaks down over the course of the summer, it turns into compost that feeds your plants. 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. See more ideas about straw bale gardening, straw bales and hay bale gardening.
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. Then, once weve made it through the growing season, the straw bales are nicely broken down as a great mulchcompost mix. In this five chapter guide youll learn exactly what straw bale gardening is all about. You are about to embark on a nofail gardening journeystraw bale gardening. I think even i can do that while building a new home. Straw bale gardening is a great alternative for building raised garden beds, and the. I love the subheading of the strawbale book, which says. The reception and enthusiasm for straw bale gardening, introduced in 20, has proved revolutionary in vegetable growing. Pine straw is the leaves of pine trees and are all carbon. If you are keen to start your own straw bale garden, you will want to know which vegetables work best with this unique gardening technique. There are several online tutorials on how to do this. Make sure its level water carefully so it doesnt wash away or cut the bottom out of a plastic flat, pin it down onto top of bale, fill with soil and plant. With pine straw you get nearly twice as much ground coverage as traditional pine bark and cypress mulches. They are also great for seniors who still want to garden but have a hard time.
The hidden danger of straw bale gardening no one is. It seems almost unbelievable, but i promise you it gets results. Bales of straw are so compressed that you might be surprised at how much of your garden one bale will cover. Once a straw bale has been prepared for planting, it can be transformed into a beautiful threedimensional annual garden, or host a fresh vegetable garden. Our first garden in 2009 was 20 x 20 and did so well we expanded greatly. Hay bales are a bad choice as they are filled with grass seeds that will compete with your plants. Plants growing out of straw bales i had seen them being done, but i was. Pine straw mulch uses learn about pine straw mulch. If your soil is so poor that amending, or enhancing, it with compost, fertilizers, or leaf mold makes you exhausted just thinking about it, then using straw bales for planting may be the perfect solution. Garden guides how to grow vegetables in bales of hay or. Straw bale planters are an easy solution for people lacking clean soil or extra space for gardening. Use this straw to accent your lawn and help control erosion and weeds. There are clear photos of the stages of conditioning, and of most vegetables you might grow as they appear growing in a straw bale.
Each bale measures 27 long by by 14 and weigh about 20 pounds each. In fact, theres a page on that lists all the places in the region that sell the ground ups products. That means i am going to try it, and fortuitously someone near me named kent rogers is considered a local strawbale expert. Apr 07, 2019 wheat straw is the best choice for straw bale gardening.
In a straw bale, we simply plant the potato cutting deep into the bale. May 05, 2017 if weve positioned the straw bale garden atop a potential garden space, then weve hopefully put it on a weed barrier of cardboard or newspaper, snuffing out weed problems early on. Ive seen some really pretty and clever methods of straw bale gardening. Each pine straw bale covers 120 square feet of your yard, flowerbeds, farm, or garden. Easily accessible to those who battle to reach normal garden beds, this type of gardening can be very effective and useful. If the second and third set of leaves look normal, the straw, hay, or manure is probably safe to use. It is used for erosion control, ground cover, and weed prevention. How to grow strawberries in hay bales home guides sf gate. You can buy hay bales and straw from farm and feed supply stores like tractor supply, local plant nurseries and garden centers, craft stores like michaels or hobby lobby, and home improvement stores like lowes or the home depot. For any application where you would use wood chip mulch, you can replace about 810 bags of mulch with just one 1 pine straw bale. If you like tomatoes, then youll want to seriously consider growing them in straw bales. Straw bale gardening is a gardening technique where the bales acts as natural containers for your plants.
Pine straw direct premium long leaf pine straw mulch. Straw bale gardeners uses a lot of hype to sell books. I have learned that any type of straw or hay bale will work. Start by arranging the bales in any way you like, side by side to make a block, end to end to create a line, zigzag, circle, whatever takes your fancy. If youre looking for an easier way to garden, you need to learn about the ruth stout gardening method. Straw bale gardening grow more food, in less space, with.
The quick straw example in the picture is distributed by the ground up. A pine straw island surrounded with liriope has fall leaves on it along with the clippings from cutting back the liriope. Very few weeds grow in straw bale gardens, and because they are elevated, weeding is easier than in a conventional garden. Karsten recommends erecting sevenfoottall posts at the end of each row of bales, and running wire between them at intervals of 10 inches from the tops of the bales.
Straw bale gardens offer the same benefits of any raised bed, including. Straw bale gardens are inexpensive to set up and suited for locations with limited space. Sep 21, 2017 pine straw makes good bedding for horses and some other livestock. Several tomatoes died and most of the plants are turning yellow. Heres that ruth stout garden video if youd like to watch it. Last year i tried a few offthewall types of gardens, including a straw bale garden. 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. Pine straw of central florida welcome to pine straw of. Straw bale gardening, is a most informative and detailed book for the avid vegetable gardener.
Hay comes from mowed, dried grass and is used as animal feed. He welcomes questions about the project via his website. Quickstraw is shipped by the bag straight to your door leaving no mess in your car or home. Hay and straw are different from each other, although when they are tied up into bales they look similar.
This old straw bale has become something of a red worm apartment complex ive had a bale of straw sitting on the edge of my driveway since mid summer, and not too surprisingly it has started to rot. We do delivery andor installation of pinestraw and some light yardwork. Straw bale gardening is very simple system to set up, and there are many benefits to growing this type of garden. Straw bale gardening sharon morrisey consumer horticulture agent milwaukee county uwextension. Gardening without work ruth stout 1of2 engmagyar youtube. She was planting potatoes by throwing them on the ground and then covering them with straw. He gardens not too far away, and he and i have been seedling friends for.
However, it is not suitable for the straw bale method of gardening, where plants are inserted into cracks in the top of a bale of other straw. He is the longtime tomato adviser to the seed savers exchange. Whereas something like pinea lot of people use pine straw to keep. Straw bale gardening coast to coast trials and tribulations of using bales to grow vegetables and herbs. Beginners guide to straw bale gardening safer brand. The book is very informative as i am new too this type of gardening.
Hay and straw can be used for rustic decor, outdoor seating, landscaping. They function essentially as a raised bed each bale is 1416 inches high and a container garden in one. No more expensive toxic bales but natural bales made from a tote or pine straw baler. In 2010 we had more produce than we could put away and consume. Growing vegetables in straw bales, strawbale gardening. Feb 01, 2015 take your straw bale gardening to the next levelin more places, with new products, and even sometimes skipping the straw entirelywith straw bale gardens complete. Dec, 2019 straw bale gardening can destroy your garden. Fresh pine needles are covered with a thick, waxy coating which breaks down with a little aging.
The straw bale process is for the person who is tired of tilling, trying to improve soil condition, weeding, constant watering, etc. Straw mulch for gardening how to use straw mulch around. Get your hands on a copy of the comprehensive guide to growing in straw bales, my book titled straw bale gardens which is filled with specific details on the entire process, garnered from my 22 years of research on this amazing method called straw bale gardening. Straw bale gardening has been exploding in popularity the last several years as gardeners of all ages have embraced the method developed by author. Jul 16, 20 one of the coolest things about straw bale gardening is that it combines the best of container gardening with vertical gardening.
You may also be able to find local farmers in your area who sell hay bales. That means many area nurseries, garden centers, hardware stores and feed stores have access to these bales. As the straw begins to break down, it turns into a rich, compostable planter thats ideal for growing vegetables. A complete guide to growing in bales without soil or. A vegetable garden planted in bales of straw can produce goodlooking, healthy plants without weeds. Straw bale garden straw bales allow you to set up a garden anywhere, even on hardscapeadding valuable greenspace to your urban habitat. Poor soil no space for a garden in full sun site no containers or soil to buy just a cheap source of straw bales. Straw bales are available at local feed stores, farm centers and from.