Have You Tried Straw Bale Gardening?

I have heard of hydroponic gardening and planting tomatoes and having them grow upside down, but until Linda told me about straw bale gardening, I had not heard of it. Straw bale gardening is for anyone who has difficulty bending over, tilling soil or weeding. It is also good for anyone with poor soil. Straw bale gardening makes all these issues easier and makes difficult chores like weeding obsolete. There are no weeds in straw bale gardening. It will completely change everything you thought you knew about gardening. Why haven't I heard of this before?

Bales of straw is the perfect container for growing vegetables. The hollow tubes are designed by Mother Nature to suck up and hold moisture. As the insides decompose, they provide a rich medium for vegetable growth. The hardest part of the process is getting the bales of hay from a farm or nursery to your backyard. Pick a nice sunny spot for your garden, then find a nice strong husband or neighbor to carry the bale into the yard. Two weeks prior to planting, condition the bales. This means wetting and fertilizing the bales for 10 days to start composting the inner straw. (stick your finger in the bales and they'll be hot and moist). An added feature is that you can build a trellis and greenhouse in one. Stick posts in the end of each row of bale, and run wire to make a trellis. You can drape a plastic tarp over the wire to create an instant greenhouse. As the plants begin to grow, the wire works like a vertical trellis. If you're planting seedlings, use your trowel to separate the straw in the shape of a hole and add some sterile planting mix to help cover the exposed roots. If you're planting seed, cover the bales with a layer of planting mix and sew into this seedbed. As the seeds germinate, they'll grow roots down into the bale itself. How easy is that? I hope someone tries this and tells me about it. Unfortunately I currently have no place in my yard to do this. All you do is lay a soaker hose over your bales, and you've pretty much eliminated all your work until harvest.

Joel Karsten is the guru of straw bale gardening. He's got a book, a blog, and a great website. Go to strawbalegardening.com for more information. Oh, did I mention that at the end of the growing season the bales of hay will continue to decompose and you will be left with a pile of wonderful, nutrient rich compost? This process of gardening is a win/win situation.