Strawbale gardens

thistlebloom

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
16,473
Reaction score
17,411
Points
457
Location
North Idaho 48th parallel
I think as long as the bales are intact enough to plant in you can start them anytime. I say this because somewhere I read somebody gets two years of gardening out of theirs.
 

Chickie'sMomaInNH

Garden Master
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Messages
3,427
Reaction score
1,172
Points
313
Location
Seacoast NH zone 5
this seems to be a better alternative than buying tons of dirt/topsoil for raised beds. in the long run the straw when it is done after the 2nd year will help build up the bed anyways.
 

digitS'

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
26,615
Reaction score
32,059
Points
457
Location
border, ID/WA(!)
Still hoping that someone is thinking about heirloom tomatoes in early February :).

Yesterday at 3:17 PM link

Dr. LeHouiller knows tomatoes but he also knows enough to write a book about strawbale gardening. (Not me! I once created a "lawn" in one corner of my garden by using a bale of bluegrass straw for mulch.)

Steve
 
Last edited:

thistlebloom

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
16,473
Reaction score
17,411
Points
457
Location
North Idaho 48th parallel
I've thought about it. Haven't decided on anything yet. I still need to check my seeds. I did order a tomato that looked interesting from Kitizawa, but I'm on the couch and it's in the office. It's that crazy gravity thing going on...
But there will be a combination of straw bales and at least a few tomatoes this year. :)
 

ducks4you

Garden Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2009
Messages
11,630
Reaction score
15,180
Points
417
Location
East Central IL, Was Zone 6, Now...maybe Zone 5
Last year one the people that are responsible for the University of Illinois Extension offices tried straw bale gardening on site, so the garden was right in front of the office. She LOVED it. A friend is interested and I found this link:
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/dmp/eb344/entry_8358/
She said that there was no weeding, but bear in mind that some straw bales have seeds in them. Don't use hay bales because many hay bales have seeds in them. This article gives you the preparation, and suggests fertilizing with manure tea throughout the season.
 
Last edited:

Smart Red

Garden Master
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
11,303
Reaction score
7,405
Points
417
Location
South-est, central-est Wisconsin
With chickens, I'd still need to fence the straw bales in or risk the veggies and straw bales between my raised beds won't do either. I need to access the beds. Hum-m-m, needs more thinking through.
 
Top