You will learn the many benefits of straw bale gardening and on your journey you will understand techniques including fertilizing, designing and how to pick the best plants. By fitting straw bale gardening into your garden plans, you can overcome these obstacles. Alan windham, a professor of plant pathology with the university of tennessee extension, compares straw bale gardening to gardening in containersminus the container. 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 has advantages university of tennessee. Oct 15, 20 by fitting straw bale gardening into your garden plans, you can overcome these obstacles. 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. Download the zen of gardening combines wisdom cultivated in the garden with beautiful and inspirational photos. A bale garden uses hay or straw bales in place of soil. These can often be purchased more readily and cheaply during the fall, when grain harvests are at the high point, and theyll wait patiently for.
Dec, 2019 straw bale gardening can destroy your garden. To sign up for a straw bale gardening class or to order a guide to straw bale gardening please visit. Thats wonderful, this blog post was designed to help you discover the joys of straw bale gardening. Using straw and compost rather than soil as beds for plants, straw. Cut back to 14 cup of fertilizer per bale per day, and continue to water it in well. Make sure its level water carefully so it doesnt wash away or cut the bottom out of a plastic flat, pin it. How to condition and plant a bale of straw for gardening. Read straw bale gardens complete online, read in mobile or kindle.
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. An indepth guide to straw bale gardening for beginners. Feb 17, 2016 add productive garden space and raise your planting bed with straw bale gardening. Rather than planting in soil, gardeners plant directly into a straw bale. Alrighty, so youve obtained some straw bales, laid them out into the raised garden setup you would like, and spent the past 12 days watering them and sprinkling them with fertilizer. There are two aspects to this i want to talk about.
As the straw breaks down over the course of the summer, it turns into compost that feeds your plants. You apply, you water, you apply, you stick a thermometer in. Straw bale garden straw bales allow you to set up a garden anywhere, even on hardscapeadding valuable greenspace to your urban habitat. Straw bale gardens are a growing fad among urban gardeners and others looking for a challenging way to raise plants away from natural soil. Be sure to read straw bale gardening part 1 introduction and straw bale gardening part 2 conditioning. It is worth a trip to the library to check out his book. Add productive garden space and raise your planting bed with straw bale gardening. Some folks like the idea of straw bale gardening because the bales are taller and easier to reach than a conventional garden at ground. Straw bale gardening pdf garden note 160, explains the basics for starting a straw bale garden in your yard. See more ideas about straw bale gardening, straw bales and strawbale gardening. Why your garden needs a straw bale preparednessmama. Straw bale gardens have taken off over the last decade or so. New york timestake your straw bale gardening to the next level in more places, with new products, and even, sometimes, skipping the straw. Straw bale gardens complete contains all of the original information that has set.
This technique allows gardeners to create raised bed gardens on a patio, lawn or any area with poor compacted soil. A short tour of my straw bale garden, here in bonsall, ca, in north san diego county. Watering is just one technique you will learn before finally harvesting your garden. Beyond that, plant everything else that you like to eat.
Straw bale gardening is also called bale gardening or mistakenly, hay bale gardening. Straw bale gardens teaches gardening in a way that isnt only new but is thoroughly innovative and revolutionary to home gardening. We are following joel karstens book straw bale gardening. These types of containers can be located anywhere there is at least 68 hours of sunlight and access to a water source. The hidden dangers of straw bale gardening the grow. Check out this straw bale gardening guide from west virginia university extension. Hay bale gardening center for excellence in disabilities. Apr 09, 2019 some folks like the idea of straw bale gardening because the bales are taller and easier to reach than a conventional garden at ground level. On day 10, return to simply watering the bale, and continue doing that until the temperature inside the bale starts to reflect the temperature outside.
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. 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. Straw bale gardening is a gardening technique where the bales acts as natural containers for your plants. Creating a straw bale garden by melinda myers horticulturist and gardening expert may 1, 2017. Free straw bale gardening pdf tutorial urban garden, straw. He has perfected the perfect way for anyone to have a garden without weeding, bending over, or using chemicals. 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. I highly recommend this book as a basis for starting a straw bale garden. Setting them up is the hardest part but there are many benefits to this type of garden. 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.
May 01, 2017 creating a straw bale garden by melinda myers horticulturist and gardening expert may 1, 2017. Click on the links below each picture to be taken to the page where you can download a digital version of the book. Straw bale gardening is another form of container gardening where the container slowly decomposes becoming a rich compost. Bales are placed on the ground with no need to dig in the soil. The reception and enthusiasm for straw bale gardening, introduced in 20, has proved revolutionary in vegetable. You can substitute bone meal, fish meal, or compost for a more organic approach. Straw bale gardening not only solves a space issue, but the straw will begin to break down essentially compost, feeding your plants and requiring almost nothing from you but water. Easily accessible to those who battle to reach normal garden beds, this type of gardening can be very effective and useful. Jul 16, 20 one of the coolest things about straw bale gardening is that it combines the best of container gardening with vertical gardening. Read what brought karsten to the innovative and efficient idea of straw bale gardening and find the. Its always one of the top leisure activities enjoyed by tennesseans of all ages, and straw bale gardening is gaining favor with seasoned and novice gardeners alike. A complete guide to growing in bales without soil or weeds by joel karsten. Straw bale gardening veers from the traditional approach to gardening in soil. A variety of crops can be grown in bales, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons, and herbs.
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. Nov 12, 20 the straw bale garden i started this spring has been one of the most successful vegetable gardens ive ever planted. Better yet, it is available as a digital download through the kindle app. The bale is first conditioned and then vegetable plants are planted and grown inside the bale. Jun 27, 2014 this series covers straw bale gardening. 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.
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. Oct 03, 20 a short tour of my straw bale garden, here in bonsall, ca, in north san diego county. 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. Leafy greens love the bales, as do root crops, vines, cucurbits, herbs and even flowers. The hidden dangers of straw bale gardening the grow network. Advantages of straw bale gardening climatefriendly gardening strategies straw bale gardens are much more pest resistant than traditional soil gardens.
Literally any winter crop that you would grow in a traditional garden can be grown in a straw bale, and you know what, you wont have to deal with any mud either. This 78 page digital guide is a simple, stepbystep, easy to follow plan. 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. Strawbale gardening, like container gardening, isnt. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading straw bale gardening. Straw bale gardens complete by joel karsten overdrive. Gardening with straw bales alan windham professor, plant pathology what is straw bale gardening. This method works well for those with limited gardening space or poor soil conditions and eliminates most of the tough backwork normal gardening requires. Consider the pros and cons to determine if straw bale gardening is right for you. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Ashton ritchie shows you how easy it is to grow vegetables by building a simple raised bed with bales of straw and potting mix. Straw bales require little if any digging or cultivation. Straw bale gardening removes the possibility of soilborne diseases.
There is also a free anr publication on straw bale gardening pdf. Straw bale gardening demonstration 2016 sacramento mgs. 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. After reading the book, it gave me the basic information that i was looking for in how to do straw bale gardening. When my publisher asked me to write about straw bale gardening, i tested the techniques in my own gardens and was quite impressed with the results. Learn to grow a straw bale garden, roseville, minnesota.
Straw bale gardening is just that, planting your seedlings into bales of straw. The book is very informative as i am new too this type of gardening. This booklet is a guide to growing a successful straw bale garden written by the pioneer of this method of gardening. Lets begin with the basics of gardening in straw bales. Put a couple inches of potting soil on top of the bales. 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. This is the first time we have ever done a straw bale garden and we are letting you know how it goes. 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. In just the short amount of time that has passed, the gardening world and joel karsten himself have learned even more about how to apply this method in just about any environment. 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. Step by step of creating a straw bale garden straw bale.
The surface under the straw bale is not of any importance because the plants roots will. Planting seed large seeds and for individual plants cucurbits, legumes, beets and chard, kale, kohlrabi, etc. Pdf straw bale gardens complete download ebook for free. A straw bale garden bed starts with a bale of straw. Soilless mix, with no potential to harbor disease, insects or weed seeds. 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. Plants that suck up a lot of nitrogen, like squash, do well in a straw bale garden. Straw bale gardens complete contains all of the original information that has set the gardening world on fire. After youve been regularly watering and fertilizing your bales for several days they should start to become warm and moist when you poke your finger into them. Ive seen some really pretty and clever methods of straw bale gardening. It will help you get started growing your own organic food and herbs in straw bales. Straw bale gardening ultimate 5chapter beginners guide. Its economical, easier on your back, and is great for people with mobility issues. So i called up joel karsten, author of straw bale gardens, and lead authority on all things straw.
With little effort and expense, you can have your own garden growing from bales of straw. 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. More importantly, straw bale beds offer the opportunity to grow quality produce that is relatively dirt and insect free. The plant roots then take up nutrients from the rapidly decomposing straw inside.
They function essentially as a raised bed each bale is 1416 inches high and a container garden in one. 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. Its a gardening method of raising vegetables, herbs, and flowers planted directly on a straw bale you can also use hay, alfalfa, oat, or rye bales straw is more common and generally cheaper and has less weed seeds bales bound with poly twin work. Stop applying fertilizer but continue to keep the bale damp. Theyre like growbags at a fraction of the cost and without the plastic waste. Karsten argues that straw is an ideal container for growing vegetables.
Quality produce cucumberleft and cantalouperight grown on straw bales in stillwater, ok without use of any pesticide. The current straw bale gardening expert is joel karsten who wrote straw bale gardens by joel karsten fyi, joel will be speaking at this years free home grown food summit april 612, 2015. Faced with the expense ok, and effort of building raised beds, i decided instead to go cheap and easy. Straw bale gardening university of wisconsinmadison. 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. The straw bale garden i started this spring has been one of the most successful vegetable gardens ive ever planted. Growing in straw bales over winter straw bale gardening. Perhaps youre just looking for an inexpensive and easy way to start gardening at home. Discover the many benefits of straw bale gardening.
Download straw bale gardens complete ebook free in pdf and epub format. Return to our straw bales introduction for links to other years. It solves every impediment todays home gardeners face. Buy the straw bale gardens efile 2012 by joel karsten. Straw bale gardens by joel karsten overdrive rakuten. See more ideas about straw bale gardening, straw bales, baling. Growing vegetables in straw bales, strawbale gardening. Last year i tried a few offthewall types of gardens, including a straw bale garden. Today, we are going to talk about planning out your garden.
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