08-11-2013, 11:41 PM
1
Straw Bale Gardening
I've got a larger garden now but I can't dig it, so I was looking for an easy way to grow veg for next year. Has anyone tried straw bales? It seems very easy, apart from getting them into place.Apparently you cover the centres with compost, leave over winter & plant into them in the spring, they're like a sort of raised bed.
I'm not sure if it will get messy when the bales start to fall apart.
08-11-2013, 11:46 PM
2
Re: Straw Bale Gardening
Never heard of this one Twiz, but it sounds interesting.I always thought that straw took the Nitrogen out of the soil though, that's one reason why farmers replace Nitrogen after they've ploughed in straw stubble, since it became illegal to burn the fields.
surely the bales will rot down and disintegrate and look a bit of a mess.
09-11-2013, 05:45 AM
4
Re: Straw Bale Gardening
Twiz,Just google and you will find heaps about straw bale gardening. It is especially good if you can't dig anymore. Winter time would be a good time to start as you need plenty of water to dampen them down to start off.
I find Pea Straw is great for on the garden as any peas will grow and you can just pull them out and throw them on the top to die, which puts nitrogen back into the soil.
Hubby can still dig for me fortunately, but I still before summer buy bales of pea straw and put over the whole of my garden. The worms love it and it keeps the soil going. I throw dried cow/sheep manure on top and just let it wash down as I water the beds.
Then in autumn hubby digs the garden and I mulch all over with pea straw. It helps contain any weeds and breaks down and helps keep the soil warmer for plants during the winter months.
09-11-2013, 12:14 PM
5
Re: Straw Bale Gardening
Originally Posted by Sandi
->
Twiz,Just google and you will find heaps about straw bale gardening. It is especially good if you can't dig anymore. Winter time would be a good time to start as you need plenty of water to dampen them down to start off.
I find Pea Straw is great for on the garden as any peas will grow and you can just pull them out and throw them on the top to die, which puts nitrogen back into the soil.
Hubby can still dig for me fortunately, but I still before summer buy bales of pea straw and put over the whole of my garden. The worms love it and it keeps the soil going. I throw dried cow/sheep manure on top and just let it wash down as I water the beds.
Then in autumn hubby digs the garden and I mulch all over with pea straw. It helps contain any weeds and breaks down and helps keep the soil warmer for plants during the winter months.
Sandi you are talking about opening the bales and using the straw as a mulch 
From Twiz's post I thought the bales were left intact and placed in a kind of box formation with compost in the middle to produce something similar to a raised bed.
09-11-2013, 03:24 PM
6
Re: Straw Bale Gardening
Yes Meg. We can still dig our garden but always for winter and summer I use it like a mulch. Just break the bales up and place fairly thickly over the dirt and throw manure on the top,( not good if you have a dog tho as they like to roll in the stinky stuff) But Pea straw bales only, not hay bales. Pea straw puts the nitrogen back into the soil. Any seeds in the straw will grow peas, but you pull them out and just throw them to die, as they are great for conditioning the soil. Very easy to pull out. Hay bales have the seeds in them and you have hay growing, not too easy to pull out.But gardening with the bales is gaining in popularity here. You can put them around and plant in them too or you can put them in a square with a centre where you lay the straw too. The bales on the outside protect what you grow in the middle. If Twiz just googles Straw Bale Gardening there are plenty of sites to show her how to do it and she can select what method she wishes to use.
10-11-2013, 12:23 PM
9
Re: Straw Bale Gardening
I recall back in the 70's my grandfather was involved in some trials using straw bales, they found anything that needed long routes did quite well, also leafy veg was really good, but bit of a disaster with beans and peas. It was done at merrist woods college I think. He said if he ever got to the point he couldn't dig he would certainly consider it, sadly by the time that came his garden was so small all he could manage was a few flowers, but he really missed his veg garden.10-11-2013, 04:10 PM
10
Re: Straw Bale Gardening
I have been "not digging" at the side of my front path, it was covered in chippings so the clay was compacted, got my daughter to dig lots of holes & planted shrubs & perennials with loads of compost in each hole. Hope it works! The weight of the chippings was causing the retaining wall to shift.I will try to get some unsuspecting kid person to carry some bales in for me. I get so frustrated as I loved gardening!
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