They function essentially as a raised bed each bale is 1416 inches high and a container garden in one. The main difference is that the container is the straw bale itself and is held together with two or three strings. 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. Straw bale gardening grow more food, in less space, with. 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. An indepth guide to straw bale gardening for beginners. Straw bale gardening, is a most informative and detailed book for the avid vegetable gardener. Theyre like growbags at a fraction of the cost and without the plastic waste. His latest book on the subject, straw bale solutions cool springs press, 2018, covers all the ways that straw bale gardening has solved gardeners problems from. Straw bale planters are an easy solution for people lacking clean soil or extra space for gardening. Straw bale gardening is a gardening technique where the bales acts as natural containers for your plants. There are quite a lot that works well, but a few to avoid, and some to leave for when you are more experienced with straw bale gardening.
Using straw rather than hay will help keep weeds at a minimum, since hay generally has seeds attached, while straw has most of the seeds removed. Once the straw inside the bale begins to decay the straw becomes conditioned compost that creates an extraordinary plant rooting environment. Straw bale gardening university of wisconsinmadison. The complete guide to straw bale gardening without using weeding and chemicals. The good guide to extreme composting may be wondering why in the world id state that straw bale gardening can destroy your garden. So, hay bale gardening differentiates from straw bale gardening in several ways. 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.
Health benefits of gardening and recipes to use your fresh produce. Straw bale gardens complete contains all of the original information that has set. Straw bale gardening is an engaging and productive way for home gardeners to add a fun, new dimension to their gardening experience. Straw bale gardening is a gardening method created and championed by minnesota horticulturist and writer joel karsten. Mar 20, 2011 the straw bales in the pic below are placed on three layers of decomposing bales or about 9 of decomposing straw. The science of straw bale gardening with joel karsten. 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. Hundreds of helpful, stepbystep color photographs illustrate how to arrange, prepare, and successfully grow a straw bale garden. A beginners guide to straw bale gardening raleigh news. The straw bale process is for the person who is tired of tilling, trying to improve soil condition, weeding, constant watering, etc.
Straw bale gardening ultimate 5chapter beginners guide. If you want to garden organically, the person at the garden center wont likely know how the straw was grown. Just letting you know, i will be speaking at the portland build, remodel and landscape show this coming saturday, jan 3rd at 1 p. 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. The hidden dangers of straw bale gardening the grow network. Buy a cheap copy of straw bale gardening book by joel karsten. As interest grew, he became one of the most indemand garden lecturers in the country. The straw is then conditioned to form the perfect environment for roots to take hold and for plants to flourish. All you need is a bale of straw, some fertilizer, and your favorite vegetable seeds.
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. Growing vegetables in straw bales storey publishing. The guide below provides an easy, stepbystep approach to. 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. Straw bale gardening is basically using a straw bale to create a raised plant bed. Make sure its level water carefully so it doesnt wash away or cut the bottom out of a plastic flat, pin it. It is worth a trip to the library to check out his book. The straw bales in the pic below are placed on three layers of decomposing bales or about 9 of decomposing straw. Straw bale gardening is a great alternative for building raised garden beds, and the. The hidden dangers of straw bale gardening the grow. 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. A straw bale garden bed starts with a bale of straw. Growing vegetables in straw bales, strawbale gardening. Straw bale gardening features a great way to grow vegetables even when space is limited.
Straw bale gardening book by joel karsten thriftbooks. It requires less maintenance than most other gardening varieties and is an excellent way for everyone to be able to enjoy gardening regardless of their situation. 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. The hay bale garden everything you need to get started. For technical questions or comments about wprs website, streaming or other digital media products, please use our website feedback form. Then, once weve made it through the growing season, the straw bales are nicely broken down as a great mulchcompost mix. A far less laborious gardening experience, eliminating digging and weeding. Are you looking for a way to start growing vegetables in just a few weeks quick and easy. Jul 12, 2018 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. Straw bale gardening coast to coast trials and tribulations of using bales to grow vegetables and herbs.
This booklet is a guide to growing a successful straw bale garden written by the pioneer of this method of gardening. Maybe you have rocky or poor soil and the prospect of carting in new soil just seems too costly and time consuming. You are going to use conditioning to quickly speed the decomposition of your bale. Craig lehoulliers stepbystep instructions show you how to do everything from sourcing the straw and setting up your bale to planting, dealing with weeds and pests, and harvesting. Learn more about straw bale gardening how did cambodian rice farmers react to a 64. I like to use blood meal as an organic nitrogen source for conditioning the bales. There are a few things i have learned about the process as i was experimenting with how to condition straw bales. Combining container gardening with vegetable gardening, straw bale gardening breaks the notion that plants can only grow in soil as these dirtless gardens plans will cause your plants to explode. Straw bale gardens complete by joel karsten overdrive. 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. Straw bale gardens by joel karsten overdrive rakuten. Straw bales are stalks of plants, typically corn that are dried and baled together in various shapes and sizes. Jun 04, 2014 straw bale gardening is an engaging and productive way for home gardeners to add a fun, new dimension to their gardening experience. The bale is first conditioned and then vegetable plants are planted and grown inside the bale.
Straw bale gardens teaches gardening in a way that isnt only new but is thoroughly innovative and revolutionary to home gardening. From this point it was basically just watering it like i would the other veggies in the garden. Jul 16, 20 one of the coolest things about straw bale gardening is that it combines the best of container gardening with vertical gardening. Our newest demonstration garden is a living example of food gardens from the bountiful containera complete guide to growing veegtabels, herbs, fruits and edible flower in containers. 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. If you skip this part your plant roots will be affected by the heat created from the compositing process and it will kill the plants. 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 27,000 likes. Straw bale gardening, vegetable gardening, gardening techniques. Growing your own food at home is not only a great way to commune with nature, but it can also save you a great deal of money on your grocery bills. 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. I would also love to sign a copy of my book straw bale gardens for you as well. What is the best organic source of nitrogen to condition my bales. Growing 10 foot tall tomato plants in straw bales straw. In the next part of this growing experiment, i will let you know how the transplants are doing, and perhaps try the other side of straw bale gardening, starting seeds in the bale.
Information on container, raised beds, square foot, organic and straw bale gardens. The breakthrough method for growing vegetables anywhere, earlier and with no weeding paperback mar 15 20. Straw bale gardens have taken off over the last decade or so. Setting them up is the hardest part but there are many benefits to this type of garden. Straw bale gardening provides many advantages over traditional soil gardening, some of which have already been alluded to. The hidden danger of straw bale gardening no one is. Straw bale gardening is a modern method of cultivation where you compost straw bales and plant vegetables within them. Day 1 the bales laid out in roughly the configuration we decided on for the back yard, with a long section for tall, vining vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini, and larger rectangular areas for everything else. Thanks kent for putting me on to the straw bale thing. A variety of crops can be grown in bales, including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons, and herbs. Read what brought karsten to the innovative and efficient idea of straw bale gardening and find the. Straw bale gardens complete contains all of the original information that has set the gardening world on fire.
Straw bale gardening is just that, planting your seedlings into bales of straw. He routinely challenges old gardening dogma and pioneers exciting new techniques to grow vegetables in the darndest places. Unfortunately, many gardening methods require special containers, tools, and equipment which can be quite costly. A pioneer and an entrepreneur, karsten has been featured in the new york times, national television and radio. Hear the incredible story of straw bale gardens by the man who literally wrote the book on this technique, mr. Hay bales are grasses that have been dried and baled together. Jul 05, 2018 straw bale gardening works off that same idea and the processes that creates compost. It solves every impediment todays home gardeners face. Last year i tried a few offthewall types of gardens, including a straw bale garden.
See more ideas about straw bale gardening, straw bales and hay bale gardening. 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. Ive seen some really pretty and clever methods of straw bale gardening. Dec, 2019 straw bale gardening can destroy your garden. Unlike a planter filled with potting soil, the bale begins life as an essentially sterile medium. Like with mulches, it important to either find square straw bales, which are intrinsically without seeds, or seedless hay bales as the base. Oct 15, 20 by fitting straw bale gardening into your garden plans, you can overcome these obstacles.
Nichols annual plant day is saturday, may 16, 2009. May 05, 2017 lets begin with the basics of gardening in straw bales. 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. On a weird note they dont have straw bales in my part of texas something about the wheat not getting high enough for a second cutting so im using a hay bale. And if youre interested in growing 10 foot tall tomato plants, then look no further this is your new growing method. Youll find a bumper crop of vegetable gardening books on the shelves today, but it is a very rare. Straw bale gardening is simply a different type of container gardening. Why your garden needs a straw bale preparednessmama. Jan 11, 2016 straw bale gardening can destroy your garden. A beginners guide to straw bale gardening by craig lehoullier. Straw bale gardening is an inexpensive, lowmaintenance way to grow a bounty of food in a small space. 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. Straw bale gardening is a great technique to have in the gardeners tool kit. See more ideas about straw bale gardening, straw bales, baling.
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. If you like tomatoes, then youll want to seriously consider growing them in straw bales. The reception and enthusiasm for straw bale gardening, introduced in 20, has proved revolutionary in vegetable growing. Gardening with straw bales university of tennessee system. To me there is nothing easier as far as gardening goes. Think of the straw bale as a large container with a volume of 40 gallons. Mar 15, 20 straw bale gardens teaches gardening in a way that isnt only new but is thoroughly innovative and revolutionary to home gardening. The guide to straw bale gardening by annika walker nook. Heres the method that has made karsten the goto guru for straw bale 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. As the straw breaks down over the course of the summer, it turns into compost that feeds your plants. Gardening with straw bales alan windham professor, plant pathology what is straw bale gardening.
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