For years common straw—that unassuming by-product of grain production—has played a supporting role in our homes and gardens. It has cushioned our strawberries, keeping the fruit from rotting on the ground. It has adorned our porches in the fall, sometimes serving as modular seating for Halloween scarecrows or faux zombies. It has mulched our garden beds, if we are lucky.
Now straw is moving into a starring role as straw bale gardening takes center stage. If you haven’t heard about it yet, it’s probably because you were out in the garden clearing away the winter detritus and listening to the birds, or your I-Pod, or the sounds of the neighbors’ lawn and garden crews. Rest assured, soon you will be hearing about straw bale gardening from all manner of garden sources.
The basic idea is simple. Instead of building a costly raised bed, you can use one or more hay bales for the same purpose. Raised beds and hay bales are perfect for people with bad soil or no soil. It works for gardeners who have trouble bending down to tend traditional garden beds. It works for renters or people who have only porches or balconies. Best of all, there is nothing more natural than a straw bale. Eventually it biodegrades and can be used as compost or conventional mulch. If straw bales could only repel deer, they would be perfect.
Start up is easy. First, find a source of straw bales. Local garden centers often have them, as do feed and grain stores—if you live in the country. The craze is spreading so fast that finding the bales should not be hard. Straw bales are preferable to hay bales, which often contain grain or weed seeds. However, if you ask the garden center clerk whether the bales next to him are hay or straw, you will probably get a blank stare. If your bale starts sprouting weed seedlings when you get it home, just clip them off en masse rather than trying to pull them up.
The only preparation needed is some conditioning for your bales. This step cools down the bales, slowing the heat-generating decomposition process that has already begun inside them. To condition your straw bales, place them wherever you want them to end up. If that location is on a deck or terrace, you should raise the bales using a few bricks or other supports so the bales don’t stain or damage the surface underneath. Once the bales are in position, water them thoroughly for about three weeks. This part does require an element of planning, but while you do the conditioning, you can always start seedlings on an indoor windowsill.
To plant, use a sharp-edged trowel or garden knife to open a planting hole or niche of the appropriate size. Insert seedlings or starter plants, root ball and all, in the bale. Plant at the same depth you would if you were gardening in soil. Water thoroughly. For seeds, cover the top of the straw bale with a thin layer of potting mix. Distribute the seeds over it and then cover with another layer of potting mix. Water regularly and seeds will sprout as they would in any other growing situation.
One important note—whatever you do, avoid cutting through the twine that holds your bale together.
Straw is virtually devoid of nutrients, so it is important to feed your young plants with a liquid organic fertilizer once a week.
Bales can be re-used for more than one year, which means that after the first year they don’t need the conditioning step. They are best for annual edible and ornamental plants, rather than perennials that need long term situations. If you want perennials, shrubs or small trees, try growing them in large pots instead. They are more permanent.
I have seen pictures of amazing straw bale gardens, with multiple bales laid out in interesting patterns. One of the English gardening magazines recently featured a straw bale planting scheme with a small ornamental fence camouflaging the sides of the bales. The whole arrangement resembled a rather deluxe raised bed. If you have an imagination, the sky is the limit with straw bales.
So there is really no excuse to avoid growing your own ornamental plants and/or food crops. Now all you need is a dollar—or two—and a bale.