For years common straw\u2014that unassuming by-product of grain production\u2014has played a supporting role in our homes and gardens.\u00a0 It has cushioned our strawberries, keeping the fruit from rotting on the ground.\u00a0 It has adorned our porches in the fall, sometimes serving as modular seating for Halloween scarecrows or faux zombies.\u00a0 It has mulched our garden beds, if we are lucky.<\/p>\n
Now straw is moving into a starring role as straw bale gardening takes center stage.\u00a0 If you haven\u2019t heard about it yet, it\u2019s 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\u2019 lawn and garden crews.\u00a0 Rest assured, soon you will be hearing about straw bale gardening from all manner of garden sources.<\/p>\n
The basic idea is simple.\u00a0 Instead of building a costly raised bed, you can use one or more hay bales for the same purpose.\u00a0 Raised beds and hay bales are perfect for people with bad soil or no soil.\u00a0 It works for gardeners who have trouble bending down to tend traditional garden beds. \u00a0It works for renters or people who have only porches or balconies.\u00a0 Best of all, there is nothing more natural than a straw bale.\u00a0 Eventually it biodegrades and can be used as compost or conventional mulch.\u00a0 If straw bales could only repel deer, they would be perfect.<\/p>\n
Start up is easy.\u00a0 First, find a source of straw bales.\u00a0 Local garden centers often have them, as do feed and grain stores\u2014if you live in the country.\u00a0 The craze is spreading so fast that finding the bales should not be hard.\u00a0 Straw bales are preferable to hay bales, which often contain grain or weed seeds.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
The only preparation needed is some conditioning for your bales.\u00a0 This step cools down the bales, slowing the heat-generating decomposition process that has already begun inside them.\u00a0 To condition your straw bales, place them wherever you want them to end up.\u00a0 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\u2019t stain or damage the surface underneath.\u00a0 Once the bales are in position, water them thoroughly for about three weeks.\u00a0 This part does require an element of planning, but while you do the conditioning, you can always start seedlings on an indoor windowsill.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 Plant at the same depth you would if you were gardening in soil.\u00a0 Water thoroughly.\u00a0 For seeds, cover the top of the straw bale with a thin layer of potting mix.\u00a0 Distribute the seeds over it and then cover with another layer of potting mix.\u00a0 Water regularly and seeds will sprout as they would in any other growing situation.<\/p>\n
One important note\u2014whatever you do, avoid cutting through the twine that holds your bale together.<\/p>\n
Straw is virtually devoid of nutrients, so it is important to feed your young plants with a liquid organic fertilizer once a week.<\/p>\n
Bales can be re-used for more than one year, which means that after the first year they don\u2019t need the conditioning step.\u00a0 They are best for annual edible and ornamental plants, rather than perennials that need long term situations.\u00a0 If you want perennials, shrubs or small trees, try growing them in large pots instead.\u00a0 They are more permanent.<\/p>\n
I have seen pictures of amazing straw bale gardens, with multiple bales laid out in interesting patterns.\u00a0 One of the English gardening magazines recently featured a straw bale planting scheme with a small ornamental fence camouflaging the sides of the bales.\u00a0 The whole arrangement resembled a rather deluxe raised bed.\u00a0 If you have an imagination, the sky is the limit with straw bales.<\/p>\n
So there is really no excuse to avoid growing your own ornamental plants and\/or food crops.\u00a0 Now all you need is a dollar\u2014or two\u2014and a bale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For years common straw\u2014that unassuming by-product of grain production\u2014has played a supporting role in our homes and gardens.\u00a0 It has cushioned our strawberries, keeping the fruit from rotting on the ground.\u00a0 It has adorned our porches in the fall, sometimes serving as modular seating for Halloween scarecrows or faux zombies.\u00a0 It has mulched our garden … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,3],"tags":[546,543,545,544],"class_list":["post-782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-garden-trends","tag-hay-bale-gardening","tag-raised-beds","tag-straw-bale-gardening"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":783,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782\/revisions\/783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}