Straw Bale Gardens: A fun experiment!
An imaginative way to upcycle straw bales and grow all the vegetables you need,…easily… Learn how straw bale gardens were invented and scroll down for YOUR experiences
Flea Market gardeners love to repurpose things and use ordinary items for creative projects. This type of creative inspiration struck Joel Karsten after seeing hay and straw bales grow sprouts as they decomposed on the farm. He also found himself with a yard full of heavy clay and was disappointed that he’d have to replace all his soil to grow a vegetable garden. That’s when he remembered the straw bales of his youth, growing healthy thistle weeds!
Straw Bale Gardens by Joel Karsten
Joel then tried growing vegetable plants in the straw bales purposely and it worked! After some experimentation, he found easy techniques for using straw bales as a growing medium for tomatoes, squash, beans and lettuce to name a few of the veggies that can be grown successfully this way. What I like best is the way bales can be laid out in a neat formations, use less soil,…way less… and best of all, are raised beds,..up off the ground.
Joel, conditioning the bales
Joel’s experiment led to a book and a website , Straw Bale Gardens and he has an impressive speaking schedule explaining his easy, fun and productive gardening method. Would you like to try this method of vegetable gardening? I would!
Tomatoes growing in the bale
Your experience:
Becky Carson, a Flea Market Gardener, has been doing this for 2 years now, she says. She tells us, “I found a website where they suggested sprinkling soil on top of the bales. I have been leaving mine outside for 6 weeks to condition them. DON”T cut the baling twine. I prop them beside the timbers of my raised beds. When I’m ready to plant I scoop out 3 or 4 handfuls of straw and replace it with compost and Miracle Gro potting soil. Also add a Tablespoon of Epson salts. Stakes are place every other bale and I run twine to hold the plants up.”
Sarah Lynch-Gregg says “I lived in an apartment and had three straw bales on my terrace. I grew tomatoes, cukes, peppers, squash and zucchini! The plants grew GREAT! It was so easy, you just have to make sure you water well when you do water because the straw doesn’t hold the water a lot, just do it like every other day if you live in a really hot climate like we do in the south.”
My Straw bale garden
Peppers, onions and tomatoes grow right in the straw
All the weeds I EVER find each few days…
*Last year we had a drawing for two of the books Joel sent me
The two winners, picked with an online random umber generator, were Patti Kafton and Angela Carrera,…here are their reviews after they received their books…
Patti Kafton
IT’S HERE! The “Straw Bale Gardens” book by Joel Karsten arrived in my mailbox on Friday. It is WONDERFUL-ly informative. I first opened it to the dedication page and nearly cried. I have so many vivid memories of my OWN Grandma Josephine working her garden way into her 90’s. We were NOT ALLOWED in her garden as children. She tended it herself, even when she was so frail she literally crawled down the alleys to rid her treasured space of any weed that dared to pop up! THANKS, Sue, and Flea Market Gardening, and JOEL, for my new treasure!
Angela Carrera
Just received my Straw Bale Gardens book, thank you so much. as soon as I opened it, I started reading it!! I have got to do this this year!! I’ll take photos as soon as I can locate some Straw bales!!! after all, this IS the Garden State!!! Thank you again for this giveaway!!! And I’m using your note as a book mark!!!
My fun experiments with straw bale gardening
Part 1: Apr-May Creating a straw bale garden
Part 2: Jun-Jul Growing a straw bale garden
Part 3: Aug-Sept Harvesting the straw bale garden
127 Comments
I grow vegetables in raised bed and have used straw as a mulch in them to hold down weeds and to keep moisture in. I’ve never tried straw bale gardening but plan to try it this year.
I started a vegetable garden for the first time last year. I will definitely do it again this year. My favorite veggies are tomatoes, green onions, jalepenos, green peppers, beets and carrots. I want to do sweet peas this year, too.
I have been using raised beds for gardening the last couple of years and I normally raise tomatoes, potatos, squash, peppers and onions. I always use straw mulch around my potatoes but never thought about growing plants in the hay bale. I will research and get more information but would love to have a new book that explains it all!
I am plagued with ground squirrels. They tunnel around and take anything and everything they want! My solution has been to make little baskets out of 1/4# hardware cloth, it is like a metal net. I plant my seedlings in the garden in these little baskets, their roots protected by the metal mesh. I havent lost a plant prtoected like this to a squirrel yet!
My favorite recipe? Easy. Take my cherry tomatoes, slice them in half, and put them in the food dryer until they are dry. These dried tomatoes are so awesome in a salad, say, in December when good fresh tomatoes are a thing of memory!
Tried container gardening for the first time last year. some things worked some didn’t. Going to try again this year. Where we live we can not do composting piles, so as no to waste my kitchen leftovers and run them through my food processor and mulch them as much as possible then jst dump them into the garden . It has worked quite well. The plants have done well and even help to improve the clay in our garden.
I used old straw bales that had started to decompose one year to cover my potatoes. I grew the biggest potatoes I ever have seen! I’ve not been able to find any old bales like that since. Using his technique I can make my own. I’ll definitely check his web site.
I’ve been gardening in raised beds for about five years and last year added a variety of other containers to grow tomatoes, peppers, cabbages and chives.
We’ve downsized our veggie garden over the years, but tomatoes are still our favorite “fruit”. To prevent blossom end rot, grind up some egg shells and add to the soil. Don’t panic about the tomato hornworm. They only eat a few leaves and make a mobile home for the Braconid wasp, which lays their eggs inside the hornworm caterpillar. The young larvae feed on the hornworm until they are ready to hatch and make more wasps. Nature’s way of pest control without harmful sprays! The few hornworms that reach maturity turn into the magnificent Sphinx moths, another one of Nature’s wonders.
Every year I improve my gardening techniques. I want to incorporate straw bale gardening this year into my veggie garden. I have raised beds for my tomatoes & peppers that I mulch. I use large containers for vine crops & flowers. I have a variety of beds all around our farm house. The hot summer was so hard on my plants these last couple of summers, I think the straw bales will give much more root protection.
My favorite gardening tip is that I sprinkle Epson salts in the holes as I plant each young plant.
I tried to do a garden last year. The soil here is so hard it did not work out well since I could not dig it up enough. Tried to make piles of dirt but that did now work out either.. Need to try a new technique this time around!
Here is my somewhat controversial tip, coming from a woman who gardens in Nebraska. If you have trouble getting sweet corn to germinate, try planting it in some resuable 6 pack containers. Plant when it is warm outside, as corn loves warmth… and keep them outside where they will get full sun….but you can take the containers inside if it gets too cold at night. I first saw this done in Oregon, and chuckled to myself because I couldnt’ understand why they would plant corn in a 6 pack. (as my knowledge grew, I realized it was because they have cool summers, and trouble with germination,especially sweet corn) So, one year when I bought some new, expensive variety of sweet corn, I decided to try planting in a 6 pack. To my suprise, the corn did very well and sprouted evenly. I also found out that it was fairly easy to transplant ( wait till the plants are 4 inches or so, and you see the roots at the bottom of the container) It makes it easy to have perfect spacing in my small plot, and hence good pollination and beautful ears of corn! I plant at least a flat full every year, and sometimes several different varities. Its a little more work, but well worth the effort.
I did container gardening last year and grew a couple of different varieties of tomatoes, parsley and basil. Would love to try the hay bail gardening and grow some other veggies.
Last year’s garden was the worst garden in my entire life. The soil was so high in acid the seedlings burned before reaching a decent size. The soil was a red silt that turned to concrete after rain, and water ran completely off instead of absorbing. This is a rental home,and I can’t justify an investment…can’t wait to move so I can try straw bales, and other raised bed type projects.
I simply LOVE yellow crookneck squash! And green beans. Those are my favorites two veggies to grow. My late husband loved tomatoes, so we always planted those. Oh, and green onions, turnip greens and new potatoes. I’ve heard you can grow potatoes in hay bales. We didn’t get to have a garden last year, but I hope to have a small one this year. The hay bale idea would be perfect! I hope I win.
After I plant my garden, I mulch with shredded paper or cardboard. I then cover that with straw (for looks) to keep the weeds down. I have done this for several years. I don’t have to till the ground during the summer and the paper and straw decompose over the season.
We’ve done raised beds for the last couple of years, I do lots of containers too. Considering last years drought we were fairly successful with raising plenty of produce for my husband, myself, our 3 children that and the 11 grandchildren that live close by. A few of the grand girls are a big help in the garden.
I have grown vegetable gardens for 30 years in various backyards (and sometimes front yards). Last year was the third year in a raised-box garden. I went overboard on the tomatoes, but boy did we have a lot of them for canning and freezing and other delicious dishes. I also grew plenty of zucchini and winter squashes. The broccoli was good too. This year I want to plant a new garden in a place that has lots of stubborn grass and I think a straw bale garden will just about suit the situation.
I have given up on most vegetables…Our neighbors have an abundance. However, I still do tomatoes, seems like we can never get enough home grown tomatoes. We built up a block wall,put screen in the bottom, filled it with good compost, and plant tomatoes. The only problem, being at 3000 foot elevation is the short growing season.
Last year I used straw bales as walls for raised beds. Hmmmm, maybe plant in the beds and the bales? The tomatoes loved the bale beds.
I live in a converted commercial building, my “garden” is a parking lot….so, how to grow veggies? I have window boxes at each window. You can grow peppers, almost anything. Cherry tomatoes “hang” over the edge and cascade downwards. Not only good to eat, but a beautiful sight from inside too. Easy to harvest, open the window and pluck!
Last summer I planted four varieties of tomatoes in containers. Also planted a couple of pots of sweet peppers. Had good luck with all. This year I want to add squash plants. I would love to try the hay bales. Great idea.
We discovered last year if we put powdered lime on our tomato plants they give us less acid and are sweeter. I remembered my grandpa doing this as a child and he had wonderful tomato plants.
I have so much shade I cannot get much to grow. I have tried a couple of raised beds but still not having much luck.
Last year was my first attempt at raised beds. The ground around my house is very full of little rocks and hard to dig in. I had used a form of raised bed around porches and walkways but only for flowers. I used some old 2 x 10 boards that my friend had thrown out to build the beds and filled with mulched leaves and dirt from my compost pile plus some compost manure. I had lovely tomatoes in one of the beds and decided that the other side would be saved for squash. I had the most gorgeous tomato plants and harvested lots of cherry tomatoes. I watched in amazement as the squash grow large them began blooming, One day I looked down to see the plants being eaten alive. I almost got sick to my stomach seeing the squash bugs. I pulled up every single squash plants so the bugs would not get into any of my other plants. I love squash but do not plan on growing anymore anytime soon because I really do not like those little bugs. I have already built and planted new raised beds for this year and I am really looking forward to great crops. I have always wanted to try the hay bale planters since most of one side of my home is covered in asphalt and there is nowhere to plant many crops. I rented a jackhammer and tried to get up some of the asphalt but only managed a very small area. I, along with the jackhammer, was no match for the thick asphalt, so my dreams of a big garden were lost once again. but, there is always next spring..;.
I have tried gardens a few times, but the soil is terrible. I also tried using pots to grow veggies in and that was not a good thing either. Last year, on a whim, I saw an old wheelbarrow that was cracked and had dirt from various flower pots in it. I mixed it up and planted three tomato plants……what do know…..I had tomatoes!!! Will do it again this year and maybe a small raised garden.
I had my first garden last year, which wasn’t a good year with the drought but I did learn a lot. I’ve been building up my garden spot with horse droppings from the neighbors horse stalls and have been forming some raised bed areas. My favorite dish was fried green tomatoes. Dipped in an egg wash and then rolled in seasoned panko crumbs and browned up in olive oil. I’d love to have a copy of your book, I’ve been leaning toward the straw bales. Thanks for a great web site! I check it out often.
Last year we had our garden here in Dayton OH (Zone 6a) for the first time. My son-in-law has a friend who recommended the bales since we have a lot of clay in this area. We bought the bales and have let them sit for the winter to ‘deteriorate’ and plan to plant them this year with our tomatoes and squash. My three grandchildren are going to plan and sell at a local market to raise funds for ASPCA, so we are going to expand the area that is tilled and give it a try.
My best recipe is the cooking of fresh veggies directly on the grill with a wire mesh ‘pan’-just putting some olive oil and herbs de provence on them! Yummy.
Best vegetable tip is to find the local market and buy your vegetables grown locally and fresh. what a difference in flavor and the feeling that comes from supporting local business!!
Just started a container garden last year and loved it. Starting a raised bed this year. Wish me luck.
Last year I had 5 – 4×5 raised beds, a 3×8, and I added beds on either side of my fence to squeeze in more fun stuff. I think the biggest thing that helped my garden produce so well was companion planting and flowers to attract the pollinators. This year I’ve added a compost bed that will hold my 3 Sisters garden. The hay bakes intrigue me as I also like order in the garden and recycling something that will put good ingredients back into the soil is a huge plus.
My profession is weeder of gardens. My passion is vegetable gardens. At the moment, there are plans of renovating the old perennial beds into vegetable gardens mainly comprised of hay bales. Eventually there will be raised beds and plenty of potted items. Last years veggies were grown in containers. Lots of tomatoes, cherry and large sandwich type. Sadly, I wasn’t able to do yellow squash or green beans and snap peas, but previous gardens had lots of those. Green peppers are always a must. Very much looking forward to using straw bales this season…now if only Mother Nature would cooperate. I am planning on purchasing this book for my library if I don’t win it. Its a win/win either way!
I absolutely love all the information I recieve and use from this site….thank you so much!
My favorite veggie last year was the Sweet 100’s I grew from seeds I saved from a tomato the prior year. They grew like little bushes and were COVERED with tomatoes. I planted 6 plants, watered them from the ground, ‘early’ every morning (unless it rained) – they all produced GREAT and I was able to share fresh produce with both my neighbors, the woman up stairs and my daughters family. Not bad for a legally blind lady. huh? AND before anyone ask…. YES I have a special light and magnifier to read books & magazines with. I would love to have this book – and I can not afford to buy it on my disability check.
Thanks,
Debbie
I am not much of a gardener, because I never tried until last year. Being Italian, I opt for Tomatoes, Basil, Oregano, onions and some hot peppers. I was so proud that everything did pretty good for my first try. I was able to make sauce and freeze it all from my own garden 🙂 I have a bad back and hip so the digging and bending doesn’t thrill me. STRAW BALES… now we just might have something 🙂 I’d love to try them this year…. and the book would really be helpful to guide a new gardener.
Thank you.
Unfortunately we live in a flood plain and for the last 2 yrs our garden was flooded. We are thinking about maybe planting water lilies and cattails this year! But we are stubborn and will try again. We always plant more than we can use and share with all our neighbors at the lake. They are very happy to receive fresh veggies and sometimes make wonderful recipes with the the fresh produce and share back with us. So we are looking forward to spring and can’t wait to start a planting!
My gardening is in raised beds. I like to buy different vrieties of tomato plants. My Daddy says I just like to experiment. tomatoes and cucumers are my favorite things. I have grown lettuce and garden peas in the beds. I have tried growning some things in pots but had better results with the raised beds. I also grow herbs.
I grow garlic every year from saved seed. I plant the biggest cloves and eat the smaller ones. I use hay to mulch it. Last year I grew lots of pole beans, both on a teepee made with bamboo poles in the garden, and right on the arbor attached to our back deck! I also had great results with peas grown on jute string strung between wooden posts.
I recommend starting plants from seed. It widens the variety of choices available to you and saves you money. Yes, a bit more work, but well worth it, and more fun! I reuse “to go” coffee cups as planters and also make them from newspaper, which can be put right into the ground.
I also use newspaper as mulch, it works great. I place it around transplants when planting, and hold the edges down with soil. It allows water through, holds down weeds and decomposes into the soil.
My garden last year was not a great success. Over an acre of land and no sunshine! Too many trees. Also near a lake and land around house is very sandy. Growing in Hay bales excited me because I could use them on my front porch (gets sun all day). I do not use the front door or porch for anything so I’m sure it could make a great garden this year. Would love a copy of the book for the wonderful info about this way of gardening. Thanks for posting this. I will be keeping my fingers crossed and visiting the website often.
Last year was the first for me. Since our soil is sandy, I bought Miracle gro soil, dug holes, filled them with the good soil, and planted tomatoes and Green Bell peppers. This year I’m going to make the garden somewhat bigger, but I live in a small complex of garden apartments, so we don’t have much space to expand.
Last year’s garden yeilded an abundance of tomatoes, , squash, beans and eggplant. I am expanding this year with patches of a lot greater variety of veggies AND flowers. I look forward to sharing as I learn my way with the garden and my computer!
Winner! Congratulations, Patti,…you win the book, Straw Bale Gardens!
I started 2 new heirloom flower beds last year with plants from my mothers garden as she had passed and we had to sell her house. praying I transplanted everything correctly. with that behind me I am planning a small veg. garden for this year.
My vegetable garden didn’t do good last year. With the drought, it was the only food for the wildlife to eat. Rabbits, chipmunks, etc. I now know how high I need my chicken wire to keep the rabbits out but it’s not going to stop the chippers!
I grow nearly everything in raised beds. Much easier on the back for an aging gardener. I’ve been growing my tomatoes in 1/2 55 gallon drums that we’ve sunk partly in the ground. The tomatoes stay clean and are easy to pick–especially the Sweet Hundred’s/garden candy. I also intersperse my veggies (green beans & green peppers) with flowers—looks great and they seem to be good neighbors.
My garden is in pots because my lab digs up my seedlings as fast as I can plant them~ This year so far I have strawberries and acorn squash, I have never grown either one before. Would love to try my hand at bail gardening (atleast the dog won’t be able to dig) lol!
I’m a new gardener for about 5 yrs now. My garden started out as 8′ x 8’….but is now 8′ x 16′ with many other containers. I live in the upper peninsula of MI so our season is very short. We have about 2-3′ of snow right now but today I went & bought child sized garden hoe, rake & shovel to teach my 3 yr old grand daughter how we are going to plant peas this year. We’ve been talking about it for awhile now over the winter. I gave brussel sprouts a try but they didn’t get big enough. I usually have carrots, lettuce, onions, beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, and several flowers & herbs. Each year I dream about getting more room for more items. I’d love to win the book.
The high desert of Nevada offers lots of challenges. Drying winds, hot during the days and temps dropping each night. I have raised beds and use row covers. Have lost many crops in the few years I have been here and always ready to try something need. This sounds very interesting.
I’ve mulched my paths and raised beds for years with straw, and even have grown squash successfully in bales. I would love to know lots more about this process. Would really enjoy this book!
I grow tomatoes in 5 gal buckets, and have to fight the squirrels for them, would love any ideas on how to keep them away, I love the straw bale idea, looks great!
I usually do tomatoes in pots as I have a limited amount of space. The hay bale would work in the space that I have.
Because gophers get under my vegetables and destroy them, last year i only gardened in containers, including a little red wagon, and grew tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, onions and carrots. I still have last year’s tomatoes in the pots and they have new blossoms on them for this year.
For the past several years, I have grown veggies, (tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, beans and zucchini) and herbs, (parsley, basil, mint, chives, oregano) in raised beds, rotating crops every year and adding compost from my pile. I have used newspapers to help mulch, and keep down the weeds. As the price of food has gone up, I would like to create more raised beds, without having to haul in as much dirt as would be necessary. This type of gardening would be fabulous for me! I would love to have a book!!
The hay bales appear to be an answer for me. Due to physical limitations (polio), I need an easy solution in order to have a garden. I’ve tried tomatoes in containers without much luck. I am very interested in this method of gardening.
After moving from north Texas to Angel Fire, New Mexico 5 years ago, I tackled creating a vegetable/herb garden at 9500 ft altitude. All raised beds and had to learn to use “tricks” I never considered in Texas, like Wall o’ Waters, row covers, mini greenhouses, windscreens and a 6 ft fence to keep elk and bears out! Had a VERY successful season with huge cabbages, lots if cole crops, and even tomatoes and peppers. The growing season here is from June to mid-September… I am thinking that with straw bales, I might could extend the growing season even longer! Would love to read that book!
My garden last year was in containers, I was able to grow quite a bit of produce in a small area. My tip is mainly for container gardeners. Use an Olla ( http://permaculturenews.org/2010/09/16/ollas-unglazed-clay-pots-for-garden-irrigation/ ) in each of your containers. It enabled me to grow quite a few plants through a very hot summer. I made mine from terracotta pots and their saucers. Each cost me maybe $5.
I will have a much large garden space and will be trying the straw bale gardening for the first time. This book would be a helpful tool in my library.
We have grown all our veggies in raised beds for quite a few years now. My husband builds them from used sheets of metal roofing he brings home from the landfill along with metal posts from chain link fences to reinforce the corners and sides. I have arthritis in my lower spine and those extra two feet sure help! Whenever possible, I grow up! I grow many things vertically and also use the “square foot” gardening techniques.
Last year I made my garden bigger so I could plan more,since I enjoy giving a large part of my produce away. The only garden tip I have is to enjoy your garden, don’t let it become a chore.
I live in the sonoran desert 115 degree summer heat. I grow every kind of basil available, squash,native american pumpkins,loofa, and more, some years are better than others. We keep our raised garden shaded, we also LOVE our winter garden,planting from Oct. til now =) fantastic, just a bit of “tweaking”. I use straw bales around my plants to keep the moisture in. I woould love to try straw gardening <3
This hay bale idea looks exactly like what my friends are in need of. I help the couple each year with their garden, because I love helping them and because I love getting my hands dirty. This year they have decided they cannot put a garden in due to his medical conditions and I am trying to find ideas to help control the take over of weeds and try to plant a small garden for them myself. I suggested plastic and he only has clear, which I read will cause a green house affect. I would work the garden myself to keep it from being totally engulfed in weeds, but have back problems and can only do so much, but I sure enjoy doing all I can, even with the consequences afterwards. My friends are dear to me and I will do all I can to help them put a garden in because they love it so much, even if he were only able to go out and pick a few tomatoes, it is worth it. They don’t have too much computer knowledge and this book would be great for him to sit down and look at. Please consider giving one of these books to an old tried and true gardener, he would love it and would be inspired by it I’m sure.
we get tubes from farmers that they get minerals in clean them out put ground in them and plant flowers, vegetables or what ever you want in them. Just make sure that there are a few holes for drainage in the bottom. I’m always intrested in trying new things. and think that this would be something that my mom would be interested in trying.
this was the best of last year…i was carinf for my mom so the garden didn’t get as much care as i usually can give it…but…we had a bumper ccop of Peaches and I talian plums!….being so busy i wondered what to do! I made freezer Peach Jam…and peeled the peaches ,sliced and tossed with some sugar and vit c! they have been amamzing! I still have a bout 5 baggies left…i made 2 dozen or so baggies of jam….wonderfull they kept me going when things were hard…but truly it was the italian plums…i found an old way to make them,…i justt washed them,cut them up added sugar and simmered then til i thought they were done…i cooled then and out them in baggies….they were so good..i cry thinking how this sweet tree gave me so much in such hard and trying times…..i will alway look for the italian pl;ums and make this every year…my goal is to learn how to can….i had some small dragon tounge beans that my mom loved….and there was so much swiss chard …it grows under the small asoen trees so it gets shade all summer…we would just stem them with butter….the garden gave so much care for me…and love to all i gave food too….i am already planning on doing a better garden …even with the snow outside now….
I have had no luck trying to have a veggie garden in AZ 129 degree heat and think this might be a way to have more luck.
I grow have my garden on a 12×24 deck. I’m terrified of snakes. I have herbs, flowers, and tomatoes. Last wasn’t very good for tomatoes but I’ll try again. don’t have a favorite garden hint and i’m in Garden Club. I do have a wonderful Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce. I make it a lot. @ foodnetwork.com. Takes less than an hour.
@.5 lbs. tomatoes, cut into large dice(or halved cherry tomatoes), 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 TBL chopped garlic, 1.5 Tbl. balsamic vinegar, 3/4 tsp. salt sprinkle or tsp red pepper flakes,1/4 tsp ground black pepper or to taste, 1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves, 2 tbl. chopped fresh parsley, 1 tsp. minces fresh oregano, 1 lb. spaghetti, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Pre heat oven to 350. Chop tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Layer the tomatoes on a sheet pan that has sides. Add olive oil,garlic, and vinegar. Mix well. Cook for 40 min. or until tomatoes are bubbly and cooked through, stir once or twice. While tomatoes are cooking, Chop your herbs. No need to have extra amounts. If you want a little more basil or a little less of something else, go for it! remove tomatoes from the oven and add fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Serve over pasta and top with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Last year while I was hospitalized, my son, daughter and my son-in-law laid my garden for me! (They need more experience, lol, but they tried. I love them!) this year I am trying raised bed gardening, large pot gardening as well as traditional bed. I recently harvested some asparagus I planted a few years ago, some beet tops and spinach and lightly sautéed them together in a little butter with salt and pepper! Yum!
This past year was our first with our new raised beds and I loved them! I love growing tomatoes and herbs in my garden was tried some potato towers last year too, they were great!
last year we did a community garden for the food bank. It was alot of work and only two of us showed up. we worked as a team and planted 9 rows of tomatoes and peppers. I just love getting dirt on my hands so i was on the ground putting plants in and Jim was digging the holes. It is so rewarding when you know alot of people will benefit from these because usually they only get canned food.
I just moved to the country, so last year was my first veggie garden here. I amended my sugar sand with lots and lots of compost, lava sand, and organic fertilizer. I grew beans, tomatoes, and peppers, but my best crops were my squash and cucumbers. I grew both summer squash (yellow and tatume) and winter squash (delicata and spaghetti), and a couple varieties of cukes. I really enjoyed eating them fresh from the garden!
My favorite new-to-try tip is to spread coffee grounds in your bed, and orange peels, to keep cats out. I’m trying that this year, since a neighbor’s cat thinks my wonderful garlic bed is its very own kitty litter box. As for what I tried last year, I had an unseen bug eating my starts down to nothing but stem. I made a witches brew of a little liquid dish soap, a hot pepper, and garlic, all ground up together and put in a spray bottle with water. It worked!
Lots of great tips are being shared! I’d like to try this method w/potatoes! Thanks, everyone! I just had to comment (no, I’m not in the drawing 😉 … but I was reading our local Sunday paper tonight & in the ‘Homestyles’ section is a photo & article about this book, “Straw Bale Gardens” by Joel Karsten! It’s a small world, uh! Good luck, FMGing’ers!!!
I decided to do used containers for my gardening last year. I had looked for pots at yard sales and containers left over from previous purchase plants and shrubs. I found that it was the easiest garden that I have ever created. The pots was easy to weed, fertilized, and to water. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and lettuce and herbs were easy accessible as they sat on my patio. It is a excellent way to garden to those who have limited space, a busy schedule, or maybe can not have a big garden due to health reason.
My husband came up with some nice big truck tires a few years back and I planted potatoes in them. I had some really good compost to add to my soil and those puppies grew like weeds. Fresh potatoes taste so much better than the ones at the store. This year I have tried some in a straw bale I was given just to see what will happen. Should be interesting.
This looks like an interesting book. I do lots of container gardens especially for vegetables because of the rabbits.This would be another way to avoid them trying to eat them.
I live in Arizona, and growing anything is a challenge due to the hard soil and trying to find the balance between too much and not enough water. A few years ago our water softener broke and back-flushed salt through all of our pipes, killing everything except cacti and our citrus trees. We’ve been digging and replacing soil since and we’ve almost got it back to normal, but we still have too much salt. In the meantime we’ve tried containers but the summer heat just seems to “cook” everything we plant. We also own beagles and they’ll sniff out and eat anything we can’t protect well enough. The bales seem like a perfect solution, as they’d be easy to protect and wouldn’t trap heat that could hurt the roots.
If you live near a lake, check and see if the town cuts the weeds in the lake. Seaweed is a wonderful rich fertilizer and mulch. Our town takes it is dumps it at an organic farm nearby. I had them dump a few trucks full at my yard. It drys out quickly and turns a grey/black, and breaks up very quickly. Almost like dried oregano.
If you have deer or other critters, drill a hole in a pill bottle, and put in a few mothballs. The smell bothers them but the mothballs don’t dissolve into the soil, they just evaporate. You could also use ammonia on cotton balls.
I’ve used an old wheelbarrow as a planter for years. I put in cherry tomatoes, italian parsley, and a few other herbs. The soil warms quickly in spring and I can harvest for a longer time than if these were planted in the ground.
Am trying to convince the retired hubby to try this straw bale gardening technique (looking for ways to prevent back pain!). Maybe if he read the book, it would help to convince him. 😉
Our soil is 1/3 clay, 1/3 rocks and 1/3 “wanna-be-soil”! LOL! I really think this straw bale would work SO much better than trying to till our garden area and then fight all the weeds that outgrow the veggies!
Best tip I have found for keeping deer out of gardens (veggie and flower), is to get dirty dog hair from a dog groomer and spread it all around the perimeter of the gardens. If you get dog hair that was shampooed first, it doesn’t seem to work as well.
We are still in the learning phase of doing a garden. This was the second year. We have more dang fun watching plants grow and flower or just produce fruits or veggies.
We grew lots of tomatoes and the best recipe I can give you is to pick them and just eat them. They taste so good so much better than store bought ones. Sweet candy to me!
I’m still in the building phase – I had tomatoes, peas, garlic, lettuce, and have 2 year old asparagus.
Hope to have a bigger harvest this year!
Our herbs in containers did well as did our conventional garden butit needs to be larger, strawbales would do that for us.
I love my garden! I started it 4 years ago as a small bed under the kitchen window. It has expanded over a large portion of the yard. Last year I grew cherry tomatoes which were volunteers from the previous year, okra, onions, zuchinni, yellow squash, chiles, and cantaloupe. I also have basil, oregano and mint. The tomatoes lasted until Thanksgiving. Before Christmas, I planted lettuce, collards, mustard and spinach. It has made it through the winter and I have enjoyed the harvest. I also have garlic and onions planted. I hope to get the rest of my spring garden planted next weekend. I don’t know if it is a rule-of-thumb around the country, but out here, you don’t plant any summer crops until after Easter. It always works.
Last year, all my gardening consisted of5 large galvenized tubs, each planted with 1 large tomato plant in each tub, 1 tub planted with 3 basil plants, and 1 zuchinni plant in another tub. My yard has so many trees with soil level roots exposed that I cannot dig in my yard, even in areas well away from the trees. This is why the idea of strawbale gardening appeals to me. I will never be able to dig in this yard and plant directly into the ground. My favorite garden recipe is my version of a veggie lasagna. I use sliced zuchinni instead of pasta, layering it with a garlic cream sauce, and mozzerella cheese doing this in 2 or 3 layers, ending with the grated mozz cheese on top. It is a creamy, comforting dish that makes a great main course if you want to avoid meat, or a side dish if you are meat eater.
I was going to try this the last 2 years but never got to it — so hopefully this year!
I would be absolutely THRILLED to win this book. I want to find out the RIGHT way to do this type of gardening….I have health issues and having this raised bed idea would be just the answer to what I need for gardening in the future… I tried a new vegetable last year…swiss chard..bright lights…my daughter and I loved it….and love that you can keep eatting it and eatting it, beacuse it keeps on growing after picking it . But my favorite veggie is a nice tomoatoe..well and peas,beans,beets,onions..well actually I just LOVE fresh veggies of all kinds, can you tell? hahaha Thanks for the chance to win this awesome book!!!!!!!
Hello and thanks for sharing this giveaway. I love the concept!!! I have a strip right outside my kitchen windows that used to have bushes (about 15 X 3). dug out the bushes and now have planted flowers and veggies intermingled. I call it my edible garden with tomatoes, peppers, among others, and impatiens in the front along with dianthis. if only spring would arrive in NJ I’d be out there preparing…..I have started some tomatoes and peppers on my windowsill though. thank you!!
Winner! Congratulations,…you win the book, Straw Bale Gardens!
Congratulations, Sue!!
My favorite garden veggie is tomatoes,cucmbers and squash. We have one garden for each and enjoy the harvest with friends and family. we freeze the squash and eat all winter and into the next year. Fertilizing the garden ever year helps replace the nutrients taken out the year before.
WOULD LOVE TO TRY THIS AND MORE.
I have been interested in straw bale gardening for a couple of years now. The previous winter, we let several bales sit out to winter over and condition. Last growing season, we grew some pumpkin plants from seed in our straw bales ~ we had a lovely little pumpkin patch! We also grew several types of heirloom tomatoes in the traditional way, and some pepper plants and herbs in large outdoor pots. I would love to try a more extensive straw bale garden this year!
I like to use recycled materials in my garden. I garden in raised beds and have used tree logs cut from my yard, salvaged cinder blocks, and concrete broken into small chunks from a demolition sight. I also have repurposed into containers an enamelware soup pot from the side of the road, a Christmas tree stand, and an old recycling bin.
I compost with worms and have 14 bins, and the worms give me loads of rich, dark compost every year.
I like usng pallets for gardening. Makes for nice neat rows. These are great for herb gardening. My favorite garden is a salsa garden. Peppers, onions, tomatoes the the whole canning process iis quites a stress reliever and my family loves home made sulsa!
I garden in raised beds and traditional beds. I try to plant heirloom vegetables whenever possible and will be working on collecting my own seeds this year. Would love to start a seed exchange in northern Colorado!!
My veggie garden last year was the best yet, but it is not large enough! I did enlarge by approx 2 feet this year, but want sooo much more. I have another large area with poor drainage that I’d abandoned 2 years ago. I am seriously considering straw bale gardening this year so that I could grow more of the 15 varieties of tomatoes I started from seed for my tomato trials this year!
I didn’t put out a garden last year because where I live the soil is heavy clay. It takes years for people to get their gardens just right by amending the soil. I only planted tomato’s in large pots but our summer was so horrendous they did not do well.
My favorite fresh produce recipe is using fresh corn on the cob on the grill with rosemary in melted butter. Easy and yum!
Our garden last year was a mess. Most of our tomato’s never turned red. The raccoon’s got most of our watermelon’s. We always put in a very big garden. This year I think I will try the raised beds and fill them with my favorites like onions, peppers, and squash. I love all veggies but my all time favorite is okra! The next time you make veggie beef soup try throwing in some okra. It is yummy!
All of my vegetable gardening was done in containers last year, the soil where i live is full of rocks/sand so I have to improvise. I would love to try straw bale gardening! Last year I had an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, and green onions growing in barrels, would love to branch out and grow some more veggies!
Last year we tried the hay bale gardening – really need the book since ours did not produce like we expected and we are wondering what we did wrong. We also have a large garden plot and have had great success with planting in pots on our deck. Our home has trees all around which may give too much shade for the garden, but the deck stays in full sun until late afternoon.
Our garden didn’t do very well last year due to the drought. Last winter I bought a book called Gardening Without Work by the late Ruth Stout. Her gardening philosophy is all about mulch. “My way is simply to keep a thick mulch of any vegetable matter that rots on both my vegetable and flower garden all year round. As it decays and enriches the soil, I add more”. With this method Stout claims there is no weeding, no plowing, no hoeing,no cultivating,no weeding,no watering and no spraying. Our garden is covered with 8 inches of spoiled hay at this point. I’m anxious to see if the “Stout method” works as well as she claims.
Last year was our third year planting a vegetable garden in Southeast Ohio. We live buy a creek with clay in place of soil. Every year we’ve amended the soil and seemed to be doing a better job growing weeds than veggies, although last year we saw an improvement. We successfully grew corn, pumpkins, taters, maters, and jalapenos. We’re certainly learning how NOT to do it in the process… 🙂 Love this idea. It might be the answer to our prayers.
News papers covered with grass clippings makes a great mulch for around vegetables. If you use news paper for under your mulch they are easier to put down if you soak it in water first .
Last year was the year to let my raised Beds rest. So I planted some tomatoes and other miscellaneous vegetables in flowerpots that was okay until the weather got extremely hot . Last year was also my year to decide on addition of fruit trees one more variety of grapes and to try my hand at raspberries .I love being in the garden I love picking the fresh fruits and vegetables and I know that this brings enjoyment to myself and many people. hope I get this book And would love to try this technique .
thank you
My husband and I plant a veggie garden every year. We plant tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, butter beans, peas, cucumbers and yellow squash. My gardening tip is to put all your racked leaves in the garden spot in the winter time and till it under. The leaves will break down and replenish the soil with lots of good things. Thanks for sharing with us.
This is my first year to try a garden. Don’t have much room but if I can get some tomatoes out of it I will think I am a winner. Will try straw bales as I can get my hands on these as the person I rent pasture from for my horses, grows hay and some of it has turned to straw. So I can some for free. My neighbor grew tomatoes in straw bales last year and had a bumper crop!
In drought struck Texas the issue is water. We dug down 6 inches, lined the hole with heavy plastic and put in a pvc pipe with holes., a layer of weed prevention cloth and built a raised bed on top. We fill the bottom with water (through the pipe) and the roots of the plants pull up what they need and there is little evaporation.
I have a small hoophouse built out of pipes and plastic…I wanted to keep some plants in there last summer to protect from the deer and other critters….I screened the sides up halfway and used screen doors for security. I also stretched shade cloth over the hoops…it was a very hot summer. I had another old piece of shade cloth and doubled it up and hug it inside the frame over a narrow area. Then I got a large size baby wading pool and put in it pots of artichokes, figs, scented geraniums, and some other plants. I filled that part way with water so the plants would hydrate constantly. The absolutely thrived under that triple shade and with the constant water. I have friends who are now using shade cloth, 50% shade, over their entire gardens.
I will try more wading pools under shade cloth this year with more veggies. Might like to try the straw bales in weedy areas that I haven’t gotten to yet so it would increase my growing areas…
My last year garden I actually converted my straw bed garden from the year before into raised beds by adding cedar planks making them 12″ deep. Just added extra compost and soil to make up additional depth. Now I have over 40′ of raised beds with little work. I am going to do an addition 50′ of straw beds this year which I will convert to raised beds next year. This method provides a great base for raised beds and both the straw and raised beds have produced heavy yield of vegetables and flowers. Just thought you may be interested in this method.
I have had a garden most all my life. Helped my parents when I was young and now trying to instill the importance of a garden to my grandchildren. Some years are very abundant and like last year, not so good. But even working in the garden all those years, I still love to try new and different things. Our son is in his last year in 4-H and has chosen to take a gardening project. I think I will talk with him about trying the straw bale approach in a section of the garden. That would be fun and hopefully rewarding for him (and me, too.) We are located in Ohio which today, the kids had a snow day from school! Gotta love March and Spring in Ohio!!
Our oldest son came for a visit one evening and we were discussing different ways to help our gardens along for this next year. He was listening to public radio one day as he does when he is trucking and they were talking about gardening with straw bales. The more he talked about it, the more intrigued I became. Sounds like a very good idea. We don’t usually raise a real big garden like we did when our kids were all home but raise the basic things we like-tomatoes, string beans, onions, cucumbers, squash,and spinach. Enough for our needs and some extra to give to neighbors who don’t have a garden. Can’t imagine not having a garden! In the fall my husband mulches the garden very heavy with leaves and in the spring tills them in. We also get soil from a friend’s cow yard for some added compost. Last year we purchased a water barrel to catch our rain water in and used a soaker hose to water the garden with. Much better than that city water!
Last year just at planting season, my husband was facing a major surgery.We were both very determined to get our little vegetable garden planted before he went into the hospital. We also decided to put up an iron fence around the garden, something we had always wanted. Fearing this could be our last gardening season as we were both growing older and with the impending surgery we plunged in. We lay on the ground and looked up at the sky and laughed when we grew tired. It took us days, but there it was. We planted heirloom tomatoes, squash, onions, peas, pumpkins and anything else we could fit into the small space. The garden blossomed as did my dear husband after surgery. It was his daily exercise to go look for vegetables, and it wasn’t our last. We are planning for this year.
I inherited my love of gardening from my father (who grew way more than he needed just to be able to send things home with everyone who came to visit). I grow an assortment of vegetables in my garden. The biggest portion, though, is semi hot block peppers. I pickle them using a recipe handed down from my mother’s mother. Everyone loves them. Last year I put up 40 quarts and hopefully that will get us through till it is time to plant the garden again. Gardening is a labor of love!
I have always enjoyed having a big veggie garden. I was diagnosed with MS 12 yrs ago and in the past few years have been planting tomatoes in old wash tubs. It work out real well. I had some miracle grow soil for veggies a little sand and black cow. When I plant my tomatoes I put some newspaper not much down in the hole where the plant goes then plant two plants per container. I do not use any kind of pesticides and let nature take its course. So far it has worked for me.
Having raised vegetable gardens for over 40 years.. bending to weed is beginning to be a pain in the back. Maybe time to start re-thinking and start using the raised bed ideas..
My garden the last two years had raised beds, and a drip system, but I have always found it difficult to get the watering right. The raised beds seem to dry out too quickly – especially in arid Utah! I have tried surrounding my vegetable plants with straw left-over from my chickens, but it doesn’t work well around greens. Looking forward to trying some version of this straw bale gardening. I can see using a less structured, more “English-style” configuration to make the space less rigid – maybe even stacking within already created raised spaces and containers.
Cindi, you have caused a light bulb to come on. My husband and I are aging and having a lot of trouble with back pain, so raised beds has become a necessity for us. But I had never thought of making vertical layers to add to the beauty of our garden beds. Now I can envision wooden half barrels setting on top of our raised beds for shorter growing things like herbs, etc. Maybe even flowers, just to beautify. We love watching our garden beds grow from inside our sunroom. Deer are a little problem, but the raised concrete block beds keep the groundhogs, rabbits, etc. out. I am again able to pick green beans by having these raised beds. Life is good.
I have not had a veggie garden for several years though I have been thinking about trying to do a raised bed this year. I live in a mobile home park and my landlord does not want me digging up the yard (clay and rocks) for veggies. With the straw bales I could have several on my deck and patio space. Enough veggies to share with a couple neighbors. Good luck to everyone.
We moved this year so my garden will be started all over again from scratch. The older I get, working the soil is the hardest part for me. I am very interested to learn how to garden using straw bales. Last year my garden included green peppers, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and six varieties of tomatoes.
My favorite vegetable to grow is potatoes. They are easy to grow, the plants are pretty and at the end, you have something yummy to eat. I have planted them many different ways over the years. I don’t change the way I grow them for any particular reason, I just like to try different things. I’ve grown them in tires, hay bales, in my compost pile, tossed on the ground with rotten hay underneath and composted bark mulch on top and in a raised bed beside my greenhouse. I had a few small ones left from last year in my potatoe basket that had sprouted so I have planted them in the bed by the greenhouse. I think I am going to plant more in the garlic bed. There is lots of room.
I have been unable to garden the last two years due to debilitating arthritis in my spine and hips and I miss it so much. After seeing articles on straw bale gardening, I have hope that I can vegetable garden again, I just know that I can do this from a sitting position! My only tip is this: No matter what your physical limitations, find a way to keep doing what you love, that is what I am trying to do. My life has been so much poorer for not having the joy of playing in the dirt and not experiencing that feeling you get when you see that first tiny seeding emerge from the earth. Keep on gardening and Flea Market Gardening, keep on making me smile!
As with everyone else, my garden didnt grow so well last year either. The weather just wasnt cooperating. I do like to do some companion gardening though, I plant marigolds around brussel sprouts and other vegies to keep the aphids away and I plant squash and melons around my corn plants to keep the racoons away. I am always willing to try new ways to make things better, this sounds like a win win situation and I will definately try it out.
Since I was in the process of moving into a house that we were building I didnt put in a garden at my house but my father-in-law was nice enough to share his little garden with me. We tried our first raised bed garden. We put in tomatoes, peppers onions, and cucumbers. The raised beds worked out great and we had a blast working it together.
My garden last year and for the last few years was planted in half barrels that we got from the water plant in this area. We filled them with composted dirt several years ago and just add extra compost every year. We have been in a severe drought in this area for a few years and are on extreme water restrictions, so this saves water. We also have a problem with grasshoppers that has been aggravated by the drought. They love the hot, dry weather. This year I have surrounded my half barrels with whole barrels filled with water to help moderate the temperatures. I am anxious to see how this works.
I always start out “gung ho” but the weeds just seem to take over with the overhead sprinklers and I give up…I’ll have to try this. 🙂
I’ve been wanting to try this bale gardening since I heard about it less than a year ago! I live in an area overrun with gophers who eat everything they can, so this looks like a great way to go!
My favorite recipe is salsa, made from tomatoes, cilantro, & garlic. I start with a jar of my favorite salsa on those days that I don’t have extra time. I chop the ingredients I just listed and add it to the salsa in a bowl and then refrigerate until I’m ready to serve it with chips or my famous Taco Casserole. It’s always a crowd pleaser!
I’ve gardened for several years but with not much success since I moved to this home. Last year, I tried raised beds with more success. I had great tomatoes though they were not large, they had a good flavor. Peppers and onions also worked well. I had beautiful squash plants but very little fruit. I’ve revised my plans for this year and hope for more success.
Last season my daughter (3) and I did container gardening in lots of different fun vessels. We had so much fun taking care and harvesting our bounty . We can’t wait to try some more ideas this year !!
I do not have a space at my apartment but I am going to try this at my girlfriends — last summer i grew what i could out of containers at my apartment
I have such a small backyard, but I always try to have alittle garden…I raise tomatoes, beans lettuce and a few others..Since yard is so small I can’t grow as much as I would like to.. I sure love tomatoes and green beans tho, and to can them..
I live in Florida and love to garden and try every year. Biggest problem is no dirt, just sand and heat. So thank you for the straw bale idea; will try it this year.
Congratulations Patti & Angela 🙂