I had never heard of this until I read the article. Fascinating! Straw Bale Gardening is a simply a different type of container gardening. The main difference is that the container is actually the straw bale itself, held together with two or three strings, the outside crust of the bale serves as the container. Once the straw inside the bale begins to decompose, the straw becomes "conditioned" and ready to plant. The step by step process of conditioning creates an extraordinarily productive, warm, moist and nutrient rich rooting environment for young seedlings. Getting the straw bales conditioned is an essential part of the process, and should be started approximately two weeks prior to the target planting date in your area. This planting date varies greatly depending on where you are in the world but this gardening technique works anywhere in the world for seasonal spring/summer or for winter gardens. http://strawbalegardens.com/faqs/1-what-is-straw-bale-gardening
Always wanted to but never got around to buying the bales. Wanted only straw no hay/weed seeds introduced into the garden. Suppose if I want to do it this year I had better get shopping for that straw.
Ronni... yep... big difference. Straw is a stalk, usually a waste product of wheat, that's used as bedding for barnyard animals. Hay—typically alfalfa or a grass—is used as animal feed. More info can be found here: http://www.homegrownfun.com/difference-between-straw-and-hay/
You don't want to use hay for this type of gardening because it still has seeds and you will have a mess when they all sprout....that's why straw is a must for this.
I read about this several years ago but have never 'got around' to it. When I first saw it I thought how nice it would be for someone with a bad back.
This is something new to me, straw bale gardening and it sounds interesting. Another I found while planning my trip in Europe is straw bales house and it is popular in Europe. Now only I realize that there are houses actually made out of straw. I used to think that it was only in the nursery rhyme that one of the 3 little pigs do that!
KK.... when I lived in the mountains of New Mexico, a friend built an extension on their house using straw bales for the walls. Once it was finished, you couldn't tell... except for how well insulated it was. And they had nice thick window ledges to set plants on.
I frequently grow extra vegetables in our old round hay bales. They are usually outside the garden area. After the rolls are a few years old they begin to decompose so makes a great place to plant extra`s. These are 1200lb rolls that we bale every few years for the horses. Occasionally there will be a smaller roll at the end of the run and that's the one I use.
