Straw Bale Gardening: Difference between revisions
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No place to dig a garden? Or do you have bad soil, a bad back or just aren’t crazy about digging up grass to plant vegetables? Believe it or not, vegetables can grow in ordinary straw bales – even if they’re set on top of a driveway or patio. Using a straw bale as a container is relatively easy and the raised height helps eliminate back breaking bending and the heavy work of digging and turning the soil to plant. It's an especially attractive option if you live in an urban setting with little access to soil or are simply plagued with bad soil. | No place to dig a garden? Or do you have bad soil, a bad back or just aren’t crazy about digging up grass to plant vegetables? Believe it or not, vegetables can grow in ordinary straw bales – even if they’re set on top of a driveway or patio. Using a straw bale as a container is relatively easy and the raised height helps eliminate back breaking bending and the heavy work of digging and turning the soil to plant. It's an especially attractive option if you live in an urban setting with little access to soil or are simply plagued with bad soil. | ||
The technique has been popularized lately by Minnesota horticulturist Joel Karsten and his 2013 book “Straw Bale Gardening.” Karsten says the key is “conditioning” the bales ahead of time so they become self-feeding growing boxes similar to containers – except you end up with a half-decayed pile of composted straw by the end of the season. | The technique has been popularized lately by Minnesota horticulturist Joel Karsten and his 2013 book “Straw Bale Gardening.” Karsten says the key is “conditioning” the bales ahead of time so they become self-feeding growing boxes similar to containers – except you end up with a half-decayed pile of composted straw by the end of the season. | ||
=====Straw Bale Gardening – Pros and Cons===== | |||
[https://www.gardenmyths.com/straw-bale-gardening-pros-and-cons/ by Robert Pavlis Garden Myths] | |||
Straw bale gardening has a small but steady following. Historically, it has been used for a long time, but fell out of favor as more traditional gardening practices developed. In recent years it has seen increased interest but so far it is mostly a novelty form of gardening. Is this a technique we should all be using? | |||
In this post I’ll look at the claimed benefits and examine the pros and cons of the system. | |||
