Straw Bale Gardening: Difference between revisions
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[https://www.quiltingboard.com/general-chit-chat-non-quilting-talk-f7/straw-bale-gardening-t264383.html?styleid=4 by Quilting Board] | [https://www.quiltingboard.com/general-chit-chat-non-quilting-talk-f7/straw-bale-gardening-t264383.html?styleid=4 by Quilting Board] | ||
I tried it one year. One thing I found was that the bales shrank a ***lot*** over the course of the season, and the shrinkage was uneven. I think it would help to have some kind of containment for the bales, such as wood sides. The other thing I found is that they need a lot of watering. I wished I had laid out a soaker hose over the top of the bales, connected to the faucet with an automatic timer. As I recall, watering with a hose often resulted with a lot of the water dribbling down and away from the plants; slow, frequent watering would have been better for the plants and also conserved on water usage. Also, I'm no expert, but I think it would have helped to have spread out at least a one-inch or two-inch layer of soil over the hay bales. If you are going to garden in the same place year after year, I think this would combine with the broken-down hay to form a nice base for a raised bed. | I tried it one year. One thing I found was that the bales shrank a ***lot*** over the course of the season, and the shrinkage was uneven. I think it would help to have some kind of containment for the bales, such as wood sides. The other thing I found is that they need a lot of watering. I wished I had laid out a soaker hose over the top of the bales, connected to the faucet with an automatic timer. As I recall, watering with a hose often resulted with a lot of the water dribbling down and away from the plants; slow, frequent watering would have been better for the plants and also conserved on water usage. Also, I'm no expert, but I think it would have helped to have spread out at least a one-inch or two-inch layer of soil over the hay bales. If you are going to garden in the same place year after year, I think this would combine with the broken-down hay to form a nice base for a raised bed. | ||
=====How to Grow a Garden in Straw Bales===== | |||
[https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/articles/how-to-grow-in-straw-bales?srsltid=AfmBOopND8VsqKFqHpmcxKTg8e_S1WuMylR84ZuGZQVLjTLfphHjTis- by Bill Hageman 22/8/25 growOrganic] | |||
Your straw bale garden can be located anywhere with enough space to set one (even on the driveway), and enough sun to keep your plants happy - that means at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. Although it is possible to relocate your bale garden mid-year, the bales will be really heavy by then from moisture and conditioning. It’s best to choose a good spot where you can leave it all season long. | |||
