As it prepares to divide, a bacteria will vibrate back and forth before breaking apart. Next, add water and let the bacteria population boom begin.īacteria multiply by splitting in half. Apply it to the bale by poking holes in the top and pouring the meal into those cavities. Joel recommends blood meal as the nitrogen source. Straw is high in carbon, so it’s necessary to add a lot of nitrogen to create the environment for bacterial growth. It’s what will create the conditions for supporting plant growth and production. In a healthy compost pile, bacterial growth and activity are necessary for decomposition. It’s key to get the moisture and nutrients into the bale, because they will promote bacterial growth. The folded sides can be used, but the cut (or prickly) side will make water and nutrient penetration easier. First – be sure to place the bale with the cut side on top, as the planting surface. Straw bale gardening is easy, but there are some preparation steps that you need to do before you start planting. Nurseries and garden centers often carry straw bales, and they have usually vetted the supplier to make sure the bales are pesticide-free.Įven the sides of the bale can be used to accommodate smaller plants such as herbs and flowers and a simple trellis can provide plenty of opportunity for verticle growth.
If there aren’t any growers nearby Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or can be good resources.
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Each state’s Department of Agriculture website includes a list of certified organic growers, the crop(s) they produce and how to contact them. So, where can you find bales for sale? Joel recommends that you look for organically-grown bales. If the bale sprouts look stunted or misshapen, that’s due to the presence of persistent herbicide, and you’ll definitely want to avoid planting in that bale. When the seeds sprout after a few days, you’ll be able to see if the sprouts in the bale/soil containers look as healthy as the sprouts in potting soil only. Then, plant 3 small containers using just the potting mix. Chop a little of the material into small pieces, add it to some potting mix, and plant 3 small containers with pea or bean seeds. There’s an easy way to test any bale to feel confident that it will be safe for your plants. That said, there is still a slight risk in straw, whether from overspray or a disreputable grower. It’s against agricultural regulations for grain farmers to use these persistent chemicals. It’s not uncommon for hay farmers to spray their fields with an herbicide to protect the crop. The biggest issue between hay and straw bales is the risk of the presence of persistent herbicides. On the other hand, farmers want to remove all the grain before the remaining stalks are baled, so it’s less likely you’ll have any unwanted sprouts in straw. It’s more common for seed from a hay crop to be present in a bale, which results in grass sprouts in your garden.
Straw bales can accommodate just about any kind of garden plant. In fact, Joel has found that hay bales typically collapse before a single growing season is over.
Hay bales are heavier and break down quickly due to their higher nitrogen content. The grass crop – like alfalfa, fescue, or clover – is grown specifically to be dried and baled as a food source, so hay is more expensive. Straw is slow to break down, and Joel has found they tend to last for two growing seasons. The grain stalks are hollow, so the bales are lighter too. As a byproduct, straw bales are less expensive. It’s the material left over after the grain has been harvested. Straw bales are made from the stalks of cereal grain crops. If you didn’t grow up on a farm, you probably don’t know the difference, so let’s break that down first. The most commonly available types of bale are straw and hay. Nearly 30 years after Joel’s first experiments, the straw bale method has become popular with gardeners across the globe. The only exceptions are sweet corn (which becomes too top-heavy for a bale to support), rosemary, and perennial-rooted plants, such as asparagus and rhubarb. By the middle of the first season, his tomato and pepper plants were thriving, and Joel realized he was onto something.Īs the years passed, Joel learned firsthand that just about everything grows well in the environment of a straw bale – from root crops (like potatoes and beets) to vining plants (like cucumbers) to leafy greens.
He decided to try establishing a garden using straw bales. So, his ingenuity and childhood memories kicked in. What started for Joel Karsten as an experiment to begin gardening on a tight budget has turned into a lifelong passion with a global outreach.
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