Straw bale gardening Learn how to grow vegetables in straw bales

To plant seedlings — tomato, pepper, eggplant and greens — make a gap or divot in the top of the bale and set the roots in place. Fill in around the roots with a good-quality, peat-based potting soil, ensuring that the seedlings are well-seated and level with the surface of the bale.

What vegetables grow best in a straw bale?
How do you condition straw bales for planting?
Can you plant seeds directly into straw bales?
How do you grow carrots in straw bales?
How often do you water a straw bale garden?
How do you start a straw bale garden?
Is Straw good for gardens?
How much is a straw bale?
Can you grow sweet potatoes in straw bales?
How do you grow cucumbers in a straw bale?
Is hay or straw better for garden?

What vegetables grow best in a straw bale?

Best Plants to Grow in a Straw Bale Garden

Tomatoes. Tomatoes are cheap to grow but expensive to purchase from a store. ...
Root Vegetables. ...
Potatoes. ...
Strawberries. ...
Eggplant. ...
Peppers. ...
Lettuce. ...
Spinach.

How do you condition straw bales for planting?

Condition the bale

This process usually takes around 10 to 14 days. For the first 3 days, simply water the bale thoroughly so it stays damp. For the next 6 days, in addition to watering the bale, use a liquid fertilizer like Bonnie Herb, Vegetable & Flower Plant Foodto add nitrogen to speed the decomposition.

Can you plant seeds directly into straw bales?

There's no soil required when it's time to plant in a conditioned straw bale – unless you're sowing small seeds. Crops like carrots, radishes, and lettuce will be better off if you lay a thin layer of sterile soilless mix over the top of the bale and cover the seeds with a light dusting of the mix.

How do you grow carrots in straw bales?

Sow the seeds about an inch apart in the loosened strips on the bale, covering them with a thin layer of hay, no more than 1/2-inch deep. Water them after planting and keep them moist as they grow. Cut back on water as the carrots begin to mature so that they don't split open.

How often do you water a straw bale garden?

Straw Bale Gardening Tips

Make sure you water your garden every day, except on days when it rains. Because straw contains no nutrients on its own, you will need to feed your plants frequently. Straw bale gardens should be fertilized every two weeks while plants are young, and every week once they start bearing fruit.

How do you start a straw bale garden?

For effective straw bale gardening:

Use straw, not hay. Hay is made from alfalfa and grasses that still have the seeds attached, and these seeds will turn into weeds when the germinate and sprout. ...
Locate the garden near a water source. ...
Solarize the bales. ...
Use short plants. ...
Plant in full sun. ...
Avoid pooling water.

Is Straw good for gardens?

Straw is one of the best mulch materials you can use around your vegetable plants. It's clean, it's light, and it breaks down relatively easily, giving your plants more of what they need to grow.

How much is a straw bale?

Bales cost as much as $9 apiece here. The cheapest are 4 and that's if you buy a bunch and you know the guy. A few places here are either out of straw all together or they are charging 11 dollars and change for a bale.

Can you grow sweet potatoes in straw bales?

Sweet potatoes did very well in straw bales. The biggest obstacle to growing them is that it is often difficult to find a grower that can ship sweet potato slips to California due to quarantine restrictions.

How do you grow cucumbers in a straw bale?

Planting is easy – simply cut out a growing hole and plant! To plant our straw bale cucumbers, we cut 3 evenly spaced holes in the shape of a triangle on top of the bale. We made each hole approximately 8” deep and 6” in diameter. We used a reciprocating saw with a 12″construction blade to cut out the holes.

Is hay or straw better for garden?

I've seen such tenacious perennial weeds like thistle come into a garden as a result of their seeds hiding inside a bale of hay. Straw on the other hand, is much better for use as a garden mulch. Since wheat and other grain crops are so competitive in a field, they suppress the growth of many weeds.