Answers to Help Straw Bale Gardeners

Question:Straw Bales are Too Expensive: Ten days conditioning the bales was a chore. Mine is not a grain producing region, so bales run $8-10 each.

Ans. $8-10 dollars are way too much. I would never buy straw bales at that price. Find old spoiled straw and make a deal. Spoiled hay or straw is already decomposed. No need to cook your bales. They have been spoiled or cooked enough. Lay your old pile of straw or hay in a heap and drill a planting hole in it with my superdigger. Spoiled straw or hay will retain moisture and you'll be having vegetables the way you should. 


Question: I don't ordinarily buy fertilizer of any kind, just use my own compost. But fertilizer is required for the bales. We have had a wet season, and my bales are starting to disintegrate in mid-July. 

Ans. If you don't use fertilizer than use compost with manure. If your bales begin to disintegrate, great. That's what you want. Add more compost to your pile if the shrinkage gets too bad. Did you people grow in compost heaps?

Question: When all is said and done, I will have a nice heap of compost in the location where I should have built new raised beds in the first place. Will do next season.

Ans. Its great to have a heap of compost to grow in. Having wooden frames might look pretty but you will still be growing in a heap of compost.

Question: Completely followed directions on Straw Bale Gardening. I Spent $200 on plants. They all came up green but only three plants produced and we were only able to harvest a total of 8 pieces of produce for the entire season. We tried it. We're over it.

Ans. Try digging a trench to put your straw bales into. It will keep the bales together and help prevent shock that the plant goes through when they shrink and have very little soil. I use a planting hole that is filled with many scoops of soil.

Question: I tried this straw bale gardening and it really takes a lot of water. the book is very informative and I had a lot of fun trying it. I would not do it again, because of the high water usage. we live up in the woods and water is really precious.

Ans. Try the Larry Zoro method of burying your bales in trenches. The ground helps the bales to retain moisture. Growing plants in the ground is also water intensive. You need a lot of humus for the soil to retain its moisture. 

This was question and answer blog was made to help the straw bale gardener. Since I have no critiques to my methods, I am willing to help others.