Spindly Plants in a Straw Bale Garden

Master Gardeners around America are delving into straw bale gardening. The simple technique of growing in straw bales had hoped to bring satisfaction to all gardeners.  Instead, many are having problems, " How come my plants are spindly? "Why do my plants have weak stems that I have to support them. My plants look more like puppets on a string. Who is fooling me? I thought this form of gardening was fun?"

However, many straw bale gardeners are passionate about gardening. They are so passionate that they want to pick up their bales and toss them out of their yard. They are exhausted after watering most of the day and trying to keep their straw bale garden plants alive. Many are ready to throw in the towel.

Even with all the confusion, straw bale gardeners have learned problem solving. They have to in order to succeed in this new form of gardening. Nevertheless, they still have questions not answered by straw bale instructors like, "How can I keep water in the bale? It is like a sieve. The more water I give my plants the more my straw bale garden wants."

Straw bale gardeners have thought that buying a book or visiting demonstrations was enough until they tried it for themselves. They are now asking, "Where's the fruit? Why so few tomatoes?" They are advised to give it more time. Many straw bale gardeners have given it more time and when their plants started to grow the growing season was over and done with.

Some places are enacting a straw bale gardening initiative that ensures instructors will have hands-on training themselves. This type of gardening must not be that easy if it takes training in order to teach it? I find it is simple to learn straw bale gardening. All you need is to be able to lay out plenty of string and hold a garden hose. Don't forget to drink plenty of liquids yourself as you daily try to save your straw bale garden.

Hay Bale Revolutionaries to the Rescue    

We should help our fellow bale gardeners. All is not lost. We need to help tweak their garden for maximum gains. 

  

Straw bale gardeners can have healthy green plants too. Their plants can have stems that are study and strong and only need support when they are loaded with ripe fruits or vegetables.

Compare the pictures. They are both from Missouri. Do you see the spindly and yellow growth in the straw bale garden? Is that what you are after? Do you really like the color of yellow?

Tweak number one: Dig a hole in your aged bale and use soil. Enrich it with fertilizer if you like but don't try growing plants in straw alone.

Tweak number two: Make a trench or bury your bales. Let nature water your plants. There is a reason for tumbleweeds. When the tumbleweeds dries out they are useless and endlessly roam the dry barren lands. Straw bales will do the same thing as tumbleweeds. When they dry out, they become useless.

Tweak number three: Prepare for harvest. Have buckets prepared to gather your harvest. You will need them.

"The hay bale revolutionary helps the helpless and provides wise counsel to all new gardeners. They are called for a moment like this to shine their true green colors of bountiful growing knowledge." ---Larry Zoro