Guest speaker Jim Beard shares information about Straw Bale Gardening
I’ve done posts before on Straw Bale Gardening (see June 9, 2016 here), but I thought a repeat was in order as we’re all thinking about getting our gardens going for 2017. For those who not yet tried it, this might be the perfect alternative to creating a big vegetable garden. At our Garden Conference on April 1, guest speaker Jim Beard (subject of October 15, 2015 post here) had a wonderful presentation about the benefits of trying straw bale gardening.
According to Jim, you plant from the top the first year, plant from the bottom (potatoes) the second year, add it as a wonderful addition to your compost pile in year 3. There’s a little work involved, of course, but all good gardening requires some work!
I’d be interested in your efforts — let me know if it’s successful for you!
by OCMGA Master Gardener Vicki Schilleman
OCMGA Garden Snips 
Ive tried this years ago and failed miserably…had no idea what I was doing.How was I to know that I needed to put compost on/in the bale….ooops. Now that Jim has told us how to do it I am going to try again this year as an experiment, wish me luck…
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We visited a local professional gardener who had a few plants growing in straw. It was pretty messy looking for one thing, and a bale of anything is fairly heavy especially for those of us with back challenges. I am very glad it is a viable option for many, just not me. 🙂
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I agree that it’s not an alternative for everyone — including me! But many have tried it and liked it so it’s good to know the correct procedures.
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