Straw Bale Gardening

By Alexandria Straight, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent
Doddridge and Ritchie Counties
WVU Extension Service

Straw bale gardening is a great option for people who have limited mobility, for those whose garden soil is poor, and for those who have little space to garden. The straw is placed on the ground, and plants are placed inside the bale. Weeding and harvesting can be done easily from a chair, and the straw keeps plants cool and holds water well. Straw bale gardening also has fewer pest problems because the plants are off the ground.

Before…		After…

Getting Started

You need only a few items to get started. The bare necessities are: straw bales (hay can be used but will sprout grass weeds); a hand trowel to place plants into the straw bales; fertilizer, nitrogen, blood meal, or bone meal to condition the bales; water to water-in the fertilizer; and soil or compost if you are directly planting seeds.

You may also consider a soaker hose to put directly on the bales for easy watering.

Bale Placement

Deciding on the placement of your garden first is important because once you start watering your bales you will not be able to move them. Use any artistic expression you desire. Bales can be placed in many shapes to fit just about any space. Just keep in mind that taller plants will need to be on the north end of the straw bale garden.

Use newspaper under the bales before you place the bales on the ground. This will prevent grass and weeds from growing around the bales and keep weeding to a minimum. It will also help slow down the deterioration of the twine around the bale.

Conditioning the Bales

The next step is to condition the bales. This process takes a few weeks, so you will want to plan ahead and do this before you plant. Bales held over from the year before will not need to go through this step.

To start the process, keep the straw bales wet for three to four weeks before planting. If you would like to speed up the process, here is a recipe that works well.

• Days 1 to 3: Water the bales thoroughly and keep them damp.
• Days 4 to 6: Sprinkle each bale with ½ cup urea (46-0-0) and water well into bales. You can substitute bone meal, fish meal, or compost for a more organic approach.
• Days 7 to 9: Cut back to ¼ cup urea or substitute per bale per day and continue to water well.
• Day 10: No more fertilizer is needed, but continue to keep bales damp.
• Day 11: Stick your hand into the bales to see if they are still warm. If they have cooled to less than your body heat, you may safely begin planting after all danger of frost has passed.

Planting

After your bales have been placed and conditioned, it is time to plant! You can grow almost anything in a straw bale that you can grow in the ground; you may find some plants are easier than others. Root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and onions can be grown but have some difficultly. Plants like corn tend to be too top heavy.

Seedlings
Plant seedlings just like you would if they were in the ground. If it says to plant 18 inches apart, then that is the same for the bale. Take a sharp trowel and separate the straw. Place the plant down to the first leaf and let the straw fill in around it. Be careful not to cut the twine while planting.

Seeds
If you want to plant seeds, like beans, place a small layer of compost mixed with soil on the top of the bale, like icing on a cake, and plant the seeds directly into the soil. Cover the seeds with a light dusting of soil or peat moss and water in well.

Tomatoes
When planting tomatoes, you will want to stake them with a 6-foot stake because cages do not work well to support the plant.

Feeding and Watering

Since the straw bale contains no soil, your plants will require more fertilizer than if planted in a garden. To provide the plants nutrition, feed them a compost tea or liquid fish emulsion once every other week when plants are seedlings, increasing the feedings to once a week as plant grows.

Water the straw bales as needed or put a soaker hose around the plants on the bales.

Some Popular Plants for Straw Bale Gardening