How to Grow an Organic Straw Bale Garden Easily

by Christin Sander

What is Straw Bale Gardening?

Many people are turning to straw bale gardens as an inexpensive way to grow produce easily, inexpensively and efficiently. Straw bale gardens are easy to start and maintain, requiring much less time than traditional gardens, and make organic gardening easy. Straw bale gardens save time and they also are easier on your body when it comes to maintenance. They are great for people with disabilities or mobility issues who may have difficulties tending regular gardens.

Numerous plants grow well in straw bales including tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, herbs and many other garden favorites. Straw bale gardens are also excellent conversation starters because they tend to be very unusual and distinctive looking. We grow ours in a giant rectangle with other plants growing in the center. We notice people stopping to check out our garden as they drive by.

The Benefits of Straw Bale Gardens

Inexpensive – Straw bales are relatively inexpensive and can sometimes last for two seasons. Even if you only get one growing season out of them, they are still useful as a nutrient rich mulch or compost for the following year. Bales are typically only a few dollars each.

Easy Maintenance – A straw bale garden requires much less weeding than traditional gardens. It is also off the ground, so what little weeding has to be done can be done without the back and knee pain that often comes from weeding a traditional garden.

Resilient – Straw bale gardens, in my experience, can take the elements better. We had a very late May frost this year – a hard freeze that is not typical for this area at all. The plants I had in the ground were more affected by it than the ones in the straw. We have also had an abundance of hail and storms with straight line winds and the plants I have in the bales held up better with no loss. I had some in the ground that were actually ripped out by the wind when the baled plants stayed put. I have no scientific explanation for why that happens – but other straw bale gardeners will tell you similar stories.

Easy to Grow Organically – Plants in straw bales are naturally weed and pest resistant. I sprinkle DTE (Diatomacious Earth) around the perimeter of the plants, but otherwise they resist pests quite well. Plants being up off the ground is a natural deterrent for many pests as well. Weeding is easy and that also makes organic gardening a snap. Organic and straw bale gardens go hand in hand – or they should. There is no easier, or more cost-effective way that I have found to grow organic vegetables.

Potential Drawbacks to Straw Bale Gardens

Space - Straw bales can take up a lot of space if you are wanting to grow multiple plants in a small area. Each bale will only hold at max 2 plants and the bales are approximately 4 feet in length and foot and a half tall. If you are growing on a patio or in a very small area straw bales may not be the best choice for you.

Water – Straw bale gardens soak up a lot of water. In drought-prone areas this can be problematic. When you first prep your bales especially, it requires a lot more water than a standard garden.

Allergies – Many people are allergic to straw and hay and may find that working with a straw bale garden leads to rashes, sneezing, etc. If you are allergic to straw work with a partner who can do the actual planting and weeding. Otherwise, avoid using the straw bales. I happen to break out if my skin touches the bales, but I use good gardening gloves and wear a long sleeve shirt when doing anything directly with the bales.

How do I Start a Straw Bale Garden?

You will want to get your straw bales a few weeks before you are ready to plant. Straw bales require a couple of weeks of preparation.

Once you have purchased your straw bales and have them placed on their sides, you will want to create holes in the bales where your future plants will go. Each bale should have no more than two openings for plants. Your plants still require space to grow properly. If you are growing something like a Zucchini that vines out and is very large you will only want one opening in the center of the bale.

You can fill the bale openings with a good potting soil if you wish, although it isn't necessary to use soil in a straw bale garden at all! My personal preference is to fill the holes in the bales with a nice mix of compost and soil. I find this provides better nourishment and stronger plants.

After your bales are prepped you will spend the next two weeks thoroughly soaking the bales every single day. This watering allows the breakdown process to begin. As the bales breakdown nutrients are released that will strengthen and feed your plants. You may also notice during this time that the bales go to seed and you will have little shoots of green grass springing forth from the bales and on the ground around them. This is easy to pull so don't worry about it.

Growing Your Straw Bale Garden

This is actually the easy part! Once your bales are prepped and ready to go you can begin planting. I recommend planting fairly well established young plants. Straw bale gardens tend to have a slower growth rate than a standard garden, so well-established plants will ensure that you get the most for your investment.

Before planting in the straw bales acclimate your plants be setting them outside on top of the bales during the day and bringing them in at night. Do this for several days before transferring them to the garden. (this should be done with any garden)

Once you plant your garden you should soak your plants at the base of the plants very thoroughly. Straw bales are very absorbent and your garden will require deeper watering than a standard garden. The bonus is that straw holds water evenly and you don't have to worry about “flooding” your plants or having them in standing water, which can be just as harmful to a garden as not watering it enough.

Every few weeks you will want to feed your plants. I use organic compost, but you can use plant food or whatever you wish. For tomatoes, I recommend adding powdered eggshells to the soil around your plants. This is a natural way to ensure they get all the calcium they require. It's cheap and it's easy especially if you have chickens or eat a lot of eggs ;). Because straw bale plants are in little, if any soil – feeding is VERY important.

Weed your garden as needed, however you will find that very little weeding is required and when it is it is very easy since your plants are so high up off of the ground.

That's it – easy, inexpensive, and a lot of fun! Enjoy your straw bale garden!