Growing veggies in straw

[happyflowerlady]

I have read a little abut growing veggies like tomatoes and squash in a bale of straw, but I have never tried doing this, and would like to hear from anyone that has tried this method of gardening.
What I read, said that you make openings in the straw , and soak it well, put in the plant and some potting soil. It puts the plant up off the ground, at an easier level for an older person to take care of, and you don't have to dig or rototill to use this method. It sounds like something I would really like, and one that would be beneficial for me , as an older gardener, and if it actually works well, I would like to try it.

 

[zigs]

Seen it done, but not tried it myself. The straw would be high in Nitrogen, but would lack the Potassium that the tomatoes would need so would need feeding often.

I'd be concerned about which, if any, herbicides had been used on the straw though, some of them are persistant enough to affect the plants.

 

[happyflowerlady]

The article I was reading shows a kind of hollowed out bale of straw, and then filled in with dirt and potting soil. I think if a person did that, you would then have the proper nutrients for the veggies to grow in, plus you would have an instant "raised bed" that didn't require a lot of kneeling, bending, or digging. I looked at a picture of how it is done, and will see if I can post the picture on here.

 

[Antau LJn]

I have not tried planting this way. I did try planting in straw, but I obviously did it wrong because my plants did not last long. I think planting in straw this way would work great!

 

[happyflowerlady]

As an older gardener, I am always on the lookout for ways to grow things without having to do a lot of digging, or, even worse, kneeling or crawling around down on the ground. The straw bale raised beds look to me like they would work well, and if I can find some straw bales , I think I will test it out. I think hay would also work, it it usually costs more, and it often has grass seeds and weed seeds in it, plus it is much heavier than straw is.

 

[Antau LJn]

When I kneel for very long, my legs go numb. I usually sit down when I garden if I cannot stand up. Of course, if you have a difficult time getting up, that wouldn't help you.

I think the straw/hay bales would work great for you. Let us know how it does, okay?

 

[evelynmcgregor]

My mom used to do this in her garden every few years. She would make a good size hole in the middle of the bail to hold soil, then plop in her plant,, or usually seeds,, and wait for them to grow. When the bale would start to decompose, she would spread them over her garden and till them into the dirt. She also used to just cut open a purchased bag of soil and plant in that, then at the end of the growing season, would pull the plastic bag out of the dirt and tile that dirt into her garden.

 

[Pat]

I saw a tv show that had a garden done in straw. The idea of the straw being a raised bed garden is why I liked it. I hope to use this idea this spring.