Growing plants in straw bales

[survivalguy]

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Hi all,

I usually don't read the newspaper but today at work I walked into the break room and on the table sat the local paper with this article in it .. so I thought i'd share it all with you.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=381067

Very interesting and a good read.... Enjoy!

[dinich]

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My neighbor in Oregon Did this every year with Potato's. Two to three plants per bale and always got a good crop.
I had forgotten about it but may have to try it this year

[countryboy6685]

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A friend of mine use to line his carport and patio with them every year and her grew potatoes , squash , okra , tomatoes and sweet potatoes in them that I can remember . He passed away a few years ago but I can still remember his bail garden . One think I do remember is he had to water often in the hot summertime .
Robert W

[Mortblanc]

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I did the hay bales two summers ago. I had just moved and had no time to prep the soil. I used 4 bales and had tomatoes and peppers for the summer. Two tomatoes and two pepper plants per bail with Okra growing along the back edge and potatoes in the center space where the bales formed an empty square. I filled that up with peat moss and planted the potatoes.

You have to fertilize and soak the bales before planting. I kept the plant food going to the plants all summer too. The bales hold water like crazy so the plants do pretty well even if the rain is not its best.

When the summer was over I used the bales as mulch.

I would recommend bales to anyone that does not have a tiller or a big space for a garden. If I lived in an apartment I would do a bale garden on the patio every year.

[TheLastMountainMan]

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Cool idea.

[ghogAg]

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Growing on all five sides sounds very interesting. Talk about a space and water saver.

[Applejack]

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This sounds like a great idea. I saved the site to go back to. Hubby wants to try planting red potatoes and this just might be a good way to go. And since the hay will hold the water it might be a good idea for people in drought conditions.
AJ