How to Use Straw Bales to Create a Diverse, Safe and Fertile Raised Garden

Children’s Workshop Garden at Campos

All photos by and property of Carolyn Zezima, NYC
Foodscape, except where otherwise indicated

Campos Garden after Sandy

Photo Courtesy of Alexia Weidler



Rebuilding




Thank You Children’s Workshop School

Each stage of the
season presented an
opportunity for children
to learn and develop a
sense of personal food
sovereignty: planning
the garden, digging
methods, soil health,
seed starting, planting,
mulching, composting,
watering, plant
identiﬁcation, pest
management, harvesting,
cooking, and preserving.


Beneﬁts of Straw Bale Gardening

We created an unusual
and highly functional
“question mark” layout,
with a circle in the
middle, where the kids
planted a Three Sisters
Garden, which is an
ingenious Native
American companion
planting technique that
uses maize (corn), squash,
and climbing beans. The
question mark garden, as
we sometimes called it,
did indeed inspire many
questions from children,
neighbors and fellow
gardeners, the most
frequent being, “How did
you do that?!”


Beneﬁts of Straw Bale Gardening

•  Ideal
for
a
temporary
or

pilot
garden

•  Alterna2ve
for
tradi2onal

raised
beds

•  Accessible
height
for

children
and
mobility

impaired

•  Small
gardens
for
pa2os
or

any
place
where
space
or

soil
quality
is
an
issue.

•  Great
for
plan2ng
summer

vegetables
and
tomatoes,

and
for
greens
in
the

spring
and
fall.

•  Completely
biodegradable,

and
a@er
a
season
or
two,

will
break
down
into

compost.


Building Children’s Workshop Garden


Straw Bales Before Prep


Bale Design/Configuration

•  Configure
the
bales
in
any
paCern
you

wish
and
as
your
space
permits.

•  A
single
bale
is
all
you
need
for
a
nice

herb
garden,
a
con2nuous
supply
of

greens
or
an
aCrac2ve
planter
for

trailing
flowers.

•  You
can
also
use
bales
as
a
border
to

surround
another
garden
space.
You

can
plant
flowers
in
the
bales
make
an

aCrac2ve
border
and
to
aCract

pollinators
for
the
vegetable
garden
in

the
middle.
This
could
help
rabbits
out

of
the
enclosed
space,
but
likely
won’t

keep
squirrels
out.

•  Ideally,
you
should
place
them
with

both
the
short
ends
and
the
long
sides

touching,
in
a
double
or
even
triple
row,

rather
than
in
single
rows.
The

important
thing
is
that
all
parts
of
the

bale
be
within
arms
reach,
about
18
to

24
inches
from
any
edge.

•  Place
each
bale
so
that
the
cords/twine

holding
the
bales
together
are

horizontal,
parallel
with
the
ground,

with
the
cut
side
of
the
straw
up.


Herb Garden


Photo courtesy of The Talking Farm

www.thetalkingfarm.org

Lettuce Garden


http://www.suburbanstoneage.com/2012/06/straw-bale-garden-personal-bale/

Tomato Arch


http://www.4042.com/4042forums/showthread.php?p=158960#post158960

Tomato Run


http://www.cleveland.com/insideout/index.ssf/2012/04/straw-bale_gardening_lets_you.html

Cabbage Gardens

hCp://www.southwestjournal.com/voices/voices/straw-‐bale-‐gardening

hCp://www.deeprootsathome.com/straw-‐bale-‐urban-‐gardening-‐ideas-‐
and-‐geRng-‐started/


Squash Garden


http://wsumgtc.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/the-last-strawbale-garden/

Bush Cucumbers


http://www.carolinacountry.com/index.php/carolina-gardens/item/grow-a-straw-bale-garden

Trailers


http://isanticountynews.com/2013/04/18/straw-bale-gardening-class-back-by-popular-demand/

Other Garden Ideas


http://truth-about-green.blogspot.com/2010/05/hay-bale-gardening.html

Demo Garden


Photo courtesy of The Talking Farm
www.thetalkingfarm.org

Conﬁguration Ideas


https://tracingterroir.wordpress.com/category/community-gardening/



http://www.pappawsthoughts.com/gardenex.html



http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2013/10/28/global-groceries-straw-bale-garden-diary-may-october


http://www.dainasavage.com/2010/06/hay-now-
instant-garden-by-the-bale/straw-bale-garden/

http://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to-make-a-straw-bale-bed/
hay-bale-garden-21/




http://www.rootsimple.com/2013/05/straw-bale-garden-part-iv-almost-ready-to-plant/

Maze in Full


http://www.rootsimple.com/category/gardening/vegetable-gardening/strawbale/

Straw Bale Garden as Environmental
Art


Photos courtesy of Arlington Arts
Center

Straw Bale Sculpture


Photos
courtesy
of

Arlington
Arts
Center

Prepping the Bales

Ø  Days
1
through
3:
Water
the
bales
thoroughly

and
keep
them
damp.

Ø  Days
4
through
9:
Each
day,
mix
¼
cup
of
the

high
nitrogen
granulated
fer2lizer
with
1

gallon
of
water,
per
bale,
and
one
gallon
of

water
and
slowly
pour
over
the
bale

satura2ng
it.

Or
sprinkle
½
cup
blood
meal
or

one
cup
of
chicken
manure
over
the
top
of

each
bale,
and
slowly
pour
the
gallon
of

water
over
it
and
washing
the
meal/manure

into
the
bale.

Ø  Day
10
–
no
more
nitrogen,
but
con2nue
to

keep
the
bales
damp.

Ø  Day
11
–
when
the
bale
no
longer
feels

‘hot’
(s2ck
your
hand
down
into
the
stems
to

see
if
it
is
less
than
body
temperature)


Watering Bales


http://www.rootsimple.com/category/gardening/vegetable-gardening/page/4/

Prepping the Bales

Take
a
trowel
and
forcefully

stab
down
into
the
top
of
the

bale
20
or
30
2mes
to
help

break
up
the
top
few
inches

of
oat
stems.
For
11
bales,

this
took
some
2me
and
arm

strength,
but
for
one
or
two

bales,
it
would
be
a
breeze.


Adding Soil Mix

•  Add
2
inches
of
soil/
compost
mix
(we
used

about
60/40
soil
to

compost).
Again,
stab
the

bale
top
forcefully
with
a

trowel
to
help
move
the

soil/compost
down
into

the
bale.
Do
this
about

20-‐30
2mes
per
bale.

•  Water
the
soil/compost

mix
to
help
draw
the
soil

down
into
the
bales.


Bales After Prepping

Top-‐dress
the
bale
with
2

more
inches
of
the
mix
and

water
well,
taking
care
not
to

wash
the
layer
of
soil
away.


Ready to Plant

The planting goals for this garden were:

1)  To plant as much as possible without
overtaxing the bales’ fertility or causing
competition for water and soil,

2)  To feature a broad overview of the types
of plants one can grow in a small garden,
including methods of companion planting,

3)  To test the versatility of the straw bale
planting method,

4)  To create an outdoor environmental
classroom to inspire stewardship of the
land,

5)  To give kids as much opportunity to taste
and cook as many different combinations
of healthy food and herbs as possible,
and

6)  To give youth conﬁdence and leadership
skills so they can share their knowledge
and mentor other peers into making
healthy food choices and taking
responsibility for the future of their food
system.


Planting the Bales

Ø For
seedlings,
make
a

crack
in
the
mix/bale

with
your
trowel,
place

the
transplant’s
roots

down
into
the
crack
and

ﬁll
the
hole
with
more

mix.

Ø For
seeds,
simply
plant

them
right
into
the
mix

at
the
appropriate
depth

and
sprinkle
more
mix

on
top.

Again,
water

gently.


Planting the Bales

http://greenthumbs.cedwvu.org/factsheets/hay-bale.php

http://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to-condition-and-plant-a-straw-
bale/


Plant Spacing

Space
out
your

vegetables,
herbs
and

ﬂowers
in
a
straw
bale

much
as
you
would
for
a

regular
garden.

One
bale

will
comfortably
hold:

§  1-‐2
indeterminate
or

2-‐3
determinate

tomato
plants

§  2-‐3
pepper/okra/
broccoli/eggplant

§  5-‐6
kale/Swiss
chard

§  3-‐4
bush
bean
plants

§  12
to
15
pea
plants
in
a

row
up
a
small
trellis

§  2
bush
or
4
climbing

cucumbers

§  3-‐4
strawberry
plants

§  8
herb
plants


Examples of Plant Spacing


Plant Guide to Bales

Bale
#1 Tomatoes

Green Dr’s
Frosted

Mirabella
Blanche

JeuneFlamme

Basil

Marigold

Bale
#2 Peppers
Purple Beauty

Jimmy
Nardiello
Cubanelle

Basil

Marigold

Bale
#3 Peppers

Frigateliello de
Napoli

Cubanelle

Ancho Chile

Bale #4 Okra

Cajun Jewel

Penta Dragon

Bale
#5 Cucumber:

Diva

Lemon

Wautoma

Nasturtium
(seeds)

Bale
#6 Greens

Collards

Mizspoon

Dill

Bale #7
Greens

Lettuces, then

Callaloo NZ
Spinach

Lemon Balm
(seeds)

Bale #8 Bush
Beans

Edamame
(seeds)

Summer
Savory

Bale
#9 Tomatoes

Mortgage
Lifter

Dagma’s
Perfection

Oregano

Basil seeds

Bale
#10 Eggplant

Fengyuan
Purple

Rosa Bianca

Thai Long
Green

Tarragon

Thai Basil

Bale #11
Strawberries

Italian Alpine

Yellow Wonder

Flowers (seeds)

Lavender
(seeds)


Bales are HOT!


Here’s how to plant properly
without burning the tender
roots:

1)  Dig
a
trench
in
the
soil
deep,
and

long
enough
to
accommodate
all

but
the
top
6-‐8
inches
of
thmix

and
straw
about
3-‐4
inches
e

tomato
plant.

2)  Lay
plant
on
its
side
with
root
ball

pointed
slightly
down.

3)  Water
trench
well.

4)  Cover
with
3+
inches
of
soil
mix.

5)  Mulch
to
hold
soil
mix
in
place

un2l
plant
sets
its
roots

6)  Don’t
worry
about
the
top
of
the

plant
being
askew,
it
will
right

itself
in
a
day
or
two
and
grow

straight
up.

7)  Remove
all
flowers
from
the
plant

for
the
first
two
weeks
in
the

ground
so
plant
can
direct
its

energy
towards
crea2ng
healthy

roots
and
not
divert
it
to
flower/
tomato
produc2on
yet.


Replanting Tomatoes

Thriving Tomatoes


Bushels for Roots and Alliums


Kids Plant Three Sisters


Three Sisters


Worm Composting


Stretching its Roots and Stems


Summer Underway


Tending the Garden


Garden in Full


Flowers and Fruit


Fruit of our Labor


Girls on a Cooking Spree


Harvest Cooking


Kernel to Tortilla


Young Hands Making Tortillas


How to Use Straw Bales to Create a Diverse, Safe and Fertile Raised Garden

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How to Use Straw Bales to Create a Diverse, Safe and Fertile Raised Garden