Joel Karsten perfected a technique for straw bale gardening after experimenting with growing potatoes in straw bales. He divides straw bales into plots, conditions them with fertilizer and water for 10 days, and then plants vegetables and flowers directly into the decomposing straw. Benefits of straw bale gardening include no weeding or tilling, low cost, less stooping and bending, and ease of harvest. Karsten has expanded his garden to 240 bales and estimates it requires only 18 hours of work per season.