Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi there,
I wondered if anyone has tried this approach.
In theory, it looks like you could get some earlier and later crops using it.

I don't know much about it so will be interested to read any comments. I did once acquire an old bale of straw at the end of a grden fete which I broke down and and spread around but it got very windy and blew everywhere, messing up the entire garden so that rather put me off using the stuff although my strawberry plants would benefit from having some of it tucked around them. However I imagine you're probably referring to the bulk use of it to make hot beds which i'm afraid is out of my experience.

Is this another term for hot bed gardening.
If so I decided there was too much faffing about involved.

I'm not sure it is the same as hot bed gardening.

Googling seems to suggest that people are using straw bales like raised beds. Litterally, you get a bunch of square bales, you water them and sow / plant into them as if it was soil. People seem to be suggesting that you get higher yealds, and also people are using this idea to grow thing in random places like roof tops etc.

I think you will get some extra heat because they are decomposing, but I don't think this is the main thing about them.

At rhs harlow carr, they appeared to be growning tomato's using this method.

Interesting - hope someone knowledgable answers.

Westi

Reading this I was sure we'd covered it before and guess what?


viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8569&p=81578&hilit=Straw+bale#p81578

I have planted about 350 strawberry plants direct into strawbales, barley straw.
They bales are positioned in both polytunnel and the open air.
They have grown and there are producing strawberries.
The reason for using bales is we have very heavy clay soil that Haa not been looked after and the bales allow a slightly better height to work at.
I wondered if there was anyone here who had farmed this way recently.
Want to check about how much the bales were soaked pre planting?
How many plants per bale?
We have used dilute stinging nettle fertiliser and planted with an organic compost
Watered every second day.
There has been a greater lose of plants than I expected shrivelling up and some of the leaves are mottled.
Half the plants were last years runners a quarter 2 year old plants and the last lot new plants
Can anyone give pointers as to how I have managed this and things they have found worked

Hi & welcome Jackhut!

I tried this for a couple of years outside & found it was OK. I cheated a bit though & pulled some straw out until they could take a pot with the bottom cut out & filled back with the straw & compost & also put these pots through the sides on an angle so the plants hung down. I watered the whole bales for first use, but then just watered via the pots with a seaweed feed on & off. I persevered until the bales became a mouse/rat abode & they trashed them & bit through the twine then I gave it up, but at least I had a lot of straw for mulching.

I found that the strawberry flavour is more intense with direct soil planting but the bales provide a warmer environment which is a definite positive if in a colder area or it's a rubbish year weather wise. I wonder if this extra collected warmth inside & outside is responsible for the fails?