By Kent Rogers | March 2011

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How to grow a straw bale garden

A vegetable garden planted in bales of straw can produce good-looking, healthy plants without weeds

A straw bale garden is especially convenient for people who don’t have a large plot of ground to till, or who are physically unable to do a lot of kneeling, bending, raking and hoeing.

I have learned that any type of straw or hay bale will work. Pine straw will not work. Bales that are tightly packed work best.

Use bales with regular twine if you can, because the twine will rot along with the bale. Synthetic twine does not rot but will be OK. Shop around for bale prices.

Arrange your bales in rows so they can help hold each other together. Orienting the bales with strings on the ground works best.

If you make more than one row of bales, put them wide enough apart so your lawnmower can get between them. And because you’ll be watering them, place bales where the water will drain away.

You can use seeds if you add some potting mix on top of the bales for germination. I transplant my vegetables directly into the bales.