Straw Bale Gardening

Straw bale construction for homes and other buildings is growing in popularity. Have you ever thought about straw bale gardening?


I live mostly on rock. I tried to put in a typical garden and discovered nothing but solid rock four inches down. Hardly conducive to growing flowers let alone vegetables.

There are huge benefits to straw bale gardening – no back breaking digging and no bending over to pull weeds or deadhead.

I use the small square bales because they are easier to move than the large square bales. I make rows that are three bales wide and three bales high and how ever long I want them. Once the bales are in place give them a good soaking with the hose. Water them in the evening so the hot sun doesn’t evaporate the water during the day. I soak the bales for two or three consecutive days to make sure they are completely soaked.

Spread four to six inches of topsoil, compost etc across the tops of the bales and water. Plant your seeds following the directions on the package. One advantage is you can water less because the straw retains water quite well without leaving the roots sitting in water.

You can make a nice wall around a sitting area and grow plants like citronella to keep the mosquitoes away, or herbs so they are handy to pick fresh when barbequing.

This also makes a unique mini-fence covered in flowers. Trailing plants and vines are nice because they will cascade over the sides.

Vegetables have never been easier to pick because you don’t need to bend over to reach them.

Another advantage is less pests because the plants are not at ground level. I’ve had great success with climbers like beans and peas, instead of needing to stake and tie them they just trail over the edges.

You can also make a maze for the kids and grandkids this way, as long as you have the space. Or you can make a step pattern. Start with a base row three bales wide, then two rows wide for the second layer and one row wide for the top layer. The upper two layers can either be centered or with the high side to the outside. Either way you’ll enjoy three different levels of flowers.

Being creative with straw bale gardening is easy because to don’t have to build or buy raised beds or containers.