DIY Yards and Health

DIY Yards and Health
Helping the Do It Yourself home owner in making themselves and surroundings healthy

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Conclusion of straw bale gardening

 
Last year we experimented with straw bale gardening. Here are some conclusions...

As you can see in the photo, this spring the bales had denigrated to a gooey mass.
Surprisingly the strawberries did very well even as the bales are half the size they were when we started.
 
Conclusions: 
 
1. There is definitely an odor all summer long as these bales break down biologically.
2. Held moisture well
3. Tomatoes loved them but Spinach and other crops did not do well.
4. Compost (worm) tea did help in July.
5. Nutrients were lacking without adding compost elements.
6. Real mess to clean up at the end of the year.
 
I would not recommend putting these on your patio as being suggested on many sites online.