Hay Bale Gardening

We are trying a new gardening technique we saw on Facebook and in a book called, Straw Bale Gardening by Joel Karsten. The book suggests using straw bales as it will have less grass seed in it.  We are using grass hay bales because that is what we had on hand in our barn.

So far we have planted several varieties of cabbage, broccoli, onions, beets, carrots, and tomatoes; all on the hay bales. Soaker hoses run the length of the bales and are turned on as needed. The bales were prepped two weeks before planting by putting a cup of ammonium nitrate on each bale and then watered daily. The purpose of the nitrogen is to feed the bacteria that decomposes the hay. The hay decomposition provides food for the plant.

Before planting seeds, I put about an inch of old chicken litter on top of the bales to cover the seed. The plants were just put in a hole punched in the hay.

We hope this method will reduce the amount of water needed for our garden and will cut down on our weed problem. We are going to try and spray between the rows of bales with a vinegar and dishwashing liquid solution instead of using herbicides.  Stay turned for further developments.