How to create a straw bale garden

Looking for an easy way to set up an instant raised bed garden and help your plants grow better at the same time? Let us help you create a straw bale garden!

Although raised beds have always been a vegetable garden staple, there’s no denying their popularity and the attention on them has risen over the past few years. Everyone seems to be planting in raised beds, whether they be made out of wood or brick. But what if there was an easier way to set up an instant raised bed garden and help your plants grow better at the same time? Well, with a few bales of straw and some free time, it really is that easy.

Straw-bale gardens are exactly what they sound like – raised-bed gardens that use straw as the primary growing medium. Topped with potting soil, compost and fertiliser for nutrients, they provide a sturdy and inexpensive foundation for growing vegetables and other plants. They are ideal for gardeners with back or other mobility issues that prevent them from bending down, as they make the plants far easier to access. Plus, straw bales allow you to create a structured and spacious garden in a matter of minutes without the extensive prep that goes into starting a raised bed garden.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a straw bale garden:

Step 1
Find straw bales rather than hay bales. Hay bales tend to contain weed seeds that will germinate quickly after planting, as opposed to straw that is generally seed-free. Alternatively, you can cover the bales with black plastic and leave them in the sun for a few weeks before preparing, to kill any potential weed seeds.

Step 2
Place the bales. Straw bales are incredibly difficult to move once they’ve been prepared due to their weight, so plan your ideal garden before placing to avoid having to move the bales later on. Make sure you space them far enough to allow access to the plants from all sides and choose a spot that receives full sun throughout the day.

Step 3
Condition the bales. This process prepares them for planting by kickstarting the decomposition process and adding in essential nutrients. Start by adding a generous layer of high-nitrogen fertiliser and watering until the bale is completely saturated. Continue to add fertiliser and water every couple of days until the straw starts to get warm and decompose, which will usually happen within a week. To finish it off, add a thick layer of equal parts potting soil and compost to the top of the bale, ready for planting.

Step 4
Choose your plants. Compact crops like leafy greens are most suited to straw bale planting as they require little support. Any vegetable that requires stalking or gets taller than the height of the bale may fall over once mature. If you do want to grow a crop that typically requires staking, opt for more compact dwarf or container varieties instead.

Step 5
Get planting. Using a spade, dig a hole in the soil and loosen the straw beneath, planting as you would in any garden bed. If you’re sowing seed, simply sow in the layer of potting soil. Water thoroughly and continue to water frequently as straw bales dry out just as quickly, if not faster, than traditional raised beds. Continue to tend to your veggies as you would anywhere else in the garden and wait for them to flourish.