Growing Veg on a Bale of Straw

[Skotch]

Some time ago, I read an article in The Garden, the RHS publication about growing vegetables and flowers on a straw bale. I dug the article out at the weekend, bought a cheap bale and began by watering the bale and covering in plastic to retain the moisture. The bale is watered daily for 3 days to thoroughly soak it. Then the idea is to add nitrogen (4 to 6 oz per addition) twice with a 3 day gap between additions, then a further addition of chicken manure (4 to 6oz) twice with a 3 day gap between additions, allowing the bale to heat up and then planting into holes dug into the straw.

It all looks and sounds fascinating, and I suppose this is the preamble to asking whether any other forum members have heard of or have used this method themselves?

I'm planning on trying to grow some Australian Blue Winter Squash as well as a couple of cucumbers.

TIA

[JILLY JACKSON]

Novel way!

wow skotch,that really sounds interesting!It would work surely.Will look forward to seeing what others say as well.

[supergrass]

Sounds like a vey good project , What do you plan to grow? Dont think it would be suitable for root veg though.

Max.

[Skotch]

Sounds like a vey good project , What do you plan to grow? Dont think it would be suitable for root veg though.
Max.

The article also talks about staking the plants well as the loose nature of straw means that the root system doesn't hold the plants very well

[jacob marley]

My Father in law used to grow Tomatos in bales of straw 40 years ago but stopped when a bale of straw one year had been sprayed with some obnoxious stuff whilst growing the year before and the Tomatos died he gave up at that hope your straw is unsprayed jacob marley

[Skotch]

Thanks for the advice Jacob - I plan to <ahem> spray the bale with some urine as the source of Nitrogen to get the bale composting properly started. One of my allotment neighbours told me this was the best way to do it, gross though it sounds!

[liejay]

sounds interesting apart from the urine :-) i was told straw or hay left in the sun with urine or water can make it combust not compost lol

[Skotch]

sounds interesting apart from the urine :-) i was told straw or hay left in the sun with urine or water can make it combust not compost lol

Blimey - I hope not I'm trying to raise the temperature a bit, but not that much

[terrier]

I've got some old hay bales that are too far gone for the horses to eat, I wonder if it would work the same? Also the idea could be extended for impregnating with mushroom spores. I've just started a big box off using hay and equipoo topped with garden compost. How about a 'living garden wall' using bales planted with annuals. Usually I just break the unuseable bales open and use as mulch on the veg plot. Could be a whole new gardening concept.

[Skotch]

I've got some old hay bales that are too far gone for the horses to eat, I wonder if it would work the same? Also the idea could be extended for impregnating with mushroom spores. I've just started a big box off using hay and equipoo topped with garden compost. How about a 'living garden wall' using bales planted with annuals. Usually I just break the unuseable bales open and use as mulch on the veg plot. Could be a whole new gardening concept.

Hi terrier

I read somewhere that hay is not so good to use, something to do with potentially germinating a whole load of grass seeds. However, I am planning on using the straw as a mulch once it's done its thing as a hotbed, or earlier if it doesn't!

[Finedon.Dandy]

Hi terrier

I read somewhere that hay is not so good to use, something to do with potentially germinating a whole load of grass seeds. However, I am planning on using the straw as a mulch once it's done its thing as a hotbed, or earlier if it doesn't!

I filled the planting holes for my courgettes with the used rabbit bedding (I use both hay and straw) and a couple of them now have companion planting of grass! I wasnt sure if it was because I had emptied the stale food in as I changed the bedding - either way I am a bit more careful now!

[bridget mc laughlin]

I'am deffinatily going to try that it sure does sound interesting

[Skotch]

Bit of a short progress report for you - over the last 3 days, I've been watering the bale with about 2 gallons of water each time. This appears to have been soaked up by the straw. The bale was originally placed onto a plastic sheet so water would not be lost through the base. The sheet is also large enough to wrap the bale so that the water is held in rather than evaporate.

Anyway, went last night and put my hand on the bale and it was definitely warmer than on Monday night. Tonight I am going to add the liquid nitrogen feed pt.1 which is sitting in storeage vessel in my garage at the moment. I'm then away for 3 nights, so hopefully matters will have developed by the time I return on Sunday.

I'll try to take some photo's and post them here in due course, but at the moment I feel there's no need - you all know what a straw bale looks like!

[vegman]

I recall an old gardening book describing a method of growing toamtoes on wheat straw bales. From memory it described making a hole in th ebale and fill with compost in which you then plant the tom.

Maybe this method is dying out due tothe cost of the bale! but it was a normal method of growing in the countryside.

[Skotch]

I recall an old gardening book describing a method of growing toamtoes on wheat straw bales. From memory it described making a hole in th ebale and fill with compost in which you then plant the tom.

Maybe this method is dying out due tothe cost of the bale! but it was a normal method of growing in the countryside.

The bale (a large one!) cost me £2.00. The chicken manure about the equivalent of 20p for the dose I will add, the nitrogen nothing, plants about 50p, compost nothing. I see it as a very cheap way of growing veg if it works.

I too have seen some pictures of bales and bales of straw with tomatoes and beans growing in/on them. I still think it's probably about the same cost as using a grow bag, but takes a bit longer to prepare, unlike the growbag.

Skotch