Straw bale Gardening

I have always really liked square foot gardens, had them for 35 years..and they did very well. Now Iam trying something very different.
Planting right on top of straw bales.not hay bales, must be straw, hay bales start growing all kinds of things..

I bought 12 straw bales, cost about 7 bucks each delivered, lined them up and started the 12 day prep.. First I soaked the bales after adding fertilizer , day two .. soaked the bales again . Day 3 put a little more fertilizer on the bales, the water will push the fertilizer down into the bale. Day 4 a water day , to full saturation , takes about 2 gallons before the water is running out the bottom of the bale, this will happen pretty fast..
Day more fertilizer..wash it in.. Day 6..water only, inside of the bales should feel warm Day 7, 8, and 9 , if you can use warm water do so, pretty hard to do add a little more fertilizer and water the bales everyday.

Your air temp will make a difference..however the inside of the bales will be about 30 to 40 degrees hotter than the air temp. That is good news..Day 10 add some more fertilizer just sprinkle it on the bales..

If mushrooms sprout on the sides of the bales ,this is also good news no need to do anything with them , ignore them and they will go away. day up to 10 days your straw bale is now a hot bed of worms and bacteria, ready to plant you seeds..

But first get a soaker hose , hold it down with bent wires you push into the bales
run it down the middle of the bales.
Also do not untie the bales leave the string on the bales..
If you have prestarted transplants like tomatoes use a hand trowel and stab into the bale work the straw back and forthand slip in your plant..

You can put your straw bales right on cement or any saurface, doesnt matter if you are using anything other than the straw bales, plant any crop you want..

my plantings are now pushing through and that is always a thrill..

this is a very cool way for raised beds.. no digging for soil prep. and etc..
look very cool too. I will keep you up to date on how this working out for me..

Find the book “Straw Bale gardening” by Joel Karsten or do a search on line The book is very good.. Lots of tips and time savers..