Straw Bale Garden Results

I was probably a little too excited to pull apart the straw bales to see how the plants found a way to survive and even thrive the summer.  Our experiment, to plant vegetable starters in bales of straw as a garden bed, raised a lot of eyebrows.  The most common question was, "Did you use soil?" followed by, "Did you have to water it a lot?"  The answers, in order, are "A little; we threw in a handful when we planted the starter plant"  and "Only in the drought part of the summer".  Here are some photos of the garden as it grew.  Somethings were perfect, some not so much.  Due to the number of variables, it is hard to tell at this point if some plants didn't survive because of the straw bales, heat, critters, or other uncontrolled variable.  Worth studying again next year!


New plants, including squash, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, cauliflower and broccoli

Straw bales in August

Despite the drought conditions throughout most of the summer, we had success with the squash, zucchini, and eggplant. In fact, we had trouble keeping up with the squash and zucchini. Plus we had to continue moving the quickly-creeping vines to trim around the bales:) 

 

 

The radishes were our first experiment.  They survived, but I wouldn't say they were a success. 

 

Squash root system

I think these are the to best pictures.  When I finally allowed myself to go out and tear the straw bales apart and photograph what was happening, I was amazed at what I saw.  The straw bales, at least 2 feet in height, had roots going throughout them and one strong tap root reaching into the soil under the straw!

 

Zucchini root system

Plants will put forth strong efforts in their search for water and nutrients.  Through the root systems you see here, a very healthy zucchini plant lived throughout our hot and dry summer and produced a nice yield.  Next year I would like to try different plant, perhaps more heat-loving, and also take the temperature of the inside of the straw bales on a regular basis.  If anyone is familiar with growing in strawbales, please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, or ideas.  I'm already planning for next year!