Straw Bale gardening became of interest to me this year so I watched the computer class STRAW BALE GARDENING 101 by Joel Karsten. http://strawbalegardens.com/
We chose to put indoor/outdoor carpeting and chicken wire under the row of bales and had no problem with rodents in our bales. We mulched on either side for the row and had absolutely no weeds. The bales we chose did have sprouts which were no problem but we might use oat straw next year because they aren’t supposed to sprout so much.

My husband was in charge of constructing the bales and drip lines for watering. We followed the directions in Joel Karsten’s book and it turned out to be a wonderfully surprising success. We found many of the supplies we needed at Wedel’s.
The bales are nearly decomposed now (Nov. 2nd) and will be wonderful compost for next year. We were totally thrilled with the results.
Straw Bale Gardens *Get higher yields, *Never need weeding, *Do not require soil, *Extend growing season by weeks, * Can be conventional or 100% organic (which I chose), *Can go anywhere: even balconies and driveways. This is what Joel Karsten claims and I am a believer. If you have limited space or any physical limitations, this is something you could try with some help setting it up. It’s such a good experience to grow your own produce.





Penny Baker
MSU extension Advanced Master Gardener