Straw bales - best use in the garden?

[COMPOSTER]

Originally Posted by Barbee

I use straw as the base for my compost. Takes a bit longer to break down than other carbons but produces a nice rich compost.

I agree. I love using straw for composting. I think it was Elliot Coleman in "The New Organic Grower" that thought it was great for composting because the straw is hollow and allows for easier air penetration of the pile.

I know this is not the answer you are looking for Tatiana but it is the best use I could make of it. Heck, I would compost it and put it under my wood chips a year or so down the road.

Glenn

[Tracydr]

Tania-did you know that you can impregnate the logs that you cut with mushroom spores? Just look for spore oil. I have a lot of hardwood trees that need thinning and I was looking at this. You could make your own using a variety of oyster mushrooms that can grow on pine, too.
I even saw something about growing oyster mushrooms on corrugated cardboard!

[Douglas_OW]

Modern Farmer had a good article about straw bale gardening:

http://modernfarmer.com/2013/07/straw-bale-gardening/

According to them, all of the conditioning is just in the first 10 days.

In the comments under the article, someone else pointed to another article about growing potatoes in straw bales:

http://strawbalegardens.com/blog/

I don't have any personal experience with this, but it sure looks like magical, fun, no labor gardening.


Jim

[Tracydr]

I did hear good things about growing micro greens in straw bales. Maybe something for the fall before using them for something else?