Harvesting the straw bale garden

I call this experiment a success!   After reading and reviewing the book Straw Bale Gardens sent to me by author, Joel Karston, I became intrigued by the concept of growing a garden in straw instead of soil.  I wondered if this would be a good idea here in the Sierra Foothills, since our soil can be difficult and usually we have the best success with raised beds and purchased soil.

So, last Spring in mid-May, I decided to give it a try with a modest four-bale garden. Tractor Man had just helped me enclose a garden area with some old ranch gates we found on the place. The bales were bought and ready to go!  If you know me at all, you know I love garden experiments!

The cost was modest. Instead of soil you buy straw, long metal stakes and some wire. A little fertilizer in the form of bloodmeal is the only other thing purchased. See the links at the end of this post for the step by step instructions.

Before:

Ranch Gate garden in Mid-June 2013

August vacation leave

Leaving home for three weeks is risky at any time when you’re a gardener and with my straw bale garden in the experimental year, I admit I was nervous! So far, I had harvested a pound or two of tomatoes and had the pleasure of giving some away, I had made a tomato, pepper and eggplant soup and frozen four large tomatoes in a gallon sized freezer bag. I was thrilled to have gotten this far, so I thought if there was nothing left, if a deer jumped in and devoured everything or heavens, it dried up and rotted away, I wouldn’t be heartbroken. This is my first real vegetable garden that actually produced food for the table. So, I told myself not to worry…

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Last year, I had a tomato and onion garden in galvanized tubs, unprotected from deer and although I didn’t notice any nibble that year by four footed animals, I did notice the devastation caused by the footless pest, the tomato hornworm! Bad luck and I didn’t have enough tomatoes planted that I could agreeably share with a worm. He wiped me out.

Last year, five galvanized tubs, with drainage holes, held tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green onions and jalapeno peppers.

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First week of September

Harvesting the Straw bale garden

So, back to today, the first week of September. After returning from vacation, I was delighted to find that the garden had not only survived, but flourished, big time.

In front the mini gardens maxed out…Black eyed Susans and golden Pineapple salvia. Deer abound on our place and nibbled the tomatoes through the fence, but the flowers were deer proof!

The garden stayed lush and green even with less water… the black eyed Susans were volunteers.

I noticed that the left end of the bales, due to it being on the end where there’s the most water, I think, is sagging and tilting down. I was hoping to plant winter vegetables in the bales once the tomatoes were done, but I may have to change those plans, especially if the tomatoes keep producing this Fall. I’m thrilled with how it’s producing and there must be fifty more tomatoes on the vines.

About the Book

Straw Bale Gardens by Joel Karsten

STRAW BALE GARDEN:Straw Bale Gardens: The Breakthrough Method for Growing Vegetables Anywhere, Earlier and with No Weeding by Joel Karsten   an imaginative way to upcycle straw bales and grow all the vegetables you need,…easily!

Successes

Today, I just harvested:

• Two pounds of Japanese Long Eggplant
• 10 pounds of tomatoes
• A handful or two of basil
• One pound of green peppers

Some of the harvest…Heirloom Italian, Early Girl, San Marzano and Red Zebra

No sign of hornworms

The entire garden was lush and green with half as much water given (Our neighbor watered every other day, instead of every day, for 20 minutes.)

The rug prevented weeds in the center of the garden.

Challenges

First of all, the top wire of the trellising sagged a foot under the weight of the tomato vines

The deer did find the vines and fruit that grew through the gates

Some tomatoes vined all the way to the ground where they were attacked by gnats.

Sagging trellis wire…I imagine this would happen with many tomato cages, too. These vines are heavy and healthy!

Nibbles by hungry deer. The bales were set a foot inside the fence to discourage them reaching in too far

Better Belles and Japanese Long Eggplant

Just add lettuce, red onion, avocado and walnuts

Favorite salad for when Tractor Man is at softball

This is great for a light meal with or without the chicken or shrimp. When you have a bite with all the ingredients on it, it’s heavenly!

On leafy greens, add:

• Shrimp or chicken
• Chopped tomato
• Kalamata olives, halved
• ¼ med clove of garlic, for 1 salad
• Chopped green onions
• Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• Coarsely chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds

Serve with chunky Bleu cheese dressing for richness or easy vinaigrette:

Tomato salad with a little lettuce

Easy Vinaigrette

For 1 salad

Whisk in the bottom of the salad bowl:

• 4 T olive oil
• 2 T white wine vinegar
• 1 t mustard
• Salt & pepper to taste

Preserving the extra

Did you know you can freeze tomatoes whole? It’s easy.

Just wash the not-so-pretty tomatoes and in this case the Heirloom Italian and San Marzanos, meant especially for sauce and pop them in one layer in a large freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and freeze flat. When you’re ready to cook, just thaw and the skin just peels off easily. Simmer, season, reduce and then blend to make a wonderful pasta sauce.

Freezing the harvest for sauce

Questions

Reader, K Sage Buffington asks: I wonder how many nutrients the plants/fruits can have? Does the straw have bio-available similarity to growing in the earth? :::wondering:::

‘Straw Bale Gardens,’ Author, Joel Karston: The fruits will have exactly the same nutrient content as traditionally grown vegetables. The straw as it decomposes, is becoming soil inside the bale, thus you are growing in “soil”, however it is brand new soil, just created by mother natures helpers. Bacteria, worms, insects and fungi all team up to make soil from the straw.

My question was, ‘Can I plant winter vegetables in the same straw bales if they are in good enough shape? I imagine that they may become mounds instead of ‘bales.’

Joel Karston: You can use the bales that remain for planting fall crops. If they are still in good shape, they work well. This is often predetermined by how large and compact the bales are that you purchase at the beginning of the process. Bigger and more compressed, thus denser and heavier is a good thing, all-be-it they are harder to move around, they do tend to last two seasons.

More on Straw Bale Gardens

You can catch up on the early progress of my wonderful straw bales here:

Part 1 Creating a straw bale garden

Part 2: Growing a straw bale garden!

Part 4: Growing veggies in the remnants of a straw bale garden