Straw Bale Gardens: The Breakthrough Method For Growing Vegetables Anywhere, Earlier And With No Weeding (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I've got 15 bales of straw in the back of my pickup just waiting for me to prepare the earth where they'll sit. I have a problem with gophers, so want to lay down some chicken wire (at least) with cardboard boxes over it - then the bales on top. Come March-April I'll begin to prep the bales with fertilizer and look forward to a great garden this year! I plan to have lots of herbs, tomatoes, lettuces, potatoes, green beans, edamame, etc. I might even get some garlic into them and just have a late season crop. Am enjoying looking up people's websites and blogs talking about successes and failures - so I'll have a good sense of what to avoid and why!!! I had read a newspaper article about a woman in Tacoma who had a straw bale garden. It intrigued me, hence my interest in the book. Well, if Joel Karsten is the preacher he has nigh onto converted me to straw bale gardening. His enthusiasm rings from every page and his instructions are clear and well-organized. Does he repeat himself? Yes, and sometimes more than once. However, you can almost feel him standing by your side and you know he'd be saying those things more than once in person as well. The book is highly readable. I found it hard to put it down. With a hand on your shoulder the author walks the novice through planning, preparing, cultivating, and finally composting a straw bale garden. Oh, and let's not forget the information on preserving the fruits of your labors. Heck, for the quick and inexpensive tomato cage and compost cage instructions alone the book was worth the price of admission. (OK, granted, I got it free, but you get my drift.) Our school is planning on starting a school garden and I've been thinking of the inherent problems with starting a garden just as school is letting out. Who will weed, and water? And stripping grass up and getting unprepared ground ready is such a pain. I've already sent out an email to the staff suggesting we do a straw bale garden experiment. Our students are poor, and have little in the way of garden space, but I think this could easily be something they could do at home, once they know the basics, using whatever spot they have available in their small yards. Hey, I'll bet there's a grant out there! Gotta start looking... Oh, and I've got to figure out where to get straw bales. Yes, this book got me all fired up. If you want to try something new you'll find this book to be an excellent guide, and it would be a fun gift for a friend who gardens.
What do You think about Straw Bale Gardens: The Breakthrough Method For Growing Vegetables Anywhere, Earlier And With No Weeding (2013)?
Be sure to check this book out and start straw bale gardening. It's fun for all ages and abilities.
—lwatts
Very informative information on a new way to garden. Can't wait to try it.
—eccles
