Straw Bale Gardens: The Breakthrough Method for Growing Vegetables Anywhere, Earlier and with No Weeding

I seldom write book reviews, particularly for books that already have as many reviews as this one, but this book is so good it deserves comment. Straw bale gardening is a fairly new technique that has swept the gardening world by storm in recent years and there are a number of books about it available for Kindle. Joel Karsten, the author of this book, is the foremost authority in the field and this is a new completely revised edition of his original book about straw bale gardening published in 2013. The attractions of straw bale gardening are that (1) It can be done successfully by almost anyone, from beginners to experienced experts, no matter where you live or how much space you have available for planting. It can even be done on driveways, patios, rooftops or balconies. (2) It's very inexpensive to get started. All you need are one or more bales of straw, sunlight, water, a little fertilizer and potting mix, and your plants or seeds. (3) It requires very little labor. You can easily set up your garden in a couple of hours. Weeds and pests are almost non-existent, and correct watering is simple, particularly if you set up soaker hoses with a timer as the author recommends. Overwatering is almost impossible since excess water quickly drains through the bales. (4) Straw bale gardening can be done in any climate zone and you can grow almost anything in your straw bale garden. (5) It's particularly good for people with limited mobility. Because you plant on top of the bales, there's little or no bending or stooping required. The author also gives tips on how to inexpensively elevate the bales even higher by placing them on stacked wooden pallets. If you space your rows correctly and provide some sort of hard surface such as plywood or even cardboard, it's even wheelchair accessible. (6) Existing soil conditions are irrelevant since all the root system is contained within the straw bales. By placing the bales on landscape fabric, you can even plant on contaminated soil. This book provides complete information on the technique and on planning and designing your garden, as well as information on particular plants and how to cultivate them in straw bales. I give it my highest recommendation. There are other books available on Kindle about straw bale gardening and I've read several. Karsten himself has a short book available through Kindle Unlimited or for purchase. It's excellent but doesn't cover all the details as this one does. Unlike many similar Kindle books which aren't well-formatted to display on small screen e-ink Kindles, this one displays very well on my Kindle Voyage. However, it contains numerous color photos and illustrations which display much better on a larger color screen. I have it loaded in Kindle for Android on my 9" tablet, as well as on my Voyage so I can view the graphics better. Kindle For PC should also display them well. Although it's the text that's most important and an e-ink Kindle is fine for reading it, I recommend that you also load it onto a tablet or computer so you can see the photos and illustrations in all their glory. It's worth the effort to do so because they're really excellent and are a part of what makes this book so good.. If you're interested in straw bale gardening, don't waste your time and money on any other book. This is the one you want and it's more than worth the $11.99 purchase price.

Processed this sale and delivery in a lightening fast manner. What a pleasant surprise I got in my mailbox yesterday! Thank you! I read this book over the course of one day - great read and very informative. Complete step-by-step description of the process involved in growing a Straw Bale Garden. Book includes great photographic illustrations and all equipment needed for growing a garden using rectangular straw bales. Basic idea is that while the bale is held together by the twine on the outside, fertilizer is added to the center of the bale causing the straw to compost into perfect medium for the plant roots. This creates a raised bed which is clean and weed free (for this reason it is important to use straw bales and not hay which would have grass seeds in it). The bales are positioned to catch maximum sun and with soaker hoses and trellises to water and support the plants. At the end of the growing season, the bales themselves are composted. Author is a degreed horticulturist who has experimented with many methods. He appears to have developed a very nice system which will work well for people who have poor soil, location issues, lack of soil, difficulty bending or plowing, etc. The book is easy to read and practical. It includes lists of all materials needed and where to find them, and then illustrates how to use the materials. There are step by step instructions for how to install soaker hoses and how to build trellises. Later chapters also include suggested plant layout and garden designs for planning gardens meeting specific size requirements or to feed x numbers of people. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in vegetable gardening.

I've tended a square foot garden for many years and thought straw bale gardening intriguing, especially since my sister-in-law had a phenomenal garden last year in her straw bales. The instructions given are wonderfully clear and sensible. The only question not seemingly answered was whether the bales would hold enough water in California's Central Valley where temperatures sustain over 98 degrees for a month at a time and water is reserved for cities and people, not food. The method sounds wonderful for northern states and cooler , shorter summers. Well done Mr. Kirsten.

This book was a short, quick and enjoyable read. A practical method to plant and it was explained well in this book. The cost to garden with straw bales is similiar to purchasing soil. At $4.00 straw bale - I actually saved money from my usual container method (My soil is rocky/compacted). It was also easy on the joints to garden this way with elevated bales. I plan to use this for other crops / herbs like basil. I used this method to grow potatoes this year. Wow it was a potato explosion! I loved removing clean, smooth / unblemished potatoes. None were mis-shappen. Harvesting took minutes for the 4 bales. The whole vine was removed at once with clean potatoes clinging to the roots. Early and mid summer went well with watering every other or once a day. However, the end of August when the plants were full I felt they needed extra water much like my container gardening. Depending on where you live, you may want to be prepared to water frequently in August only....I am in Southern NJ and in August the bales dried quickly and required twice a day watering. The book details pitfalls you might face using this methodolology. For example they explained the different types of bales you could purchase. I definately asked for "straw" bales where I purchased these in a farm market. However, some grass sprouted out of the side of the bales; this was OK for me but might look objectionable (not neat) for others. The "grass" was easily removed. As a bonus, I added the disintegrating straw bales to the compost pile.

Really great alternative to soil where there are limits of space and finance

top, nice book, good explanation, recommended, detail, pictures, good for beginners, and it works well, so have fun reading and planting your crops

I was fortunate to see the author of this book whilst on holiday in Disney , Florida. He did a brilliant talk all about straw bale gardens and how he came to grow vegetables and flowers with amazing results. I was hooked and bought this book on my return. It is amazing what can be achieved. I am in the process of getting my straw bales ready to test out this method. The book is very informative and easy to follow. , with good colour pictures.

ce sujet me passionnait de trop pour m'arrêter au barrage de la langue !! je n'avais plus fait d'anglais depuis mon bac (plus de 25 ans de celà !!) et je n'étais pas franchement bonne mais je me suis étonnée de comprendre "à peu près" !! par contre j'avoue quand même passer par Google pour traduire mais attention c'est de l'approximatif donc il faut vraiment être motivé !! du coup je me suis fait une liste de mots que je vais devoir apprendre (j'ai l'impression de retourner à l'école !!) car maintenant je suis nettement moins rétissante pour acheter un autre livre de jardin en anglais !!

Awesome. Best information on the topic we've found. (And we've done a lot of work online.) This book explained to my family what I want to do next spring. Very simple, clear information, great pictures - it was instrumental in getting them on board, and will likely be a big part of our success in the next growing season. (We hope. Bales are at the ready. We're excited. :) ) A must read for any grower or gardener who finds themselves in northern growing zones, with scant time in between spring thaw, and fall frost.