How to Begin "Hay Bale" Gardening or How to Start a Straw Bale Garden

[@kimberlyann1960]

Christa, I admire you so much. My husband and I enjoy your videos. Don't ever stop please. God bless you and your channel. 💖

[@PREPSTEADERS]

Thank you, Kimberly! God bless you both also!

[@bettylewis7213]

Christa, thank you so much for what you do. I truly love your videos. I have learned so much. My sister recommended you to me several months ago. You may remember her. My sister is Angela Morrison. I think she said she used to go to church with you. Anyway she speaks highly of you. Thank you for sharing God's love on your videos.

[@musamusa3767]

i cant wait to try this in Kenya! My soil was declared heavily infected with bacterial wilt and fusarium wilt. I was advised to use imported soil from a clean piece of land or do pot farming. This straw bale farming gives me hope. I can’t wait to try after this covid 19 lock down. I hope it works just fine in a green house. Thank you for sharing HOPE

[@bonniebradley429]

Good luck!!

[@danielmudd3584]

A

[@JM-wp7te]

Do you do that? How is going?

[@colonelcalabash1]

Well, we have started on our journey with the straw bales. We are taking photos as we go and tomorrow we start conditioning the bales. We have our seed and are using an old germination method I and my wife learned years ago. My wife has had two cancer operations in the last 14 months and is now cancer free, Than You Lord, and we are enjoying getting ready. God Bless you and your family for showing us how to do this the right way.

[@stevenjones5121]

Thank you so much for coming into my life. Your wisdom will be paid forward with hard work and perseverance.

[@galesmith1490]

I'm so glad you brought up using urine as fertilizer. So many people are squeamish about it. I just want to add, if I may, that if people are taking Rx medication, they might not want to use their own urine as a nitrogen source as it may transfer to the plants and their fruits.

[@CBsGreenhouseandGarden]

Straw Bale Gardening is so awesome. Been doing it for years now and would never change back to in ground gardening again. Awesome job done showing folks how to do this!

[@gardeningchris2901]

CB's Greenhouse and Garden totally agree

[@kathrynmatheson5685]

If all else falls...then straw. Ours was a disaster. Weeds grew in the straw,need to water bales very frequent..verrrry dry. Then the bales fell over with the tomatoes..must stake in the ground 6 inches or more. Will never do this again. Good luck with yours. Out of 30 plants ..none did well.

[@anitabaker1685]

I'm also in wheel chair. Just in conditioning stage, but working for me. Hopefully it will change my attitude about not being able to walk. I'm a pretty grumpy old lady. Hope this will help me be better!!

[@heavenboundhomestead126]

I love growing in straw bales. The tomatoes really love it. I don't have good dirt so this was my answer last year. Thank you for refreshing my memory

[@PREPSTEADERS]

What a great channel name! Thank you for sharing your experience!

[@michelle04161966]

Your channel name inspired me to pass this story on to you. I knew someone who was getting ready to move to another state, and she had written on her chalkboard, Missouri Bound ... it came to me right away that I am “Heaven Bound”. So I immediately after getting home made that sign as my daily reminder.

[@tennesseegirl1215]

This was very helpful as with arthritis and degenerative disc disease I am so limited to work in a garden. My husband does everything but I miss being able to get out in the dirt. This would be something I might could try and do, thank you so much, blessings

[@dr.froghopper6711]

TennesseeGirl I’m fighting Multiple Sclerosis, Reactive Arthritis and “old war wounds”. Have for about 40 years. I use any container that I can that’s about 12” deep, to grow my garden. Those blue plastic drums get cut in half, washing machines tubs, old bathtubs, even stacks of the biggest tires I can find...all filled with compost and cheap, organic potting soil. Last year I had peppers and tomatoes growing well in 5 gallon buckets, some free from a local bakery that wanted to get them out of the way. Many herbs do well in them. The tire stack is 4 tires deep, so I can access them from my wheelchair. Raised beds are easy to build if you check around KZbin. Perhaps you can get someone to help build some. All that said, I heartily support the notion of doing WHATEVER you can to get back into gardening. Sometimes, with the frustration of the disabled life, it IS my sanity! And the plants rarely outrun you, so that’s always a plus! Be well! You’ve just been prayed for!

[@yahuahschild5851]

I love your video and feel I found the best teacher ever to help me through this gardening experience I have been researching. I have very severe emphysema and I feel I will be able to still have a garden using this method. Thank-you for such informative teaching.

[@schmuelsonsradang4301]

Amazingly I was thinking of making the same and searched the internet in case there were somebody with the idea, now here I found it, just like I wanted it. Talking of a blessing, this video already is to me and my family. It's like an instant answer to prayers and we will stary right away after this. Thanks for sharing this great idea, 8 will definitely share this and hope it will be a blessing to many just like it blessed me. Love and best regards from Malaysia. God bless you.

[@philalfred8307]

God bless you, my Sister! My wife and always love watching your videos! They are always filled with great information...and you can see the Lord shining in your life! Thank you for what you do!

[@larryniidji]

Wheat and other grains often get sprayed with roundup so the whole crop will be ready at one time. One needs to know where their bales come from. I had 3 successive years on my bales. Love the bale gardens especially since I have all sand.

[@kimmieRH05]

We wanted to expand our garden this year and adding an additional 3-4 raised beds was just not an option, so we opted to do the Straw bales this year. We prepped ours with Organic Bloodmeal. About day 3-4 you should check the internal temperature of your bales. It should reach around 125. This tells you your bales are doing what they’re supposed to. (The temp will drop down to around 80-85) this will not only compost the bales but helps to kill the weed seeds. We also used a breathable weed fabric under the bales. It’s environmentally friendly and easy. If moles/voles are a problem it’s also recommended to use a wire mesh under your bales to prevent burrowing. I’m looking forward to following your bale garden progress. New subbie for sure.....💕🌱

[@SomeBuddy777]

Great advice! Thanks so much!

[@verleejenkins]

Hey Sister! So blessed to have found you today. We're beginning a new garden on a sloped area my dad used to garden on. It has good soil but at 65 I just don't bend the way I used to and once I get down, it's hard to get back up! I realized hay bales were the way to go! Hay is not only cheaper but has more nutrients locked into the grass. Was thrilled to find out you know our LORD 🎉. Thanks for putting the plan of salvation right on your about page! So, I'm blessed to be a new subscriber as we follow His Way. God bless 😍🙏🏼

[@lorrieschwinn8972]

I LOVE THE SCRIPTURE READING!🙏❤ Amen

[@Murphis55]

I think instead of filling my raised beds with dirt I’ll use this idea inside the bed. Eventually it will rot and make compost. That’s a win win for me. That way I don’t need loads of dirt to haul around. Thank you thank you. Keep growing and stay safe. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻🖖🏻❤️❤️❤️🐾

[@lucylu530]

I use half straw in the bottom of my raised beds and the top half, I use good soil.

[@pennyjohoc]

OH my goodness, I'm glad someone is using this idea, I came up with this back in 2000, I so wanted to do this but the other half then said it was a stupid idea and would never work, so you go girl nice to see someone who has someone behind them

[@dwainapasarow6668]

Got my bales today, unfortunately at 11.00 a bale but so worth it if I can get a garden. Will be following along.

[@bocraft9357]

FIRST VIDEO I'VE WATCHED THAT I SMILED THROUGH THE WHOLE THING, MY JAWS GOT TO HURTIN, NOT A BAD GARDEN EITHER. YOU ARE VERY GOOD, THANKS.

[@nenadristic7678]

Video je odličan. Svaka čast lepa damo.

[@sheilajohnson6478]

You’re a very knowledgeable lady. Thank you for this valuable information.👍🏼

[@kathiewade6878]

We use Territorial Seeds. They are out of central Oregon, so they are the perfect varieties for the Pacific northwest. I also like that I am supporting a fairly local business.

[@christinewhitehair6623]

I just put in an order. And Pinetree. Much cheaper per packet. Less seeds ,of course, but I dont need 100 squash seeds.🤣

[@kentondurrant8017]

Another great video. You are very thorough in your presentation. Keep up the great work and may God bless you.

[@LukesLight313]

HalleluYah! All praise be to the Most High 🙏 sister I was very blessed by this video but it was not until the end that I felt confirmation and will be trying this in the days to come. Thank you and may peace and blessings be upon you, your home, and your family ✌🕊🤍

[@shesh17]

Wow, I could watch her talk about anything all day long. 🤩😍🤩

[@philortiz7519]

Fish hydrolysate, compost tea, lactobacillus, and supercharged biochar. Use these 4 things with your bales, if you will, your going to grow soil in those bales quickly. They will not release their nutrients and you give all the good microbes a home with the biochar. Its an absolute success in any garden when used together.

[@SomeBuddy777]

Great advice!

[@JanetWilham]

seems the sun is baking plants all over and with this method it hold moisture better also buying some cheap drop cloths at lowes or other stores you can use that as a shade cloth to protect plants too--also adding some bent sticks or pvc pile to those bales can act as a mini greenhouse......and strawberries love this method--so thank you...wow been long time since got notified of your videos--God bless.

[@scottishnotirish]

Make sure that bales are open end up, meaning that the cut end of the straw is up. This kind of turns the straw shaft into straws that holds the water and fertilizer

[@robertl.fallin7062]

Inspect carefully . I have come across a batch with straw in every direction with corn stalks in the middle!

[@thirdeye9106]

@@robertl.fallin7062 ... Is that good ?

[@robertl.fallin7062]

@@thirdeye9106 Corn stalks in the middle and straw in every direction effect the water issues bales have and by accident that batch of bales was better than usuall in water retention! . This year I have 10 straw bales killing plants soon after planting. I've decided to use bales for flowers only since I know some years I got herbicides with my bales. Is this lady using hay or straw?

[@doreenwatson-read]

Oh my goodness , what a perfect setting , this was really interesting thankyou. I would love to do this . I absolutely adore your little caravan , a perfect spot out of the sun with a nice cup of tea. God bless you x for dreary England .

[@carolynkid216]

I found straw bales from a farmer for 4.00 each. The local tractor supply store had bales for 12.00! Yikes. This is my first year trying this...so only planting two bales to sweet potatoes. It's a great experiment to try, and will work with the space I have. Thanks so much. God bless.

[@albamorales1637]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge in gardening. Awesome video as always. Great ending with the Word, which is so encouraging. Keep up the great work that you do.

[@patricianunez4025]

I enjoyed your pleasing and knowledgeable manner then at the end I understood why when you read God's Word to us. Thank you. PS I stake my tomatoes all the way through the bales and deep into the ground with green plastic coated fencing between them along the top of the bales. Keeps the wind from toppling over the bales.😊

[@dionjones6740]

This is something I just might need to do. I like the way you explain everything so well. Please keep making more videos. Best Wishes. Grandpa Jones.

[@sunset6010]

Fascinating ! Looking forward to future uploads on this subject

[@stargazer3467]

Luv your videos. Learning so much. You’ve found your calling! LOL

[@PREPSTEADERS]

You are very kind, Kate. Thank you!

[@bobbybaldeagle702]

If and when we do a garden because of our soil we use the straw method and we've had extremely very good success with them 👍👍 here in S/E Wisconsin...

[@Cosmos142857]

Good information. I am at about the same latitude as you. We grew kale all winter in a simple greenhouse made with the cattle panels you mentioned. From an esoteric standpoint food is the initial octave to spiritual growth (obviously) and well being. The cleaner the closer, the fresher, the better. Even small amounts of food grown where you live will bring beneficial Angels particularly in the depths of winter.

[@HomesteadTessie]

What A Great Idea !!

[@wandak7577]

I'm totally building a garden that I can get the wheelchair in! yay!

[@TUKByV1]

I'm excited for you! I am also in a wheelchair. I wish you the best.

[@wandak7577]

so far so good! I put it at the end of my driveway (just a 10 bale garden) prepping it now and I have some of the plants started and ready to go in

[@jojoc9240]

Very cool I will be watching as always for your next videos

[@Edge1775]

Love all your videos, Christa, thanks for sharing and God bless!

[@jasonflick176]

Hello Christa! You are gorgeous! God bless you! Cheers!!! Thank you for your positive shows!

[@gardeningchris2901]

nice video been straw bale gardening since 2016 🌻

[@desireelyles8472]

Thank you had back surgery and get too low I will try this next spring.

[@ladybugsarah6671]

I understand that if you do not keep the bales soaked with water they can actually catch fire from the heat.. so it is a very important part and also not to have them too close to anything that you don't want to burn down.

[@dannyhughes4889]

Very enjoyable and educational presentation.

[@deniseview4253]

I've been wanting to garden this way. Than you for the info.

[@puppetdudeproductions8080]

Goat manure, especially manure collected from pen areas. As far as nitrogen goes, goat manure is the highest if you do want to go natural with it. More appealing than collecting your own urine. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full with the manure, then the rest of the way with water, let set in the sun for a couple of days then poor it over the bales.

[@lostinmyspace4910]

And you'll need to do that all the time. We've used tea manure to fertilize the plants. Liquid urine does evaporate.

[@tixximmi1]

But any manure should be composted for 6 months to a year before using. But it does work well.

[@thirdeye9106]

I think all but a very small amount of fresh manure of any kind would burn the plants.

[@robertl.fallin7062]

@@thirdeye9106 Absolutly... What's wrong with using the 48% urea used to condition bales? I gave up on those expensive "ORGANIC " and manure feedings because they are expensive or are doubtfull in nitrogen content. If you are uncomfortable applying eurea, miracle grow works well and feeding every five days should give good plant growth. Unfortunately nothing addresses the issue of bales lacking trace minerals.

[@SomeBuddy777]

@@robertl.fallin7062👍 THANKS

[@marinawilliams2487]

Good idea , I will try this year, we have muddy soil and a lot of rain and my plants are rated in some point , it nice to leave next to ocean but the weather is unpredictable, thanks for the idea

[@myjhong91]

Thank you for this. The most easy to follow, instructive I've come across!

[@lonnarheaj]

This is wonderful inspiration - thank you for sharing all of this great information!!! 😃 My Dear Hubby and I have wanted to get a garden started since moving to the ol’ family home place just over a year ago. We moved from a yard on a white rock/caliche hill slope in north Texas to the outer fringe of the Piney Woods in SE Texas. Our soil here is very sandy loam with lots of potential, but it holds water like a sieve. That’s good when we get buckets full of rain, but not good when it’s 98 degrees, it hasn’t rained for 4 weeks, and every plant everywhere needs water. I know from composting and using mulch over the years that the straw bale gardening will also help the structure and water holding capacity of the soil under and surrounding the bales. I do wonder why I didn’t think of doing something like this before now. Arg. 😕 We’re older now (“older” still offers a lot more options than the alternative of being dead), so raising the plants up a bit helps a great deal! BTW: Blood meal is high in nitrogen. Have you heard from anyone that has tried blood meal, or cotton seed meal, or anything similar in place of the N fertilizer? Thanks again for sharing this! I love learning from your videos❣️

[@marlairons1205]

Thank you so much for all of the help. Blessings to you and yours!

[@angelasheppard7197]

Thank you for adding scriptures

[@Al-fl1gq]

I got my potatoes in the container and seedlings in the raised bed today.

[@robertlombardo8437]

I wish you were my auntie Christa. I'm using hay wrapped in chicken wire to grow potatoes in MY garden! I'm so happy you decided to make this vid!

[@PREPSTEADERS]

:) Thank you, Robert. That is awesome! Let us know how your potatoes do this year!

[@tarenmoses810]

So inspired by your video. Cant wait to start my own straw garden.

[@paulsmith6267]

Isn't God Good !!! It is amazing how this happened. It is 12:57pm and I just got done watching this video. But...... this is Wednesday night and before we went to Church earlier tonight , my granddaughter and I were talking and I told her that I might do my garden this year with straw bales and my wife met us at Church later and after Church I told the same thing to her. Now in the past I had a tiller and toiled the ground . Then after that I built 12 wooden raised boxes for my garden and now after telling my family that I was thinking of going with straw......I see your video. But let me tell you that the best thing about your video is that you read from the Word of God !!! God bless you sister !!!!!!!!! I will be watching your videos in the future.

[@garyluker623]

Great video! I think this might get me back into gardening! Thank you!

[@aaglad8604]

Christa thumbs up , done this once will do again. ☝

[@lcatt236]

You are an angle from heaven.

[@marilyngrass416]

Love your hat I have one as well, does good for sun.

[@MapleMonkeyHomestead]

I tried a couple huglekuture beds last year which did awesome. I'm going to be trying this method this year as well! Can't wait. Thanks so much for the info

[@wmk0100]

Great idea Christa

[@alicewhittington5506]

Cool tutorial thanks. God bless keep up the good work

[@daythinker1704]

Hair has Nitrogen too. If you have hair left over shampooing after comb outs. I save for my little house plant and she thrives!!

[@kristenmarie9248]

How do you use the hair please? Thanks.

[@bearmountianview6229]

This is such a awesome idea god bless!!

[@michaelahoffman2211]

Thanks so much for this video! I am going to try straw bale gardening this year, and I was at a loss as to how to begin. Looking forward to your next video on this subject!

[@davidlillecrapp2960]

There is a great straw bale inoculation video a “homesteading down under “ (Tasmania Australia). He also uses compost tea. Also so many other great tips and tricks on his site.

[@davidclevenger342]

I'm in love with a prepsteder.😍❤😎

[@dr.froghopper6711]

I use numerous different containers for my garden. Old livestock water tanks and old bathtubs see lots of use. But, by using these, I can recycle the soil. I’ve been wondering if straw would work well as a replacement for soil. It would certainly work well in a compost heap!

[@christinebroderick70]

Absolutely!!

[@davidbruce5524]

Just found this channel and subscribed. Great info, attractive intelligent lady presenter!.......I will be trying this out up at my acreage where I am planning a garden and looking at no-till options. Well done, looking forward to your other videos.

[@michaelbradley8508]

The use of human nitrogen fertilizer has the added benefit of 'marking the territory'. This will help keep rodents at bay as well as discouraging ungulates from foraging your garden. Michael from Canada

[@marlairons1205]

I am wanting to grow in straw bales this string. Could you recommend products and amounts to use while still keeping it all organic, please?

[@patrickporco6972]

I dont see how this is covert...but it is the best idea for raised bed that I've seen

[@lorraineeasydoesit8448]

In another video she has Purple Hyacinth beans growing on the fencing. It is fast growing, super thick, edible and you can't see through it.

[@carolynmoody9460]

Looking forward to further videos on this

[@sharonhanna6783]

Amen sister thank you and I will be try out. Straw bale🌹🤗

[@ronaldwells1805]

Coooool. I believe I'm going to try this

[@varietasVeritas]

If you run that spraying hose a few inches under the hay you will use less water. Also, old worn out hoses can be used by drilling small holes in them.

[@promisepenton6669]

I bet bunnies could eat the “chia” seeds that grow. My rabbits would love that.

[@jumpoffa5011]

I prefer a raised bed garden. I get my dirt and compost for free from my local sanitation department. The people that pick up my trash also make premium compost that I can pick up fro free. They also can provide free compost of tree cuttings and sawdust and they deliver too. This is far easier than a bale garden and I can also put it over a graveled area. But it is a great experiment to play with. You can always lay down cardboard between bales to prevent the weeds from growing in between the bales if necessary. Or you can lay a black weed retardant that will do the same thing. :-)

[@PREPSTEADERS]

Wow! Thanks for sharing. I love it!

[@chrisdarry-roseelrod4481]

Ooo, you are lucky. We have to buy back the dirt from the city.

[@aromaofhope]

You live in a good place! I contacted a company today about getting 6 cu. yards of good organic compost and topsoil delivered and it was gonna be over $400!!! So, I scrapped that idea, lol.

[@moniquegebeline4350]

Jumpoff A Wow you’re LUCKY!

[@bengali481]

What zone are you in? It will help me evaluate your plant recommendations for my garden.

[@edqueener863]

I have 2 round plastic raised containers about 4ft circumference, cut off from long wide pipe. I set them out the other day and put cardboard under them followed by hay. I then watered them both down. My next step is to put in some Miracle Grow gardening soil. This is the first time I've done this, plus they're under our deck for concealment where they'll get minimal sunlight. What vegetable would be good to plant? I live in Eastern Tennessee.

[@70washington]

Some people might be able to get some bails for free or at a steep discount that are left over from the year before or that had gone moldy already from getting wet for one reason or another during that same year / season from a local farm. Great video and it gave me new information to think about , adding to the different methods and applications to gardening.

[@PixieDust-eq6kc]

Just found your channel. Very informative. Thanks.

[@elvishmaiden689]

Thank You Christa it is a wonderful idea : ) I'm gonna try it !!! Thank you

[@amyeff5495]

Ms. Christa, I don’t see a follow up video to this where you plant the seedlings or show tips for the vine plants or prepped the bales for potatoes. Would someone point me to them? I love that when I am searching for them the collection of “prepper” videos include the Bible verses 🥰 how absolutely imperative that we should verse prepare our spirits! Many blessings to you! I have just came across your channel and have found it to be an abundant blessing!

[@aspitofmud6257]

So cool! I was wondering what I was going to do with those 6 bales of alfalfa and 3 way that got wet. Thanks Christa!

[@aspitofmud6257]

Btw I hope you'll keep us posted on this. Even if its just in the background in one of your other videos. 😃😎💖👌🙋‍♂️

[@williambland3201]

Did you continue with the straw bale gardening segment? Very interested. Thank you for your efforts. I really enjoy many of your videos.

[@519forestmonk9]

This is beautiful.

[@averagealaskan5009]

Love your videos, God bless

[@asundancemedia5937]

I’ve got my straw bales ready to go. Is there a follow up to this video? Thank you!

[@wheepingwillow24u17]

This is a GREAT idea, but is it to late for me (a disable individual) to do this since its almost at the end of May? I was told years ago to put spud potatoes in straw and it would grow, I spent time today and that, so I guess they won't grow? What is that 2x4 for at the top of those stakes and how is it attached? thanks

[@lubu613]

Hello, I recently moved into a farmhouse. Our barn is full of hay that is 5 years old. Could I use it for this type of garden? What else can I do with old hay. Thanks so much

[@dragonflyneb]

I just love your video's. Thank You

[@KCSmith1]

Thank you for posting!

[@TheMzTR]

Tks for sharing this with us

[@nicothenatural]

I tried haybale gardening as a no dig method and it gave me extremely high yields. I was, however, worried about the chemicals used to treat the hay bales and if they were soaked up by my veggies. I can't see myself using the same method unless the hay is organic to start.

[@TRINITY-ks6nw]

Well stated

[@realityimaging8385]

you give many great ideas. Thank you.

[@marilynmatthews1]

Thank you for this video. I do have a question regarding days 9 through 14. Do you apply the balanced fertilizer in it's liquid for or just apply the granules? How much if using the granules and what strength if using it mixed as a liquid? I can't wait to try this method. My back sure will appreciate it. Are your bales in a full sun or partial sun area? Many thanks for all your generous work to help us succeed in our endeavors. I can't wait to see what you are planting in your garden!

[@lorimichelle320]

I am wondering about days 9-14 as well. Good, precise info up to day 9 then just kind of skipped on to planting on day 14.

[@Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffff]

You never got a reply from her?

[@christinebroderick70]

Just let the bales cook.