Starting a vegetable garden can be a rewarding prospect for any homeowner. In addition to having fresh veggies on the ready, digging in the dirt has big health benefits. Though yanking out weeds might ...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Imagine you bought some bales of straw to mulch your garden beds in fall. You happily lay the straw down, safe in the knowledge that you're ...

Summer has definitely arrived. With temperatures reaching the high 90s and 100s every day, water is quickly lost from soils and plants. Evapotranspiration is the agricultural term for the total amount ...

There are many ways to plant a garden. In-ground, raised beds, containers, there are choices that work for everyone. One unique type of gardening boasts many benefits and is easy to start and maintain ...

Planting vegetables and herbs into the sides of straw bales and calling it a garden is one of the many trends in food gardening right now. Straw bale gardening is unlikely to save you any money and is ...

One of the best natural mulches for vegetable gardens is straw. Straw is a by product of grain crops and is made up of the dead stalks and leaves left behind after farmers harvest the grain. It can be ...

Local gardeners are experimenting with straw bales, taking advantage of the internal composting to help their garden grow. As a little boy growing up on a Minnesota farm, Joel Karsten wondered why the ...

Peppers, tomatoes and cabbage getting started, soon after being planted in straw bales. Growing vegetables out of straw bales is a hot topic lately after a web-site and Facebook frenzy led to a book ...

Bad soil? Not enough soil? Maybe even no soil? Skip the ground and try planting fruits and vegetables in straw bales instead, suggests Joel Karsten, author of “Straw Bale Gardens” (Cool Springs Press, ...

Slouching like a gardener on a hot summer afternoon, my straw bales are sagging under the weight of their growing load. Four humongous squash plants form a green umbrella with their large leaves, ...

Straw bale gardening? What will they think of next? Actually, straw bale/mortar home construction is a big industry. In the garden, straw bales are big, too. Straw (not hay) bale gardening is a ...