On Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 6:50:28 PM UTC-5, carla temenak wrote:
Last year I built several new 4'X8' 12-inch raised beds and filled them with straw bales. I treated the bales with nitrogen and used them for growing my tomatoes and other vegetables. They worked out pretty well. This year the bales have collapsed and are partly decomposed and eventually they will be glorious soil in my beds. But this year I am concerned that the loose straw will not hold the root systems well. Anyone ever done something like this (combine straw bale with raised bed system)? Anyone have any ideas about what I can do with them to prepare them for this season's planting?

I've turned them over with a bag or two of compost and am considering just covering them with a few inches of soil and planting in that. Do you think this will be sufficient? Should I add more nitrogen to the straw?

I appreciate any insights!
Carla
MarylandU ===

I don't have much existing garden soil. All my gardening is done in raised beds. The new ones from last year were filled entirely with the bales. It was a last minute decision because once I got the beds built and placed (tripling my garden space) I realized that filling them with great soil would be too costly. So for half the price, I did the straw bale method, figuring that, unlike traditional freestanding straw bales, they would eventually compost into glorious soil to fill those beds. I still have one bed I haven't yet filled so maybe I'll fill that with soil and plant all my tomatoes in it along with the other couple 4x4 beds I have established and use the straw-heavy ones for lightweight greens and root vegetables?
Carla