March 2016 Meeting: Straw Bale Gardening - Jayne Wisler and Mary Mayo

Jayne Wisler and Mayo Mayo demonstrate straw bale gardening

For our March meeting Uplands Garden Club members and Iowa County Master Gardeners Jayne Wisler and Mary Mayo presented an Introduction to Straw Bale Gardening.

After attending Joel Karsten’s presentation at the Garden Expo last year, they became intrigued by the planting technique, bought his book, Straw Bale Gardens (available through Amazon.com), and decided to give it a try last summer. 

The bales and supplies 

Both Mary and Jayne took photos throughout the summer documenting the progress of their bale gardens. It was very helpful to see how they set up their bales and how the bale gardens developed throughout the season. 

Jennifer Sharp, a fellow garden club member and Master Gardener, also documented her experiences with straw bale gardening and assisted Mary and Jayne with the slide presentation. 

Peppers growing in a straw bale

Straw bale gardening is growing in popularity as it combines two current trends-vegetable gardening and raised beds. We learned the basics of straw bale gardening including bale placement, fertilizer choices, securing the bales, conditioning the bales and planting methods and tips. Mary and Jayne also provided wonderful handouts that covered the basics along with the schedule for conditioning the bales. 

The bales positioned in Mary's garden