An innovative raised-bed technique, whose name might not attract you at first, allows you to grow numerous vegetables and ornaments by using decomposing hay or straw bale. We made a list of four reasons that will convince you to start a garden using this technique. Take a look.
1. Easy Access
This technique doesn’t require you stooping all the way to the ground, so it is the perfect choice for people with back or knee issues, elderly gardeners, or anyone interested in it. Anyway, it does require two labor-intensive tasks, including installing the heavy bales, and dismantling the garden at the end of the growing season. Apart from those, the technique reduces many injuries’ concerns related to in-ground gardening.
2. Suitable Under Many Circumstances
The only thing important for the hay-bale gardening is that you need an outdoor location that gets more than six hours of direct sunlight, so apart from paved driveways, courtyards, small patios, it is also convenient for apartment balconies.
3. Minimal Weeding
Removing unwanted or nuisance plants can be very annoying, but hay-bale gardening requires very little regular maintenance when it comes to it. On top of that, keeping out annoying common garden weeds, including dandelions, wiregrass, and bindweed, will be reduced to a minimum.
4. Old Hay Can Be Used
It will take at least one year before bales’ nutrient levels are depleted, so for one or two consecutive growing seasons you will be able to use your hay-bale gardens. But even the decaying hay can be used for your garden plot because it is perfect ready-made compost to enrich the existing soil.
