In October 2010 I decided to try my hand at straw bale gardening. I purchased a couple dozen bales and arranged them so I had one large area and two rows with stakes that I could run wire between. I also added a soaker hose. Although I had read several articles I am here now to report my successes and failures in my 2011 growing season.
     The soaker hose was a waste of money!! The water ran out of the bales as fast as it was supplied and was removed. I planted strawberries, peppers, tomatoes (standard and cherry), zucchini, gourds, watermelons, onions and cabbage in early spring. Because the water ran out so fast in the previous fall I thought adding weed cloth over the bales may help with evaporation. This was my biggest mistake. The newly planted veggies cooked under the cloth and most of the poor season can be attributed to this error. I did remove the cloth but too late for most of the plants. Also we had a very unusual year with more than average rainfall. The tomatoes all split, the birds ate the strawberries, the watermelons looked nice but didn't have much flavor. The zucchini was the only success. From one plant that survived we got a good wheelbarrow load of zucchini..
     The bales (I hope) should be good for one more season and I hope will net better results. This will not be a ongoing project but just a experiment upon which I will pass on information to my fellow master gardeners. Once the bales have reached the point of no return they will be added as compost to our regular vegetable garden.