{"id":14399,"date":"2013-04-20T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2013-04-20T14:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/?p=14399"},"modified":"2013-04-12T09:46:47","modified_gmt":"2013-04-12T15:46:47","slug":"how-well-does-a-straw-bale-garden-decompose-in-the-arid-desert-of-southwest-idaho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyimprovisations.com\/how-well-does-a-straw-bale-garden-decompose-in-the-arid-desert-of-southwest-idaho\/","title":{"rendered":"How Well Does a Straw Bale Garden Decompose in the Arid Desert of Southwest Idaho"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"just<\/a>
just beginning to take apart old straw bale garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few days ago<\/strong> I needed to break up one of my 3 straw bale gardens in order to set up a chicken pen. \u00a0This particular straw bale garden was just beginning its third spring. \u00a0All of it, dirt and straw, has been watered regularly with drip irrigation. \u00a0I have grown vegetables such as zucchini, lettuce, and tomatoes on it. \u00a0But the end of the chicken pen needed to go right through the middle of it, so it had to go<\/p>\n

The outer edges<\/strong> of the mound were still obviously straw that a shovel would not cut through. \u00a0I began to pull chunks of straw away and found that it was still basically a mat of straw all the way to the dirt center. \u00a0The middle of the straw bale garden had been filled with composted dirt from the adjacent chicken yard. \u00a0It was good soil, except for the bits of clay and rock that had stowed away and kept pushing their way to the top.<\/p>\n

\"most<\/a>
most of the straw was still pretty much straw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were<\/strong> a few levels of deterioration to be noted in the straw. \u00a0Right next to the soil, there was about an inch of straw that seemed to be seriously thinking about giving in to the composting process. \u00a0The straw was visible, but beginning to break down into smaller pieces. \u00a0If the whole straw bale garden had been like this, I could probably have dug it with a shovel.<\/p>\n

The middle portions<\/strong> of the straw were slightly moldy and still came apart in flat sections, like straw does in a fresh bale. \u00a0I laid some of these straw tiles around as a layer of 2 inch mulch in the nearby flower bed. \u00a0Most of the flowers are perennials that already have a mass of green foliage, so the tiles hid reasonably under them. \u00a0Also, there is a line of hollyhocks and butterfly bush right along the fence that block the view of the ground some.<\/p>\n

\"straw<\/a>
straw right next to the soil was just showing signs of really breaking down after 2 years<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The outer layer<\/strong> of the straw bale garden was just a very dry, dull gray. \u00a0Much of it was already falling away in sections due to gravity. \u00a0Those pieces I tossed over into the chicken yard in hopes of future decomposition with the help of chicken feet.<\/p>\n

My first straw bale garden, <\/strong>which is on it’s 4th spring, is just a few feet away on the other side of the driveway, so I decided it was a good time to compare them. \u00a0It has basically functioned as a large container, so that I could brighten up the driveway entry, but limit the watering to keep the weeds more controlled. Here are some pros and cons to how it is working for me.<\/p>\n

\"this<\/a>
this straw bale garden is 3 years old<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cons first:<\/strong><\/p>\n