Straw bale gardening

At first glance one might assume that you would simply shovel some soil on top of the Straw Bales to create a planting bed...but... that would truly defeat one of the major advantages that Straw Bale Gardening allows. If you utilize a sterile planting mix or very clean compost instead, you will avoid introducing weed seeds, disease and insect problems that commonly harbor over the winter in the soils. Remember, we are making new "soil" inside the bales each spring, thus avoiding all of those lingering and typically soil borne problems. If you hear or see someone suggesting that you simply use soil on top of a Straw Bale Garden, they might benefit from a little guidance and avoid lots of problems later on.