I have been checking the internal temperature of my straw bales to see if they are starting to decompose inside. According to the information from Joel Karsten at strawbalegardens.com, the bales should start to heat up about now.
Taking the straw bale’s temperature
I checked yesterday — in the 40-degree cold rain — and found that most of the bales were only about 60 degrees internally. Today, some were even colder. Because we have had a lot of cold rain and weather affects how quickly the bales start decomposing, I decided to put on the recommended plastic sheeting to warm the bales more.
I’m on the seventh day of the 10-day conditioning program, and the bales still need to heat up (they are supposed to go as high as 145 degrees F) and then cool down before I can plant. Hopefully, the slightly warmer weather this weekend and the much warmer temperatures next week will get things cooking.
Have any other straw bale gardeners had similar experiences?
I am on day 11 of my straw bale garden. From the websites that I have found it can take 11-30 days for the decomposition to complete. This is the first time I have attempted this type of gardening. I have not techincally checked the internal tempature of the bales with an thermometor but I went out last night and used the spade to get my hand inside, they did not feel warm to the touch… the seeds from the wheat (I am guessing) have started to sprout so I assume the blood meal is assisting with that… lol. Luckily my vegetable sprouts are not ready to plant yet but I would like to have the straw bales ready when they are. We also discussed covering them in plastic last night so I think I will try that and, like you, I hope we get some warmer weather soon to speed up the process.
Beth — I’ll have a post later today updating the temperature situation. Warm weather and plastic definitely helped. Like you, I do not expect to be planting for at least a couple of weeks — at least not my tomatoes, etc. I may try some flower seeds on one of the bales. I haven’t seen any wheat sprouts yet — however….the chicken manure fertilizer I’m using has developed a slight odor. Keep me updated on how things go with your bales.
We’ve had so much cold weather that I’m almost sure I will need to extend the conditioning process.. I haven’t taken the temps yet but will in a few days. I plan on just keeping them moist until it warms up and stays warm.
I’ve learned that straw bales are only as warm as the external temps. I’m using plastic as a row tunnel and it did raise the temps up to 62 degrees. I am resisting the desire to plant anything because I don’t want to get into a good warm spring and have the bales suddenly heat up and kill my plants. I’ve learned: bales are simply raised beds for plants. I was hoping they were miniature hothouses. Oh well.
Thanks for commenting, Mazekah. I agree that straw-bales are basically a form of container gardening.
Just surfing around for more information on my favorite topic of late – straw bale gardening – and came up with your blog. Thanks for sharing! I’m sharing my first attempt at straw bale gardening on my blog at http://www.pattylakinsmith.blogspot.com.
First off if your straw bales arent decomposing its probably due to lack of water. mine take some times 10-15 gallons a day each. This is very important when they start to warm up. It is also best to use warm/hot water as it helps the biological process happen much faster. Lots of fertilizer is also need frequently in he beginning of conditioning as well as throughout the growing season. It IS NOT just a raised bed or a container, this is an accelerated composting process in which plant can be directly grown in the compost medium as it composts. Using a fertilizer that contains beneficial bacteria will help a lot too. my straw bales maintain a consistent 90-100 temp with 60 degree external weather. they should be peaking anyday now and be read to plant once it gets down to 70 inside.
B — Thanks for the information! This is the first time I’ve heard that you should use warm water on the bales. It makes sense. I added fertilizer and water at the recommended levels during the year I did straw bale gardening. It was very cold that spring so the bales took awhile to get started. Good luck on your gardens!
M
Thank you so much for this blog and especially “B” who just answered a question I have been searching for ,which was “How many gallons of water does it take to typically drench a straw bale?” B answered above typically 10-15 gallons, which sounds right to me. But honestly I was hoping for a much lower number in order for me to be successful at this.
I have a small back yard and purchased 8 bales of straw for my very first straw bale garden. I read articles on the web about Straw Bale Gardening and never heard about having to water them with WARM WATER. I did my very best trying to put warm water on my bales. I have a split level so I have to go up 12-15 steps each way to get to my kitchen for my warm water. They got some warm water but I am positive they were not soaked like they should be.
I need help… and some prayer… there is no way I can walk back and forth from my shed to my upstairs split level for a gallon of “warm water” to wet my 8 bales, when it takes 10-15 gallons EACH… I have been trying so hard and have invested so much time into this project because I sooooooo want it to work… My neighbors think I am the crazy lady on the block. Any hope out there for a girl that has to use her hose where cold water comes out? … Thank you
Rosemary — I never used warm water on my bales and I live in Minnesota, where the springs can be pretty cool — and warm water would get cold very fast once it was outside. If you think the bale is too cold, cover it with plastic while you are conditioning it. (Those inexpensive painting drop clothes work great.) Conditioning the bale takes time, but after about three weeks, I’d just plant things in it. Make sure the plants have a bit of compost or soil around them, and go for it. Good luck!
Hi Folks, I live in Mesa, AZ and am on my second year of straw bailing. I had a problem last year with transplanting my one gallon tomato pots. Real tough to get into the bales. So this February I devised a new system: 5 bales located horizontally (Sorry Joel) and in parallel with 7 inch gaps between; separated by 8x2x16″ red pavers. Then I filled in the gaps, and covered the bales with well composted farmyard mulch. The gaps made it VERY easy to plant eight tomato pots in the compost, and now they are 6 ft tall and loaded with fruit. I planted melon and squash etc seeds in the actual bales. Now everything is growing gangbusters. However, the bales heated up to 145 and did not come down for four weeks. I think now that I should have conditioned the bales before putting in the compost. The bales only came down after the third flood irrigation with cold water and a really good dowsing with cold on the top. I have two sets of the bales with 5 variety of watermelon on the corners of the end bales, so that they can spread out over my yard. Last year the watermelons wandered over a 30 by 30 foot area.
Thank you so much Mary !!!! I so APPRECIATE you for the encouragement that it still can work with the covers. I will get that done today… I will keep you posted !!!
Good Day! I am starting my first straw bale garden….and of course, have a few questions for those more experienced.
I have been checking the temp…early on (when it was quite cool) one side got up to 100 degrees—the other side has never gotten above 85. I have been using blood meal (as prescribed in one of the pages I have visited). I started about 3 weeks ago…now I have a crop of mushrooms (which I understand is good). I was hoping to plant this coming week (which would be approx 3 weeks into the conditioning process) but, it has yet to get above 70 degrees here in Michigan–more often in mid 50’s. Should I wait until I have a few hot days? I am concerned it still has to go thru the process of heating up to 120-140 (as I have heard) and don’t want to kill my baby veggie plants. Wondering if I should hold out a bit?? or could it be that it is done? It is decomposing nicely though. Went thru the ‘stinky, musty phase’–that has passed. I stopped adding the blood meal at about day 14.
You could try planting cool season crops. For tomatoes, etc., I usually wait until June and use big transplants. Good luck with your garden!
I have found that overwatering the bale washes out the fertilizer and slows the process down. so it is best to drench the bale and then add the fertilizer and only lightly water in so it dissolves. My temps began to go up quickly when I realized what I was doing wrong. My temps seem to be more in the 120 range. I will plant after day 12 and when my hand when pushed in the bale does not feel too hot for me. If the bale feels way too hot for your hand then you can not plant yet.
I am in day 20 of the Bale prep, and my internal temp is as high as 180 deg between watering, I have a soaker hose set up with watering timer set to 2 hrs at 4pn and 4 am……I built a 2×4 frame around the top of the hay bales, and added 3 inches of Raised Bed All Natural Top Soil…..after the second week of bail prep, I went ahead and planted….tomatos, pepper, squash, and Okra….all are up about 3 inches! Going great so far….but hoping the intenal temp in bales will drop soon!
Can I buy straw bales now for next year for cool crop planting for broccoli and cauliflower and get them set up and condition them before the winter and when spring comes the cucumber plants, potatoes and tomatoes will not have the weed problem from spring growth or is it better to wait until you are ready to plant then condition your bales shortly beforehand? I live in Missouri.
I conditioned my bales and finished about 1 week ago. Weather in the 60’s. Keeping bales moist and internal temp 70. Do I have to wait for them to heat up and then drop back down? I have not seen any mushrooms like last year, but then again I started the bales in June.
I have completed 2 weeks of bale prep and the internal temps vary from 100°to 120°. How can I cool them down so i can plant my seedlings?
To cool the bales, stop adding fertilizer and let the composting finish up. They should cool off naturally in a week or so.
I have started conditioning my bales. Last night was a freezing night. Water in the hose and in the dog’s bowl froze solid. Does that mean that all the microbes in my bales are dead? Anything I can do? Does compost starter help jump start the conditioning process? (I’m in Virginia and this is a warm winter year. This is the first time I’ve started conditioning this early.)
Just continue with the process — the microbes will recover. Lucky you to be so warm so early — it’s going to be 6 above in MN tonight!
Just continue on, heavy furtilizer and lots of wTer, the bales breaking down will take care of the heat necessary to condition your bales!
Newbie question here from first time straw bale gardens and pretty much first time gardener.
I too am conditioning my bales And doing so based on YouTube wisdom. That being saId, when you take the temp of the bale; from where on the bale are you taking your reading? Top, sides high, sides low??
I took it from the top and maybe from one side toward the top. You basically want to get the thermometer into the area where you will be planting. Good luck!
I live in Saint Paul and am a bit concerned that the straw bales are not heating up enough in order to plant after the first full moon of May – or close to Mother’s Day. They seem cool and moist when I put my finger inside but worried that if I plant too soon, and then they heat up, that I will kill my tiny seedlings. I’ve been using a high nitrogen fertilizer (46-0-0) that I got from a local nursery and been watering diligently. Should I wait for them to heat up and cool down? Do I water the bales and then add fertilizer as someone mentioned earlier? Am I flushing all the fertilizer out? Can you over water the bales? Thank you.
I am new to straw bale gardening. If I put plastic on the top of the bales after watering won’t it encourage mold? I don’t seem to find my bales heating up and it is day 12 of the conditioning process. I live the n Seattle. Please comment. Thanks.
This is my first year. I live in Wisconsin. It is May and it froze last night. I have been conditioning following Joel Karstens step by step process. Am on day 6. I took the temp this am and it was only 45 in several of the bales. I did have trouble finding the right fertilizer. Every one in several stores I visited said slow release, or something like that. I bought one that said “greens up quick” then releases over 3 months. It was the best I could find. To help it along, I sacrificed my coffee grinder and ground all the fertilizer I have put on. Thought that would work because they coat it with something that takes a while to break down and that is how it releases slower. Grinding it breaks up the coating, so I figured it would release faster. Anyone else ever have that problem? Any other ideas to help? I cannot heat the water. I have no access to hot water outside. I have been filling buckets the day before and letting them stand, thinking the sun would warm it faster than what comes out of the ground. I wait until later in the day for it to warm up. I will add black plastic today. Any advice would be appreciated! Have not been putting on 10-15 gallons of water. Saturated the first 2 days and since then only about 2 gallons per bale.
I’ve had this problem with straw bales heating up in spring as well. I put plastic over them during the conditioning process, which did help a bit. For fertilizer, I used a lawn fertilizer rather than one for containers, etc. The decomposition heats up quickly when the weather warms up.
Don’t put the plastic on too tightly. I just hung it over the bales and weighted it down. We were having a very cold spring that year. Hope that helps.
It depends on what you are planting. For tomatoes, peppers and other warm temp crops, I always wait until at least the week after Mother’s Day and sometimes about the first of June. If you plant them when it is cold (in straw bales, a garden or a container) they will not thrive. For lettuces or other cool season crops, go ahead and plant. My experience with straw bales is that it helps to use a little compost in the planting hole as the bale is decomposing. Good luck!
I’m on day 14. 9 bales. Using urea. I’m about 20 degrees over ambient. We had some 80 degree days and A LOT of 60 degree rain. Bales still seem pretty stiff and smell like a chicken coop. Straw is growing.
Do I just keep waiting?
How long should the peak temp last for in the conditioning process? How high should I expect this temp to get in Northern MN? Temps are about 50-60 during the day and 40s at night. I also have them covered with a black tarp and my temps jumped from 60 to 90 in the bales during the day.
I am new to strawbale gardening. I have 24 bales in the cooling down phase right now. They got to 150 and are now around 130 degrees. My problem is the intense STINK and the FLIES! What am doing wrong? Please, somebody help. 🙂
Susan in Austin, TX.
Oh, Susan, I am so sorry about the flies and the stink. My experience with strawbales was in a much colder climate than you have. You might want to check the original strawbale gardening website — https://strawbalegardens.com/ — or the strawbale gardening facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/learntogrowastrawbalegarden/ Joel Karsten, the developer of strawbale gardening, also has a series of youtube videos that might be helpful. Good luck!
Natalie — My experience was that the temperatures never got much over 100, but decomposing was happening inside the bale. The bales work best with plant starts in my experience. So, whenever you typically plant your tomatoes or whatever, would be the time to insert them in the bale. Add a little compost to the hole, too. Good luck!
From your email, it looks like you are in Memphis, TN. If the strawbales are heating and you would normally have planted now, I’d go ahead and plant. For more info and answers to in-depth questions, you might want to check out the Facebook page that Joel Karsten maintains — https://www.facebook.com/learntogrowastrawbalegarden/ Thanks!
After a week of heat and sunshine up the North Shore, combined with thick black tarps, I got my bales up to 120-130 degrees. It seems they are dropping back down now, so I am super excited to plant! I have been obsessively taking the temps, and they seem soft and ready.
This weekend, temps are supposed to drop to 41 at night, would the heat of my bales keep my plants safe? I will be camping for 3 days, so I am super nervous about planting yet.
I have been straw bale gardening for about 5 years. This year my bales got to 110 degrees. I waited for them to come down to 80 and now I am concerned that the bales are still too hot. The tomatoes in one of my bales looks droopy even though they are well watered. Is it too hot to grow plants in this temperature? I keep hoping the temp will drop down to more like 70. I’m sure that I am stressing the plants in that one bale. My peppers look droopy too. Just watered them down hoping that I can cool them off. In previous years they never heated up that high and I didn’t have any issues.. Tons of those inky mushrooms every day.
I’m new to straw bake gardening and near Grand Marais, I’m northern MN. I put 100 bales out last fall. I added some spent coffee grounds to the top hoping they would get some conditioning over the winter and as snow melts (coffee has worked incredibly for my regular compost pile).
I am off-grid with no water source.. Instead, I will be watching the weather for good spring rains (farmers is predicting a wet spring) and taking temps.
Do you know if it’s possible to self-condition bales like this, assuming enough rain? I realize I may need to make use of what I have – would a compost tea or diluted urea ne appropriate? And how/when will I know if the. Ales simply don’t have enough nitrogen to begin decomposing (or if a day dets to X degrees and they aren’t heating up to at least X)?
Thanks!
I haven’t done strawbale gardening for quite awhile because it seemed the bales required so much fertilizer to just get them going. I doubt the coffee grounds will do the trick, but there should be some decomposition just from the wetness of the winter. You might want to check out some of the Facebook groups related to strawbale gardening for more information on how to make it work in your situation. Good luck!