Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

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About Me:

Author, speaker, gardener, entrepreneur and do-it-yourself tinkerer. I love to read historical novels, bake bread, play golf, drink scotch and smoke cigars! Sometimes I like to do several of these at once.

Favorite area of home improvement:

I am a Landscaping and gardening junkie, and always have been. I've done a number of indoor projects as well, but I've learned to stick with what I know, so usually end up in the garden.

Recent Activity

Straw Bale Gardening, great in all climates from the Arctic to the Caribbean islands!

Straw Bale Gardening is essentially container gardening, without the cost of a container or the planting mix to fill it. Just buy a bale of straw, go through the "conditioning" process ...»

Commented on Mar 08, 2013
It is true that you should be careful about what you buy, clean wheat, oat, or barley straw ...»
works best, BUT many people do use hay bales as well, and they will work, but you should expect more weeds and a bit more "stinky" smell as they decompose. The hay actually will have more nitrogen content as it is higher in protein which breaks down into nitrogen as it conditions.