Extreme Urban Gardening: Straw Bale Gardens. Here’s a very simple technique for gardening in tight spots and in places with no/terrible soil (from the arctic circle to the desert to an asphalt jungle).
It’s also a great way to garden if you have limited mobility (in a wheel chair). What is Straw Bale Gardening? You simply plant your garden in straw bales. Here’s an example of what a straw bale garden looks like (via author/expert Joel Karsten — he’s got a good book on the topic and he teaches it in seminars) Easy Organic Compost. Compost is the best way to improve your soilIf you use compost you probably won’t need to use fertilizerCompost doesn’t harm beneficial organisms like earthworms (chemicals do)If you have a yard, you are already doing most of the work to make compostCompost is free, easy, and saves energyYou can start a compost pile any time you have material for it This compost pile is already 155 degrees F after only 3 days!
A hot pile like this does a good job of killing weed seeds and disease organisms. How to do it Use your lawn mower to chop up leaves, and then go over them again and use the grass catcher to collect the chopped leaves. If you don’t want to chop up your leaves you certainly don’t have to, but you won’t have to empty the grass catcher nearly as often if you do, and your compost will have a much finer texture.Use your lawn mower/grass catcher to collect grass clippings.Combine 3 parts leaves with 1 part grass clippings in layers to build your compost pile. Chop Chop Compost.