Joel Karsten
Straw Bale Gardener expert, author and speaker.

Bale Gardening

Here’s Why You Should Really Be Adding Straw Bales to Your Garden

Published: 1 August 2018
Written by Joel Karsten
2 Comments
Category: Scoop.it

There’s nothing more delightful than growing vegetables in your own backyard, but not everyone has the right soil for doing so. Turns out, there’s an even better medium to build a garden on: straw bales.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.countryliving.com

I don’t recall writing for this article, nor being interviewed, but it must have happened.  I just stumbled across this article when another website i was looking at offered a link to it.  I am always amazed at how popular the STRAW BALE GARDENS® mehtod has become.

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You’ll NEVER grow potatoes any other way again!

Published: 18 February 2013
Written by Joel Karsten
41 Comments
Category: Vegetable gardening

Potato harvest from bales is easy, with no fork or shovel, simply cut the strings and kick over the bales, and pick up the potatoes. No marks on the potatoes from the forks or shovels, so they will store well, unblemished. Wrap them in brown paper, this helps them store longer. Keep them in a dry cool place, and check your stock often, tossing out any that have gotten soft or begun to rot.

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Beautiful Vegetable Garden – Anywhere – NO SOIL REQUIRED!

Published: 29 January 2013
Written by Joel Karsten
2 Comments
Category: Vegetable gardening

When I bought my first home twenty some years ago it was a beautiful day in May when we signed the paperwork and were handed the keys. We worked quickly to unload the rental van, mainly so I could get to one of the shovels I had packed inside.

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Imagine turning your front lawn into a vegetable garden!

Published: 17 January 2013
Written by Joel Karsten
3 Comments
Category: Straw Bale Gardening Blog

This is an image sent to me by someone who purchased my first guide booklet, “A guide to growing a straw bale garden” and made a decision to turn her entire front yard into a garden. No experience at all as a gardener, she became the talk of the entire neighborhood. Her children learned so much, as did she, and her neighbors about the whole process.

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A logo is suppose to tell a story

Published: 16 January 2013
Written by Joel Karsten
16 Comments
Category: Straw Bale Gardening Blog

A Logo is suppose to tell a story

After much consternation, multiple revisions, and contemplation, here is where I’ve landed.  My publisher suggested I develop a “Brand” around this crazy concept I’ve cornered.  I finished the book, and then the suggestions began.  Start a blog, start a blog… come on Joel everyone blogs, you need to start a blog. I’m afraid I will run out of things to say, I mean how do people blog for years and keep finding new things to talk about. My wife tells me all the time “to stop ranting about the same stuff” as I have a tendency to do, but once my rants are written down, everyone will know if I start repeating myself, and she’ll have confirmation that I am nuts! I’ll give it a go. Stop by from time to time and we can catch up. I look forward to some great conversations with readers.