Straw Bale Gardens Complete, Updated Edition

Breakthrough Method for Growing Vegetables Anywhere, Earlier and with No Weeding

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Pub Date 26 Mar 2019 | Archive Date 8 Apr 2019

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Description

This updated edition of Straw Bale Gardens Complete is the only book you need to get started with the revolutionary gardening method that has taken the world by storm.

Written by Joel Karsten, the originator of Straw Bale Gardening, this exciting update contains detailed, start-to-finish instructions for growing vegetables in straw anywhere, plus many new ideas and projects, including how to set up a greenhouse for less than $100 that allows you to start seeds on top of heat-generating straw bale benches.

Whatever your gardening challenge, Straw Bale Gardening holds the solution. Have a small or unusual space? Straw Bale Gardening is perfect for urban, rooftop, and balcony gardens. Contaminated soil? Planting in straw bales eliminates the problem. Are you inundated by weeds? With straw bales, there is no weeding. The advantages of growing a Straw Bale Garden go on and on: they require 75 percent less labor, their raised height makes planting easier, they extend the growing season, prevent disease and insect issues, are portable, hold water well but are impossible to overwater, they create excellent compost, and can be grown 100 percent organically.
 
Imagine building a simple shoulder season seed-starter greenhouse for under $100 and then heating it with six bales of straw. In this all-new section, Karsten explains how you can build his six-week greenhouse, and set all of your seed trays on the nice warm benches inside, made from straw bales. The heat generated during their early decomposition is the entire heat source for the tiny greenhouse.

Among the new subjects:
 
  • Building and heating the six-week greenhouse for less than $100
  • Cultivating mushrooms in straw bales
  • Tips and ideas for making your straw bale garden more attractive
  • How to make a cold frame with straw bales
  • Trellising projects for growing vertically
  • And much more

Assure your success with Straw Bale Gardening with instructions and advice direct from the pioneer of the method.
This updated edition of Straw Bale Gardens Complete is the only book you need to get started with the revolutionary gardening method that has taken the world by storm.

Written by Joel Karsten, the...

Marketing Plan

Key Selling Points:


Straw Bale Gardening has been the most popular new gardening method the past four years

Karsten has a very large online following with over 106,000 followers; very aggressive and active at communicating with this audience

Learn how to grow beautiful vegetables in ordinary bales of straw—the ultimate container gardening technique

The latest, completely updated edition from the originator of straw bale gardening.

New projects, techniques, and photography

Key Campaign Activity:


Pre-order email and social media campaign; social media advertising via the author

Giveaways at Goodreads and gardening and rural living outlets

Full-scale national publicity campaign at gardening,lifestyle,  green and rural living outlets

Promoted Facebook posts, social media campaign via Quarto Knows

Highlight in B2B and B2C email campaigns

Feature at Mother Earth News Fairs

Publicity/Media


Local Minnesota media including TV and print, in Twin Cities and rural MN; newspapers to include Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer-Press, Duluth News-Tribune, Rochester Post-Bulletin

National gardening and related media: Horticulture Magazine, Garden Design, American Gardener, Coastal Living Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, Nature’s Garden, Birds & Blooms, Country Woman, Fine Gardening, Mother Earth Living, Sunset Magazine, Living the Country Life, Garden Gate, Organic Life, Garden Design,

Daily Newspapers with home & gardening coverage – Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Arizona Star, Denver Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Regional Magazines with Gardening Coverage: Midwest Living, Southern Living, Sunset, Northern Gardener

Syndication and wire services: Associated Press, Knight Ridder, Tribune Media Services

Rural Living-related outlets: Green Craft Magazine Backwoods Home, Capper’s Farmer, Colorado Country Life, Cottage Life, Country, Country Line, Country Living, Country Roads, Country Woman, Farm & Ranch Living, Grit, Living the Country Life, Modern Farmer, Mary Jane’s Farm Mother Earth News, Rural Delivery, Rural Mom, Rustik Magazine, Simplify Live Love, Southern Lady, Texas Farmer’s Daughter

Green Living/Sustainability outlets including, Green Life, Earth911.com, Greenability, Crunchy Green Mom, Eco DaddyO, Green Phone Booth Garden Center/Wholesalers media: Green Profit, Grower Talks, Nursery Management, Floral Management 

Blogs and Websites: Garden Therapy, GreenGirls, GardenRant, Dallas Life Blog, Empress of Dirt (Canada), In the Garden, Gardenista, Garden Therapy, Kiss The Earth, Penn Live Blog, Diggin’ In, HGTV Garden Blog, Life on the Balcony, Let's Get Dirty, Gardening Gone Wild

Book Trade:  Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Bookish, Shelf Awareness

Radio – Local & Syndicated Programs: You Bet Your Garden/Philadelphia (and national NPR syndication), Bob Tanem In the Garden/ San Francisco, Garden Talk/San Francisco, Joy In the Garden/Vermont, In the Garden/Memphis, Mike Nowak/Chicago, Garden Life Radio

Trade Review: Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, Booklist, Bookish, Shelf Awareness, Kirkus, BookTrib


Key Selling Points:


Straw Bale Gardening has been the most popular new gardening method the past four years

Karsten has a very large online following with over 106,000 followers; very aggressive and...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780760365236
PRICE US$24.99 (USD)
PAGES 208

Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

I appreciate the opportunity from NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Straw Bale Gardens Complete, Updated Edition in exchange for my honest review.

I am so excited for this book to be released in March! I have always struggled to grow a garden due to clay-heavy soil, but want to eat fresh, non-GMO foods. This book provides the answers to my problem. Karsten shows not only how to create a functional, weed-free garden made of straw bales, but also an aesthetically pleasing garden as well. The book contains detailed chapters from preparation of bales to harvesting and beyond. I will definitely be pre-ordering this one!

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I’ve been doing straw bale gardens for several years now, having seen this on the local news station. This really does work. I live in an area with poor soil so this allows me to have a garden with much less work involved. I get very few weeds and the rabbits have a harder time getting to the plants, although they can get on top of the bales. I have one of the earlier books so it was nice to see the updated version with ideas for organic gardening and how to create greenhouses over the bales which would be helpful in colder climates like mine. Look forward to trying some of the improved methods this year.

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We've been experimenting with gardening processes to find what is best for us. I'd read a magazine article about growing in straw bales but did not think about using it to expand and improve our traditional garden. The book gave us many ideas and easy guidelines to insure quality results from our efforts. That's all any gardener hopes for after putting so much time and effort into their garden. We're definitely putting this into our garden plans for this season.

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Straw Bale Gardens is a how to guide and manual for using straw bales to make temporary raised beds for vegetable and flower gardening. The first edition was published in 2015 and this updated re-release from Quarto on their Cool Springs imprint is due out 26th March 2019, it's 208 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. This edition is updated with further info on growing non-mainstream crops such as mushroom as well as some improvements. The fundamental techniques are unchanged.

The book progresses more or less over a growing season. The introduction covers the fundamental techniques and an overview of what SBG is, and the theory behind the philosophy. The following chapters cover planning and execution, watering, planting, growing, harvesting, and using the compost from the broken down bales. There's also a chapter of plant profiles with ideas for planting and growing individual herbs and vegetables.

The index section includes a short resource list (slanted toward North American readers, but not a problem since readers in other areas can easily source the same or comparable materials online), an English/metric converter (including °F - °C), photo credits list, and a short author bio.

The photography is clear and illustrates and supports the text very well. There is a lot of good information here. I am looking forward to incorporating some of these ideas into my vegetable and herb garden this year.

Five stars.

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Joel Karsten is the world's best expert on Straw Bale gardening, and his updated book is a must-have resource for anyone who wants to try this technique. The cool thing about this technique is that you can garden regardless of your soil quality. The book is written in a conversational style that's easy to read, and it's lavishly illustrated with photos and diagrams (including plans for all sizes of gardens). Directions are easy to follow, and there are also instructions for making accessory structures such as trellises and row covers. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who's struggling with traditional gardening!

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