Maine Garden Ideas
  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • Grow Your Own Amazing Pomato Plant - Tomatoes on the Top and Potatoes on the Bottom
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
      • Control Blister Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables

Growing Potatoes In Hay or Straw Bales

hay and straw bales
Hay or straw bales make an excellent garden for your potatoes.
This method of growing potatoes is ideal for those with limited space or whose soil is unsuitable for growing. It is clean and easy and doesn't require tilling the soil, but the best part is the ability to harvest tender new potatoes as soon as they 'set on' without disturbing the roots of the plants.

Where should you put the haybales?

Place your haybales in a location that receives full sun for at least 6 to 8 hours a day. The number of hours does not need to be consecutive. A few hours in the morning with shade during the middle of the day and another few hours of direct sunlight in the afternoon works fine, too.
Place the hay bale on soil, grass or even on paved areas as it does not rely on soil for growing. Water does run through the bottom of the bales during watering so choose a location where runoff will not cause a problem.
Place the bales in a location that is close to a water supply or is easily accessed with the hose.
garden hose sprayer
Soak the haybales with the sprayer attachment to your garden hose.

How do you prepare the haybales for planting?

Day 1-3
Saturate the haybales with water each morning and allow them to sit in the sun all day. The entire bale should be soaked. 
Days 4 -6
Evenly spread 1-cup of bone meal over the top of the haybale. Water the bale thoroughly and allow it to sit in the sun. Repeat the same procedure for days 5 and 6.
Days 7-9
Reduce the amount of bonemeal to 1/2 cup for the next 3 days and water as usual. Allow the bales to sit in the sun.
Day 10
Sprinkle the tops of the bales with 1/2 to 1 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer and water them thoroughly. Allow the bales to sit in the sun for another day.

Are the haybales ready yet?

 Your prep work up until now should have caused the inside of the haybales to begin to decompose and create compost for growing your potatoes. But  you won't know if they are ready for planting without checking them. 

Pull back the layers of the haybale to make a hole large enough for your hand. Reach inside the haybale to check the temperature. It should feel warm, but not hot.

The center of the haybales heat up during the decomposition process, but should have cooled down by day 10. If the inside of the bale still feels hot, allow it to cool for another day or two.
potato eyes
Cut your potatoes into sections with at least two eyes (growing points) to each section.

How do you plant the potatoes in the haybale?

Planting your potatoes in the haybale is easy.
  1. Cut the potato into two or more sections with at least two eyes on each section. If your potatoes already have sprouts, try not to remove them.
  2. Place the cut potatoes into the haybale to a depth of 4 to 6 inches spaced 6 to 12 inches apart. Typically four potato plants fit in one haybale. 
  3. Close the opening by moving the hay back in place.
sprinkler
You can use a lawn sprinkler to soak your haybales.

How do you water potatoes in haybales?

Potatoes grown in haybales do require frequent and consistent watering. The bale must be soaked every day and the center cannot be allowed to dry out. You can accomplish this in several ways'
  1. Water your haybales every morning with the sprayer on your garden hose using care to saturate the entire bale. Water until water runs freely through the bottom of the bale.
  2. Place a soaker hose  along the top of the haybales and allow it to work it's magic.
  3. Drill or poke tiny holes around the bottom perimeter of a gallon milk jugs. Fill the jug with water and place it beside the potato plant so the water can drip slowly and saturate the bales.
  4. Use a garden sprinkler to soak your haybales.
Picture
Use Miracle Gro or other water-soluble fertilizer to feed your potatoes once a week.

Do potatoes grown in haybales need fertilizing?

Your potatoes do need to be fertilized regularly. Use water-soluble fertilizer (like Miracle Gro) once a week. Spray the foliage and allow the excess to seep into the hay bale. Your potato plants will absorb nutrients through the leaves as well as the roots.
potato blossoms
New potatoes set on when the plants bloom.

When do you harvest potatoes in haybales?

You can begin harvesting tiny 'new potatoes' as shortly after the potato plants bloom. Gently separate the haybale with you hands and remove the baby potatoes while leaving the smallest potatoes to grow.
Harvest mature potatoes in the fall after the foliage has turned yellow and died.
Copyright © 2014 Nannette Richford



  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • Grow Your Own Amazing Pomato Plant - Tomatoes on the Top and Potatoes on the Bottom
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
      • Control Blister Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables