You can get straw (or hay) bales for your Straw Bale Garden from lots of places, but prices and your best options will depend on where exactly you live.
Joel explains some of his favorite bale sources in the video below.
Sources for Straw or Hay Bales:
We set up this sister website to help buyers and sellers of straw bales in the same local area find each other easily. There’s no cost for anyone to create or search the listings.
Your Backyard
You can MAKE your own DIY “leaf and lawn” bales from yard waste and compostable material. Watch Joel explain in this video.
Local Farmers
Make friends with a farmer! They’ll often post a classified ad on craigslist. Joel explains a few extra tips about the best timing for this option in the video above.
Garden Centers
Local garden centers and nurseries often sell straw bales and may offer delivery to your home.
Home Improvement Stores
Lowes, Home Depot, Menards and similar stores often sell bales of straw in the Fall. Prices per bale will be higher than if you can purchase from a local farmer.
Your Neighbors
Many families and storefront businesses use bales of straw as seasonal decorations beginning around Halloween. They may be delighted to let you haul their bales away (often for free!) when they’re finished using them.
Tractor Supply Company
Tractor Supply Company stores sell highly compressed bales of straw, which are shrink-wrapped in plastic for easy transport. Before conditioning these bales, you will need to re-tie new strings around them which are not as tight, and thoroughly soak the bales with water so that they expand in size. Tractor Supply Company stores are also a great source for the cattle panels, fence posts and other supplies we recommend using to build your own 6-week Greenhouse.
Bale Garden in-a-Box™ includes a compressed bale of straw (9″ x 16″ x 36″), Joel Karsten’s best-selling book “STRAW BALE GARDENS,” one bag of BaleBuster™ formula, extra twine and three seed packs.
