Straw Bale Garden

We are experimenting with a new garden technique. We read about straw bale gardening so we thought we'd give it a shot. You first have to condition the bales, so we fertilized them and watered them for two weeks before planting today. What happens is (allegedly) the straw composts and the bales are rich with fertilizer for the plants. When I planted today, the middle of the bales was very warm, so that should help. We've never had great luck with peppers, so we planted several sweet and hot varieties, plus cucumbers, butternut squash, crookneck squash, dill, basil, and parsley. We'll see how it goes; I'll keep you updated.