Wattles for Veggies

a raised garden made possible by straw wattles

First, I must give my mentor and friend Marilee Kuhlman full credit for this one.  I was meeting with her and brainstorming for a client and she mentioned how she tested out places on her property for future edible beds by using straw wattles. Wattles, what?!  My ears perked up because I had just about thrown in the towel growing edibles in my parkway.  I had serious compaction and heavy clay in my parkway but I didn’t want to build a rectilinear structure in my parkway in order to hold good soil.  The wattle was the answer because I was able to tuck in two kidney shaped raised beds surrounding my roses and it actually looks pretty darn good.  The wattles have become a neighborhood “icebreaker” as people walk by.  Best of all straw wattles are inexpensive, about $24 for 25 feet of wattle.  I stacked one atop the other and drove down rebar in a few places to secure it.  The wattle will slowly drop in height as it decomposes.  When it needs replacing simply cut the netting and compost the straw.  Voila!