This summer, with my garden deconstructed amid renovations, I decided to experiment with a temporary measure: growing veggies in straw balesfertilised by human pee yes, really.

It was, I supposed, a way to grow food quickly and cheaply in a bed that could easily be removed once I'm ready to build my more permanent permaculture veggie garden.

The experiment was a huge success, with plenty of delicious organic veggies coming off the straw bales and into my kitchen.

Here's how I created my temporary straw bale garden, plus a few other ideas for making veggie beds that are cheap and effective, yet quick to remove handy for renters and renovators alike.

I chose four pea straw bales for my beds, but any kind of straw works fine. Just avoid hay bales, which are an animal feed crop and so contain seed heads that could germinate in your bed.

Straw, on the other hand, is just the stems left over after seed harvesting which is why it's a lot cheaper, too.

As with any food gardening, choosing a spot that gets at least six hours of sunlight is crucial more if possible. Sun mapping is the best way to determine this.

At my place, I positioned my bales against a north-facing fence, where they receive direct sunlight throughout the day,perfect for veggie production.

The fence backdrop also made it easy to add cheap, second-hand wire trellising so I could train some plants to grow vertically, packing more food into my small space.

Finally, I made sure to place my bales on their side, with the cut straw facing upward and the string around the sides. This helps hold each bale together during the growing season.

Then came the most important step before planting: "activating" my straw bale using a high-nitrogen fertiliser.

The idea is to fully soak your bales with water, then apply some form of fertiliser every day for two weeks.

The nitrogen reacts with the carbon in the straw, kickstarting the process of decomposition so your plants have readily available food when you plant them out a fortnight later.

This activation can be done with organic fertilisers, compost teas or worm teas or by using your own urine, as I discovered while chatting with Geelong permaculture designer Michelle Mairs about growing edible flowers at home.

Human pee is rich in nitrogen, free and happened to be readily available to me at the timeas I had a party planned. My friends happily obliged with deposits throughout the night.

An affable neighbour then helped keep my bales soaked in liquid gold for the required two weeks.

A fortnight later, with my balesloaded with free nitrogen, it was time to plant out.

I made a hole in each bale, filled it with homemade compost and a little organic chook poo-based fertiliser, then planted my seedlings directly in.

Within a matter of weeks, I was harvesting bountiful zucchinis, jalapeos and tromboncino.

Right now, I have capsicums, cucumbers and pumpkins on the way. Several bean plants even popped up from my soil's seed bank, offering an extra harvest.

The straw bales proved surprisingly resilient during the 35-plus-degree heat that signals summer in Tarntanya (Adelaide), with watering only needed every couple of days.

But they did need topping up with a little extra fertiliser every few weeks this I applied in the form of homemade "weed tea", or by sliding composted chook poo in around the plant roots.

As the season slows, my straw bales are gradually turning into a rich compost-like material, which I'll spread across my new garden in winter to breathe life and fertility into the soil.

Back when I rented my home, before I managed to buy the place from my landlord, I mainly grew food directly in the ground.

Knowing that I might have needed to deconstruct my patch one day, I used simple, second-hand, plastic garden bed edging to border each patch and keep everything contained.

Other easy and removable veggie bed options include:

Whichever option you choose, you'll be up and running with an edible garden in no time one that's just as quick to remove if your circumstances change.

Koren Helbig is a freelance journalist who practices permaculture and grows organic food in the backyard of her small urban Tarntanya (Adelaide) home.

Excerpt from:

Why I decided to grow veggies in straw bales and fertilise them with pee - ABC News