Joel Karsten

What started as an observation of nature by a young farm boy 40 years ago, has today become a worldwide phenomenon, thanks in large part to Joel Karsten. Author of STRAW BALE GARDENS, which explains this amazing method used to grow vegetables in decomposing bales of straw, he was identified early on as a gamechanger by the New York Times, who called international attention to Karsten calling the ideas in his book "revolutionary." When it comes to the STRAW BALE GARDENS® method Michael Tortorello from the NYT said, "I’m happy to report that Mr. Karsten doesn’t appear to be selling a bill of goods." After giving more than 2,000 presentations about the SBG method around the world and demonstrating to millions through books and videos how the simple and minimal efforts required to garden this way lead to amazing results, Karsten has become recognized as the Godfather of Straw Bale Gardening and the world's foremost expert on the topic. With a degree in Horticulture Science from the University of Minnesota and nearly 30 years of experience gardening vegetables, mostly in bales, Karsten’s success has now provided an international platform to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems, such as food insecurity and world hunger, by offering a viable solution for some of the poorest people on earth to grow food without requiring land, tools, investment, and with limited water. Using this revolutionary method just may be the beginning of the end of the war on world hunger.