Strength of straw bales?

[CathyA]

I know there are a few of you out there who probably have dealt with bales of straw for various reasons.
As I mentioned in another post, I bought a 70 gallon poly stocktank to grow veggies in. (6'x2'x1').
I was going to raise it up by setting it on bales of straw. I can eventually use the bales of straw for compost.
But......do you think they would support this container for a summer? I'm thinking they can.
I know it's an unusual question.......
Hey.....I just thought about this.........these bales are stacked pretty high on top of each other in barns.........so they must be pretty strong. ??

[lmerullo]

On first thought, it seems they would be ok - but - straw is typically stored out of the elements to keep it dry. I know straw can break down rather rapidly when exposed to moisture - are you going to have the irrigation water going down onto the straw - also - exposed to rain, etc? If so, then I can see the bales decomposing, and thus your support structure weakening. I would bet this would be from the inside out, so not readily noticeable from the exterior. Hmmmm.....