Comments on: Straw Bale Gardening at Frey Vineyards

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:58:17 +0000

Welcome, Tatyana! Yes, I am dreaming about that black soil as well. Here’s to rejuventated, rich earth! A miracle in our midst. Enjoy! Thanks for the visit. Kathryn xoxo

By: Tatyana

Tatyana — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:29:47 +0000

I’ve never heard about straw bale gardening! I absolutely love it! Thank you so much for educating me! I think my boys would love it, too! I will dream about that black soil!

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:57:45 +0000

Hi, Patricia B! And a warm welcome! I’m so glad to hear you have years of experience using straw bales with success. I’m so looking forward to doing this! Fascinating story (and image) of your playing among the bee hives in Shasta County! What a treasured and unique memory! Thanks for the visit! Glad you found my blog. Kathryn xoox

By: Patricia B.

Patricia B. — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:26:50 +0000

I have long used straw bales in my garden near Shasta Lake where the soil is red clay. What a wonderful experience when in nine years I turned a muddy red clay into wonderful soil. I buy the straw at a feed store which is a common outlet in areas where people raise animals or have pets. I also must comment on the “traditional” bee hives which brought back a flood of memories – when I lived in Cottonwood in Shasta County, California, my best friend and I used to play in the boxes (hives) which were stacked in the yard of the bee shippers who had headquarters there. At the time they were one of the biggest shippers in the United States. We played hide and seek for hours upon end in those empty boxes. That was about 60 years ago.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:00:34 +0000

Hi, Grasshopper! Welcome. I would agree that Florida does not exactly conjure up straw fields. I’ll be interested to know what you find out. I’m sure you can buy straw somewhere, though, right? Feed stores. You have horses, right? Good luck! Kathryn xoxo

By: Grasshopper

Grasshopper — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:18:25 +0000

I really like this idea. To be honest, i’m not even sure if we do that much straw here (Florida isn’t exactly the bread basket of America), but now I have the motivation to find out and share this with people here.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 03:53:51 +0000

Hi, Radiance! We are all dying to try it. We will all have to compare notes in the spring! I’m going to start this winter but I don’t get near the snow you will. No clues yet on how things will hold up county to county (and country to country for that matter!). Let’s reconvene in April. Hugs! Kathryn xoxo

By: Radiance

Radiance — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:44:56 +0000

O holy cow! Now you’ve gone and done it! We up here in the mountains are just starting to think about putting our beds to bed before winter! And now all I can think about are all the possibilities next Spring for straw bales! Thanks for such a wonderful post. BTW, do you have any idea how they might hold up under snow?

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:23:59 +0000

Hi, Liz, That’s a bizarre story! I’ve never heard of llama racing before. I will have to poke into that one.
Yes, the straw bale gardening process is going to spare a lot of knees! We are really looking forward to trying soon! Winter veges will be simple this year! Thanks, as ever, for the visit! Kathryn xoxo

By: Liz - aka Nutty Gnome

Liz - aka Nutty Gnome — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:32:12 +0000

Hi Kathryn – what a GREAT idea! All those plants at a sensible height for working on AND that fantastic soil at the end of it too. A double whammy! Looks like you had a wonderful time at the Vineyard.

Seeing those vines reminded me of when I helped take a school activity trip to France. The instructors told the kids that the vines were especially planted in rows to allow for Llama racing! They told them that the sandy ground was the training runs and the Llamas built up to run on the stoney ground. The Llamas had rings through their noses, the jockeys had long pointed sticks and when they got to the end of a row, the jockeys shoved the poles down through the nose rings and swivelled the Llamas round and down the next row. The kids TOTALLY believed them! …….. and the reason we never saw any Llamas? Llama racing is illegal in France and they only race at night!!!