Paula Agnew
0 reviews
Listed in United States
- Farmdale, Ohio USA
- 330 876 0400
My name is Paula Agnew. I live in Northeast Ohio [Trumbull
County] Spring of 2015 I planted my first straw bale garden. My husband and I own a feed and supply store and have customers coming and going. As I was conditioning
my straw bales I would get many questions and comments. Mostly I knew
that I could not fail because then no one else would give straw bale
gardening a chance. So I was determined to succeed ! And succeed I did
! This year proved to be a real challenge for gardeners, as spring was
full of excessive rains followed by a drought. I also planted a
traditional ground garden, pallet gardens vertical and horizontal,
cement block garden and several different types of hydroponic gardens.
While some of my other gardens {like many of my neighbors} suffered
from plants rotting and drowning, I had no problems in my straw bale
garden, since the water drained out. The ground surrounding my straw
bales was standing in water but this did not affect my bales or the
plants. Then when the weather changed and the drought came all I did
was turn on the soaker hose and water my plants roots.[while some of my
other gardens wilted and burned out from heat and drought or by the
hard ground]. My customers were interested and continued to check out
my gardens and ask many questions about which gardens I will plant next
year. My answer started with “well, I will definitely do the straw
bales………” then I proceed to tell them the pros and cons on all my
other gardens. I was excited to watch my straw garden grow and produce
tomatoes, herbs, flowers, squash, kale, swiss chard, radishes and
carrots. As a testament for the straw bales, my seedling tomatoes
plants were looking pretty leggy { I started these in my house} I
didn’t know if they would live and produce or not. I decided to plant
them into the straw bales and see what happens. Boom they thrived !!!
To the point that I really should have thinned them out but my life got
busy and I didn’t. Today they are happy and healthy and producing very
well. I am very much looking
forward to helping others learn about this gardening concept.