Anyone into gardening?

So as I get older I find my interests are changing and I'm looking into doing a garden in the backyard.

 

Anyone else into growing their own fruits, veggies and herbs (not the Devil's Lettuce)

 

I'm thinking raised boxes (3 or 4 good size) with a built-in automated watering system and some sort of barrier to keep the birds from hacking away.

 

We get all four seasons here so i'm trying to figure out what to grow and when, although i know in the next couple of weeks it's time to start planting indoors before transplanting them out.

 

Also, it's Maple Syrup season right around the corner and I missed the boat on getting prepared for it this year, maybe next. I frickin' love that stuff.

 

So anyone else into this?

Wheels, i figure this is up your alley.

Well, I love plants and flowers, but I'm not hardcore into it. Been thinking about it myself.

 

I grow cilantro, spring onion, dill, Meyer lemons, chives.

 

It's pretty fun. Adds some beauty to the backyard and honestly, there is a certain pride you experience when you eat food you've grown yourself. Instead of, oh hey, can you run to the store and grab some tomatoes.? It turned into hey, can you run to the back and get a tomato...which is pretty cool.

 

Just gotta have the time for it.

 

If Maaaaatttt Daaaaamuuun can grow shyt potatoes on Mars, I believe in you !

 

LOL at just discovering this forum as a Matt D@mon filter

Well, I love plants and flowers, but I'm not hardcore into it. Been thinking about it myself.

 

I grow cilantro, spring onion, dill, Meyer lemons, chives.

 

It's pretty fun. Adds some beauty to the backyard and honestly, there is a certain pride you experience when you eat food you've grown yourself. Instead of, oh hey, can you run to the store and grab some tomatoes.? It turned into hey, can you run to the back and get a tomato...which is pretty cool.

 

Just gotta have the time for it.

 

We played around with it a little last year, and agree 100% it was nice to have our own selection and produce to eat. I think that's part of why I enjoy it, the taking the time to grow it and see the results from the efforts.

Though I'm not into it my wife and mother in law grow organic stuff that is amazing. You just obviously need to research your seasonal output. Insects and rodents will drive you insane.

Wheels, i figure this is up your alley.

 

Weeellllll.....yes and no. I mean, yes, gardening actually is a great interest of mine, but I haven't actually done any yet as I don't have any place to do so at the moment. So I can't be of much help right now unfortunately. A part of gardening that interests me greatly is the garden design itself too, which I guess is a subset of landscape architecture. English garden design really interests me.

I was going to do the same thing this year!

 

I want to build boxes along the back side of our property which is right on a man-made lake. I was thinking just some yard timbers, painted white to match the place. Should be relatively cheap.

 

One advantage is that it will also act as a barrier from the Canadian Gees Nuisance we have. But what to grow? Tomatoes, Peppers, hot peppers.. hmm.

 

And why would this forum have a M@TT D@ymon filter?? lol

Planted my first garden last year. So I cant offer any advice other than keep trying it. I didnt have the best luck. But Im going to give it ago again.

 

I was told to have the plants in the ground about Mother's day weekend for our area that has all 4 seasons too.

 

My dad has about 25 Apple Trees. Seems like every other year they get apples.

My dad has about 25 Apple Trees. Seems like every other year they get apples.

 

The apple trees don't produce year-round?

As an interesting side-note, one type of food commonly produced by the oak tree that a lot of people don't know can be eaten by humans and that are in fact very nutritious are acorns. Acorns are a complete protein source. You do need to know how to leech the tanic acid out of them however. Acorns in the event of a food disruption (natural or regional disaster of some kind let's say) could be a viable food source if you oak trees around.

The apple trees don't produce year-round?

Not in South Dakota. And it seems like every other year they produce. Think thats more my parents picking 25 trees one year and giving them away to everyone. Then the next year not taking care of them enough to produce.

The apple trees don't produce year-round?

 

The property I grew up on was an old orchard and the trees oddly enough never produced much more than crab apples. You'll only ever try those once as a kid, but the neighbors blueberries, wild cranberries and grapes were always awesome!

As an interesting side-note, one type of food commonly produced by the oak tree that a lot of people don't know can be eaten by humans and that are in fact very nutritious are acorns. Acorns are a complete protein source. You do need to know how to leech the tanic acid out of them however. Acorns in the event of a food disruption (natural or regional disaster of some kind let's say) could be a viable food source if you oak trees around.

 

EVERY year i had a metric ton of acorns in the back yard, or in the pool. Without fail. Would be nice to have something to do with them other than rake and dump them

I have 23 active citrus trees in my yard, plus 2 apple. I am building a chicken coop to be my secured (fcuking ground squirrels) vegetable pen. My soil is very loamy, it is great for citrus, but veggies means I have to get top soil brought in. The fortunate thing is I am on a slope in my canyon that gets geerous sun and shade throughout the day, and my Syrah grapes are always delicious.

 

I recently hade knee surgery and it is a pain to go up and down, plus to get to the garden it's 100 steps up from the tsreet. hauling is a PITA

English garden design really interests me.

 

In England we grow flowers and have grass in a garden, anything you would eat is typically grown in a field.

 

I have 23 active citrus trees in my yard, plus 2 apple. I am building a chicken coop to be my secured (fcuking ground squirrels) vegetable pen. My soil is very loamy, it is great for citrus, but veggies means I have to get top soil brought in. The fortunate thing is I am on a slope in my canyon that gets geerous sun and shade throughout the day, and my Syrah grapes are always delicious.

 

I recently hade knee surgery and it is a pain to go up and down, plus to get to the garden it's 100 steps up from the tsreet. hauling is a PITA

 

I'd kill to have citrus trees. The winters here kill anything like that.

 

I get a good amount of sun till about 2pm and then it starts to peter off. Sounds like you've got a good set up for growing. Grapes are always awesome, love them fresh.

 

Best of luck with the recovery on the knee, that sucks. Sounds like you need a 4-wheeler for hauling

I'd kill to have citrus trees. The winters here kill anything like that.

 

I get a good amount of sun till about 2pm and then it starts to peter off. Sounds like you've got a good set up for growing. Grapes are always awesome, love them fresh.

 

Best of luck with the recovery on the knee, that sucks. Sounds like you need a 4-wheeler for hauling

 

 

You'd like Spain. In Valencia, there are citrus trees everywhere downtown. It actually shocked me (as a Russian) that they were unpicked. So i went to get one and found out why - sour as hell.

 

 

 

 

Though I'm not into it my wife and mother in law grow organic stuff that is amazing. You just obviously need to research your seasonal output. Insects and rodents will drive you insane.

 

Yeah, i've been reading up on soil selections a bit and schedules of planting and collecting. A lot of information, that's for sure.

While we are at it can we start a thread on knitting patterns?

We grow bok choi, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, green onions, butter lettuce and a whole bunch of herbs on a very small scale in a box system. It's great for the kids to learn, get their hands dirty. We have an automated watering drip system and it requires minimal maintenance. The freshness is out of this world. The constant summer in SO CAL, means we can grow all year round. Netting is a must, fertilizers, barrier to stop weeds. You may need to double or triple stack boxes depending on what you are trying to grow. We use soapy water as a pesticide.

 

On a slightly larger scale, we have around 7 acres of lemons and another 4 or so acres of avocados once we replanted an additional 200 plus trees that won't be productive for 4 or 5 years. We also have some orange and grapefruit trees.

 

Last year we harvested over 120,000 pounds of lemons and around 15,000 pounds of avocados from the older existing trees. Learning curve was steep, and we had to rehab the lemons after years of neglect by the previous owners. This year we are expecting more.

 

Some of the lemon fields when we bought the property

 

 

A couple of tons of avocados from last summer.

 

Thats awesome man! You just hire guys to harvest and do the light duty stuff yourself?

Thats awesome man! You just hire guys to harvest and do the light duty stuff yourself?

 

No it's a bit more involved than that. We have a full time person on the property around 40 hours a week. We also have a contracted manager that comes in weekly to inspect and direct our guy to prune, mulch, clear, water, fertilize, adjust drainage, when to use pesticide and weedkiller and anything else that comes to mind. The coyotes are constantly eating the water lines tips so there is a lot of ongoing maintenance. We spent a lot of time going through all the pluming fixing or replacing pipes and valves.

 

Avocados have to be certified for sale, your property has to be inspected and certified, they check for correct drainage, animal droppings and 100 other issues. Salmonella etc are potential problems if you don't do it right. We outsource the harvest to one of several companies depending on who is going to give us the best price. They come in like locust and are gone in less than a day. Each harvest we have had about a 50% increase in our sale price due to improving quality. Our lemons are now high quality retail, first harvest barely juicing quality - thin skinned, small and heavily scared. Last year we had three rolling harvests.

 

Nerf ball sized lemon from last fall's harvest.

 

no

While we are at it can we start a thread on knitting patterns?

 

Cappy, gardening is like architecture, just another form of beautifying the landscape (and also producing nice foods). Hence the field of landscape architecture.

Kinsella, that is beyond awesome! I would love to squeeze one of those lemons in my beer this summer

 

I would love to grow avocados. My neighbor grew the best avocados, as big as RDs forearm. Unfortunately, after he passed, the new owners of the property cut down all the trees. Such a sad day!