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Post by izzy on Jan 7, 2024 18:27:04 GMT
Recently I have been some Macabre Discussions here, but I want You all to know I also like to see things grow. I grow figs, lots of trees in ground with many cultivars, even more in pots.
I also grow Pomegranates, and Muscadine Grapes. (And back in Jackson Co. FLA also Olives, mostly Arbequina and Picual, some Arbosana and one Kadesh Barnea). I also grow Za'atar ( Origanum Syriacum), rosemary, and hot peppers, my favorite hot peppers are Tabasco and Carolina Reaper.
I have 2 fig Cultivars grown from seed donated from California that are common, and I named them, another 2 should ripen this year...it's taken "only" 4 to 5 years depending on the tree. This is "make or break" for the remaining seedlings (out of about 27 initially). If they don't prove "common" ( producing fruit without the aid of the fig wasp and a male Fig / Caprifig) I plan to only keep the 4 that have made fruit.
Here is a bowl of (mostly) Ronde De Bordeaux, it's a very available fig ( should not cost much) that fruits well in the cooler Maritime climate where I am now. It's early, productive, and very tasty when picked ripe. ( that's an issue with figs at supermarkets, figs don't ship well so they tend to pluck them less than ripe).
So who else grows fruit trees, etc.? Who likes to grow a little of their own food?
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Post by shinycanoe on Jan 8, 2024 4:23:18 GMT
I wish I lived in a climate more friendly to growing this kind of fruit. I grow olive trees in pots in my house because they make me happy, but I don't get much fruit. I also technically have a fig tree, but it has never flowered. People say fiddle leaf figs are hard to keep alive, but mine grew from a seedling to 8 feet tall in about 18 months. I have tried growing citrus indoors but so far have not had success.
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Post by izzy on Jan 8, 2024 20:59:26 GMT
Shinycanoe,
Figs ( Ficus Carica) do fruit indoors, but need good light ( think LED's), but it's a pain to have to up-pot or root prune. Not every cultivar of "common" fig will fruit well in a pot, some good ones are Florea, LSU Gold ( 2 strains get the one with the pink center), Scott's Yellow, Abruzzi ( often conflated with Hardy Chicago), Malta Black, and Valoze. Figs don't usually do well above zone 7 in the ground, and even in North Florida I would "protect" the young ones from the cold with tarps. ( multiple cycles of Heat then Freezing temps is very hard on young figs, they bud out and get severe damage.)
If I was in the Northern USA, I would consider Filberts/ Hazelnuts ( need 2 to cross pollinate), 2 different Cedar Rust resistant Apple trees ( also pollination issues), maybe a dwarf Cherry tree ( one that I could put bird netting over, and was self Pollinating), and Northern Pecans if I had room...of course there is the squirrel issue, but a Cat should help. I don't know how far north you are but there are fox grapes ( Vitus Labrusca) vines that grow in NYS. Just a thought.
I did live in Michigan for 3 years in the 80's, I remember how cheap Cherries were back then, like 79 Cents a pound...apples ( McIntosh mostly were cheap too, IDK the prices up there for properly ripened fruits, or if it pays to to grow...
Citrus in pots can be hard, they don't fruit very much, unless it is a vigorous cultivar in a very big container. Some people have success with Kumquats.
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Post by shinycanoe on Jan 9, 2024 5:10:14 GMT
I hadn't thought of kumquats, I might give that a try. I am in the high desert of Northern Utah. Apples do great here, and I have grown grapes and cherries at my previous home. I about have to spray for zucchini or they'll grow up in the cracks of my driveway . And pumpkins do incredibly well in my yard. You have intrigued me, I am going to look in to growing other varieties of figs. Interestingly, my neighbor has recently gotten pistachio trees to survive outside.
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Post by izzy on Jan 9, 2024 5:53:06 GMT
I hadn't thought of kumquats, I might give that a try. I am in the high desert of Northern Utah. Apples do great here, and I have grown grapes and cherries at my previous home. I about have to spray for zucchini or they'll grow up in the cracks of my driveway . And pumpkins do incredibly well in my yard. You have intrigued me, I am going to look in to growing other varieties of figs. Interestingly, my neighbor has recently gotten pistachio trees to survive outside. In the high desert, I am going to guess you have "hard pan" soil (?), if you have such soil there is broad informal grouping of figs called "Mount Etna" that do well in such soil, they are not as genetically linked as some think, but they share certain traits. I would suggest looking at ourfigs.com, and asking there what figs would do well in your area. ( one could also use Duckduckgo to search ourfigs.com).
Grapes are wonderful ( most of them ) which kind did you grow?
I grew a few Thomasville citrangequat outdoors as they have a reputation to be the hardiest, not sure about the soil or climate where you are, but indoors most common kumquats are said to be GTG.
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Arlequin
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Post by Arlequin on Jan 9, 2024 8:18:47 GMT
Definitely considering it. I use peppers in allot of my cooking, but for most last year they just didn't have any spice to them regardless of where I bought them from. Also want to make my own olive oil as I've gotten more into Italian cuisine and it's very hard(expensive) to find a consistent quality brand
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Post by izzy on Jan 9, 2024 18:23:19 GMT
Definitely considering it. I use peppers in allot of my cooking, but for most last year they just didn't have any spice to them regardless of where I bought them from. Also want to make my own olive oil as I've gotten more into Italian cuisine and it's very hard(expensive) to find a consistent quality brand I noticed that years ago, the "hot" peppers were not hot anymore...I think wherever you are they had a better supply chain... the same with Olive oil...most "extra virgin" brands are cut with cheaper oils...I wont even get into the "Light Extra Virgin oils" that are utter rubbish. There is a lot of fraud in that industry, and it's a global issue.
Making oilve oil is actually quite difficult, even if you have a good source of olives, unless you have a mill close by. At least growing hot peppers is easier.
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Arlequin
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Post by Arlequin on Jan 10, 2024 0:04:19 GMT
Any tips for growing jalapenos and serranos? And yeah the oil scams suck, whats hard for me is that I actually had the opportunity to try real olive oil in Greece a long time ago and nothing I've bought from a US store has come close to that taste.
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Post by glendon on Jan 10, 2024 1:32:27 GMT
Corn, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, potatoes, amaranth, mustard, swiss chard, peas, radishes, carrots, sage, chives, peppermint, yarrow, sunchokes, coneflower, 5 apple trees and 360 feet of blackberry hedge. Coming this year: Hops and barley!
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Jan 10, 2024 6:34:51 GMT
I sense a plan! Hops and malt, God extant!
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Post by mrstabby on Jan 10, 2024 8:53:09 GMT
Corn, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, potatoes, amaranth, mustard, swiss chard, peas, radishes, carrots, sage, chives, peppermint, yarrow, sunchokes, coneflower, 5 apple trees and 360 feet of blackberry hedge. Coming this year: Hops and barley! Man, I'm jelous.
I have a few m² of wild strawberries (the small ones you can find in the woods), I love the taste, but you can't get much from them, a few handful each year. But they are something you can't get in the supermarket. Also have a tayberry, cross of blackberry and raspberry, that's also how you would describe the taste. I have found people who hate either raspberries or blackberries seem to like tayberries, it's different enough from the progenitors. It gives a lot of fruit, more than either parent, per volume of plant. Very hardy and fast growing as well, especially when its a few years old it begins to grow a lot each year.
Not much more room in the small garden unfortunately.
I have given up on herbs and spices, I never use them at the right time, so they die without me having done anything. Another problem are the cats, they sink their teeth into everything at least once, so gotta be real careful to plant nothing that's toxic for those furry morons.
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Post by izzy on Jan 10, 2024 14:16:49 GMT
Any tips for growing jalapenos and serranos? And yeah the oil scams suck, whats hard for me is that I actually had the opportunity to try real olive oil in Greece a long time ago and nothing I've bought from a US store has come close to that taste. Yes the fresh stuff is really, really good, even when not from my favorite olives. And if it's from the best, even not super fresh from a tin it's still very good when it's pure.
As for peppers, I recommend "Baker Creek Heirloom / Rare Seeds" for seeds , rareseeds(dot)com, Their Jalapeno Zapotec looks nice.
The Tabasco and Ghost I got from baker were spot on. The peppers I ordered from PuckerButt ( Originator of the Reaper) were cross pollinated with something else. This was in 2016...so IDK if they fixed the issue. In the end I got my Carolina reaper seeds from a friend, and they are correct. Don't grow more than one kind of pepper at a time unless you have a way to avoid cross cross-pollination.
I also recommend some kind of Silica supplement to help with pests ( like Dyna grow Protekt), and once the seeds are a little bigger 1/2 strength miracle grow ( not at the same time) for potted peppers. To start peppers from seed takes some time unless you have a heat mat and/ or a mini seed starter tray ( like a tiny plastic greenhouse.), then it can be pretty quick.
If one is not sure about the soil for starting seeds, it's best to sterilize it against fungus gnats, one can zap stuff in a microwave, Solarize the potting, soil, etc. If one gets a fungus gnat infestation (or something else) 2% Hydrogen peroxide is OK to use, but BTI fungus ( like Gnatrol) is better.
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Post by izzy on Jan 10, 2024 14:29:59 GMT
Corn, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, potatoes, amaranth, mustard, swiss chard, peas, radishes, carrots, sage, chives, peppermint, yarrow, sunchokes, coneflower, 5 apple trees and 360 feet of blackberry hedge. Coming this year: Hops and barley!
That's excellent, you must have a nice patch of land and a real love of cultivation, and beer...
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Post by izzy on Jan 10, 2024 14:46:16 GMT
Corn, beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, potatoes, amaranth, mustard, swiss chard, peas, radishes, carrots, sage, chives, peppermint, yarrow, sunchokes, coneflower, 5 apple trees and 360 feet of blackberry hedge. Coming this year: Hops and barley! Man, I'm jelous.
I have a few m² of wild strawberries (the small ones you can find in the woods), I love the taste, but you can't get much from them, a few handful each year. But they are something you can't get in the supermarket. Also have a tayberry, cross of blackberry and raspberry, that's also how you would describe the taste. I have found people who hate either raspberries or blackberries seem to like tayberries, it's different enough from the progenitors. It gives a lot of fruit, more than either parent, per volume of plant. Very hardy and fast growing as well, especially when its a few years old it begins to grow a lot each year.
Not much more room in the small garden unfortunately.
I have given up on herbs and spices, I never use them at the right time, so they die without me having done anything. Another problem are the cats, they sink their teeth into everything at least once, so gotta be real careful to plant nothing that's toxic for those furry morons.
Oh yah those little strawberries, used pick them when I was very young...and berries in general are nice...we almost too many wild blackberries in Florida, I used to pick thorns out of my legs all the time...
The cultivated blackberries would just die on me planted in the sand (even with compost) might have been the local Phytophthora in the soil /air, as I could not grow large tomatoes even in containers very well, only the cherry/ plum type. I did not invest in "disease resistant types" so maybe that was an issue. My low chill "Anna" apple tree just died as well.
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Post by glendon on Jan 10, 2024 17:22:51 GMT
That's excellent, you must have a nice patch of land and a real love of cultivation, and beer... 8-)
My wife and I live on just over an acre of what used to be the parking lot of an old coal mine, but there are far more crowded, ugly and polluted places to be. I would love to own a much larger farm, but truthfully we probably live better than 85% of humanity ever did. But yes, I love getting my hands dirty, reclaiming the earth, knowing I'm going to leave the place more fertile than I found it; there's nothing like knowing exactly where your food came from, every step of the way... except having your organic apples turned into a from-scratch pie, washed down with your own beer. My wife is an excellent baker. Ah, well, they tell us we're poor...
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Post by izzy on Jan 11, 2024 19:16:54 GMT
That's excellent, you must have a nice patch of land and a real love of cultivation, and beer... My wife and I live on just over an acre of what used to be the parking lot of an old coal mine, but there are far more crowded, ugly and polluted places to be. I would love to own a much larger farm, but truthfully we probably live better than 85% of humanity ever did. But yes, I love getting my hands dirty, reclaiming the earth, knowing I'm going to leave the place more fertile than I found it; there's nothing like knowing exactly where your food came from, every step of the way... except having your organic apples turned into a from-scratch pie, washed down with your own beer. My wife is an excellent baker. Ah, well, they tell us we're poor... If you can make that land work the way you did, you did very well.
Sometimes a smaller plot is better, easier to manage w/o heavy equipment, or having to hire someone to doze, brush cut ( brush hog) the grassy areas, maintain fire breaks, maintain a 3/4 of a mile of access road ( in my case) cause the other owners just use their land for hunting, and don't care to pitch in. Also when you live in a forested area one needs to do controlled burns from time to time.
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Post by izzy on Feb 13, 2024 15:47:42 GMT
Figs that grew form seed, donated from California...I can only claim partial credit...but it did take 4 to 5 years of germination/ cultivation...I actually have 4 new figs...these are the best of them...
Division 12 ( named after the 12th watch and occasional military formation of Levites) , and Sivan ( named after my wife)...
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Post by izzy on Feb 13, 2024 16:10:06 GMT
Even if it just ONE tree...I am interested. and happy that people are growing food. Please don't be shy...fruit food, grain, spice...mushrooms and even edible flowers like roses qualify.
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Ouroboros
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Imperial, Mysterious In Amorous Array
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Post by Ouroboros on Feb 13, 2024 18:40:22 GMT
Country life gives me lots of room to plant. In addition to a mixed garden each year, we have: Morel type mushrooms + a few diff button type mushrooms(mostly from composted storebought mushrooms that went wild), some shitake and oyster in the rotting woodpile (drilled a few years ago). 2 "bing" cherry trees 1 unknown sweet apple tree 1 unknown apple tree grown from cutting (its very young so...whatever the County was giving away) 2 black walnut trees (not so much for eating) A raspberry briar/hedge that would take over if I didnt cut it back to 25'long by 5' wide. I once made a raspberry wine that insulted the senses while liberating the soul.
I also keep 3 indoor tents (w enough LED quantum boards to flashfry Dracula to ash) for a licensed ... "tomato" .... grow-op.
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LeMal
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Post by LeMal on Feb 14, 2024 8:14:36 GMT
What, nobody gonna chime in on cannabis strains? (And/or homegrown fungi?) ;)
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