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Turning my dream into a reality


Hferrell87

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I must have missed this thread. All the best with your new property and nursery.

I want to get my nursery all sorted out and done properly. I bought my place over 5 years ago and it was basically a cleared 6 acre block with sheep paddocks that I'm trying to landscape into a series of rainforest areas. The amount of ongoing work is enormous and I seriously underestimated the work involved just in weed control etc. This place was completely run down when we got it. Also you just have to learn the meaning of patience on a large property. It was very frustrating for me to have big ideas and want it to happen immediately. But you just chip away at it and in time things start to come together. I've got plans for two shadehouses and a tunnel house in an effort to grow cool climate palms. One day I'll get there.

Keep posting pics of your progress. Enthusiasm is contagious.

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Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Tyrone said:

I must have missed this thread. All the best with your new property and nursery.

I want to get my nursery all sorted out and done properly. I bought my place over 5 years ago and it was basically a cleared 6 acre block with sheep paddocks that I'm trying to landscape into a series of rainforest areas. The amount of ongoing work is enormous and I seriously underestimated the work involved just in weed control etc. This place was completely run down when we got it. Also you just have to learn the meaning of patience on a large property. It was very frustrating for me to have big ideas and want it to happen immediately. But you just chip away at it and in time things start to come together. I've got plans for two shadehouses and a tunnel house in an effort to grow cool climate palms. One day I'll get there.

Keep posting pics of your progress. Enthusiasm is contagious.

Thank you and 100% understand wanting a fully functional nursery planted out, but it’s going to take a lot of time! I have been thinking about hiring some help to knock out certain jobs that way I can focus on other parts of the nursery. 

I will say this. The more I get done and see it forming into the nursery of my visions, the more I want to be out there. I’ve been working in the early AM, before I go to my main job and then back at it in the evening. 

Thanks for your comments and will continue updating as I go along. 

Take care!!

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On 5/6/2019 at 9:33 AM, Tyrone said:

The amount of ongoing work is enormous and I seriously underestimated the work involved just in weed control etc.

I think weed control is about half of my total yard time, it can be incredibly frustrating to have everything looking nice in an area one week and then have 3 foot tall weeds the next week!!! :rant:

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3 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I think weed control is about half of my total yard time, it can be incredibly frustrating to have everything looking nice in an area one week and then have 3 foot tall weeds the next week!!! :rant:

Yes. On acreage weeds are going to try and kill ya with shear exhaustion. When I started here I said to myself that I wouldn't use roundup and I'd pull everything out by hand. That resolve lasted about 3 seconds.

I try to be as minimal as possible with spraying. If an area is out of control I will weed whack it all down to allow new growth to spring up to around an inch. Then I will spray. The resulting debris becomes a bit of mulch which feeds the soil as well.

I have lots of vigorous lawn that needs mowing at least every fortnight. I put the huge amount of clip on the garden as a mulch and that keeps most of the new weeds from emerging again. But it will never end and I know that.

It's about getting smart and I am winning compared to the state of the place when we first moved in. We had kikuyu grass roaming wild up to 4ft deep in sections when we moved in. It was a tiger snake hang out, and you don't want tiger snakes living in your garden. They're an aggressive territorial deadly snake.

I can certainly relate to buying a new piece of land and just wanting to give up work to work 100hrs a week to get the garden and nursery happening. 

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Millbrook, "Kinjarling" Noongar word meaning "Place of Rain", Rainbow Coast, Western Australia 35S. Warm temperate. Csb Koeppen Climate classification. Cool nights all year round.

 

 

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There’s a chemical that can be available online or if you have a license called par 3. Parks and golf courses and myself use it. It kills everything but grass so apply when. It windy. It’s very good 

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Planted 2 large Beccariophoenix Alfredii and this one has a couple 3 gals next to it for reference. 

D3D4DF11-0A98-4FAB-8A06-F5FDC418E183.jpeg

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Whoa very nice , couldn't imagine digging that up with a shovel haha. Keep the pics coming B)

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T J 

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33 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Whoa very nice , couldn't imagine digging that up with a shovel haha. Keep the pics coming B)

Thank you and it was spaded by machine vs digging by hand. I couldn’t imagine digging that size either! 

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Yeah no way no how,  i draw the line at 35g after that im calling in reinforcements 

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T J 

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Finally got some time to pot up our Tri-Bears into some much needed 15-gals. Loving the shade the B. Alfredii gave me this morning. 

AB139F20-5022-4C1D-BEC8-5F901A699E2F.jpeg

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You definitely look like you have an operation going now =)

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T J 

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42 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

You definitely look like you have an operation going now =)

Hear,  hear!

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5 year high 42.2C/108F (07/06/2018)--5 year low 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)--Lowest recent/current winter: 4.6C/40.3F (1/19/2023)

 

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  • 1 month later...

Been busy on the property and decided to snap a few progress pictures. Since all the bamboo has been planted, I’ve turned my efforts towards palms. Beccariophoenix Alfredii will be one of the main palms we offer for sale, along with other rare, cold hardy palms. 

1BED1849-A1B7-461E-93AD-74AF1D398ABF.jpeg

Edited by Hferrell87
Typo
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On 5/8/2019 at 1:53 AM, Tyrone said:

Yes. On acreage weeds are going to try and kill ya with shear exhaustion. When I started here I said to myself that I wouldn't use roundup and I'd pull everything out by hand. That resolve lasted about 3 seconds.

I try to be as minimal as possible with spraying. If an area is out of control I will weed whack it all down to allow new growth to spring up to around an inch. Then I will spray. The resulting debris becomes a bit of mulch which feeds the soil as well.

I have lots of vigorous lawn that needs mowing at least every fortnight. I put the huge amount of clip on the garden as a mulch and that keeps most of the new weeds from emerging again. But it will never end and I know that.

It's about getting smart and I am winning compared to the state of the place when we first moved in. We had kikuyu grass roaming wild up to 4ft deep in sections when we moved in. It was a tiger snake hang out, and you don't want tiger snakes living in your garden. They're an aggressive territorial deadly snake.

I can certainly relate to buying a new piece of land and just wanting to give up work to work 100hrs a week to get the garden and nursery happening. 

Will this method work in a small garden?20190711_132438.thumb.jpg.5ab8b67cf791315fdc4dc5679c4e82e0.jpg

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Looking good! Whenever you open up, I’ll be sure to stop by and pick up some palms. 

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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3 hours ago, NC_Palms said:

Looking good! Whenever you open up, I’ll be sure to stop by and pick up some palms. 

You got it!

Feel free to stop by anytime if in the area and I’ll show you around. 

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7 hours ago, PalmTreeDude said:

Great progress! Anyone growing large Archontophoenix in Florida? 

Our area is a bit too cold to commercially grow any large Archontophoenix sp., but grown in masses the further South you go. 

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19 hours ago, Hferrell87 said:

Our area is a bit too cold to commercially grow any large Archontophoenix sp., but grown in masses the further South you go. 

Have you ever seen a mature Archontophoenix cunninghamiana in your location? I heard they can take some occasional frost when mature. 

PalmTreeDude

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On 7/17/2019 at 4:25 PM, PalmTreeDude said:

Have you ever seen a mature Archontophoenix cunninghamiana in your location? I heard they can take some occasional frost when mature. 

Not in my immediate area, but about 15 miles south of us, there are some very large Archontophoenix just south of the St. John’s River (micro climate from river/lake on North side). It got smacked pretty hard two winters ago, but grew back quickly and looks great.

I may try a few at my nursery, but not certain on how they will do long term. 

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I'd bet that growing marginal palms isn't going to be a profitable choice.  If they have to struggle to recover from burn every year, they aren't going to grow very fast.  And local customers aren't going to want to buy something that has a good chance of dying in a bad cold front. 

I wish the Arenga Engleri were more popular, it's really cold hardy and very pretty.  I guess the only downside is that they don't look 100% if they are in full sun around here.  At least mine don't, but that could be from being planted in too much sand and no fertilizer in the spring.  I have to make it a point to get fertilizer on my palms in March instead of forgetting until the end of May!

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On 7/16/2019 at 8:23 PM, Hferrell87 said:

You got it!

Feel free to stop by anytime if in the area and I’ll show you around. 

I'm looking forward to it. Thanks so much!

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Zone 8a/8b Greenville, NC 

Zone 9a/9b Bluffton, SC

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20 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I'd bet that growing marginal palms isn't going to be a profitable choice.  If they have to struggle to recover from burn every year, they aren't going to grow very fast.  And local customers aren't going to want to buy something that has a good chance of dying in a bad cold front. 

I wish the Arenga Engleri were more popular, it's really cold hardy and very pretty.  I guess the only downside is that they don't look 100% if they are in full sun around here.  At least mine don't, but that could be from being planted in too much sand and no fertilizer in the spring.  I have to make it a point to get fertilizer on my palms in March instead of forgetting until the end of May!

Most everything going in-ground is suited for our area and anything marginal/sensitive will be potted and controlled. A hurricane/tornado could do more damage than cold, but doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. 

Although we have intentions of making money from the nursery one day, basing every step around profit isn’t why we started this project. We want to provide different and rare material for our area to have access to and create a paradise for us to enjoy.

My wife and I both have careers outside of the nursery, so our focus is more about providing the highest quality material, rather than the bottom line.

Take care

 

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Added 2 nice Syagrus Sanconas to our collection! Big thanks to my wife with the helping hand, cause I was whooped after the installs. 

5EF2D58E-3FBF-495C-B873-6A3C6E2B6F11.jpeg

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47 minutes ago, Hferrell87 said:

!FC4A0523-E36C-4177-B4E6-6D8F49350FB2.jpeg

Dayum!  I wish I could find any Syagrus besides Queens in that kind of size here!

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Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Nice work - good going on your dedication. Especially with day jobs. 

Looks like you'll be offering mostly large landscaping-size palms? 

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1 minute ago, santoury said:

Nice work - good going on your dedication. Especially with day jobs. 

Looks like you'll be offering mostly large landscaping-size palms? 

Thank you and it isn’t easy going after a full day of work, that’s for sure! 

Planting in the field just allows me to be a bit more hands off for the time being and they will grow much faster, than in a pot. We will carry 3-gals, 7-gals, and larger potted palms, but just depends on how many of a certain species we have at that time. For example, I just received about 40 or so Syagrus Schizophylla in 7-gal and at least half will go into the field, while the others will be potted up. If I find a decent deal on rare palms, I try to scoop them up and offer for sale later down the line, once they put on some size. 

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  • 2 months later...
On 7/27/2019 at 10:02 AM, Hferrell87 said:

Added 2 nice Syagrus Sanconas to our collection! Big thanks to my wife with the helping hand, cause I was whooped after the installs. 

5EF2D58E-3FBF-495C-B873-6A3C6E2B6F11.jpeg

Quick question, where do you get a S. sancona In FL, let alone huge as in the photo? Really love plumose palms for some reason…

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