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Adventures in home orcharding


teddytn

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From the first time I went to an apple orchard when I was young and picked an apple off the tree and ate it right there in the shade of the tree it grew on, something changed in me. Cutting out all the middle men and getting to the source directly became very desirable to me. I knew when I had a house, whatever land I had claim to would be used to grow some of the food I ate organically. 
Funny how life changes when you get to peek behind the curtain and get a real understanding of things. How wanting the best for the plants I grow, results in the fruit they produce being the best food I can eat, resulting in an overwhelming urge to not be a “normal” spoiled human being and actually care for the world around me and the effect I have on it. 
All the fruit uneaten, branches trimmed and leaves dropped put in the compost pile and the cycle of nourishing the soil food web that nourishes the plants goes on. Only doing a half ass job mimicking what nature does silently all along.

The only possible thing to do when you realize your just faking at what nature does with out your help.....turn the landscape back to nature as much as possible.

Spacing trees perfectly apart so when at mature size their canopies and root systems overlap, and co-mingle. This is how plants communicate and share nutrients. The right in front of our human eyes dance of life happening that we most times overlook. Planting companion plants and then companion plants for those. Having something flowering throughout the landscape during as much of the year as possible, supporting any wildlife that flies or crawls into my yard. 
Spreading compost and mulching, getting rid of grass, and where I don’t, spreading clover and other wildflower seeds every spring to further support the forest. 
Main lesson learned from starting a backyard food forest....patience. Nothing happens fast, same as working with palm trees. There are exceptions in both cases but if an apple tree isn’t to optimal mature fruiting age until it’s 15 or more years old for  a semi-dwarf size tree, you’re slapped in the face with dissatisfaction each spring when year after year you’re not hanging fruit. Best advice the year you plant fruit trees plant blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries at least then while you gain patience staring at the trees you’ll be rewarded with something you can enjoy soon, same year or next. Enjoy the literal fruits of your labor. Pics to follow

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Once you have tasted tree ripened fruit, you can never enjoy the store bought again.

You have a lot of potential cultivars and species for Tennessee, unfortunately I am too cold or too hot for most fruits.

Consider American hazelnuts (Corylus americana).

Edited by amh
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Here’s blueberries to start. Planted 8 to start 5 years ago. 2 Austin, 2 Brightwell, 2 Briteblue, 2 Delite. They were 3 year old plants when I planted them, hard to tell plant from plant even in person. They’ve done very well, the varieties ripen at a staggered rate and we enjoy an extended period of picking berries.BD216918-888D-4D13-AD93-197DE31D39AC.thumb.jpeg.63c04f69a6a8183d69152a9a3cd824fd.jpeg3A7CAF6E-1852-4B87-8D1C-7CB2C1D470B4.thumb.jpeg.ccec3b4aa7210168c59c8b02e105d19f.jpegHere’s Powderblue, and Tifblue planted 3 years ago. 1 year olds when planted and only get afternoon sun. 1D331FAE-28E1-4952-BC98-4B502B80785A.thumb.jpeg.f4ef3e566de1d0a6f35fbb44eb52b5b7.jpegThis raised bed has been ready since last spring, just planted another row of the same lineup as the first, in late March of this year. 118C9994-92C9-4C83-8469-83B7C5E22A30.thumb.jpeg.421c58d877fd6c9f85cc6dc80b90d676.jpeg

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Here’s Apache thornless blackberries. Planted 6 to begin with, built a steel post 6 wire trellis 6 feet high and 25 feet long...should have went 8 feet high and 30 or more feet long for the same amount of plants. Lesson learned-if you do a halfway decent job caring for blackberry plants you’ll be rewarded with an early summer crop on last years canes and a later summer crop on this years canes. Also plan for double the amount of plants after a few years than you initially plant. There’s enough offshoots to cut and start a whole new row, future weekend project.E2F54D15-A298-4D75-A96E-5A72F2A187B7.thumb.jpeg.3e7b385d77f7ab03fa181d9e77554ff1.jpeg9BEA3D56-2C98-4574-B2BB-599E8F1220A9.thumb.jpeg.a2e40a4df61d375d241a5da161d02ddf.jpeg4D8D2987-A9ED-4B61-BD2F-A3BE15635965.thumb.jpeg.ab491c3938cf5ebcc446c4e01ec96b81.jpegRussian sage planted down the front618BD8D4-EF48-4639-923B-898308FD5391.thumb.jpeg.4f31abe3ecf405e16deb6f357c0ad3e5.jpeg 

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11 hours ago, amh said:

Once you have tasted tree ripened fruit, you can never enjoy the store bought again.

You have a lot of potential cultivars and species for Tennessee, unfortunately I am too cold or too hot for most fruits.

Consider American hazelnuts (Corylus americana).

I’ve been super interested in planting some nut trees, honestly I can’t say why I haven’t planted any. Some varieties do take a long time to get to fruiting age. I definitely wanted to go with native species for sure 

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Random views of the fruit trees. Hard to keep track, I think there’s close to 30 total trees planted. 4 Liberty apple, 1 freedom apple, 1 pink lady, 1 golden delicious, 1 honey crisp, 1 grannie smith, 1 enterprise apple, 1 dolgo crab apple, 1 American crab apple, 1 cortland, 1 red delicious, 1 pineapple pear, 1 Perdue pear, 1 bartlett pear, 1 kiefer pear, 2 mulberry trees, 2 elderberry bushes, 2 Chicago hardy fig, 1 Rainer cherry, 1 Stella cherry. I always forget a few.9B0104A0-6A91-4A0C-8FF0-DC5C18F40DC4.thumb.jpeg.9a6255ebce29662d547ddf2c48b66f94.jpegB7626802-B4AF-4D22-B8D0-B79AB97EA3B6.thumb.jpeg.d39ae4c321357f2a0743889956744146.jpegE178324C-738C-4A44-A004-40C1EFEE7846.thumb.jpeg.46ecfd08fc92dc818e3fcdba637e4d26.jpegDE32D72A-A55D-4F07-91E7-2F419A03DD5A.thumb.jpeg.fead8a7248347daa3ec43fdb56b0ea34.jpeg3922DD5E-2687-4B28-B915-58FEA5742DC6.thumb.jpeg.b6aea7cb717bb0a1f39f5f21500fb29e.jpeg6E2EEFD0-240C-486B-A23E-84D706680E6E.thumb.jpeg.1d7a2a9ac9ba9d4d413f60533874780b.jpegD9F2F9FD-A770-4963-AB6E-0D0068E5E5E7.thumb.jpeg.1cd6bc1cf16ae0f2e465a3073313de07.jpeg9AEF6392-9D68-4531-9960-3E9863EC2C5D.thumb.jpeg.0e1c3e7e37a37866146736aeef1c024b.jpegD8BD0939-0C36-4605-8AB3-BF014150DE1D.thumb.jpeg.ac2db07d88e0fe90475f5cf0ac6a5d24.jpeg8FBEA7AC-035D-466B-AA53-8B0BDD0B247D.thumb.jpeg.f39fc56a476fd44792b862ca0e74fcbb.jpegB918280A-572C-4B09-9F37-A61DAAE405C0.thumb.jpeg.152f2bcc4be82e8bddc5f858be1f3126.jpegEB108AB7-1326-444F-BCE5-84D2925022C0.thumb.jpeg.4bbea6ab871ea40a4a455d47ea920eca.jpegI’ve grown all of these completely chemical free. Cedar apple rust, deer, Japanese beatles are the biggest issues here. Generally when fruit is to this size I will percolate some compost tea and cover the entire tree, that and the occasional application of neem oil is all the help they get above ground. Some of the older trees are holding fruit above the reach of deer. I battled for two years with caging all the trees and being pissed the deer were eating the new growth. No more though, they eat what they can reach and I’ll get a ladder out to get what’s meant for me. Most of the trees are still young and this this won’t really get rolling for another 4 years I suspect. The goal is to connect the trees in the yard with the granddaddy pine and the wooded areas behind. Eventually be an edge of the woods fruit meadow I see in my head. 

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Poppies didn’t have a great showing this yearD56CA7A0-710A-456E-9073-C3013ACB50FD.thumb.jpeg.0d027683ba7597378a54974f023c44aa.jpegliastrus C7DCBD60-2C41-484B-BA87-867757AECA5B.thumb.jpeg.e26f440d02dda7ed39728de2012f677c.jpegdid quite few new plantings of mountain mint this year79157FE1-B467-4A6F-9092-D5C633D74979.thumb.jpeg.c7f4ac799919a9be72c71c92e03372df.jpegsome grapes that hang a crazy amount of fruit every year not sure of the variety but the deer love them2A1DD68A-A1B0-464F-83BF-B737ED3F7181.thumb.jpeg.c2e5b0bcaeed7764ed1e9140e78dcfd1.jpeg41D7047E-D69B-4A96-AA82-746F2F5656C3.thumb.jpeg.4903e8969921c134b6963c31699f0720.jpeg4E7BD264-ADD4-46AF-8066-7593031CC6AA.thumb.jpeg.e53014e52b983d58a10d93a041236c91.jpegtry to keep as much clover in the yard as “grass” as a backup for the bees. DBFD43E3-A53D-4799-805F-405946C037CB.thumb.jpeg.4e08c414103946c3eb9d41381210bfc1.jpegF1C10EF0-617F-4D87-8391-E054823D22AD.thumb.jpeg.de6e6fe39af6105635b9276687e9c244.jpegBees love lavender here and hit it all summer long. Have around 16 plants altogether 3 mature specimens and the rest young, but all flowering this year.B8E41189-ADFA-4B87-8B0E-C1E15F6DAEB3.thumb.jpeg.997a7cca0577fa6f5daeaf554c686729.jpeg58527BB5-2A59-433A-B6C9-511E12765C7A.thumb.jpeg.7d3d9bf32f9bb032d53a7a8dd780d813.jpegA324E71A-82F7-4A5F-8DE0-AC753CFE6E4F.thumb.jpeg.23b38d7065233a1d3ed22c3b0d0442f6.jpeg0B617D90-2FEB-47A4-B51F-50304DA62BE7.thumb.jpeg.3d807576b38961aae0bce4ea8eaeaf3e.jpegcommon milkweed and swamp milkweed, spirea, and buddleia, cone flower, salviaC48387C4-F465-42D1-90E8-A2DB1CBE31B8.thumb.jpeg.75580a9fcf7247c7867bda77fdacea6e.jpeg9239D15F-2560-4D47-8153-DA69FDBFAA75.thumb.jpeg.4d2c0e8d3a64a2c50529472cd9d2d979.jpeg5B6F39C7-3B8A-4BBB-A590-44D016866161.thumb.jpeg.371fc6c1318b841702b628d3cfac340d.jpegFF5B311D-A892-450B-821C-6897540C2D94.thumb.jpeg.1afbf43831703e45fd24df2408106386.jpegE575BD3F-FF1F-45B5-8660-0D9C8B27C81E.thumb.jpeg.c6cd014861c678af00bd107efaee01b1.jpegF5128266-E039-4FA6-AB5A-23A83B076CDC.thumb.jpeg.42e084ee033b06dc9b0fa4890badb5d6.jpeg3DBBE7EA-0C0F-4F72-B08F-E2275DF9C5B0.thumb.jpeg.32a79dd5987b0397b1a1e8ff8198bea1.jpeg01A219F5-A025-4493-9657-0659FE523A87.thumb.jpeg.85edfaf8190f42bffa3b69e706ad3d87.jpeg

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4 hours ago, teddytn said:


Bees love lavender here and hit it all summer long. Have around 16 plants altogether 3 mature specimens and the rest young, but all flowering this year.

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:greenthumb: Interesting, The Lavender survive the winters / wet summer conditions there so far?  Herb Garden/ Landscape staple in California. Not something i'd have expected to see in the ground in the South.. 

You'll have to post a few pictures when that Showy Milkweed ( last picture ) flowers..

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20 hours ago, amh said:

Once you have tasted tree ripened fruit, you can never enjoy the store bought again.

When I was a child my maternal grandfather had a huge vegetable garden and fruit orchard in a tiny village on the Sacramento river.  (He was a young man during the Depression.)

The rich, alluvial soil and long hot summers produced memorable fruits and vegetables.  He would harvest figs and apricots every few days, selecting only the most perfectly tree-ripened fruit.  To this day I am always disappointed by commercial fruit, even at the organic farmers' market.

  Don't even get me started about his tomatoes, which I ate out of hand, like an apple!

 

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San Francisco, California

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52 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

:greenthumb: Interesting, The Lavender survive the winters / wet summer conditions there so far?  Herb Garden/ Landscape staple in California. Not something i'd have expected to see in the ground in the South.. 

You'll have to post a few pictures when that Showy Milkweed ( last picture ) flowers..

I was surprised at first about the lavender also, the 2 oldest plants have been in the ground for 4 years, and I’ve planted a little more each year. 2 rosemary plants stay green and survive this last winter. The lavender stays evergreen and technically grow very slowly though during the winter. One of my daughters and I cut leaves to make tea all last winter. One of my absolute favorite things is walking near the lavender on a humid warm morning in the spring/ summer here. There’s a perfume that floats through the air that is intoxicating.

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2 hours ago, teddytn said:

I was surprised at first about the lavender also, the 2 oldest plants have been in the ground for 4 years, and I’ve planted a little more each year. 2 rosemary plants stay green and survive this last winter. The lavender stays evergreen and technically grow very slowly though during the winter. One of my daughters and I cut leaves to make tea all last winter. One of my absolute favorite things is walking near the lavender on a humid warm morning in the spring/ summer here. There’s a perfume that floats through the air that is intoxicating.

Oh the smell of Lavender, on such a morning is great.. In CA, there are several native Salvia sp. that,  in a way, hint at what part of the state you're in by the scent(s) in the air when out on a hike somewhere, esp. during the summer. Scent of Creosote Bush after a good summer storm is essentially the smell of the desert. We also have  what is referred to as " Desert lavender " ..Looks a bit different, different genus -but same overall family, and smells exactly like traditional Lavendula.  Also have a couple different plants in the Mint/Sage Family commonly called " Mexican Oregano " that are great plants for pollinators, and are used in Mexican / Southwestern style cooking. Have heard of the leaves on one ( a Lippia sp. ) being used in Pasta Dishes in place of traditional Oregano also.

Personal favorite Herbs of all time for scent?  Nashia inaguensis, and Clinopodium/Satureja viminea. First one is easy as an indoor in winter/ outdoor in summer " bonsai"-type plant. Had a couple plants for years.  Other can be a little fussy ( never let it dry out ).  Scent of both is incredible. Leaves can be used for Tea ( Nashia for sure.. ).

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18 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

When I was a child my maternal grandfather had a huge vegetable garden and fruit orchard in a tiny village on the Sacramento river.  (He was a young man during the Depression.)

The rich, alluvial soil and long hot summers produced memorable fruits and vegetables.  He would harvest figs and apricots every few days, selecting only the most perfectly tree-ripened fruit.  To this day I am always disappointed by commercial fruit, even at the organic farmers' market.

  Don't even get me started about his tomatoes, which I ate out of hand, like an apple!

 

Very similar for me, my grandparents raised me in upstate New York. My grandfather had been organic gardening faithfully since the 60’s. Definitely where I caught the initial plant bug from. The native soil there is rocky clay, he had been rotating his compost pile yearly, adding bone meal, fish emulsion, and chicken manure the soil was at least 2 feet deep of pure compost in his entire backyard. He just did it for his own love of plants, I feel grateful I got such a good start in gardening from him. Same with tomatoes with him, later on he was getting into cross breeding but I was gone by that point. Soil health is key to long term productive plantings of all kinds of plants for sure though. I’m very jealous of what people are capable of in California, everywhere is limited in one aspect or another though I guess.

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On 6/5/2021 at 10:12 AM, teddytn said:

I’ve been super interested in planting some nut trees, honestly I can’t say why I haven’t planted any. Some varieties do take a long time to get to fruiting age. I definitely wanted to go with native species for sure 

The American Hazelnuts are precocious for nuts and grafted walnut and pecan varieties are available.

I forgot to mention Castanea pumila known as Allegheny chinquapin.

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On 6/5/2021 at 5:55 PM, Darold Petty said:

When I was a child my maternal grandfather had a huge vegetable garden and fruit orchard in a tiny village on the Sacramento river.  (He was a young man during the Depression.)

The rich, alluvial soil and long hot summers produced memorable fruits and vegetables.  He would harvest figs and apricots every few days, selecting only the most perfectly tree-ripened fruit.  To this day I am always disappointed by commercial fruit, even at the organic farmers' market.

  Don't even get me started about his tomatoes, which I ate out of hand, like an apple!

 

Most of my life I've had access to fruit trees, either from my grandparents, my own trees or forage. The best strategy is to give the tree a light shake, if the fruit falls, eat it, otherwise its not ripe yet.

"Only two things money can't buy
That's true love and homegrown tomatoes", Guy Clark.

 

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On 6/5/2021 at 12:32 PM, teddytn said:

Random views of the fruit trees. Hard to keep track, I think there’s close to 30 total trees planted. 4 Liberty apple, 1 freedom apple, 1 pink lady, 1 golden delicious, 1 honey crisp, 1 grannie smith, 1 enterprise apple, 1 dolgo crab apple, 1 American crab apple, 1 cortland, 1 red delicious, 1 pineapple pear, 1 Perdue pear, 1 bartlett pear, 1 kiefer pear, 2 mulberry trees, 2 elderberry bushes, 2 Chicago hardy fig, 1 Rainer cherry, 1 Stella cherry. I always forget a few.

Whats you opinion of the dolgo crab apple?

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5 hours ago, amh said:

Whats you opinion of the dolgo crab apple?

I don’t have much of one yet, it hasn’t flowered and fruited. It has that weeping arching growth habit already. Hasn’t shown any susceptibility to disease and the Japanese beatles stay off off the leaves. Suppose to be a rock solid middle pollinator. That’s like an extra safeguard for pollination and with the low weeping habit gives the deer something to eat. 

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5 hours ago, amh said:

The American Hazelnuts are precocious for nuts and grafted walnut and pecan varieties are available.

I forgot to mention Castanea pumila known as Allegheny chinquapin.

I’ve been slacking, I need to get my nut game in order lol

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9 hours ago, amh said:

The American Hazelnuts are precocious for nuts and grafted walnut and pecan varieties are available.

I forgot to mention Castanea pumila known as Allegheny chinquapin.

I always forget about chinquapin 

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Plums!

About a week ago, I harvested 'Scarlett Beauty' Plums from my tree for the first time. This was surprising, as I wasn't sure if the cultivar would grow here in hot and humid South Florida. The tree is about 5 ft. (1.5m) tall. The tree flowered like crazy about two months ago, showing off with small white flowers in abundance. I got two small plums, about the size of table tennis balls. One was perfectly ripe, the other was a tad early. Both were like sweet peaches, in both perfume and taste. The stone was tiny and clung to the fruit a bit.

I did not get any cold of any significance this past winter, so I had no chilling time. The Scarlett Beauty is next to my FlordaPrince* Peach tree, which didn't do anything this year, due to hence, no chilling time. It did flower with three, four flowers but that's all.

- Smaller than average plums, but no complaints. I am not sure about the average size of the fruit borne by the cultivar. This could be normal as far as I know. Excluding the size, everything else was classic plum, inside and out. The skin was thin and the flesh was very juicy, even on the slightly unripe fruit. I should have photographed the fruit on the tree, but I was so excited when the fruit began to change color, I forgot. If the tree provides, I shall eat again.

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Ryan

* That is how the cultivar name is spelled, as much to my chagrin at displaying incorrect names on plants. I will often complete the state name just for the cause of peace in a sale, auction or meeting situation.

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South Florida

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13 minutes ago, Palmarum said:

Plums!

About a week ago, I harvested 'Scarlett Beauty' Plums from my tree for the first time. This was surprising, as I wasn't sure if the cultivar would grow here in hot and humid South Florida. The tree is about 5 ft. (1.5m) tall. The tree flowered like crazy about two months ago, showing off with small white flowers in abundance. I got two small plums, about the size of table tennis balls. One was perfectly ripe, the other was a tad early. Both were like sweet peaches, in both perfume and taste. The stone was tiny and clung to the fruit a bit.

I did not get any cold of any significance this past winter, so I had no chilling time. The Scarlett Beauty is next to my FlordaPrince* Peach tree, which didn't do anything this year, due to hence, no chilling time. It did flower with three, four flowers but that's all.

- Smaller than average plums, but no complaints. I am not sure about the average size of the fruit borne by the cultivar. This could be normal as far as I know. Excluding the size, everything else was classic plum, inside and out. The skin was thin and the flesh was very juicy, even on the slightly unripe fruit. I should have photographed the fruit on the tree, but I was so excited when the fruit began to change color, I forgot. If the tree provides, I shall eat again.

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Ryan

* That is how the cultivar name is spelled, as much to my chagrin at displaying incorrect names on plants. I will often complete the state name just for the cause of peace in a sale, auction or meeting situation.

That’s awesome! I wanted to get a handle on some “easier” fruits before giving it a go with softer ones. That picture made my mouth water! If I was in Florida I would definitely try my hand at some citrus. Any experience with it?

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Just now, teddytn said:

That’s awesome! I wanted to get a handle on some “easier” fruits before giving it a go with softer ones. That picture made my mouth water! If I was in Florida I would definitely try my hand at some citrus. Any experience with it?

Any experience with citrus? Loads. I had a few different citrus trees years ago, until the Citrus Canker 'Purge' of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The inspectors came and destroyed all the citrus trees in the yard and neighborhood. They even took non-citrus trees because the sampled leaves had a citrus-like scent.

I have been looking for certain citrus trees to get, including the old fashioned Key Lime and a strange, giant Pomelo I've seen before while checking out a yard sale. I was told the name, but I forgot, been trying to find the name again.

Ryan

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South Florida

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24 minutes ago, Palmarum said:

Any experience with citrus? Loads. I had a few different citrus trees years ago, until the Citrus Canker 'Purge' of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The inspectors came and destroyed all the citrus trees in the yard and neighborhood. They even took non-citrus trees because the sampled leaves had a citrus-like scent.

I have been looking for certain citrus trees to get, including the old fashioned Key Lime and a strange, giant Pomelo I've seen before while checking out a yard sale. I was told the name, but I forgot, been trying to find the name again.

Ryan

That brings back bad memories for me. A few years ago a complaint was made about people having piles of sticks in their back yard. The inspector decided he could come in everyone’s backyard without getting permission, I received a citation for the 3 compost piles I had going. It all worked itself out when whoever that guys boss got involved who is a local farmer. I would have been livid if they removed more than was necessary. My wife’s favorite is key lime, we about take a trip to Florida just for her to get her fix it feels like lol

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1 hour ago, teddytn said:

... I received a citation for the 3 compost piles I had going. It all worked itself out when whoever that guys boss got involved who is a local farmer. I would have been livid if they removed more than was necessary. My wife’s favorite is key lime, we about take a trip to Florida just for her to get her fix it feels like lol

Same here. I have received notices, notes, comments about compost piles before, but never a citation. I've had police show up because of a bad smelling plant in bloom; people thought it was a body. Inspectors today are a bit more weary about going in a backyard without permission or risk injury (dog, cat, bullet). I have a lot of utility lines and equipment in and around my yard so dealing with them is always an issue. I had FPL (power company) in my backyard one day (very early morning) without permission and I threw them all out for not asking before hand.

A friend of mine lost a lot more than I did during the Purge. She is a bonsai expert (maybe a master by now) who had several very old Citrus bonsai plants she got from her grandmother (some 50 years old or more at the time). The inspectors entered her yard without her being home and trashed each Citrus bonsai she had. They were in bonsai pots too! They just twisted the leaf and smelled it, if it was citrusy, they trashed it. She got no compensation. She was not a fan of the Dept. of Ag. after that and she let them know whenever she saw them.

Key Limes are a staple here for a lot of things, especially Key Lime Pie, which is token symbol of the Keys and South Florida in general. I can polish off some pies all by myself if given the chance. During last year's lockdown I was considering learning how to make them, but didn't have the limes. Probably a good thing in the long run. But I still want the trees/shrubs to grow the fruit.

Ryan

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South Florida

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One thing I have not had success with is grapes. The only varieties I’ve planted were muscadine. They all grew great the first year, after the first winter they all developed this weird growth on the main trunk close to soil level, and perished. Going to give them a shot again. Cant say it’s a “wild” grape vine. Been here from long before we bought the house, that grows like a weed. Anyone have any grape tips? 

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Wild red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) grew well all over my 8 acres back in Corryton, TN.  I'm sure it would do well over there too.

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Jon Sunder

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57 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Wild red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) grew well all over my 8 acres back in Corryton, TN.  I'm sure it would do well over there too.

The wife keeps mentioning to plant a row of  raspberry. I’ve got a trellis up where I previously had grapes planted, might have to do it. Maybe stupid question, they’re pretty much identical to blackberries as far as growing them is concerned? 

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There’s something about eating food that’s on the same pattern in time that we are. They say generally the longest healthy living people eat a seasonal diet. Not that eating fruit out of season is bad or wrong. But eating food that has been through the same weather patterns, gets hit by the same sun and wind, the same rainy day for us and the plant. Amending the soil, fertilizing, mulching, watering, spraying with compost tea, helping the plant to become strong and fight its own battles and win, that toughness is transferred to us when we eat it. Honor the plants that grow the food and the fruit that is produced becomes not just nutritionally nourishing, but gets our entire system back in line with nature. 

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16 hours ago, teddytn said:

 they’re pretty much identical to blackberries as far as growing them is concerned? 

As far as I know they are - they both did great in the same conditions without ANY help from me!  The blackberry tried to take over my small backyard so I had to keep cutting them back.  And they were thorny...

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Jon Sunder

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On 6/7/2021 at 12:55 PM, teddytn said:

That brings back bad memories for me. A few years ago a complaint was made about people having piles of sticks in their back yard. The inspector decided he could come in everyone’s backyard without getting permission, I received a citation for the 3 compost piles I had going. It all worked itself out when whoever that guys boss got involved who is a local farmer. I would have been livid if they removed more than was necessary. My wife’s favorite is key lime, we about take a trip to Florida just for her to get her fix it feels like lol

 

On 6/7/2021 at 2:33 PM, Palmarum said:

Same here. I have received notices, notes, comments about compost piles before, but never a citation. I've had police show up because of a bad smelling plant in bloom; people thought it was a body. Inspectors today are a bit more weary about going in a backyard without permission or risk injury (dog, cat, bullet). I have a lot of utility lines and equipment in and around my yard so dealing with them is always an issue. I had FPL (power company) in my backyard one day (very early morning) without permission and I threw them all out for not asking before hand.

A friend of mine lost a lot more than I did during the Purge. She is a bonsai expert (maybe a master by now) who had several very old Citrus bonsai plants she got from her grandmother (some 50 years old or more at the time). The inspectors entered her yard without her being home and trashed each Citrus bonsai she had. They were in bonsai pots too! They just twisted the leaf and smelled it, if it was citrusy, they trashed it. She got no compensation. She was not a fan of the Dept. of Ag. after that and she let them know whenever she saw them.

Key Limes are a staple here for a lot of things, especially Key Lime Pie, which is token symbol of the Keys and South Florida in general. I can polish off some pies all by myself if given the chance. During last year's lockdown I was considering learning how to make them, but didn't have the limes. Probably a good thing in the long run. But I still want the trees/shrubs to grow the fruit.

Ryan

Luckily I have a liberal POA, so I can have as big of a compost pile as I want, and grow whatever plants I want.

Key lime plants are ubiquitous in south Texas and are labeled as Mexican lime, they should do well in containers and can be started from seed.

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1 hour ago, Fusca said:

As far as I know they are - they both did great in the same conditions without ANY help from me!  The blackberry tried to take over my small backyard so I had to keep cutting them back.  And they were thorny...

The dewberries here love to take over on wet years.

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On 6/9/2021 at 2:50 PM, amh said:

The dewberries here love to take over on wet years.

Of course I could look it up, but what’s the fun in that! What is a dewberry? I’ve honestly never heard of it...

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17 minutes ago, teddytn said:

Of course I could look it up, but what’s the fun in that! What is a dewberry? I’ve honestly never heard of it...

They are a Rubus species very similar to blackberries. The species that grow in my area are a low growing vine. The taste is quite sweet when they are ripe with nice acidity. I haven't used the leaves for tea yet. I'll take pictures of the vines tomorrow.

I didn't get any fruit this year, but after receiving over 2 feet of rain over the past 6 weeks, the plants should look vigorous.

Edited by amh
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19 hours ago, teddytn said:

Of course I could look it up, but what’s the fun in that! What is a dewberry? I’ve honestly never heard of it...

Not the best picture, but here are a few vines. The thorns really burn when you are stuck.

dbv.thumb.jpg.4453c63ed407d343fe67377550ce87d7.jpg

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1 hour ago, amh said:

Not the best picture, but here are a few vines. The thorns really burn when you are stuck.

dbv.thumb.jpg.4453c63ed407d343fe67377550ce87d7.jpg

Oh yeah super similar growth habit as blackberries. Yeah same here we’ve gotten quite a bit of rain this year so far. 

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4 minutes ago, teddytn said:

Oh yeah super similar growth habit as blackberries. Yeah same here we’ve gotten quite a bit of rain this year so far. 

I've had close to a years worth of rain already this year. Last year my rainfall was about a foot short and this year between May and the first week of June, I've had about 30 inches. Its been so muddy that I haven't been weeding my garden.

tmr.thumb.jpg.a61dc97b9f81bbd463477f428c82260b.jpg

Its in there somewhere, but I think it is a loss.

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43 minutes ago, amh said:

I've had close to a years worth of rain already this year. Last year my rainfall was about a foot short and this year between May and the first week of June, I've had about 30 inches. Its been so muddy that I haven't been weeding my garden.

tmr.thumb.jpg.a61dc97b9f81bbd463477f428c82260b.jpg

Its in there somewhere, but I think it is a loss.

I know exactly what you mean, it’s rained so much and been warm and now hot, everything is growing like crazy especially the weeds

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A few of us were discussing lavender previously, hers a few more herbs and other other pics I took today. Greek oregano I planted last year. It did not flower last year, so it wasn’t a reseed, plant regrew from below the soil line. Bees have been hitting it.0AA50146-49B6-435B-B385-404CF926BBDF.thumb.jpeg.d9e10f490e30966d5ae0ac5b4be7bc16.jpeg4959C076-AA8A-40DE-8295-BC7220A14535.thumb.jpeg.696ddaf618f1ab5a1d5bcfdc56f00ca3.jpegCatnip below, another one the bees will hit but not their first choice for sure.F17795E1-430C-4749-957F-E528A3DBE329.thumb.jpeg.f744d5429aea422eae0e76daed7c75a0.jpeg2 Rosemary plants stayed evergreen all winter and grew out of some frost damage as soon as spring hit, not sure of the cultivar, but very excited they survived last winter.9FFA22F4-7BA0-4FB0-A3B1-0CBB064747A5.thumb.jpeg.526190c8c516a823586ced0b55d4c29a.jpegCilantro, fairly aggressive. Really shallow rooted so pulls out really easy. Not sure what kind of bees they are, but one of the plants that flower here that the tiny mini bees will hit.8D9B0394-2148-4628-B55C-EED2C4CD23F9.thumb.jpeg.792d1c1b333e66957779486ad93ad435.jpegRussian sage, have 5 or 6 in the ground.C832052B-4175-4783-9A7D-694DA22AF0F6.thumb.jpeg.4244c7f8658dc02a2f3da9ad0d8924f5.jpegCommon culinary mint, very aggressive. Like take over a bed completely in a season aggressive, but I honestly prefer it to weeds so I pull all of it usually twice a year. There’s always enough root mass still in the ground to make a come back the next year.6ED726F5-5360-496E-94D1-C35E50031DA2.thumb.jpeg.1239eb80a41c4a62774ed19b531bd98b.jpegHave a bunch of mountain mint growing as well, just planted this year and not much to look at, I’ll take a shot tomorrow. 

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The blackberry and blueberry plants are hanging an incredible amount of fruit this year.BB933B74-70B7-403C-AB70-6C0B87CDDA6F.thumb.jpeg.5ce2c8a07109fc5de894ed881f00572b.jpeg42EB791F-694C-446A-B779-C9CDA48AB7DA.thumb.jpeg.a85eb7d5c2bc6d2b72ab675c9c824809.jpegCF768D5E-D4B1-4C3B-A4A5-20CFADD10794.thumb.jpeg.e54b91c4b0fe0a9468db163862e4c1d3.jpegBonanza peach tree I believe, ornamental peach tree none the less. Looks cool next to the needle palm.BD4868F5-9A76-44DD-8F96-4C4CBB7CBDA8.thumb.jpeg.40601e1ac3c16774eec6aafcd0b5924d.jpegB1B7FD18-66AC-4507-A752-612BF8050B51.thumb.jpeg.638a5e5b23c4662e81b8230eed574b52.jpegCurly kale, been making kale chips and eating salads since April.9FD2FF7D-A59B-4362-9753-E8C1860E1412.thumb.jpeg.84c3c67ece278ee7cd7d7b16893e106e.jpegPurple basil, sweet basilA13F152E-C43C-4623-961E-6223E8466EA2.thumb.jpeg.37fff645a61d2524046714d83c5e8553.jpegOne of the wildflower beds getting into the swing of things, a bunch of zucchini that sprouted from the compost pile.62823E36-5981-426D-B1CA-3F13E52ECC4B.thumb.jpeg.2fd1ffc4ef1fdfe915dc0dd403bfcbe9.jpeg6 tomato plants rolling now, they’re on stakes 8-1/2 feet high, they’ll be to the top by mid July. Bradley, black krim, super sweet 100, roma, random cherry tomato, and I think a golden grape tomato. 4697F366-59E6-491E-AA12-4C0973B16AC3.thumb.jpeg.7147db5c67d6d95c2e00c655753be857.jpegA row of carrots down both sides as well

67FD8F8D-5EC1-41A6-A248-A17ECAEEC00C.jpeg

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