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Home Grown Veggies and fruits
I've got a couple acres up in the mountains around redding, ca.. I'm wondering what kind of veggies and fruit I can grow up there to keep myself in the basics year round. I know how to eat the stuff but know pretty much nothing about growing it.
The property is about 4000'. it drops into the twenties and teens in the winter with usually not more than a foot or two of snow on the ground.
I'm assuming I'd need a greenhouse of some sort. I want to keep the bugs and such to a minimum and prefer to have it use little or no power if possible.
I'm guessing things like potatoes are pretty much good to go for that area, but what about things like apples, avocado (miniture/pigmy tree?), banannas, nuts, onions, tomatoes, grapes, broccoli, etc.?
How much of that is doable? How big a greehouse do I need for enough for 4 or less people. Is it possible to have any of these foods year round?
Thanks,
Mark S.
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Home Grown Veggies and fruits
Forgot to set the message to auto-notify me, so I'm using this reply for that.
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Home Grown Veggies and fruits
everything you mentioned will do good there except banannas, Have friends that live in French Gulch, Hot in the summer
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Home Grown Veggies and fruits
So am I correct in assuming I'll need a greenhouse? Will I be able to harvest year round?
How difficult is this to set up and get going? I have no clue whatsoever about all this.
How much work is involved once set up and planted? Is it pretty much just a matter of watering and monitoring?
And the million dollar question is, what kind of success rate can an utter newbie to the greenhouse mini farm expect?
Thanks,
Mark S.
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Home Grown Veggies and fruits
Can anyone point me to a good wesite or other reading material that might deal with what I'm describing in the type of climate I'm talking about so that I can do some research?
Thanks,
Mark S.
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Home Grown Veggies and fruits
Readers Digest has a book called "Back to the Basics" also Mother Earth News has lot of information,they also have a book called "Stocking UP" that might help you
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There are certainly books and I might look for some myself. It would take some study.
I suspect that for most crops entirely passive energy systems for a greenhouse wouldn't do it. Supplemental lighting also would be needed for many crops. I imagine you get short days and clouds during the winter. Many plants make plenty of foliage in moderate temps but don't produce much to eat without a lot of light.
I'd probably start off thinking of it as a good place to spend some time during the winter and all the better if it also produced something to eat. I don't imagine that economically the idea is going to compete with the grocery buz. Off the top of my head I think watercress might be an idea. Around here the stuff grows in the streams when there's still ice. A diet of watercress wouldn't appeal to me much but the works could be made fairly attractive with mini-falls, fountains etc. As I say, I'd think of it as someplace where I'd want to be rather than someplace that produces groceries.
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Home Grown Veggies and fruits
If you're looking to make this simple, I'd avoid a large greenhouse (except to start tomatoes, peppers and such in the early spring) and concentrate on a good harvest and methods to preserve it: drying, canning, freezing. Yes, the tomatoes will be much better fresh in August and you'll miss 'em in January, but you can still have them stewwed from jars. Apples and potatoes will keep well into the early spring if stored in a good root cellar. Most other veggie's freeze or can well.
BTW - I'm thinking of putting some lettuce and spinach in my small greenhouse this winter and see if we can have salads in the winter/early spring.
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