Hi Oepfeli, welcome. I am in the montane area (upper foothills) for the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, at about 8300 ft elevation. Not sure, but it may be similar here to your climate/locale. Be glad to compare notes/info with you about fruit growing here.
Hello Steve,
Thank you! This could be very interesting. (After discreetly checking on a map where exactly Colorado is :blushing: ) I guess your climate is continental?
And precipitation? How long is your growing period?
About our climate: we get about 1200 mm/ 47 inches rain and snow. Last snow typically falls in early may, earliest snow can vary between september- november. The snow doesnāt normally stay but comes and goes the whole winter.
Average tempratures in January are -3Ā° C to 3Ā°C. In August 11Ā°C to 20 Ā°C.
This doesnāt propably sound like z5, but since Switzerland as a whole is categorized as z6 and we are 500 m/ 1500 feet higher than the main comercial orchards it felt fair to downgrade our zone.
I guess I will really start posting about it in the Spring when the trees begin to bloom
Hi everyone,
After visiting the site frequently for over a year I decided to finally create an account and formally join the community. I live in the suburbs of Chicago and grow a variety of fruit in containers (figs, peaches, apricots, grapes) due to the limited space in my yard, the harsh/unpredictable winter months outside Chicago, and the ability to take the trees with me when I move. Iām fully aware that last reason may make me crazy to some (my wife) which is perfectly ok. I tend to agree. Iām also an avid gardener.
Sounds like you will fit in perfectly with the rest of us with spouses who sometimes think we are crazy! Welcome!
A few differences between our locations. Not sure what a continental pattern would be, but in general the SW of the US is semi-arid. Even in the higher mountain areas most agriculture is done using saved water from spring run-off or from wells. In my location we typically get 13-15" (33cm-38cm) of precipitation a year, more or less evenly divided between snow and rain. Humidity is quite low on average (storms aside), and one result of that is we have fewer insects and diseases. We are classified as z5 but it has been trending warmer, with min winter temps around -10F (-23C) the last few years. There are some fruit growing areas (and other agriculture) in the mountains (not near me), but they are in locations which tend to be warmer in the summer (more southern) and have access to irrigation water from the high mountain run-off. Interestingly at roughly the same elevation as me, just in a different weather pattern.
It will be interesting to compare notes.
Are you talking about the areas around Alamosa in between the San Juans and Sangre de Cristo ranges? A vast, relatively flat area, but at high altitude. Donāt they call such areas āparksā in Colorado?
Since my last post about the climate of various areas was off topic, I will create a new thread. In it, folks like @Steve333 and @Oepfeli and others can compare notes about what and what doesnāt do well in similar locations.
Similar. Alamosa is more a general ag area, although I suspect there is some fruit grown there too. And yes, those big flat-ish areas between the mountain ranges are called parks here. Paonia is more the ālocalā fruit growing region in our state, peaches being a big crop there.
Hi I live in Southeast Michigan near Ann Arbor. I just ordered apples, medlar, persimmon, peach, tart and sweet cherry, and paw paw, super hardy kiwi, grape, and quince. I put in 300 strawberries and 75 raspberries last year for family eating and a little roadside stand. Iām a horticulturist by trade (private gardener-primarily maintenance with some design and install) and am enjoying learning about the fruit production side of plants and incorporating a visually appealing design to our back yard. Iām learning about the rootstock and think I should go with a couple different ones m7 and m111 and see what works here. Slight hill, full sun, sandy clay loam. I do not want to stake in the end if possible. By the time I find the variety it seems a company doesnāt have a rootstock and I my lose my mind lol! This is where people just graft their own isnāt it? Or, maybe just get more trees lol. Looking forward to searching threads here and learning. Thanks.
Welcome Shere!
Hello everyone, my name is Justin and I am new here but not so much when it comes to fruit!! Hope to have a positive experience here, seems like a great venue!!! Thanks
Thanks!
Hi Justin, welcome to the plant-lovers forum.
Thank you
Welcom Justin!
Wecome @Jsavkov and @shhanlon! You will find a great bunch of fruit lovers here with a variety of interests! Looking forward to reading more about both of your growing adventures.
Hi everybody! (Hi Dr. Nick!)
Seriously tho, Iām not a doctor and my name is not Nick. My name is Alex and I recently planted a backyard orchard in Elk Grove, which is a suburb just south of Sacramento, CA. I believe the USDA zone is 9b and Sunset zone 14. Mild winters in which we receive almost all of our rain. Usually get most of our heat in August-September and even into October. Slight marine influence as Iām located a few miles from the delta.
My house came equipped with 30-40 year old Santa Rosa plum, pecan (squirrels take ALL), clementine mandarin, Meyers lemon, wonderful pomegranate, nagami kumquat, and the biggest pineapple guava Iāve ever encountered. Is is silly to purchase a house based on the fruit trees in the backyard? Iām on a 1/3 with a large south-facing backyard which, besides the aforementioned trees, was a giant lawn. Iāve since managed to plant close to 100 trees (some in containers).
Speaking of which, I want to give a huge shout out to everyone on this site for the invaluable information and insights I gleaned lurking around (Iām not creepy, I swear!). Iām a disabled veteran and creating this mini-orchard has allowed me to lose 50 lbs and get my mental health back on track. Thank you all for helping to create this space and provide such a valuable resource for people like myself.
Iām hoping to learn as much as I can to help guide this orchard into fruition! Iām particularly interested to learn more about pruning and grafting, and it looks like thereās a wealth of information.
Welcome Alex. Youāre amongst some good people on here, hope you enjoy your time on here. I guess we were all lurkers at one point before joining, so nothing wrong with that. We have quite a few members on here from NoCal, so you have might have some neighbors on here.
Thanks subdood!