Greeting folks,
I’m Lukas from good ol’ Germany, another one being fascinated by this great forum for some time and passionate about growing stuff.
My grandfather infused me with gardening early but i almost forgot about it till my early 20s. I then started with chili peppers, realising the potential of fruits afterwards.
Currently I planted about 33 trees and another 33 of berry bushes in our small house garden plus raised beds. Most trees are in big containers, round 6 are planted out. I build some wooden containers you find in US nurserys and use root pouches as well (space runnig oout).
On a fruitbased diet my goal is to produce as much as possible due to the weak quality you mostly find in german supermarkets. Planting trees is also not that common in my area, covid times accelerate and create a need though.
I try to find a good balance between rare and productive plants and push the limits. 7a would be my original zone, at least some years back. Right now it’s more of a 8+ there are long cold frames but not that hard frosts anymore.
Besides common tasty fruits you’ll find pawpaws, feijoa, pomegranates, heartnut, white sapote and more tropical stuff like jaboticaba, miracle fruit, peanutbutter fruit, ugni, katuk and pitanga in the oasis. Greens and veggies naturally as well…
Soo Looking forward to find some more container growers and hoping for good coorperation.
Yeah, I’ve got a big fruited sweet variety called Noiroma as a high trunk on Ribes aureum. First tasted like dog food, but now I really like it. Plus white and red currants.
Hi Dawn, and welcome to the forum! I’m also about an hour east of Nashville, so it sounds like we are probably fairly near each other. It can definitely be a challenge to grow fruit in our environment. Late freezes do most of the damage - even worse than insects and diseases.
Anyway, just wanted to say “welcome” to a neighbor!
Hi all, my name is Terry I grew up in southern MN in a small rural town. I have been living in SouthCentral Alaska for the last 36 years Hardiness Zone 4a. Always wanted to be self sufficient and have done a pretty good job of accomplishing that.
I have grafted and grow around 75 apple trees with more varieties grafted onto a number of them. Also have gotten interested in U of Sas bush cherries. I have a dozen of them, the varieties include Carmen Jewel, Cupid, Romeo, and Juliet. I have a couple Evans, and a Sand Cherry too. Last year I grafted a Bing, Stella, and Lapin on a cold hardy rootstock (Krymsk 5). Time will tell on those… The small fruit I grow are strawberries, red currants, gooseberries, gold and red raspberries, local wild service berries, and Martin saskatoon. I am having fun experimenting with honey berries, and haskaps. I have about 15 varieties of them some Russian, some from U. of Sas., and some from the late Dr. Maxine Thompson. A lot of time is spent growing pretty much all our vegetables from seed, which I can and blanch for winter storage. In the greenhouse I have many varieties of open pollinated tomatoes and peppers. Being an avid hunter and fisherman moose, caribou, bear, and fish come from here as well. Growing, hunting, fishing, and processing along with getting firewood takes up most of my summer and fall.
My brother and his wife lived in Fairbanks for almost 50 years and did a lot of gardening there. It was moose who created the biggest problem for them. They are now very happy to be gardening in the tropics of New Hampshire where they moved to be close to their grand-children. Their current suburbia has few wildlife challenges.
Shortly after they arrived, I installed an orchard for them and they’ve already enjoyed a couple of peach crops.
I have my orchard and most garden areas fenced or they would be decimated. Used to take a chance with a few of my big apple trees but gave up and just drive T posts and fence each year. Father Time is reminding me to find a youngster soon.
