Garden thread

[ecofarm]

kenya seems very attractive ,did you visit masai mara there ?

Yes, in 2003, my first time in Kenya (and this village) for MSc thesis research. I hitchhiked with a guide from Nairobi to Narok and hired a local taxi with driver to take us into the park. We added a Masai guide at the park gate and saw elephants, a cheatah, giraffe and others. I've also been to Mombasa (staying quite literally on the beach for a couple weeks) and Naivasha. I went into Tanzania for a bit, to get a look at Kilimanjaro.

It's the dry season, right? The rains should start soon, I guess.

That's correct, 2-4 weeks. With the watering at the mound since the Jan (end of rains) transplant, we should get two harvests of grass during the long rains (April-Aug).

Are you in the Highlands? Or closer to the coast?

The south side of Mt. Kenya, about 1800 meters elevation, right up against the Natl. Forest (it's about 1km away, I was in it yesterday noticing rather fresh elephant dung). Google Map has recently listed 'Kanja Market'. It's the best agricultural land in Kenya, by my estimation, with warm days and cool nights year-round. No mosquitos (elevation and no standing water bodies), so no malaria. A very low-maitenance, high value cash crop - tea (and some coffee). Good schools, rich people (1+ acre per household average). The land was alloted to private owners just a generation or two ago (1957-'59) and every male head of household that settled received 5-10 acres; the family plots have been subdivided only once in most cases. Many of the original family patriarchs (now 70-100+ years) had 2-3 wives and several sons. As a result of the wealth (and thus education) and the recent, sudden, observance of sub-dividing impacts, almost the entire village has undergone the demographic transition in what must be record time (a single generation from multiple wives and 5+ sons to monogamy and 2-4 children total). The people my age (41) all want 2-3 children maximum and they are all monogamous.

It looks terrific, beautiful deep red soil and clearly much more lush than I'd expect after months of no rain.

Well, the grass is just barely pushing up, the pineapples have not begun fruiting this year, the cassava is only ~1.5 years old (and the yams as well), but it's not bad. We 'shaved' the wood trees at the beginning of the dry season, providing mulch and got lucky with a couple rogue rains. In a few months, it'll look like a jungle; I'll get pics then.

This area gets the most rain in Kenya. The long rains generally continue into Dec, when they stop in Aug elsewhere and there's always more rainfall here than anywhere else.

I've chosen to settle here because it's the easist place to farm that I've seen (including the US, Europe, Eastern Europe, South America and eastern Africa). I wanted a democracy, passive coastline, tropical, developing world farm... and I find this (with no mosquitos!)... too lucky. Ima finish the degree, teach in the States for a few years and then settle here, god willing.

 

[Medusa]

i would like to take part in a safari ,i hope i will do it one day.

 

[Andalublue]

Yes, in 2003, my first time in Kenya (and this village) for MSc thesis research. I hitchhiked with a guide from Nairobi to Narok and hired a local taxi with driver to take us into the park. We added a Masai guide at the park gate and saw elephants, a cheatah, giraffe and others. I've also been to Mombasa (staying quite literally on the beach for a couple weeks) and Naivasha. I went into Tanzania for a bit, to get a look at Kilimanjaro.




That's correct, 2-4 weeks. With the watering at the mound since the Jan (end of rains) transplant, we should get two harvests of grass during the long rains (April-Aug).



The south side of Mt. Kenya, about 1800 meters elevation, right up against the Natl. Forest (it's about 1km away, I was in it yesterday noticing rather fresh elephant dung). Google Map has recently listed 'Kanja Market'. It's the best agricultural land in Kenya, by my estimation, with warm days and cool nights year-round. No mosquitos (elevation and no standing water bodies), so no malaria. A very low-maitenance, high value cash crop - tea (and some coffee). Good schools, rich people (1+ acre per household average). The land was alloted to private owners just a generation or two ago (1957-'59) and every male head of household that settled received 5-10 acres; the family plots have been subdivided only once in most cases. Many of the original family patriarchs (now 70-100+ years) had 2-3 wives and several sons. As a result of the wealth (and thus education) and the recent, sudden, observance of sub-dividing impacts, almost the entire village has undergone the demographic transition in what must be record time (a single generation from multiple wives and 5+ sons to monogamy and 2-4 children total). The people my age (41) all want 2-3 children maximum and they are all monogamous.



Well, the grass is just barely pushing up, the pineapples have not begun fruiting this year, the cassava is only ~1.5 years old (and the yams as well), but it's not bad. We 'shaved' the wood trees at the beginning of the dry season, providing mulch and got lucky with a couple rogue rains. In a few months, it'll look like a jungle; I'll get pics then.

This area gets the most rain in Kenya. The long rains generally continue into Dec, when they stop in Aug elsewhere and there's always more rainfall here than anywhere else.

I've chosen to settle here because it's the easist place to farm that I've seen (including the US, Europe, Eastern Europe, South America and eastern Africa). I wanted a democracy, passive coastline, tropical, developing world farm... and I find this (with no mosquitos!)... too lucky. Ima finish the degree, teach in the States for a few years and then settle here, god willing.

Great stuff! That's really interesting info and background. The place looks wonderful and your plans sound very well thought out. I wish you a lot of luck and look forward to seeing the pictures of the place as the rains turn it tropical. Thanks for all that!

 

[Andalublue]

Google Map has recently listed 'Kanja Market'.

Found it and took a look at the area on satellite view. Looks terrific.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Andy, it looks like you already have a talent for garden space design.
Love the look and I think you're well on your way.

Any ideas on what you want to grow?
I can suggest that strawberries are easy for first timers.

 

[Wake]

Getting ready to grow some wild grapes from seed.

Hopefully they'll plumpen up with Miraclegro.

 

[Andalublue]

Andy, it looks like you already have a talent for garden space design.
Love the look and I think you're well on your way.

Any ideas on what you want to grow?
I can suggest that strawberries are easy for first timers.

Thanks Harry! Yup, strawbs are going in and just this week I planted a thornless bramble, rasp and blueberry. I've got garlic and onions in and a range of herbs. I'm trying to go for a mixed produce/flower garden with some geometrical patterns and some variation in heights. I don't know about any talent, I'm just making this s*** up as I go along.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Thanks Harry! Yup, strawbs are going in and just this week I planted a thornless bramble, rasp and blueberry. I've got garlic and onions in and a range of herbs. I'm trying to go for a mixed produce/flower garden with some geometrical patterns and some variation in heights. I don't know about any talent, I'm just making this s*** up as I go along.

That's the best way to learn.

Raspberries are fun to grow, with a little fertilizer and a year to establish them, the fruit production is great.
Blueberries have a learning curve, depending on what variety.

I've tried growing the southern rabbit eye varieties, with little success.
They take about 3 years to establish and fruit well.
It's a good idea to pinch off the blooms, so the plants can establish a good root system.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Getting ready to grow some wild grapes from seed.

Hopefully they'll plumpen up with Miraclegro.

It's easier to order the vines, then plant those.
You should pinch off the grape blooms in the first year, so the root bed can establish itself.
Too fertile soil, causes excessive leaf growth and small berries.

 

[Wake]

It's easier to order the vines, then plant those.
You should pinch off the grape blooms in the first year, so the root bed can establish itself.
Too fertile soil, causes excessive leaf growth and small berries.

Thanks for the advice.

Been wanting to pick my own grapes. :mrgreen:

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Thanks for the advice.

Been wanting to pick my own grapes. :mrgreen:

I got my first bunch in the 2nd year, after I planted my vines.
They were small, not like you'd find in the grocery store, but I was pretty pleased.

They need a strong trellis.

 

[Andalublue]

That's the best way to learn.

Raspberries are fun to grow, with a little fertilizer and a year to establish them, the fruit production is great.
Blueberries have a learning curve, depending on what variety.

I've tried growing the southern rabbit eye varieties, with little success.
They take about 3 years to establish and fruit well.
It's a good idea to pinch off the blooms, so the plants can establish a good root system.

Great advice. I'd heard about pinching off the blooms in the first year. I was warned off blackcurrants as they require very specific pH and I've no idea how to control that with any accuracy. Rasps do very well here and the brambles I'm told will produce fruit the first year.

Had a great day in the garden today. I laid a new gravel path, planted my box hedging and noticed that my apricot tree has just pushed out half-a-dozen blossoms. Man, I love this stuff!

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Great advice. I'd heard about pinching off the blooms in the first year. I was warned off blackcurrants as they require very specific pH and I've no idea how to control that with any accuracy. Rasps do very well here and the brambles I'm told will produce fruit the first year.

Had a great day in the garden today. I laid a new gravel path, planted my box hedging and noticed that my apricot tree has just pushed out half-a-dozen blossoms. Man, I love this stuff!

Nothing more satisfying than growing stuff.
Just spending time pulling weeds is pleasent.

 

[ecofarm]

I've no idea how to control that with any accuracy.

Measuring the pH of the soil is pretty easy. Generally, too low a pH is the problem and this can be mitigated with lime (cheap stuff). For a general push towards neutral, compost works. To decrease pH, pine needles, synthetic fertilizer or other acidic mulch should do the trick. I'm sure you can google articles for tons of ways to both measure and modify soil pH.

 

[Andalublue]

Beautiful day today. Heavenly out in the garden and things are coming on nicely.

 

[Wake]

Beautiful day today. Heavenly out in the garden and things are coming on nicely.

View attachment 67124649

Looks nice.

Are you still considering asparagus?

 

[Andalublue]

Looks nice.

Are you still considering asparagus?

Yep. Once the weather has settled a bit, I'll dig the pit. ATM it's one day sunny and warm, one day cool and damp. I'm trying to get my summer bulbs, fruit canes and herbs going first. Asparagus is a bit of long-term project.

 

[lizzie]

Any ideas on what you want to grow?
I can suggest that strawberries are easy for first timers.

Only if you have the right dirt! :lol:

 

[lizzie]

A guy at work was telling me about this method today, and I thought it was pretty cool! In fact, I have a pile of limestone rocks from a wishing well that I tore down a couple of years ago, and I think I'll give it a try.
http://www.debtolman.com/keyhole.pdf

 

[Andalublue]

A guy at work was telling me about this method today, and I thought it was pretty cool! In fact, I have a pile of limestone rocks from a wishing well that I tore down a couple of years ago, and I think I'll give it a try.
http://www.debtolman.com/keyhole.pdf

Very interesting, Lizzie. I might build one of those next winter. Thanks for the pdf!

 

[GreenvilleGrows]

Rasps do very well here and the brambles I'm told will produce fruit the first year.

Had a great day in the garden today. I laid a new gravel path, planted my box hedging and noticed that my apricot tree has just pushed out half-a-dozen blossoms. Man, I love this stuff!

Awesome job on the infrastructure! Be careful with raspberries - they became a weed quickly for us. You might put them on the low side of your wall where you might not care as much about where they spread. Or, put a good barrier between them.

We like quality tulip bulbs planted densely for a high impact in early spring. If you use an auger style drill bit you can plant a hundred of them quickly with a cordless drill. When they start coming up, you know spring is here, and by the time you're done admiring them, all of the other perennials have gotten a good start. They're great to put around other things because they come out first and go away when other stuff starts growing up. We don't have nearly the sun that you do, but I'm pretty sure tulips want the sun anyway. Good tulips will come back for several years. And, wow, are they pretty right away.

 

[Gardener]

Awesome job on the infrastructure! Be careful with raspberries - they became a weed quickly for us. You might put them on the low side of your wall where you might not care as much about where they spread. Or, put a good barrier between them.

We like quality tulip bulbs planted densely for a high impact in early spring. If you use an auger style drill bit you can plant a hundred of them quickly with a cordless drill. When they start coming up, you know spring is here, and by the time you're done admiring them, all of the other perennials have gotten a good start. They're great to put around other things because they come out first and go away when other stuff starts growing up. We don't have nearly the sun that you do, but I'm pretty sure tulips want the sun anyway. Good tulips will come back for several years. And, wow, are they pretty right away.

Most tulips need cold winters to perform well, and although I am not exactly sure where he lives, most of the Andalucian climate is too mild for all but a few of the smaller species type tulips. I noticed a Bougainvillea in his photo, and wherever those thrive, most tulips don't.

If he did want to grow tulips, I would suggest T. clusiana as one that could adapt.

 

[GreenvilleGrows]

Most tulips need cold winters to perform well, and although I am not exactly sure where he lives, most of the Andalucian climate is too mild for all but a few of the smaller species type tulips. I noticed a Bougainvillea in his photo, and wherever those thrive, most tulips don't.

If he did want to grow tulips, I would suggest T. clusiana as one that could adapt.

. Hmmm. What about apricot's? Don't they need winter, too?

 

[Gardener]

. Hmmm. What about apricot's? Don't they need winter, too?

They need a little, but not too much. As long as it isn't actually tropical, they usually thrive as long as they receive some summer heat. I grew up in a Mediterranian type climate in Northern California not all that much unlike much of Spain, where summer temps were often in excess of 100 degrees f, and winters were seldom below 25 f, and Apricots were one of our main crops.

 

[Andalublue]

Awesome job on the infrastructure! Be careful with raspberries - they became a weed quickly for us. You might put them on the low side of your wall where you might not care as much about where they spread. Or, put a good barrier between them.

We like quality tulip bulbs planted densely for a high impact in early spring. If you use an auger style drill bit you can plant a hundred of them quickly with a cordless drill. When they start coming up, you know spring is here, and by the time you're done admiring them, all of the other perennials have gotten a good start. They're great to put around other things because they come out first and go away when other stuff starts growing up. We don't have nearly the sun that you do, but I'm pretty sure tulips want the sun anyway. Good tulips will come back for several years. And, wow, are they pretty right away.

Tahnks for the idea. I've started a little late to plant tulips this year, but nect year definitely. This autumn I shall be planting snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, irises and bluebells then I'll have colour from Xmas through till when the perennials open out.

I'd love to see some photos of your garden when you have the time to take some. I love tulips.

Happy gardens!