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  1. GardeNerd

    Buying blueberries........

    Oops. Size before they produce? My sunshine blue produced about a quart the first crop after planting. It was 4" tall when I planted it in January 03 and I took off all the flowers that year. It was at its full height of 3' by April 04. It produces about two quarts a year, but it is not one...
  2. GardeNerd

    Buying blueberries........

    It depends on the type. They come in Southern Highbush, Northern Highbush, Rabbiteye, and a ton more. Each type has varieties. Each variety grows different heights. My southern highbush Sunshine blue only gets about 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall x 3 feet wide. Misty and O'neals are 4 to 5 feet tall...
  3. GardeNerd

    Finally built a worm box

    I forgot to mention. I had never thought of selling them until I saw a post for someone looking for them on craigslist. I ended up meeting another local chicken lady when I responded to the post, and we are friends now. After that, I sell worms when I feel like it, have too many yogurt...
  4. GardeNerd

    Finally built a worm box

    That sounds like a neat set up that shouldn't take up a lot of space. Mine are in my compost bin. I don't have a separate worm bin, but the compost is literally crawling at times. I don't know exactly how long they take to multiply, but it seems like about a month and I am back up to where I...
  5. GardeNerd

    Please help me plan my compost pile...

    i would agree, mine out-composts everything else I've tried. I have bought expensive bins, used chicken wire circular bins, done pallets, and piles. The only thing I haven't tried is a tumbler, and that is due to the cost. I like my trash can composter the best of all. I have been looking...
  6. GardeNerd

    Another question about filling raised beds

    I have had good results with straw (not hay.) I only use it when I can find it free though. Folks around here use it for party seating or fall decoration and then get rid of it on craigslist sometimes. I like putting newspaper on top of the soil (the worms flock to it.) Then some kind of...
  7. GardeNerd

    Kiwi in zone 7

    I also had a pic of the flowers. The stems and leaves are soft and fuzzy like the fruit.
  8. GardeNerd

    Kiwi in zone 7

    No Kiwi fruit yet, so I can't report on the production. I have read it usually takes 6 years to get fruit. I planted it 5 years ago. It grows about 12' to 15' a year. I prune it back like a grape vine when it drops its leaves for the year in the late fall. It has a few main canes with a...
  9. GardeNerd

    Can I keep semi-dwarf apple trees in containers?

    I would say with regular, probably daily watering, large pot, and a good soil, they could be fine. However, I garden in a mild summer climate. I want it too, but on an acre instead! I ran out of room to grow years ago. Now I plant in my neighbors' yards. Whenever I run across something new...
  10. GardeNerd

    Buying blueberries........

    Your better off removing all flowers the first year whether or not it is dormant when you plant it. That way the energy goes in plant development instead of fruit development. You will be happy you did next year when you are picking a new crop.
  11. GardeNerd

    Please help me plan my compost pile...

    My chicken poo has not killed my red wigglers so far. It gets really hot in the bin, but they just move down until it cools down for them. I shread a lot newspaper or add leaves when the chicken manure goes in. However, I only have 6 chickens, so they don't make that much. It is just an...
  12. GardeNerd

    Can I keep semi-dwarf apple trees in containers?

    I have 2 espalliered semi dwarf apples, Anna and Dorset Golden. They are about 12" from my garage wall and I keep them pretty flat. They aren't in pots, but with pruning twice a year they stay around 6 feet tall x 8 feet wide and I still get a huge crop in the summer and a light crop in...
  13. GardeNerd

    Blueberry or blackberry variety help

    I am near by on the coast. I have sucessfully grown an extensive variety of blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Raspberries are your best bet for the shade you mentioned. I like Anna, a yellow, and Baba, a red out of the dozens I tried. Mulch well and keep watered, too. Both those...
  14. GardeNerd

    Xanthosoma...

    No, sorry. But I believe members of California Rare Fruit Grower Association grow it. If you grow those other tropical and subtropical plants you mentioned, you should be successful. Dave's Garden had some user ratings of it.http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2218/
  15. GardeNerd

    Show me your garden fences

    My veggie garden has an old weathered picket fence separating it from the main yard. It keeps the dog out, but not the cat.
  16. GardeNerd

    Ingenious idea for adding space to garden

    I love this idea!
  17. GardeNerd

    Trying to figure out water req for tomatoes.

    If you are applying the 6" of straw mulch are you sure you need that much water? Last summer I mulched my tomatoes with newspaper and thick straw. I only watered once a week unless we had a major heat wave. And then I based it by putting my finger in the soil to check moisture first.
  18. GardeNerd

    Kiwi in zone 7

    I grow a variety called Vincent that is a lower chill variety. I got flowers on my female last year and it is just starting to flower again this year. My dog accidentally root pruned the female for me 2 summers ago, and I think it helped. I still have yet to get flowers on the male. They are...
  19. GardeNerd

    When Ladybugs Attack!

    Cool photo! My daughter loves the lady bugs too. Look for the little alligator looking nymph lady bugs, too. We find them all over our maple tree in the fall.
  20. GardeNerd

    Dutch Iris...

    Where I live, we plant it in the fall. You can buy transplants already or almost in bloom this time of year.
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