So I was talking with my aunt in California who lives in one of those stereotypical developments. She was like, how can you grow so many veggies and so on... Well turns out they had planted tons of tomatoes and a few fruit tress that produced nothing but flowers... why... because even though they paid a fortune to truck in soil... they and their neighbors all killed every bug in site with pesticides! I thought tomatoes were wind/air pollinated but I'm sure bugs do help out some. Defiantly the downfall of their trees though!
LOL at city people... ie my cousins
- Thread starter silkiechicken
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Backyard Buddies
Garden Ornament
That's very unfortunate for them, but please don't fault it as "City People." Some of us can't help where we live and some of us even know better than your aunt. 
However, even those of us who know better have to deal with the next door neighbor who has the pest company spraying all the time. We adapt by planting bee-friendly plants and doing the best that we can to grow organically amongst the toxic sprays foisted upon us by the neighbors. (I've got an organic guy on one side and a bugaphobic on the other side). 
The only thing I can recommend is that you buy her a good book on sustainable gardening to help her understand why you're successful. Even then, she's going to have to adapt her gardening to deal with the complications of 'neighborly' bug spray and fewer bee-friendly native plants by learning to invite the buggies into her yard by inter-planting where she can.
Edited to add: BTW - My hubby is an Everett native.
However, even those of us who know better have to deal with the next door neighbor who has the pest company spraying all the time. We adapt by planting bee-friendly plants and doing the best that we can to grow organically amongst the toxic sprays foisted upon us by the neighbors. (I've got an organic guy on one side and a bugaphobic on the other side). The only thing I can recommend is that you buy her a good book on sustainable gardening to help her understand why you're successful. Even then, she's going to have to adapt her gardening to deal with the complications of 'neighborly' bug spray and fewer bee-friendly native plants by learning to invite the buggies into her yard by inter-planting where she can.
Edited to add: BTW - My hubby is an Everett native.
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- #3
Hehe, yeah, I'm a city person myself according to the fact I live in the middle of the city! Just lucky enough to have land here. I guess I should have clarified the hilarity in it all. My aunt grew up in the city in china like my mom and even though as part of communist education, they were forced to tromp though fields and work with the farmers, they all have issues with connecting the dots at times which I grant towards how they were "re-educated" during those political times. Gotta find them that gardening book written in Chinese! I explained it all to them and we'll see what happens this year.
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
I thought tomatoes were in large part bee pollinated?
Dunno, really, that's just what I've always understood.
Pat, too lazy to go look it up
Dunno, really, that's just what I've always understood.
Pat, too lazy to go look it up
Carri
Garden Ornament
Me too! But I'm country at heart. Nevermind that I need a Nordstrom within 10 miles to live.silkiechicken said:
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- #6
I thought bugs pollinated tomatoes but then have also heard that "beating" the plants with a newspaper will help pollinate them... also too lazy to look up...
ok I did...
http://www.pollinator.com/tomato.htm
Looks like bees were primary source for the ancestor plants, but have been bred other wise and can be self pollinated.
As for stores, I'd love to live in the middle of no where... although I bet I'll miss having the choice to shop at like 30 grocery stores within 5 minutes....
ok I did...
http://www.pollinator.com/tomato.htm
Looks like bees were primary source for the ancestor plants, but have been bred other wise and can be self pollinated.
As for stores, I'd love to live in the middle of no where... although I bet I'll miss having the choice to shop at like 30 grocery stores within 5 minutes....
I live in the middle of nowhere, moved out here from the city. At first I thought I would die. I was so used to zipping out to a store to grab what I need. But it only took a few months to learn how to stock up. Now I only go to town every other Saturday. When three cars go by in an hour, I get aggravated at 'all this traffic.'
digitS'
Garden Master
As an adult and a child, I've lived in both country and city.
Always enjoyed having "city people" show up on the farm when I was a kid. (I say always but sometimes I'd just go hide in the barn. The 1st thing they'd say when walking out in the fields would be, "Is that a bull?" Every bovine with horns was suspect and feared. The first thing they'd do when walking out in the fields is step in a cow pie. All good for laughs . . .
I'd loooove to move back to the country now . . . I think. Got kinda lonely as a young adult but could sure use something to look at now besides other people's houses, cars, etc. Dear Asian wife isn't going for it tho'. I'm lucky that she likes all of this growing stuff but she just doesn't appreciate isolation. We are commuting gardeners so I guess that makes us "city people" showing up on the farm.
Excuse me, I need to go scrape this green stuff off my boot . . .
Steve
Always enjoyed having "city people" show up on the farm when I was a kid. (I say always but sometimes I'd just go hide in the barn.
The 1st thing they'd say when walking out in the fields would be, "Is that a bull?" Every bovine with horns was suspect and feared. The first thing they'd do when walking out in the fields is step in a cow pie. All good for laughs . . .I'd loooove to move back to the country now . . . I think. Got kinda lonely as a young adult but could sure use something to look at now besides other people's houses, cars, etc. Dear Asian wife isn't going for it tho'. I'm lucky that she likes all of this growing stuff but she just doesn't appreciate isolation. We are commuting gardeners so I guess that makes us "city people" showing up on the farm.
Excuse me, I need to go scrape this green stuff off my boot . . .
Steve
Carri
Garden Ornament
Ah yes. The cow pies. I've had many near misses (and not so misses) in my rodeo days. Nothin' like your hat falling off into a hot pile.
Nothin' like your hat falling off into a hot pile.- Thread starter
- #10
Commuting gardeners! Now how do you pull that one off? If I end up in grad school.... I'll not have my garden anymore.... so maybe I can commute to one closer to the new school?
