edible landscaping in houston area
kumquatlady
17 years ago
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kumquatlady
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Favorite grapes & others from Edible Landscaping?
Comments (5)Sugargate is a female vine, and will therefore need a male, such as "Isons", as a pollenator. Have you had muscadines before? I have some planted, but just for my wife who loves them. I can't stand them, however. They taste nothing like regular grapes. To me, they taste like motor oil smells. Yuck. If you do like them, I'd recommend trying Ison's nursery as they carry nearly every type of muscadine. Muscadines are also probably the best grape for the south as they are native here and have very good disease resistance. I hear "Darlene" and "Black Beauty" are two of the best, but they may both be female. I also recommend Double A Vineyard for regular grapes. They carry all of the grapes from the Arkansas breeding program that are supposed to be good for the south. Of those EL offers, Muscadines and Mars would probably be the best for you as it is an Arkansas variety. I've added a link from Double A that has some great info. Here is a link that might be useful: Grape chart This post was edited by RobThomas on Mon, May 6, 13 at 13:03...See MoreConverting sunny border to edible landscape
Comments (10)What a great idea, Jenn! You might want to think about maybe putting in a citrus tree or two, to give parts of this area some shade that might be good for growing lettuce. As long as what you put under the citrus isn't too demanding, the citrus tree wouldn't mind. Things to grow should cycle through with the seasons. You can keep your herbs going all year long, and the great thing about herbs is just by using them, they stay in check from the constant cutting or tip-pinching. Renee's Garden is my "go to" seed company, I love their varieties. And, a great couple of books to recommend for what you want to do: "52 Weeks in the California Garden" by Robert Smaus "Sunset Western Garden Book of Edibles" "Edible Gardening for Southern California", by Alison Beck "Pat Welsh's Southern California Organic Gardening", by Pat Welsch. Those are my books I like to use. I may also pick up "The Edible Garden" by Sunset just because it's like $7.00, and probably geared towards us in California, and has some practical suggestions for incorporating edibles in the landscape. I used to always grow marigolds in my veggie garden, but for here, I might put in Society Garlic, as much as I despise the smell because it does help to repel gophers. Any plants that attract pollinators, but not pests (like for me, snails & slugs) is a plus. I have several different salvia in my garden, as it is a huge pollinator attractor. Also, adding some prostrate rosemary that might creep down over the the border is also great, since for me, it is always covered with bees. Same with my lavendar - love the smell, and it is great for attracting pollinators. Patty S....See MoreEdible Landscaping Ideas
Comments (4)Looks like you're in Zone 8b, according the National Gardening Association's Zip Code/Hardiness Zone matcher. Here are some ideas for hedge plantings: Juneberry (aka-serviceberry, saskatoon, shadbush)Has blossoms, fall color and attractive bark in winter; fruit is like wild blueberries) Likes full sun but tolarates partial shade especially in your zone. American Elderberry-grows 6-12 feet, but you can prune it to 5' if you want. It has fragrant white flowers in spring. The fruit is larger than gooseberries but with a similar flavor + they don't have as many thorns!. Quince can be used as a small specimin tree, shrub or shrub border Rose Hips are good shrub borders with flowers and fruits Seaberry makes a good specimen hedge or shrub border. Blueberry bushes are actually great for landscape as well as edibles. Pretty flowers in spring, delicious fruit and then beautiful fall color...orange to red. For Zone 8 try Jersey or Elizabeth varieties...See MoreDreaming/planning to begin edible landscaping.
Comments (5)Here's my one cent: I haven't done much landscaping, as I'm from NYC and my patch of dirt was about 12' x 12'. I live in NC in a rental house on about 1/4 acre and have been playing around with the property a little bit, and thinking about what I would do. If you look up permaculture zones, you can get an idea of how to section the property to use it the most economically. It is wise to halt planting for now until you come up with a grand plan. I understand taking things slow and frugally. I would think about what you value most in your garden as far as structure is concerned. If you have slopes, you can uses swales, french drains, hugelkultur, to maximize your water and recycle/harness nutrients from waste material. You can even set up a site for water collection in a small pond and create an irrigation system from the overflow. Or if you want to invest in managing the landscape for the long term, you can save up to get machinery out or professionals to put in a retaining wall or terrace the slopes around your house. Another thing to think about is containers. Right now, I am part of a permaculture gardening group and we trade plants and seeds. I have a crabapple, wild peach, elderberry, mulberry, two lime, and grape vine, all growing in containers, until I get my own property. My advice is think about the types of plants you want to grow, join a master gardener's class/club, and start collecting plants while you make your plans. Good luck!...See Morejohn_bonzo
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