Angie:

There is a pretty steep learning curve but you have one huge advantage over most of the US, you are in CA. In most of CA where it doesn't rain too much the problems are usually much less than the Eastern US. So have a go at it. You already have things that are usually pretty trouble free in CA, berries and figs. Most people in CA get stone fruit with minimal spraying, sometimes with none. Citrus is pretty trouble free unless you are at higher elevation or in a frost pocket.

All depends what you are growing, mostly what fruitnut said. If you grow mostly carefree fruiting plants, you will get sizable harvests with minimal pests and problems.

The west coast is free from a number of the pests that plague a lot of us elsewhere. And don't forget that everyone was new to growing once.

I live in eastern Washington, five miles from Idaho and I don't spray at all. I grow purple raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and apples. I'd like to add grapes, but I'm still looking for the right type of structure.

Anyway, have fun and don't worry too much. If they grow and do well, you're in a great area and enjoy! If you start having problems, come to the forum and ask for some help. Just don't get intimidated and give up...you are in a wonderful growing area and you should be fine :)

hi angie, i'm in the same boat. i have a loooong way before i can even call myself "gardening."

one of my neighbors has a beautiful garden and encouraged me to start one since i love hers so much. in less than 3 months i've acquired 2 trees (plum and lime), 2 rose shrubs, 3 tomato plants, 5+ pepper plants, 6+ strawberry plants and numerous cutting flower plants/seedlings/seeds.

i am worried about the insects, soil, fertilizers, etc.. had no idea how much work it was going to be. reading these all threads have taught me so much. just wished i would've discovered this site earlier on - pretty sure i've gone overboard.

sigh....

diana in so. cali

Angie, I live in Northern California (San Mateo) and grow cherries, apples, peaches, nectarines, pears, all types of citrus and, cross my fingers, avocado.

We are lucky here in that we get very few insects issues - codling moths on apples and pears, slight thrips on nectarines and aphids.

The bigger issue is with some fungal diseases, most of which can be control with a simple spray program.

My one piece of advise to a newbie - most fruit trees do not like to have wet feet. Make sure your planting site has good drainage! I lost my share of trees when I first started by not picking a good location and overwatering.

Good luck!

I am always so glad I post on this forum, even though it is only my second time LOL.

I admire the knowlege here and I learn something new every chance I get to read. I have three boys 8-12 so it's a challenge most days, especially since they all got out of school for the summer yesterday. Plus the space I have available for growing is limited---less than 1/4 acre so I am far behind many of you here. I wish I had more space, but along with the 'less insect issues' comes a hefty pricetag for anywhere nearby with more room than for the dog to turn around in the yard. We are definitely NOT in the wide open space arena at all. I am envious of anyone here who doesn't need to consider planting 2-3 trees in one hole so there's still enough room for everyone else to be happy. My husband cringes whenever he sees me eye the back yard lawn with my head cocked to the side.

Thanks for the help and the support.

Wish me (lots) of luck.

Angie

Sometimes I think there should be 2 forums- one for western growers and another for the rest of us. Growing most tree fruit in the humid regions is not likely a productive enterprise for casual gardeners- but in the west, anyone can do it (although there can be a host of critter issues).

Very often west coast growers will expound on the virtues of something like compost tea to solve all their pest problems, based purely on experience growing fruit in the San Fernando Vally of something. Such endorsements can be a bit grating when you're dealing with real pest pressure.

I'm gradually learning just to let such comments pass, although I hope that when I do some poor soul beginning to grow fruit in my part of the country doesn't get false hopes.

Its easy enough to grow blueberries, once you get soil and water pH down. Our blueberry shrubs are never sprayed, but we do lose a few to the birds every year. Another fruit that is generally trouble free is raspberries. Like the rest of us, you will no doubt find that some of your efforts succeed, and other trees/shrubs fail. I suspect that people post on Gardenweb when they are having trouble, and rarely post when things are going well. That makes it look like we are all having difficulties, all the time. Not true.

I agree with the others, don't give up before you even get started. I was in a very similar situation when I first started growing fruit. I bought a bunch of fruit trees, berry bushes, and grapes without knowing too much. I did know that some spraying was required to protect the fruit, so I went to the local "garden" store to ask for advice. They tried to sell me all these different chems and told me I had to spray weekly to get fruit. They also tried to sell me books and videos on pruning and training. I got overwhelmed and walked out (luckily) without buying anything and almost gave up the idea of growing my own fruit. I decided to plant the trees and see what happened. I also found this site and the wealth of knowledge from experienced growers.

I've had a lot of success and a few failures / learning experiences, but it has been very rewarding. I'm learning that I can get good fruit with minimal sprays - we are lucky to be growing in the dry western climate. Beware of what garden centers tell you - most of them do not grow fruit themselves and the only knowledge they have came from reading a book / training manual. It is usually pointless to even ask. Many of them are looking to sell product.

Give it a try and get those boys involved - my daughter is my sidekick and hopefully a life long fruit grower as well. The other day she came home with a story about how she explained fruit growing to her kindergarten teacher... gotta love that!

I'm glad to hear that it is still possible to do it and appreciate the candor here. I would never judge someone's use of whatever product they must use in order to keep the fruit that they love. It's nice to have the 'ideal' but also important to be practical AND to live and let live, you know?

I agree that we live in a terrific growing environment, however we must be careful not to choke on our words in the very near future. Our weather patterns, our climate, it's all changing so fast and seems to be doing so as quickly as I can take the time to notice. I have a vegetable garden as well, and the last couple years have been a relative bust. The weather here is just not the predictable No. Calif. weather I grew up with anymore. Scary.

Thank you for the encouragement!
Angie