On Apr 10, 6:43 pm, Boron Elgar <boron_el...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:39:38 -0700 (PDT), Dana <dcarp...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> wrote:
>
> >Has anyone here had paw paws? I'm considering adding some paw paw
> >trees to my woods. They're supposed to do well hereabouts, and
> >there's at least some evidence that that whole family of fruits --
> >cherimoyas and the like -- have anticancer properties. I've heard
> >they're exceedingly tasty, but have never even seen one to notice it.
> >Anyone here tried a paw paw? What did you think?
>
> You're in THE place to grow them over there. Best sources of info are
> your local extension services and unis. they know your area better
> thatn anyone else and they will know pawpaws. Are there any decent
> nurseries that carry them? It is one of things that I think of as
> wild, rather than cultivated, although I am sure they are deliberately
> grown.
>
> I have not had one since back in the Michigan days, and I don't know
> what kind I had. I am not sure if the varieties taste similar or quite
> different
>
>
>
> >I've been working on gardening in general; it strikes me that with all
> >this land I might as well be producing much of my own food. Put in
> >strawberries last weekend, and I've been building lasagna beds out
> >back. Want to buy some fruit and nut trees, too.
>
> Let me know how the lasagna turns out. I find it interesting. Don't
> have room to try it here as I have spent a lot of time improving the
> beds I have or grow in tubs or pots on the deck to defeat the
> critters.
My neighbors are world-champions at this stuff -- see
http://www.permacultureactivist.net.
They've been teaching me. So
far I've planted spinach, lettuces, arugula, mizuna (a mild relative
of mustard, grown for the greens,) carrots, and a couple of forms of
pod peas.
For those who asked, lasagna beds are how you avoid having to till up
the ground. I've lain layers of newspaper over the grass, then layers
of leaves, more paper, more leaves, etc. Leave it to decompose a bit,
then make a groove or hole, shovel in a little good soil, and plant
your food plants.
> You do not need a lot of land to grow what you need. You can grow
> compactly and intensively and feed yourselves well.
>
> Do be wary of over planting unless you want to learn to can or
> preserve or freeze an enormous amount, especially from fruit and nut
> trees.
I'd like to try canning, and I bought a food dehydrator for $7 at the
Goodwill recently. But easier, I think maybe I'll try turning part of
my cellar into a root cellar. Worth a shot for storing turnips,
rutabaga, carrots and such.
>
> What sort of nuts are you going to try?
Hazels for sure, probably in a hedge. Black walnuts are like weeds
around here, so I'd think the thinner shelled varieties should do
well, though they'll take a while to bear. There are pecans that are
hardy this far north -- they're a close relative of hickory, and we've
got those. There are even some almonds that are hardy through zone 5,
which we were until recently -- thanks to global warming we're now
zone 6. They seem to have the shortest time to bearing; re****tedly
3-5 years.
Long term investment for sure, but then I plan to live here till I
die.
Oh, and I have to put in asparagus!
Dana
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