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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Jan 22, 2018 22:21:51 GMT -5
I wanted to discuss varieties that are not supposed to do well in your area. It's true you will have better success if you grow varieties that do well in your area, but sooner or later you'll want to step outside the box. Seed is cheap and I never considered effort as wasted even if things didn't go well. I spent several seasons trying to grow a northern tomato, but I finally succeeded. I was told my soil would not grow peanuts. It's Blackland clay. My Uncle always had that same mentality as I do. Family trait I guess. I had remembered him growing peanuts on this same land nearly 35 years ago, so I had a conversation with my Uncle back in around 07 or 08 and told him I wanted to grow peanuts. He came down to my house and we planted some that year. My point is, be willing to try if it's something you really want.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 22, 2018 23:34:43 GMT -5
I'm pretty adventurous, but even I'm not going to try to grow coconuts in NJ. Some things are simply not possible, even with global warming.
Still, I keep trying new items, and if it's something I really like, but didn't do well, I keep looking for varieties that will.
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Post by brownrexx on Jan 23, 2018 8:50:08 GMT -5
We grew peanuts here in PA a few years ago. We only got a few but it was fun and we ate them. I am growing artichokes which normally grow in CA. They can overwinter here but it's not a sure thing. Some people grow them just for one season because the chokes are delicious and so much better than store bought. I bought seedlings last spring and I am trying to overwinter them this year. I won't know if they made it for a few months. 20171019_135813 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by september on Jan 23, 2018 9:42:41 GMT -5
I will try new things fairly often just to see how far along I can get them, like growing cotton in a large planter. Many times it can be done, but takes more investment in planning, materials and effort than is realistic for the small return. Still, even if you don't get much of a crop, it's fun to see how things grow. I only wish my potted miniature peach tree could have survived more than two years of winter dormancy in my garage. But I think that was my fault for fertilizing it too late in the fall, plus leaving it outside too long.
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Post by aftermidnight on Jan 23, 2018 9:58:14 GMT -5
Pushing the envelope is in my genes, Yacon is the latest thing, I've even got them to flower up here, but haven't collected seed as yet. Before that it was day-length sensitive beans. Someone gave me some 10 year old bean seed they had collected at a farmer's market high in the Andes in Ecuador.The harvested seed was quite colorful, the green were day-length sensitive didn't collect seed until the end of October, beginning of November. Annette
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Post by paulf on Jan 23, 2018 10:50:19 GMT -5
I spent several years of my childhood in northwest Oregon and if we were hungry during the summer there were all kinds of fruit available almost everywhere. I particularly liked to climb several cherry trees that grew in vacant lots...black cherries, red cherries, queen anne cherries. And there were all sorts of apples, pears, plums, berries and grapes just for the taking.
Now an old man living in Nebraska I would love to relive some of that fruit picking experience. We have apples, peaches, pears, raspberries, blackberries and grapes that do very well here. One fruit that does not fit our growing season or conditions is sweet cherries. There are plenty of varieties of sour and pie cherries but sweet cherries just do not grow well here. This spring a couple of varieties will be planted anyway.
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