|
Introducing myself
I've been lurking here and on the 'other' gardening group to see which
one will be more relevant to my needs. I 'garden' on a south facing slope in Eastern Spain. The climate is more equivalent to California than the Cotswalds, but the humour on this Group is definitely superior. Jo |
"Totty" wrote in message oups.com... I've been lurking here and on the 'other' gardening group to see which one will be more relevant to my needs. I 'garden' on a south facing slope in Eastern Spain. The climate is more equivalent to California than the Cotswalds, but the humour on this Group is definitely superior. Jo Welcome Totty. You're right the American sense of humour is a bit lacking. As you're in Spain maybe you can suggest something for me to grow in my 'Mediterranean Orchard' I am constructing on the South of the Isle of Wight. South facing sun trap, relatively poor well drained soil, but it does get the odd mild frost in winter. I've got apricot, peach, kiwis, Asian pear, olive and have room for about 8 more. Buenos tardes Duncan |
Perhaps there is a lack of understanding of the American humor by the Brits,
just as there is a lack of understanding of the Brit humor by the Yanks + there is such a diversity in the USA that often one part of the USA does not understand the humor of another part...HW "Duncan Heenan" wrote in message ... "Totty" wrote in message oups.com... I've been lurking here and on the 'other' gardening group to see which one will be more relevant to my needs. I 'garden' on a south facing slope in Eastern Spain. The climate is more equivalent to California than the Cotswalds, but the humour on this Group is definitely superior. Jo Welcome Totty. You're right the American sense of humour is a bit lacking. As you're in Spain maybe you can suggest something for me to grow in my 'Mediterranean Orchard' I am constructing on the South of the Isle of Wight. South facing sun trap, relatively poor well drained soil, but it does get the odd mild frost in winter. I've got apricot, peach, kiwis, Asian pear, olive and have room for about 8 more. Buenos tardes Duncan |
In message .com,
Totty writes I've been lurking here and on the 'other' gardening group to see which one will be more relevant to my needs. I 'garden' on a south facing slope in Eastern Spain. The climate is more equivalent to California than the Cotswalds, but the humour on this Group is definitely superior. Jo Hello Jo I expect you grow all that wonderful stuff that we would love, especially veg. Keep posting. -- June Hughes |
Thank you for your welcomes, Duncan & Sacha. My apologies Harold if I
have upset anyones sensibilities....you are probably right. Mine is a garden in 3 sections...the higher levels are a series of dry stone terraces containing soil so poor it struggles to grow weeds, the middle level on which the house sits has a thin layer of imported soil over a soft limestone, and the bottom level was left wild apart from an annual going over with a strimmer to keep my husband happy. Until last year, the main crops on the bottom half of my slope were pine cones and collared dove droppings. After a particularly nasty and painfull encounter with a nest of processionary caterpillars, I approached the Town Hall for permission to fell the remaining 7 pines. This permission was granted on the understanding that I planted 2 trees for every one that I felled. As tree could be interpreted loosely, I took advantage of a special offer at the local garden centre and included 5 palm trees in my selection, as I know these do well without regular watering. Most of the other trees I chose are fruit trees; apricot, 3 varieties of plum, pomegranate and nispero.These were all planted last April. The apricot has flowered well. The red plum and the yellow plum have had few flowers, but the prune, which is only just showing signs of life, is full of flower buds. This tree was the only one attacked by aphids last year, but as it came from a different source, maybe had not received the same systemic pest control as the others. I have struggled here for twenty years, and now work on the premise that if a wild plant does well, don't fight it. The small bright pink flowers of our resident bindweed provide colour without being too invasive. What does well? In flower at the moment are wisteria, yellow jasmin, lavender, sage, roses, orange trees, dymorphia (known locally as matacabras...goat killers) kalanchoe and freesias, which propogate easily from seed here. I also have a flowering shrub sold locally as 'Polygona' which has a purple pea flower throughout the year. The Lantana bushes would normally be in flower, but have been hard hit by our unusually cold winter (the worst for 30 years) and now need a severe pruning, as the top growth is burnt, but the almond tree seemed to appreciate the long dormant spell, and has set a good crop of nuts. From now until June I can hope to see Aloe, Bignonia and Peruvian honeysuckle coming into flower. After that, the bindweed reigns supreme until the heat subsides again in October. As Duncan has his "Mediterranean garden", I have my "English garden". To the north side of the house and well shaded from the summer sun, except at high noon, there is a small strip on the edge of a bank, and a gravelled area at its base, where I can grow hydrangias, lilies and fuschias in pots. I have had a clematis in a pot against the house wall for 5 years, and it seems to be happy. This post is developing into a rambler, so I'll shut up. Duncan, off the top of my head, if you are asking about fruit trees in particular, you might try a nispero. Mine seemed to have come through a frosty spell without much damage, although the commercial growers report losses. They are higher up than us, so may have had colder temps. Nisperos sold in nurseries are grafted onto quince, but they grow well from seed, just take longer to fruit. If you can't track down a plant, I could send some seeds over when the fruit are in season as they need to be planted fresh. The seeds look like small chestnuts. Jo |
On 3/4/05 4:12 pm, in article
, "Totty" wrote: Thank you for your welcomes, Duncan & Sacha. snip of fascinating account I have struggled here for twenty years, and now work on the premise that if a wild plant does well, don't fight it. The small bright pink flowers of our resident bindweed provide colour without being too invasive. Is that Ipomoea - morning glory which I think of as purple but I *think* there's a pink one as well. It grows like a weed, literally, in Med. Countries. What does well? In flower at the moment are wisteria, yellow jasmin, lavender, sage, roses, orange trees, dymorphia (known locally as matacabras...goat killers) kalanchoe and freesias, which propogate easily from seed here. I also have a flowering shrub sold locally as 'Polygona' which has a purple pea flower throughout the year. I think this is what we call Polygala? It's a lovely plant but not hardy here. snip Nisperos sold in nurseries are grafted onto quince, but they grow well from seed, just take longer to fruit. If you can't track down a plant, I could send some seeds over when the fruit are in season as they need to be planted fresh. The seeds look like small chestnuts. As I look out the window at a cold, grey Sunday, I'm very envious of your description, poor soil or not! But what is a nispero - I don't think I know that at all? -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
Sorry June, I have to disappoint you! Tap water is metered and
expensive here, a combination of spring water bought from an inland village, and the produce of the local de-salination plant. Rainwater is a luxury. The veg available on the local markets is fantastic and reasonably priced. Commercial growers can tap into the grey water system which runs in conjunction with the household system. In our town area grey water from the sewage works is used to keep public gardens looking lush, and all new apartment blocks are supposed to plumb toilets into this system, but as the builders ignore the rest of the regulations, they probably ignore this one as well! We are outside the town and not on the sewage system. Our neighbour regularly pumps the water from his septic tank's third chamber onto his garden with spectacular results. Growing coriander and curly leafed parsley is the nearest I come to vegetable gardening these days, although I did used to grow sugarpeas before they were available here. Jo |
"Duncan Heenan" wrote:
Welcome Totty. You're right the American sense of humour is a bit lacking. That's because you Brits can't even spell "humor" right! And welcome from the lurker in the (former) American colonies. Today the weather is definitely right for this group. Cold, cloudy, drizzle. I'm watching an old "Goons" movie to keep in the mood, and sorting through the seed collection trying to figure out where I can plant them all! Cheers! Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
In message .com,
Totty writes Sorry June, I have to disappoint you! Tap water is metered and expensive here, a combination of spring water bought from an inland village, and the produce of the local de-salination plant. Rainwater is a luxury. Not even lemons? -- June Hughes |
Is that Ipomoea - morning glory which I think of as purple but I
*think* there's a pink one as well. It grows like a weed, literally, in Med. Countries. No Sacha, not the bright blue, large flowered Ipomoea. This rampages up telephone poles and smothers anything it can get a grip on. *My* bindweed is more like the lesser bindweed of UK, but with hairy leaves. Flowers are about 1" in diameter. There is also a white flowered version, but I don't have it....yet. I think this is what we call Polygala? It's a lovely plant but not hardy here. There was a single speciman in the garden when we bought the house twenty years ago. About 5 years ago, it suddenly started to seed itself around the garden. I now pot a few of these up just after germination as they will not happily stand transplanting later. They are expensive to buy here, so I give them away as pot plants. They can be trained into attractive standards. But what is a nispero - I don't think I know that at all? I first came across it in Portugal back in 1966, then didn't come across it again until came here to the Costa Blanca. I think it is a type of medlar - I know it is grafted onto quince, and the latin name is Mespilus Germanica L. and it belongs to the rose family. If you put the word 'nispero' into an image search engine you will get an idea. I use it to make chutney, as it is the one fruit that I can't eat raw. It is very sweet, but at the same time acidic. Jo |
Not even lemons?
A sore point! We were given a lemon tree as an anniversary present ten years ago..it flowers well and sets fruit, but they fall off when about 1" dia. I suppose I should buy another one, but so many friends and neighbours have fruit to spare that I haven't bothered. Jo |
"Totty" wrote in message oups.com... I've been lurking here and on the 'other' gardening group to see which one will be more relevant to my needs. I 'garden' on a south facing slope in Eastern Spain. The climate is more equivalent to California than the Cotswalds, but the humour on this Group is definitely superior. Jo Hi Jo, yep, the humour here is very much in evidence :~)) Lucky you in such a nice location. What sort of temperatures do you have summer/winter ? Jenny |
"Gary Woods" wrote in message ... "Duncan Heenan" wrote: Welcome Totty. You're right the American sense of humour is a bit lacking. That's because you Brits can't even spell "humor" right!and this Brit. even spells it humor and honor etc. HW And welcome from the lurker in the (former) American colonies. Today the weather is definitely right for this group. Cold, cloudy, drizzle. I'm watching an old "Goons" movie to keep in the mood, and sorting through the seed collection trying to figure out where I can plant them all! Cheers! Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
"Totty" wrote in message oups.com... Thank you for your welcomes, Duncan & Sacha. My apologies Harold if I have upset anyones sensibilities....you are probably right. Mine is a garden in 3 sections...the higher levels are a series of dry stone terraces containing soil so poor it struggles to grow weeds, the middle level on which the house sits has a thin layer of imported soil over a soft limestone, and the bottom level was left wild apart from an annual going over with a strimmer to keep my husband happy. Until last year, the main crops on the bottom half of my slope were pine cones and collared dove droppings. After a particularly nasty and painfull encounter with a nest of processionary caterpillars, I approached the Town Hall for permission to fell the remaining 7 pines. This permission was granted on the understanding that I planted 2 trees for every one that I felled. As tree could be interpreted loosely, I took advantage of a special offer at the local garden centre and included 5 palm trees in my selection, as I know these do well without regular watering. Most of the other trees I chose are fruit trees; apricot, 3 varieties of plum, pomegranate and nispero.These were all planted last April. The apricot has flowered well. The red plum and the yellow plum have had few flowers, but the prune, which is only just showing signs of life, is full of flower buds. This tree was the only one attacked by aphids last year, but as it came from a different source, maybe had not received the same systemic pest control as the others. I have struggled here for twenty years, and now work on the premise that if a wild plant does well, don't fight it. The small bright pink flowers of our resident bindweed provide colour without being too invasive. What does well? In flower at the moment are wisteria, yellow jasmin, lavender, sage, roses, orange trees, dymorphia (known locally as matacabras...goat killers) kalanchoe and freesias, which propogate easily from seed here. I also have a flowering shrub sold locally as 'Polygona' which has a purple pea flower throughout the year. The Lantana bushes would normally be in flower, but have been hard hit by our unusually cold winter (the worst for 30 years) and now need a severe pruning, as the top growth is burnt, but the almond tree seemed to appreciate the long dormant spell, and has set a good crop of nuts. From now until June I can hope to see Aloe, Bignonia and Peruvian honeysuckle coming into flower. After that, the bindweed reigns supreme until the heat subsides again in October. As Duncan has his "Mediterranean garden", I have my "English garden". To the north side of the house and well shaded from the summer sun, except at high noon, there is a small strip on the edge of a bank, and a gravelled area at its base, where I can grow hydrangias, lilies and fuschias in pots. I have had a clematis in a pot against the house wall for 5 years, and it seems to be happy. This post is developing into a rambler, so I'll shut up. Duncan, off the top of my head, if you are asking about fruit trees in particular, you might try a nispero. Mine seemed to have come through a frosty spell without much damage, although the commercial growers report losses. They are higher up than us, so may have had colder temps. Nisperos sold in nurseries are grafted onto quince, but they grow well from seed, just take longer to fruit. If you can't track down a plant, I could send some seeds over when the fruit are in season as they need to be planted fresh. The seeds look like small chestnuts. Jo Nisperos! New to me. Intriguing. I shall look them up and give it some thought. Many thanks. Duncan |
"Gary Woods" wrote in message ... "Duncan Heenan" wrote: Welcome Totty. You're right the American sense of humour is a bit lacking. That's because you Brits can't even spell "humor" right! And welcome from the lurker in the (former) American colonies. No we don't spell humor right. We spell humour correctly. :-)) Steve |
In message .com,
Totty writes Not even lemons? A sore point! We were given a lemon tree as an anniversary present ten years ago..it flowers well and sets fruit, but they fall off when about 1" dia. I suppose I should buy another one, but so many friends and neighbours have fruit to spare that I haven't bothered. Ah! Well, I would do the same too:) -- June Hughes |
JennyC wrote:
:: "Totty" wrote in message :: oups.com... ::: I've been lurking here and on the 'other' gardening group to see ::: which one will be more relevant to my needs. I 'garden' on a ::: south facing slope in Eastern Spain. The climate is more ::: equivalent to California than the Cotswalds, but the humour on ::: this Group is definitely superior. ::: Jo :: :: Hi Jo, :: yep, the humour here is very much in evidence :~)) :: :: Lucky you in such a nice location. :: What sort of temperatures do you have summer/winter ? :: Whilst googling for Eastern Spain climate I came upon an interesting article: Peninsular Spain experiences three climatic types: continental, maritime, and Mediterranean. (big snip of continental and maritime...continental covers the majority and central Spain up to the Eastern mountains, maritime covers the Northerly parts...I'm assuming she is in the Mediterranean climate zone...) The Mediterranean climatic region extends from the Andalusian Plain along the southern and eastern coasts up to the Pyrenees, on the seaward side of the mountain ranges that parallel the coast. Total rainfall in this region is lower than in the rest of Spain, and it is concentrated in the late autumn-winter period. Generally, rainfall is slight, often insufficient, irregular, and unreliable. Temperatures in the Mediterranean region usually are higher in both summer and winter, and diurnal temperature changes are more limited than those of the continental region. Temperatures in January normally average 10 to 13 C in most of the Mediterranean region, and they are 9 C colder in the northeastern coastal area near Barcelona. In winter, temperatures inland in the Andalusian Plain are slightly lower than those on the coasts. Temperatures in July and August average 22 to 27 C on the coast and 29 to 31 C farther inland, with low humidity. The Mediterranean region is marked by Leveche winds--hot, dry, easterly or southeasterly air currents that originate over North Africa. These winds, which sometimes carry fine dust, are most common in spring. A cooler easterly wind, the Levante, funnels between the Sistema Penibetico and the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. ....I'm thinking of emigration now... -- "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush, 5.8.2004 |
|
"shazzbat" wrote:
No we don't spell humor right. We spell humour correctly. That's not funny! Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
On 3/4/05 17:08, in article
, "Totty" wrote: Is that Ipomoea - morning glory which I think of as purple but I *think* there's a pink one as well. It grows like a weed, literally, in Med. Countries. No Sacha, not the bright blue, large flowered Ipomoea. This rampages up telephone poles and smothers anything it can get a grip on. *My* bindweed is more like the lesser bindweed of UK, but with hairy leaves. Flowers are about 1" in diameter. There is also a white flowered version, but I don't have it....yet. I think I know what you mean but it sounds lovely - even if a weed with you! It would probably be a carefully nurtured, hovered over tender thing here. I think this is what we call Polygala? It's a lovely plant but not hardy here. There was a single speciman in the garden when we bought the house twenty years ago. About 5 years ago, it suddenly started to seed itself around the garden. I now pot a few of these up just after germination as they will not happily stand transplanting later. They are expensive to buy here, so I give them away as pot plants. They can be trained into attractive standards. "Seed itself around".....sigh......! ;-) But what is a nispero - I don't think I know that at all? I first came across it in Portugal back in 1966, then didn't come across it again until came here to the Costa Blanca. I think it is a type of medlar - I know it is grafted onto quince, and the latin name is Mespilus Germanica L. and it belongs to the rose family. If you put the word 'nispero' into an image search engine you will get an idea. I use it to make chutney, as it is the one fruit that I can't eat raw. It is very sweet, but at the same time acidic. Ah - we planted a medlar a couple of years ago, and I'm waiting happily for it to fruit. AIUI, with medlars you wait for them to be almost rotten before eating them. I have at the back of my mind that you eat this year's next year, sort of thing. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
What sort of temperatures do you have summer/winter ?
Summer hovers around 35=BAc throughout August and September. We hope that the last winter, when we had snow for the first time in 30 years, and around 14 or 15 nights when temperatures just dropped below freezing here on the coast, was not a foretaste of things to come. We have become used to winter temperatures between 10 or 11=BA at night and up to 20=BA during the day even in December and January. February has always been our coldest month, with the highest chance of continual cloudy days. =20 Jo |
It would probably be a carefully nurtured, hovered over tender thing
here. LOL. When my husband is struggling to tame some particularly tough tussocks "in the bottom" (level) I tell him that UK garden centres are charging the earth for his weeds, and he shakes his head in wonder! I have at the back of my mind that you eat this year's next year, sort of thing. I did read somewhere that you should put them in a drawer and forget about them. Storage is not possible with the nispero, even transportation is difficult as they bruise very easily, so that is the main reason they are rarely exported. Jo |
Sacha wrote:
Ah - we planted a medlar a couple of years ago, and I'm waiting happily for it to fruit. AIUI, with medlars you wait for them to be almost rotten before eating them. I've seen some discussion of medlars on the North American Fruit Explorer's E-list. An ancient relative of pears, I believe.... the process is called "bletting," and it's sort of controlled decay. But then, I made a batch of sauerkraut, and am in the process of eating it! Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G |
The Mediterranean region
is marked by Leveche winds--hot, dry, easterly or southeasterly air currents that originate over North Africa. These winds, which sometimes carry fine dust, are most common in spring. We know that wind as the Levante wind. You get used to the dust, but under certain conditions, the dust causes precipitation and we have liquid mud falling from the sky. Rather like a plague of Egypt! Jo |
In article , Gary Woods
writes Sacha wrote: Ah - we planted a medlar a couple of years ago, and I'm waiting happily for it to fruit. AIUI, with medlars you wait for them to be almost rotten before eating them. I've seen some discussion of medlars on the North American Fruit Explorer's E-list. An ancient relative of pears, I believe.... They're in the same subfamily of the rose family as pears ... and also apples, quince and hawthorn. So not particularly related to pears more than any of the others. the process is called "bletting," and it's sort of controlled decay. But then, I made a batch of sauerkraut, and am in the process of eating it! -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
In article .com,
Totty writes I first came across it in Portugal back in 1966, then didn't come across it again until came here to the Costa Blanca. I think it is a type of medlar - I know it is grafted onto quince, and the latin name is Mespilus Germanica L. and it belongs to the rose family. If you put the word 'nispero' into an image search engine you will get an idea. I use it to make chutney, as it is the one fruit that I can't eat raw. It is very sweet, but at the same time acidic. Medlar is Mespilus germanica. Googling suggests that nispero is often used for 'japanese medlar' ie loquat, Eriobotrya japonica, but that's presumably not the one you mean. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
But then, I made a batch of
sauerkraut, and am in the process of eating it! Being married to a dedicated sauerkraut eater of the Swiss variety, I'm not sure if I wouls agree that fermentation is equivalent to "controlled decay". Any experts out there? Jo |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:17 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter