Ask HN: Do you garden or try to grow fruits/vegetables?

#1

Post by programjoe » Sat, Jan 13, 2018, 3:37 AM UTC

As title suggests I'm just genuinely interested if folks here try to grow things. Seem,s like hn has a good bit of folks from different regions. If so, what are you trying to grow and what are the conditions where you are trying to grow? (e.g. North Carolina where I'm from has clay soil and I'm growing peppers, tomatoes, and trying my hand at some tech around saffron)

I'm interested cause I'm in the agtech space and just trying to find folks who like to grow shit.

Re: Ask HN: Do you garden or try to grow fruits/vegetables?

#2

Post by airbreather » Sat, Jan 13, 2018, 4:22 AM UTC

I am in Perth, Western Australia which is one of the Mediterranean climate zones in the world.

We have no "soil" just a courtyard and planter boxes on our front balcony but I grow a range of edibles in containers

Many herbs - rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley etc, Strawberries, Lemon grass, Chillies, Many citrus including quite a few native Australians, Pomegranites, Banana, Blueberries, Potatoes and sweet potato, Eggplant and few others.

Re: Ask HN: Do you garden or try to grow fruits/vegetables?

#3

Post by programjoe » Sat, Jan 13, 2018, 6:28 AM UTC

airbreather wrote: post #2

I am in Perth, Western Australia which is one of the Mediterranean climate zones in the world. We have no "soil" just a courtyard and planter boxes on our front balcony but I grow a range of edibles in containers Many herbs - rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley etc, Strawberries, Lemon grass, Chillies, Many citrus including quite a few native Australians, Pomegranites, Banana, Blueberries, Potatoes and sweet pot…

You mentioned not having soil, are you using store bought fertilizer or something else? Do you need to deal with adding any chemicals to grow things?

Re: Ask HN: Do you garden or try to grow fruits/vegetables?

#4

Post by gtvwill » Sat, Jan 13, 2018, 10:25 AM UTC

I live in North NSW, Australia. At my home I have a mango tree, olive tree and am about to put some blueberries in also. I grow tomato's in the garden at the moment and am about to plant my 2nd summer crop of lettuces, rocket and some capsicum and chilli plants. I grow many herbs.

Down the road is my folks farm which I help caretake. They lease the land to the local dairy farmer for his herd to keep the grass mown. Out there we have roughly 30 pecan trees , 2 mangoes, 2 macadamia nuts, 1 starfruit, coffee, mulberries, figs, custard apples, pineapples, dragon fruit,paw paw and bananas in the orchard. Our veggie garden has asparagus, capsicum, chillis, lettuces, garlic,squash, rhubarb and a heap of other herbs and such as seasons permit. Scattered around the house garden we have pomegranate, lemons and heaps of rosemary and mint amongst the tropical plants and English flowers.

We fertalize with cow shit and occasionally surface pellets of equal npk. I also use a house&garden a&b nitrogen mix for some particularly finicky plants or for things that need a quick hit.

I'd love to work in agribusiness but ATM I'm just a labourer. I am helping a friend with tech for a mushroom farm to try get into it a bit.

Sorry for the poor formating / gramar this was written from a phone.

Re: Ask HN: Do you garden or try to grow fruits/vegetables?

#5

Post by airbreather » Sat, Jan 13, 2018, 11:10 PM UTC

programjoe wrote: post #3

airbreather wrote: post #2

I am in Perth, Western Australia which is one of the Mediterranean climate zones in the world. We have no "soil" just a courtyard and planter boxes on our front balcony but I grow a range of edibles in containers Many herbs - rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley etc, Strawberries, Lemon grass, Chillies, Many citrus including quite a few native Australians, Pomegranites, Banana, Blueberries, Potatoes and sweet pot…

You mentioned not having soil, are you using store bought fertilizer or something else? Do you need to deal with adding any chemicals to grow things?

I use potting mix from the hardware store.

Because it is hot and dry I have to over water, this leaches out nutrients so I have to feed quite regularly, slow release pellets and fish emulsion with a bit of worm juice.

Additionally for the citrus have to add iron chelates because the leaves get yellow from deficiency otherwise.