Homesteading/gardening

rainerann

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I not sure if this is related to this thread. I always thought I couldn’t grow my own food, until it occurred to me that the store is more about having variety and I don’t even need variety. We basically eat the same 10 fruits and vegetables all year in my house.

the only problem is the all year part. is It possible to grow summer vegetables in winter in a greenhouse in my backyard or something?

there is one fruit that is more acclimated to colder weather that I don’t want to live without. I love Bartlett pears. Can a pear tree survive 100+ degree weather?

i still probably won’t ever be able to go full farm life. I’m shooting for about 40% of my own fruits and vegetable production within the next year to year and a half because they taste better, saves money, and creates less waste.
 
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rainerann

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Also, does anyone know if I could possibly graft a pear tree with an apple tree myself? If this is better in another thread, you can let me know too.
 

justjess

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Also, does anyone know if I could possibly graft a pear tree with an apple tree myself? If this is better in another thread, you can let me know too.
It’s fine here. It’s actually a great question. I have zero clue though lol.
Bartlett pears grow in my zone and we do get some really hot weather for a brief period in the summer. They need a certain amount of cold days though. If they don’t have enough cold days from what I understand they won’t bear fruit.

(I was doing my fruit tree research today, I have the opposite problem though)
 

rainerann

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It’s fine here. It’s actually a great question. I have zero clue though lol.
Bartlett pears grow in my zone and we do get some really hot weather for a brief period in the summer. They need a certain amount of cold days though. If they don’t have enough cold days from what I understand they won’t bear fruit.

(I was doing my fruit tree research today, I have the opposite problem though)
I was watching a video about growing apple trees that was talking about how there are now varieties of apples that will grow anywhere even though they are a cold weather fruit originally.

I just don’t know how you go about working towards acclimating a tree to produce fruit in my area too when it isn’t naturally acclimated.

The video I watched also mentioned how a lemon is actually a hybrid of a citron And a mandarin, but didn’t go into a discussion on how to make a hybrid like this. I thought that was interesting though because I didn’t know a lemon tree is somewhat manmade you could say.

So, there is hope of a banana apple tree one day I think.
 

polymoog

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Also, does anyone know if I could possibly graft a pear tree with an apple tree myself? If this is better in another thread, you can let me know too.
no. theyre too dissimilar.

there is one fruit that is more acclimated to colder weather that I don’t want to live without. I love Bartlett pears. Can a pear tree survive 100+ degree weather?
yes-- the limiting factor for apples and pears is the winter chill hours. both need a minimum of winter chill (i think its 45 degrees F) for them to be dormant and trigger flowering/fruiting. there are some israeli pear cultivars, i read, that only require about 100 hours or so, meaning they can be grown in north florida.
 

polymoog

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So, there is hope of a banana apple tree one day I think.
the banana and the apple tree have different numbers of chromosomes. grafting is impossible due to the cambium incompatibility (and that the banana is an herb, anyway). through genetic engineering, you could only stick genes from one plant into another; for you to stick an entire genome into another (this isnt possible yet with plants, that i know) would produce a true monster.
 

rainerann

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the banana and the apple tree have different numbers of chromosomes. grafting is impossible due to the cambium incompatibility (and that the banana is an herb, anyway). through genetic engineering, you could only stick genes from one plant into another; for you to stick an entire genome into another (this isnt possible yet with plants, that i know) would produce a true monster.
yeah I was kind of being silly with that one
 

rainerann

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sorry-- ive got a habit (inability?) of not detecting sarcasm/jocular questions.
no worries. I really would love a frakenfarm, but I’m sure I’m not the only one and it would be easier to find out how to do this if it were possible. Major bummer, but I somewhat expected it.

in all seriousness though, I found an apple banana variety. :)


it says in the plant care section that these can grow in pots. Say you live in zone 7 and under. Would you be able to have this indoors? Would you need a grow light or is there an alternative to supplementing a light source inside?

it would seems like I could try to do the reverse with a pear tree and keep it inside where it is cooler because of ac? Like with a dwarf pear tree?
 

justjess

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no worries. I really would love a frakenfarm, but I’m sure I’m not the only one and it would be easier to find out how to do this if it were possible. Major bummer, but I somewhat expected it.

in all seriousness though, I found an apple banana variety. :)


it says in the plant care section that these can grow in pots. Say you live in zone 7 and under. Would you be able to have this indoors? Would you need a grow light or is there an alternative to supplementing a light source inside?

it would seems like I could try to do the reverse with a pear tree and keep it inside where it is cooler because of ac? Like with a dwarf pear tree?
I think an indoor greenhouse with south facing windows and plenty of light which is attached to the home heating system may work... idk. It’s something I’m contemplating for myself because bananas oranges lemons and limes are all things we use on a regular, won’t grow where we live, but can be grown in pots and wintered inside.
 

rainerann

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I think an indoor greenhouse with south facing windows and plenty of light which is attached to the home heating system may work... idk. It’s something I’m contemplating for myself because bananas oranges lemons and limes are all things we use on a regular, won’t grow where we live, but can be grown in pots and wintered inside.
That’s sounds like it would work to me. I was looking at planting a lemon tree the other day myself, and it seemed like they were on the easier side to grow. One of the major things I’ve learned this growing season is that some plants are extra finicky and difficult.

bananas seem a little more picky since they only grow in a handful of places worldwide, but lemons seems a little more forgiving. I guess a Meyer lemon is supposed to be good for cold areas.

Maybe some ground insulation would help? The temperature control issue makes having a greenhouse difficult for me in the summer. I would have to run ac or a swamp cooler, or set up a room in my house as a greenhouse. The energy cost of this is almost not worth it.

I’ve got a variety of spinach started that is supposed to tolerate heat. I started late so it is still a seedling, so we’ll see how it goes and if I like it because I’ve never tried it before. But, I’ve decided that iceberg is not going to be an option in summer unless I can figure out a greenhouse solution.

it is interesting though and I like the way it creates a deeper connection to my landscape than I had before. Hopefully, I will even like some of the fruits and veggies that are good candidates for my area that I can’t find in stores currently too.
 

polymoog

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in all seriousness though, I found an apple banana variety.
i actually did know that; its not a top cultivar like raja puri.

it says in the plant care section that these can grow in pots. Say you live in zone 7 and under. Would you be able to have this indoors? Would you need a grow light or is there an alternative to supplementing a light source inside?
i actually HAVE the logees catalog next to me!
regarding bananas: theres a zone 4 banana (according to logees) that will grow and flower as high as new england (no fruit, though). you can grow bananas inside- youll need a good pot and plenty of height, though, depending on the variety. standard red bananas will never ever fit unless you have a 20' tall foyer. bananas can get by with part shade, but theyll need to be close to the window. most standard bananas are sterile so they dont need any pollination.

it would seems like I could try to do the reverse with a pear tree and keep it inside where it is cooler because of ac? Like with a dwarf pear tree?
yes!! you can do that. but the a/c wont do the trick unless you can really crank it down to winter chill temperatures. if you were in the tropics, you could grow strawberries until the fruit petered out and then put the whole plant in the freezer until it was given enough chill hours. at that point, you could take it out and plant it where it would fruit again.
 

polymoog

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I’ve got a variety of spinach started that is supposed to tolerate heat. I started late so it is still a seedling, so we’ll see how it goes and if I like it because I’ve never tried it before. But, I’ve decided that iceberg is not going to be an option in summer unless I can figure out a greenhouse solution.
try malabar spinach instead for hot weather. iceberg is nutrient-poor, so i wouldnt bother.
 

rainerann

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try malabar spinach instead for hot weather. iceberg is nutrient-poor, so i wouldnt bother.
interesting. I will have to try that. I got a New Zealand spinach variety which seems similar because they are both not true spinach varieties based on what I was just looking up.

my daughter will only eat iceberg at the moment. Probably a phase, but I hate iceberg usually, mainly because it doesn’t store well and is always aged no matter how fresh it is in the store.

I’m going to try growing it through the winter months and then probably give it up in the summer if it tastes better when grown myself. She’ll just have to live on watermelons for a couple of months.
 

justjess

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interesting. I will have to try that. I got a New Zealand spinach variety which seems similar because they are both not true spinach varieties based on what I was just looking up.

my daughter will only eat iceberg at the moment. Probably a phase, but I hate iceberg usually, mainly because it doesn’t store well and is always aged no matter how fresh it is in the store.

I’m going to try growing it through the winter months and then probably give it up in the summer if it tastes better when grown myself. She’ll just have to live on watermelons for a couple of months.
Kids put hitches in the best of plans don’t they?
 

justjess

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i actually did know that; its not a top cultivar like raja puri.



i actually HAVE the logees catalog next to me!
regarding bananas: theres a zone 4 banana (according to logees) that will grow and flower as high as new england (no fruit, though). you can grow bananas inside- youll need a good pot and plenty of height, though, depending on the variety. standard red bananas will never ever fit unless you have a 20' tall foyer. bananas can get by with part shade, but theyll need to be close to the window. most standard bananas are sterile so they dont need any pollination.


yes!! you can do that. but the a/c wont do the trick unless you can really crank it down to winter chill temperatures. if you were in the tropics, you could grow strawberries until the fruit petered out and then put the whole plant in the freezer until it was given enough chill hours. at that point, you could take it out and plant it where it would fruit again.
I was looking at something like this

 

Maes17

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I was looking at something like this

I want to grow bananas too. My backyard is too small for a greenhouse. My neighbor is off her meds and stepping over into our property throwing shit now. Knowing her, she’d throw a rock at my greenhouse if I put one up
 

Maes17

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That’s sounds like it would work to me. I was looking at planting a lemon tree the other day myself, and it seemed like they were on the easier side to grow. One of the major things I’ve learned this growing season is that some plants are extra finicky and difficult.

bananas seem a little more picky since they only grow in a handful of places worldwide, but lemons seems a little more forgiving. I guess a Meyer lemon is supposed to be good for cold areas.

Maybe some ground insulation would help? The temperature control issue makes having a greenhouse difficult for me in the summer. I would have to run ac or a swamp cooler, or set up a room in my house as a greenhouse. The energy cost of this is almost not worth it.

I’ve got a variety of spinach started that is supposed to tolerate heat. I started late so it is still a seedling, so we’ll see how it goes and if I like it because I’ve never tried it before. But, I’ve decided that iceberg is not going to be an option in summer unless I can figure out a greenhouse solution.

it is interesting though and I like the way it creates a deeper connection to my landscape than I had before. Hopefully, I will even like some of the fruits and veggies that are good candidates for my area that I can’t find in stores currently too.
Bananas grow in a tropical climate. A greenhouse should suffice nicely
 
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