posted 10 years ago
I have lurked. I have read. I have used the search function and have laughed and cried reading all the stories.
Honest, I *did* try to find the container gardening section. Honestly did! So, since this section was the closest to what I wanted to query about, here goes! ^_^
My Mom could grow just about anything that wasn't already dead, brown and crispy for two years. No questions asked, give her a withered stick and she'd use her Lazarus-Come-Forth phoenix on it.
. . . Some of us just aren't that talented. XD
Looking for Ontario Zone 5b - 6a, container-able fruit trees and bushes. Need things that are 'hard to kill' and not just 'easy to grow'. I get to grow them in the back of a townhouse, facing north (joy) over swampy moss atop clay soil. Containers to the rescue! We're going to move within 4 years, and do not expect the things we start now to be able to fruit, multiply, and feed us. (Just. Need. To. Keep. Them. Alive. Reasonably. Well.)
So far we have Jerusalem Artichoke that pop up like clockwork(freaking love those things!). They are real troopers; even in 3-4 hours of sun, they give generously.
Last year I was able to coax a goji seed into something resembling a scrawny bush and a puny red raspberry stick into something with leaves that kept getting mown down, eaten by slugs and sow bugs, sun burned, stomped on and chomped by fast-moving furry animals that were yelled at by the neighbour's dogs. I don't know if either will spring back to life. We'll be seeing. Both bush-type fruit plants actually didn't do so badly. The gogi was 2.5 feet tall when I bundled it into burlap, and sank the container into the ground. The raspberry was on a 45 degree angle, 20 cm long, and I despair of ever seeing it alive again.
My exman was kind enough to lop off a pencil thick, 40 cm long mulberry branch. Forgot it completely for about 3 weeks in rooting hormone water, by a 12 hour on, 12 hour off grow light. It's alive. The roots were about 1 cm, all around, the thing was trying to make fruit so I rubbed that nonsense off. Now, a few 1 cm leaves are clinging precariously to it. It's now in a smaller 2 gallon self watering container. Every day I talk with it. "Please stay alive; you can rule the world, you know, if only you stay alive!"
A moringa oleifera decided to grow into the larger pot I had put aside for it. Each day I marvel at how tall it grows. That's an inside plant. I *may* allow it to harden off nearer the beginning of summer on the patio, but am a little afraid of any consequences. It's also coming in before September. No need to risk it at all. It was the only seed out of 20 that I got that lived anything at all.
Have also ordered a Chicago Hardy Fig, three alpine strawberries, some wild ginger (all from Richter's) and also am getting a gooseberry (Poorman - apparently renown for able to take the shadier side and damp?) and a Balsor's blackberry. The latter two are from Vesey's.
Found a B.C. supplier of blueberry seed. Terrified to try to grow it, but willing to give it a try. Also bought some Fall Gold raspberry seed from the same place. Have a peach pit in the fridge, in some soil and plastic bag, and some green and red grape seeds along with a buffalo currant seed or three. The grapes - just want them for the leaves, sincerely. The birds can have the fruit. That is, if I don't manage to murder these plants. If they even come up.
My buddy at work is hoping to give me 'a green fig cutting or ten' so that I may grow it out - he claims there's never many fruit on each tree, but they never protect them or anything during the winter. Unnamed figs that grow out in THIS weather in Ontario, with minimal die back? Sign me up. Figs are delicious, friend says, just not terribly plentiful. That's hard to kill indeed.
Sort of want to find hazelnuts, and sort of want a Red Lake Currant. Would pot up two hazelnut trees in the same large container, so that way they can pollinate each other. The Red Lake can be had at Vesey's - and it will cost me about $40 to have it delivered. Ulp. Want, but am afraid to do something that will harm that 4 hours' worth of pay.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Please understand again that I'm not expecting any fruit right now - just want to start some stuff, transplant it into a bigger pot each year, and do the learning bit so that when the fellow and I do move to the 'forever-enough' place, we can start on a good foot, and possibly even have stock to start with.
Thank you for your kindly responses, and not being hard-hearted towards these efforts. ^_^
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