Maybe we should try to revive this
thread again?
Three years ago we planted the following fruittrees: Grapes, pomegranates, fig, apricot, lemon, orange, lime, avocado, banana, kiwi, mango, coffeee. Only the Grapes and the pomegranate have survived ... we should have been more diligent in our watering efforts to get the trees established, but did not have water consistently through the first summer - and that killed most of the other trees. The neighbour's goats took the bananas (they were growing in the grey-water system, so had plenty of water).
We also planted: Bourgainvilla and a butterfly bush (don't know its name but it has clusters of blue flowers and the butterflies love it), some pretty flowers (I have seen them grow as a weed anywhere that has a little water - like a drip from an air-con), aloe vera, hibiscus, pelagonia - all have survived.
Aromatics we have planted: Mint (managed to kill one with
coffee - did not know they didn't like that...), rosemary, thyme, oregano (doesn't like coffee either), basil (loves coffee - I am really bad at sprouting the seeds though), parsley (loves coffee). Killed the lemon-balm with coffee... The thyme needs to be well established before you stop watering, but then it grows wild. The aloe thrives in the shade of a carob tree, but doesn't really do too well in direct sunlight (maybe if it was well established?).
Loads of cacti and succulents - lost most of their names, we sort of buy one here and there - og get some from friends who want to get rid of them, and just plant here and there and most of them do well - as do most palms. We haven't had success with transplanting date-palms - once one is established they seem to spread like weeds, because the birds eat them an
poop out stratified pits, so anyone living near a palm tree around here seem to have them sprouting all over their garden - and we have been given several, but they never took... I have been eating medjul dates as if it was my job, but haven't managed to sprout any... maybe I should get some chickens and
feed them dates...
I have a small avocado that I have grown from seed - but I am unsure weather it will survive the next summer (it sprouted in my
compost last summer), but will do my very best to help it - water, shade, mulch is my plan. I also have a mango that sprouted in my compost, is it not doing as well as the avocado, but I don't know if I will take off once the heat comes back? I have two moringa trees, they do look very very sad right now, but expect they will come back as soon as the temperature picks up. I have a lemon that I have grown from seed and it had now survived 2 summers - it is very small still, but growing in my rainwater garden, right outside my kitchen door - it gets a little water almost every day, when my kids change the water in the dog's water bowl (plus we empty our coffee in that bed too).
Established plants: Olives, almonds, carob, oaks (3 different species, but only 1-3 trees of each species).
Wild edibles (that I know of now): Asparagus, thistle (many many kinds), dandelion, ruccola, rosemary, thyme, lavender, blackberries, borage. These should be easily established as cultivars (I am planting asparagus this week, planted some artichokes in the fall, but were too late so they are very very small and will not flower this year).
Fruits that I have seen grow without irrigation: Our neighbour has a huge fig tree - and I will try to get some branches off of it to establish our own - again... But for now I have more figs than I can eat because he doesn't harvest them. Another neighbour is and abandoned house, there is: Pomegranate, bitter oranges (could graft cultivars on those), quince, grapes (biggest grapevine I have ever seen - it has torn the pergola apart). Another abandoned finca has loads of Spanish walnuts (the garden has northern aspect and turns towards the sea, ours have southern aspect and the mountain blocks the air from the sea), but I can get as many as I want from that place, since no one lives there. Almonds self seed around here - there are loads of them growing everywhere - but most of them are bitter. We have a medlar (nispero), but I have never seen any fruit on it. Tons of cactus fig - but all have a fungal disease, and are dying.
Annuals we have had most luck with: Tomatoes and butternut squash - we have volunteers all over the place, and they grow with very little water and keep coming back. Cherry tomatoes are the hardiest. Currently indian cress is totally covering my rainwater garden - need to eat more of it.
Oh - and I pick any legume anywhere and throw them all over the place. Esp. legumes that grow where I can't see any irrigation has my interest.
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