Barbara Simoes

I totally get it.  I am in awe of some of the things you're growing!  I thought pistachios were quite small (They max out by25- 30' and are only 15-30' wide...although they do require a male and a female), that's why I was surprised.  I read somewhere on this site that someone in Utah was growing pistachios, and I think he said he was in zone 5 like I am...that's when I wanted to find out about them.  But, Utah zone 5 and Vermont zone 5 are lightyears apart.  We are not nearly as dry as they are, nor as sunny. What you grow sounds very exotic to me!  Coffee and bananas...wow! You also grow stuff that we can grow in the frigid Northeast.  I'm feeling plant envy!

Welcome Ethan.  I looked up your town and it's a two + hour drive from where I am in Vermont.  Do you have a shop where people can buy your product?  

A number of years ago I'd watched a segment on TV about (I believe) a Scottish farmer who started using wool in his garden and how many benefits he discovered from it.  All of his neighbors started using wool in their gardens with wonderful results after seeing how well it was working.  That's as far as I ever went with it, being I have no real access to sheep's wool. His was used more in a mat form which acted as a mulch and weed barrier. It repelled bad bugs...there were a lot of positives and I know I am missing many that were listed, but to be fair, this was well over ten years ago!

Then, a few weeks ago, I was reading about hair sheep, more specifically, Katahdin sheep who don't need to be sheared, but instead lose their coats every spring. It sounded like an elegant solution! I was thinking that I might want to raise one or two...I only have an acre, and it's in a small village that has a highway going through the middle.  The problem is that I know that they'd become pets and I could never have them killed for food. I was intrigued by the idea that they would help keep the lawn sheared and their "byproducts" would help to fertilize the gardens.  I wasn't sure about whether they would stick to the grass or also eat my gardens and that is as far as I went with it.

I will definitely want to find out more about your product. I always appreciate resourcefulness!

Ulla, I'm surprised that I didn't see pistachios or avocados. Is there a reason why you don't grow them? Are the palms date palms? If I had the climate, these would be on the top of my list! If I ever win Powerball, I'd get some land where it's warm and grow all the things I can't grow in Vermont...Right now, there is half an inch of snow on the ground...Ughh.  

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:While we don’t have as much room as you do, we do have a food forest plus a raised bed garden. The food forest is 3300 square feet, where I am growing mediterranean and sub, tropical fruits and vegetables.
In the food forest I have a wide variety of trees, shrubs and ground cover. The top layer is a pecan tree, cashew tree, prickly pear and palm trees, some being bananas. Eventually my Barbados cherry will also get up there. The middle layer is plum trees, guava, lemons, elderberries,  tangerines and peaches.

I use my ride-on lawn mower and attached cart, although reading this made me think of how I pull off the very heavy waterlogged 30'x50' pool cover.
I tie the ties which are very thick dog collar material in a knot and hook on to the bar at the back of the mower and drive it some 150' onto the paved driveway to dry out before putting it away for the season.  I am a  4'11" heavyset 65 year old woman and I do this by myself every year.  Do any of your neighbors have a ride on lawn mower and a teenager who might help out?  With a steel rake, it would be easy enough to rake a bit onto the tarp and pull it where ever you want it.  I love the idea of a double-sided dog hitch.  That would work like a charm to connect the corners and one I'm sure I'll be using!

William Bronson wrote: I've used a tarp to good effect, and plywood to move large rocks in similar circumstances.
I've used a bumper mounted, DC powered winch to pull the tarp, very effective.
I have considered buying a manual winch and mounting it on a T stake to move mulch in my yarden.

Thank you, Inge.  It amazes me to see how quickly it's grown!  That first year, it was nothing but sticks, and I spent hours every other day watering it.  I'd lug around the hose, carry around a little bench, sit and water. Since then, I've watered only once last year.  This year, it's still too early; nothing is leafed out, although some of the bulbs are emerging.  I have a huge pile of wood chips sitting in the driveway, and I'm trying to decide if I want to put any of them out there. I mulched up and added a lot of leaves last fall, and I may just continue with that.  I like the dark brown of them.  It's snowing again, so I guess I can put off that decision for a few more days! I've got plenty of other places and paths where I can use the chips...sounds like I've decided, huh?!

Your garden is beautiful.  I recognized rhubarb in the foreground; what else is in there? Maybe some currants and a paw paw?

Well, that's doable!  Even trying to find directions on how to do it took forever.  I tried the obvious of "Search threads and posts" with all sorts of search terms and NOTHING closely related came up.  I wanted to throw something!  Thank you for such straight-forward directions!  It's very hard to describe my front garden, but it is located on a highway and lots of people do walk by using the sidewalk.
Now, to see if the pictures actually post!
(I accidentally posted most of this in the wrong thread; by following some directions, I must have inadvertently posted on a picture uploading post!)

Here are some pictures of when it was first planted back in '21.  Pretty amazing to look back, as the pictures above were taken last summer and the garden was only three!
I have three paw paws, three apples, all sorts of currants, rhubarb, two persimmons, about 30 serviceberries, 50 crowns of asparagus, all sorts of perennials, strawberries covering every square inch, a cherry tree, lingonberries, aronia, a medlar, all sorts of perennial herbs, two figs, a few climbing roses just in that front garden.  Lots more out back!

Well, that's doable!  Even trying to find directions on how to do it took forever.  I tried the obvious of "Search threads and posts" with all sorts of search terms and NOTHING closely related came up.  I wanted to throw something!  Thank you for such straight-forward directions!  It's very hard to describe my front garden, but it is located on a highway and lots of people do walk by using the sidewalk.
Now, to see if the pictures actually post!

This is all way too hard.  I have spent hours trying to figure this out and I only end up being extremely frustrated and pissed off.  I have another forum that I belong to and it works seamlessly.  This needs to be more of a cut and paste, rather than having to put pictures online so I can grab an address.  Ridiculous.