Frank fank

Glenn,  

Seeing that we are practically neighbors I'm sure we can work something out.  I have not really grown much in the line of annual crops here since they require more care than I am able to give them currently.  Would be interested in learning from some of your 20 years of experience in gardening here in Florida.  I am growing as many of varieties of mulberry as I can get my hands on since they seem to thrive here with little care.  Not sure how they all taste though as yet since most are very young.  Would be interested in learning what variety you have in case I don't have it.  But even if I do will still share what I can.  Purple moosage contact info so the whole world doesn't get it and we can move forward from there.   Thanks for your response.  Looking forward to hearing from you.

Hello Glenn,

You seem to be in close proximity to my farm in Fellsmere.  I have been trying to grow what ever I can find here to allow my family to eat healthier foods the past couple of years food forest style on my 5 acres.  My main focus has been on perennial plants that can easily be propagated and shared via cuttings, divisions, bulbs, seeds, etc.  I have a lot growing thanks to loads of mulch I have gotten over the years.  Let me know what you are interested in and if I have anything useful  I have no problem in sharing or trading.  Even if it is simply knowledge or experience.  All the best either way.  

Hello,

Is anyone in the area still around?  I'm in the area.

Thanks

@Cl Robinson,

I am not an expert in pomegranates but I can suggest a few simple things that may help the trees.  Trim the grass and weeds around them to the ground keeping green material there, cover with cardboard around tree at least 4ft. diameter.  Cover the area with mulch.  That alone may help.  Go to a healthy forest area and collect some mushrooms that you may find blend them up with some water or just smash and pour on the mulch to inoculate the area.  Adding some soil from the forest area may also be beneficial.  The point of this is to inoculate the soil with fungi and potentially beneficial microbes.  For a simple fertilizer you can even use urine mixed 15:1 with non chlorinated water as long as you are not on any medication that may be eliminated with it.  Good luck on your endeavors.  If all that doesn't help take some cuttings, grow them for a season and plant them somewhere else.  That way you can at least preserve the trees.  



@ Shane Jennings,

Thank you Shane for the time you've spent sharing information and all of your suggestions.  I really appreciate the detailed information.   I will search my area for any pomegranate varieties once I get established there permanently.  If I find anything interesting I will be sure let you know.  Good luck on your endeavors and all the best.

Shane,

Apparently I've given you the wrong impression or have been completely misunderstood. I apologize let's just call it the disadvantage of electronic communication. In no way did I expect you to send me cuttings in a day nor was I looking for a hand out. Being a father of three boys, working full time as a nurse in Miami, and trying to establish a working farm in Indian River County 3 hours away in my spare time I understand people are busy.
I am interested in the heirloom varieties because they have proven themselves genetically hardy. I prefer to grow my plants from cuttings because one I enjoy it and two I find that they are hardier than most nursery varieties that use artificial fertilizers and focus on quantity of product as opposed to quality. I also have a year or so before I am moving permanently to my farm so as you can imagine if I grow 200 plants at $2 a cutting as opposed to 200 at $15-30 there is a cost factor as well. I will be contacting Richard at Pom-Natural since his operation seems to focus on organic growing which I prefer. I appreciate all of the advice and contact information that you have given me and I thank you for your kindness and time. Best of luck on your future endeavors. I have been planning my move from the city to the country for over 15 years. So perhaps I may be a bit overzealous or can at least be perceived so as my dreams come to fruition. But if at least half of my ambition becomes reality...I will be a very blessed man indeed.

Frank

Hello Shane,

I responded to you several weeks ago via purple moosage to give you my email address. I have not heard from you so I am responding here again just in case you did not receive it. Yes, I am interested in the heirloom variety cuttings or any other cuttings of varieties you may think will grow here. I am thinking that if I can get 10 or 20 different varieties to grow and produce well here that I may plant them intermixed with the potential heirloom varieties to let them cross pollinate so that I can try growing from seed some of the potential crosses. Would be nice to come up with a few useful varieties more native to my area. Am currently growing 14 varieties of figs several from the LSU breeding program from cuttings this year to be planted out next Spring. Will see how that goes would like to interplant with the pomegranates and other more semi-tropical fruits am trying to grow. Am growing several mulberry and elderberry varieties as well. Just mentioning plants in case you or anyone you know will need cuttings or information on how these plants grow in these areas. I believe in passing blessings along as they are given to me. Will take me a year or two to have cuttings to share though. No point in sharing something that won't grow. Any way, all the best and thank you for all of your help.

Sincerely,

Frank

I have found that legume crops self sow easily when scattered on wood chip mulch fresh or partially composted. What else grows in the wood chips will depend on location, soil, and depth and level of decay of wood chips or mulch. Try different plants suitable for your area and figure out what works. Some plants have a hard time reaching the soil through a thick mulch but legumes can grow in the mulch no problem.

@ Susan B

Google says you are in zone 9b if so you can grow pigeon pea, okra, roselle, potatoes, yams, onion, peanuts, (cow pea, lab lab for ground cover), pumpkins, and a whole lot of other things fairly easily in the mulch/wood chips. Your area is a bit dryer than mine but most of these plants love sun and grow easily in mulch. Give them a try.

Shane,

Thank you for your prompt response and I appreciate the information I will try contacting Cindy since her farm is located directly west of me and see if she has any advice. Honestly I haven't given much thought to texture, taste, flavor, or seed hardness since my exposure to pomegranates has been limited to store bought Wonderful variety. My criteria was simply edible. I have 5 acres of land on my farm but due to the planting style (permaculture food forest) I am able better utilize space as opposed to conventional rows. Not really looking to grow hundreds of pomegranates though but am always open minded. I currently have 4 varieties planted and growing that I grew from cuttings last Summer. About 20 plants total. The only variety that I can name is Wonderful that I grew from a family tree in Orlando. The other three varieties I purchased through ebay. The only thing I was told was that one has and orange flower, the other a white flower with sweet fruit, and the third a multi colored flower red or pink with white highlights. Not much to go on I realize but they are all growing well so if they produce maybe I'll find out.

The community where my farm is located has been around since the early 1900's surrounded by nature preserves. Mostly a rural community. So in one way or another most people are looking to grow or raise their own food. I am currently growing different varieties of perennial foods/fruits to see which ones are best suited to my area. My criteria is that they grow well here utilizing natural resources that can easily be found/grown and used here. It is also a big plus if they can be easily propagated and shared with others. Since pomegranates easily fit that criteria here we are. For me personally I am looking for taste and multi purpose use. Whether its for juice, food, nutrition, medicine, or even animal feed. I believe though that the ability tolerate moisture will be a big factor due to Florida rain and all the canals and ponds in the area.

As far as advice I am open to any that you may give on the topic. If you have any cuttings of any varieties that you think/know will grow well here I would be glad to pay for them. Also any heirloom or interesting varieties that you think might be worth preserving are welcome too. Basically any assistance you can give is a blessing to me and I am thankful just for a simple response.

Thank you for your time once again.

Frank

Hello Shane,

I am not currently in your area Florida zone 9b but I found this topic while searching here on permies.com. I am starting a food forest for my family which will be shared with my local community. So I am always on the hunt for nutritious plants that can easily be propagated and shared with others. I am looking for cuttings of different varieties of pomegranates to grow on my farm. If you have any varieties in which you are able to share/sell cuttings from I would greatly appreciate it. If not I would appreciate if you could direct me to any other sources of cuttings that I may procure. Thank you for your time and all the best in your endeavors.

Frank

Hi all,

Recently purchased a property in Indian River County on 5 acres. Not there full time yet but planted like a mad man everything I could think of that could survive on its own. Ended up getting almost 1000yards of free wood chips from service crews over the Summer. Been using that to mulch plants and improve soil structure in various areas. Still have tons in piles in the pasture areas. Planted a ton of nitrogen fixers among my fruit trees in mulch: pigeon pea, lab lab, couple types of cow pea, and peanut. Everything is growing well and I learned a lot about my property while doing it all. I understand I'm being vague on many points but that is due to information being irrelevant to the post.

I am new to the area and have zero connections to anyone other than my family. Looking to meet new people with similar interests and possibly trade seeds, cuttings, plants and information. Could definitely use some design input to help utilize resources more efficiently.

Looking forward to meeting and learning from you all.

FL