Need help getting started in San Diego County

[ScottR]

WWelcome to forum Spaugh, you've got a nice orchard started thanks for sharing pic's

[Jct]

This guy is local to SD and has problems with gophers.  He builds his own gopher cages, doesn't seem too expensive or too much work to do:
http://tastylandscape.com/category/gophers-2/

[cfinley]

Theres actually 2 CRFG groups in SD, you are kind of in the middle. South SD meets at Balboa Park every 4th Wed, and North SD meets at Mira Costa College in Oceanside every 3rd friday (except Dec holiday party and July picnic). Besides the fun social interaction and information, the raffles are a great way to cheaply pick up some new varieties, as are the January scion exchanges where members trade cuttings of stone fruits, figs, grapes, persimmon, annona, etc.

[spaugh]

This guy is local to SD and has problems with gophers.  He builds his own gopher cages, doesn't seem too expensive or too much work to do:
http://tastylandscape.com/category/gophers-2/

I have tons of gopher holes everywhere but honestly have never lost a tree or anything else in the garden to one.  We are living in peace with one another at the moment.

[zands]

One of my neighbors has some massive banana trees with huge clusters of bananas bigger than store ones.  And they have coffee growing.

Ask him if you can dig up some banana roots. Once bananas get established the problem is they spread in rainy Florida. They are lo to no maintenance. In your location you would have to drip irrigate them for a while. For shits and giggles I would plant them on some of the hilly marginal land you have.
Bananas are a grass and are tough. They give a nice tropical look to a place.

[spaugh]

One of my neighbors has some massive banana trees with huge clusters of bananas bigger than store ones.  And they have coffee growing.

Ask him if you can dig up some banana roots. Once bananas get established the problem is they spread in rainy Florida. They are lo to no maintenance. In your location you would have to drip irrigate them for a while. For shits and giggles I would plant them on some of the hilly marginal land you have.
Bananas are a grass and are tough. They give a nice tropical look to a place.

I got a banana tree when I went to the nursery last week.  My main problem is I have deer that are pretty hungry with the drought they eat everything.  So I have to fence it in.  I have 2 fenced areas currently.  Running out of space to grow stuff.  We have about 10 4x8 raised beds and a dozen or so trees in one area and some grapes.  And another 25 trees in another fenced area.  I'll take some more photos and post them soon.

[zands]

One of my neighbors has some massive banana trees with huge clusters of bananas bigger than store ones.  And they have coffee growing.

Ask him if you can dig up some banana roots. Once bananas get established the problem is they spread in rainy Florida. They are lo to no maintenance. In your location you would have to drip irrigate them for a while. For shits and giggles I would plant them on some of the hilly marginal land you have.
Bananas are a grass and are tough. They give a nice tropical look to a place.

I got a banana tree when I went to the nursery last week.  My main problem is I have deer that are pretty hungry with the drought they eat everything.  So I have to fence it in.  I have 2 fenced areas currently.  Running out of space to grow stuff.  We have about 10 4x8 raised beds and a dozen or so trees in one area and some grapes.  And another 25 trees in another fenced area.  I'll take some more photos and post them soon.

Too bad about the deer eating things. If you lived near me I could point to four locations where you could dig up a few banana roots and take them home. Banana roots can take all kinds of abuse. You can put them in three and seven gallon pots and let them grow in the near term or long term. Banana plants in pots will live indefinitely, one stalk will die and another will come up, they just won't fruit properly. Then plant them in the future when you have the fencing arranged and the deer and drought are gone.

If I were in your shoes I would find some free banana roots. Plant them in tubs and pots. Plant them into the ground later as your overall project takes shape. It could be next year, it could be the year after. It could be any year. When you have ten acres (yes some is marginal) you can think long long term.

[fyliu]

Gophers love to eat banana roots. I think it's because they're juicier than tree roots. The ones in Quail Gardens are enclosed in something like a chicken wire cage to keep them out. It works for a little while but a few get through.

South slope in San Diego are usually bare because of the dryness and sun. You'll need to irrigate more if you grow there. North side is more lush.

Cherimoya would be good to grow since the fruits are expensive. I'm not sure about now. The heat is really affecting production in my trees.

[zands]

Too bad about your gopher problem in San Diego County. I have never heard the word gopher mentioned in South Florida. Must be because our ridiculously sandy soil means their tunnels would collapse if they ever tried. But I rank the fruit bat problem in Australia (as reported here) as worse than gophers. I used to despise our South Florida soil. Zero clay content in just about all soils though there is mysteriously some clay in the Miami Redlands soil.
This is why wood chips and mulching helps so much here. They turn into nice black humus which holds minerals and micro- nutrients the way clay does for you guys and most people around the world. Clay is what supports your gopher tunnels. We have zero clay. If the average soil here has 15% clay I would be overjoyed. This mere 15% would be very helpful.

[JF]

Mangos, cherimoyas, atemoyas, Chico sapote, pitaya would be cash crops and easy to grow in your area.

[SoCal2warm]

Figs, Quince, and Pomegranate grow very well where you live.

You might also try a Lychee tree.

There's not enough room here but I would encourage you to do some research into these fruits.

Fresh pomegranates can make excellent juice (tastes far better than the pomegranate juice at the store). You need to know the proper technique to cut open the fruits and efficiently take out the arils inside without making mess. After being separated out, the arils are then pressed for their juice. This is the best way to make the juice, otherwise both the white rind and/or the hard seeds contained inside the edible arils can impart an off-flavor. The juice should then be drunk within a few days, or frozen to preserve the fresh flavor. From this you may be able to get some idea why the pomegranate juice sold at supermarkets does not taste so wonderful.

Lychees have the aroma of roses. The only reason everyone doesn't know about them and love them is because they do not ship fresh very well and are perishable (they can easily develop a bad sour off-flavor if they've been sitting around too long).

Another recommendation, a seedless Satsuma mandarin (i.e. "tangerine") tree. A note about the flavor, the first year the flavor can be a little insipid, but the flavor gradually improves after a few years, reaching peak flavor at around 12-20, maybe even 25 years old. At their best, and picked right off the tree, this fruit is unbelievable! You won't be able to stop eating them. The tree produces around December and makes great gifts to give away in bags to family members.