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You can buy a mansion in South Florida for the cost of a small house in San Diego.....
Thanks for starting this thread Shane. I am considering a move too.. my first thought was to look around Vero Beach. Someplace rural though, I want livestock.Is this different algae than we had earlier this year in SD? It didn't affect me but one of my friends couldn't make the long walk from Cardiff to the campground.
Quote from: vall on December 18, 2020, 02:07:30 PMThanks for starting this thread Shane. I am considering a move too.. my first thought was to look around Vero Beach. Someplace rural though, I want livestock.Is this different algae than we had earlier this year in SD? It didn't affect me but one of my friends couldn't make the long walk from Cardiff to the campground.Vero Beach is very nice but runs a bit colder then st lucie or lower. The coconut belt ends in Vero Beach within a mi of intercoastal. Where as st lucie you can still grow mature coconuts about 4mi inland from intercoastal.
Yeah, I'm still deciding what I absolutely need to grow. Definitely mango, pineapple, papaya, avocado, guava, some sort of annona, but I may stick to someplace that can grow low chill deciduous fruit rather than tropicals like coconut.
Quote from: vall on December 18, 2020, 09:53:04 PMYeah, I'm still deciding what I absolutely need to grow. Definitely mango, pineapple, papaya, avocado, guava, some sort of annona, but I may stick to someplace that can grow low chill deciduous fruit rather than tropicals like coconut.That's why I think Highlands County might be ideal--for the low-chill deciduous and persimmons, too. Super-low temps are likely a thing of the past for that part of Florida, and micro-climates do matter. I'd like to see more California fruit-growing enthusiasts move this way. Guys, it actually rains here! (Probably a good 70 inches this year in SE FL. Even Richmond, VA, where my sister moved to from CA, got 60 inches this year.)
If you have a strong desire to grow low chill temperate fruit, California has by far the better climate. It really stings for me to say that since I am a Florida boy who hates to admit that California has better anything, but it is true. It is actually disease more than chill that limits our temperate fruits (although California does get more chill for the same climate zone). Two examples are Pierce's Disease (transferred by sap sucking bugs) and Peach Tree Short Life (transfered by nematodes). Many people do not realize that the bacteria that causes Pierce's Disease (xylella fastidiosa) also affects most temperate fruit. In plums it is called Plum Leaf Scald (and I believe much of the random dieback people see on temperates here is caused by this disease). I have watched 5 commercial attempts to grow peaches here in Highlands County fail due in all likelyhood to Peach Tree Short Life. One was organic and another was an attempt by a very successful commercial citrus grower. In each case the trees grew incredibly fast in the first two years and then began a slow decline as the trees sucumbed to the disease (even though they were on the recommended rootstock). In about 7-10 years the trees were virtually non-productive and had mostly been removed. Re-planting trees with that frequency typically ensures that commercial operations are non-viable, but may not be a big deal for homeowners who are more interested in a high quality product than the profit margin.
I’m aiming for more tropical than vall. I don’t have to have coconut but I won’t miss growing stone fruits. I’ll be happy with a few mango, avocado, lychee, citrus, annonas and guavas. And a nice community with a couple interesting other things to do.
Quote from: shaneatwell on December 19, 2020, 02:15:59 PMI’m aiming for more tropical than vall. I don’t have to have coconut but I won’t miss growing stone fruits. I’ll be happy with a few mango, avocado, lychee, citrus, annonas and guavas. And a nice community with a couple interesting other things to do.We had you until you got to the "other interesting things to do." Unless that includes church functions, bass fishing, and the occational car race. Lol!
Thanks for listening to me talk, I know it was lengthy. As far as stone fruit is concerned, I think people will have the best chance of long term success in central Florida with plums on native plum rootstock. Unfortunately, this combination is not offered much because most plums in local nurseries are on the "recommended" peach rootstock (because it makes larger fruit). Eventually, the peach rootstock dies out from under the plum. However, I have seen native plums here that are over 100 years old--Peach Tree Short Life obviously was not a problem for them.
Funny . Yeah fishing will do. Anything to do with water really that’s within 30min drive. Gardening is fun but I don’t want to become a full time farmer and my wife isn’t even into the trees. Pure consumer. I saw a couple places in Jupiter farms and in homestead that are promising.