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mensamia

Dec 24, 2009, 8:13 PM

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best growing area

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Hi :)

I'd like to find a region with enough rain to have an lush and abundant garden, but not a particularly hot and humid area .... Which are the best growing areas in Mexico?

thanks :)
" to see the world in a grain of sand". W. Blake

Camille

Dec 24, 2009, 11:28 PM

Post #2 of 9 (5560 views)

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Re: [mensamia] best growing area

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What is it you would like to grow? So many different altitudes and as usual, microclimates, but we need more info to advise you.
Only thing I can tell you for sure is the ordinary rules don't apply on the Riviera Nayarit!
Feliz Navidad,
Camille

mensamia

Dec 25, 2009, 6:49 AM

Post #3 of 9 (5535 views)

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Re: [Camille] best growing area

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Hello Camille,

A very productive vegetable garden with tomatoes, basil, garlic, green onions, peppers, asparagus, lettuce, celery, etc, and herbs, some avocado trees, fruit trees, and would like some trees around the house. thanks for your questions.
" to see the world in a grain of sand". W. Blake

Hound Dog

Dec 25, 2009, 8:36 AM

Post #4 of 9 (5515 views)

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Re: [mensamia] best growing area

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I suggest the area around Ocosingo, Chiapas or between Ocosingo and Tzinteel, Chiapas on the San Cristóbal-Palenque Carretera. This area has neither the bracing alpine climate of San Cristóbal de Las Casas at 7,000 feet nor the hot, humid jungle climate of Palenque near sea level. You would be at around 3,000 feet in altitude which is coffee and banana growing country with a splendid climate. The countryside is beautifully green all year round with gorgeous semi-tropical foliage. The primary rainy season is from about May to September but it can rain some any time of the year. We have found growing tomatoes to be somewhat problematic in either Jalisco or Chiapas but eveything else you have in mind should flourish down there plus you can start a citrus orchard and grow everything from avocados to macadamia nuts.

If you do decide on this area, proceed cautiously as it is a Zapatista stronghold but you should have no problems unless you have a tendency to display exhuberant well-being financially.

mensamia

Dec 25, 2009, 9:58 AM

Post #5 of 9 (5487 views)

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Re: [Hound Dog] best growing area

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Thanks Hound Dog,

My maximum budget is 900,000 pesos. That wouldn't be displaying inordinate wealth would it? All my clothes are from thrift shops and I don't wear jewellry. My vehicle will be 2004 but maybe I should age the exterior so it doesn't look so good?

My family consists of my mother, two large dogs and one barn cat. I want to keep a few goats and chickens. All that on my budget and within 40 minutes of a city with an airport and on the edge or in a small town on 1 acre+ of land with a house, trees, gardens. Does it sound possible? On another forum someone from the Chapala area said it wasn't possible there, but I wouldn't want to live in the Chapala area at all. Not my style, too much an atmosphere of colonialism.
" to see the world in a grain of sand". W. Blake

joaquinx

Dec 25, 2009, 10:25 AM

Post #6 of 9 (5481 views)

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Re: [mensamia] best growing area

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Cordoba, Veracruz. I can qualify for an FM-3 visa, right? Anyway, there are many small villages near by and all within 40 minutes to the airport in Veracruz.

Hound Dog

Dec 25, 2009, 10:31 AM

Post #7 of 9 (5476 views)

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Re: [mensamia] best growing area

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My maximum budget is 900,000 pesos. That wouldn't be displaying inordinate wealth would it? All my clothes are from thrift shops and I don't wear jewellry. My vehicle will be 2004 but maybe I should age the exterior so it doesn't look so good?

My family consists of my mother, two large dogs and one barn cat. I want to keep a few goats and chickens. All that on my budget and within 40 minutes of a city with an airport and on the edge or in a small town on 1 acre+ of land with a house, trees, gardens. Does it sound possible? On another forum someone from the Chapala area said it wasn't possible there, but I wouldn't want to live in the Chapala area at all. Not my style, too much an atmosphere of colonialism.

You sound like my kind of person. mensamia:

I thought by reading your post that you might be the kind of person who could adapt to the Ocosingo area which is not a common expat characteristic. You are also right to avoid the Chapala expat ¨neocolonial" area like the plague.

$900,000 Pesos will buy you a very nice property in the Ocosingo area but I strongly suggest you rent if you go there rather than risk your capital base. You can get by very well down there on very little money.

Other places with which I am familiar you might like:

The Orizaba-Córdoba urban corridor in Veracruz State which is a splendid place for growing a garden. You can be at anywhere from 4,000 feet to 2,000 feet as you choose. We particularly like the small city of Fortin de Las Flores - a city famed for its gardens.

More later, gotta go.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Dec 25, 2009, 11:27 AM)

Rolly

Dec 25, 2009, 11:09 AM

Post #8 of 9 (5459 views)

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Re: [Hound Dog] best growing area

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I very much agree with the Hound about renting rather than trying to buy. In fact, renting may turn out to be your only option.

You might want to read the articles I have on my website about finding a place in México. http://rollybrook.com/finding_a_place.htm

Rolly Pirate

E-visit me http://Rollybrook.com
On Facebook as Rolly Brook

Hound Dog

Dec 25, 2009, 11:49 AM

Post #9 of 9 (5442 views)

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Re: [Rolly] best growing area

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I very much agree with the Hound about renting rather than trying to buy. In fact, renting may turn out to be your only option.

Rolly has a point; especially if you settle in a remote area such as that around a town like Ocosingo. Much of the land there is not available for purchase by foreigners and property issues around there can be confusing for a stranger. However, renting in a place such as that is different from renting in the United States. You may find that you can rent long term and feel comfortable that you have purchased a bona fide long term interest in the property through your lease.

A famous story regarding purchasing property and investing in agricultural pursuits around Ocosingo involves a foreign couple who purchased a large property near the ruins at Toniná and developed a large macadamia orchard which, if you know anyrhing about macadamias, takes years to come to commercially viable fruition. They also opened a B&B there on the property. A few years ago, the Zapatistas seized the property and declared it Zapatista land and they got away with it. They kicked the foreign owners off the land just as the macadamias were maturing to commercial viability and then they allowed the macadamia orchards to go to seed and become useless commercially speaking. Nobody within the official Chiapas legal establishment did anything to help these people to the best of my knowledge.

Never invest any more in Mexico than you can afford to lose.