Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

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rayitodeluna

Feb 10, 2012, 10:01 AM

Post #1 of 70 (11830 views)

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Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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I would love to hear details on what you are currently growing or have grown in the past in your SOTB garden .

Herbs, vegetables, fruits, all of it interests me.

I am currently planning our rooftop garden and only have dill on the list (count me in with Robert on the dill lovers list). We are located in Mexico City.

In reality mercados sell many fruits veggies and herbs cheaply, but I need a "bit of earth" here in the big city to teach my girlies a love of nature. Plus fresh herbs always available to cook with are a plus!

DavidHF

Feb 10, 2012, 10:43 AM

Post #2 of 70 (11819 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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We are in the Lake Chapala area of Jalisco and grow; Bananas, Aquacates, Oranges, Limons, Peaches, Oregano, Chives, Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage.

sparks

Feb 10, 2012, 11:43 AM

Post #3 of 70 (11809 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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I live surrounded by farmland on the Jalisco coast -- crops are watermelon, chili, mangoes, papaya, banana and corn.

My garden is new so no fruit yet. Haven't done veggies yet as I want raised beds, better soil .... and fenced to keep my excavating dog from digging everything up. As it is I have to fence trees till they get big enough

New fruit trees are - papaya, 3 lime, starfruit (carambola), chico zapote or sapote, almond, avocado and banana. Gave my agave away because they were getting too big and hard to work around. Started two coco palms along the street

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

rayitodeluna

Mar 18, 2012, 10:37 PM

Post #4 of 70 (11298 views)

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Re: [DavidHF] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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We are in the Lake Chapala area of Jalisco and grow; Bananas, Aquacates, Oranges, Limons, Peaches, Oregano, Chives, Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage.

Oooo my. I want to come livein your garden, that sounds devine!

Of those, only the herbs would be compatible with container gardening, correct? The rest are too large for rooftop gardening I assume (sadly for me!) chives, one of my favorites, yum!

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

rayitodeluna

Mar 18, 2012, 10:46 PM

Post #5 of 70 (11296 views)

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Re: [sparks] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Um. Wow. I think I would die and go to heaven if I were your neighbor. I would be trading free homemade meals and whatever ele I could barter with for some of that fruit deliciousness. I LOVE star fruit, every year back home qhen it came "inseason" (aka shipped in) I would go nuts buying it until I couldnt eat anymore. I found them in Walmart here the other day, and bought some even though theynwere super green.

I wasnt aware star fruit grow well in MX. Now, for a bit of earth to be able to plant my own, I would give my left leg!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did get some time today on the roof (my inlaws) cleaning up my suegras collection of random cacti and succulents. For about 2.5 months I have been composting all green matter and brown/dry leaves etc as well. My inlaws think Im nuts because I am collecting what they see as trash for my future garden, but I imagine the soil here in Mexico City sucks. Will be doing raised beds and small container gardening here on their roof until our house next door is done.

ONE QUESTION: ROOF STRENGTH . My suegro told my suegra she had to stop gardening on her roof, because he thought it was weakening the roof. The funny thing is, she stopped gardening but there are still plants up there. Can I assume correctly that the edges are the strongeat part of the roof? I may still to small containers/pots until our house is built, and then do raised beds on our roof only.

I dont want to cause a family rift, but the roof looks fine to me and is holding the weight. Is there a general consensus on how much weight a roof can hold? It is concrete, that is all I know.

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

sparks

Mar 19, 2012, 6:52 AM

Post #6 of 70 (11284 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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I would put those plastic water catch plates under any pots to keep water off the cement. Even with that anything sitting on the cement will trap rain water underneath. Depends on how well the roof is sealed

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

rayitodeluna

Mar 19, 2012, 10:03 AM

Post #7 of 70 (11261 views)

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Re: [sparks] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Tht area of their roof does not leak. Their roof is half asbestos and half cemet. The asbestos leaks in a few spots but luckily the cemet hasnt.

I can see why my suegro is concerned, I spent the better part od the day yesterday pulling cacti and succulents out of the cemet. They had grown out of the pots and onto the cement roof- very fascinating. Such creatures they are! They grow wherever they can -with less than 1cm of dirt and they make a home ;)

I imagine it is similar to the idea of not planting trees or other plantlife too close to your foundation in the States. If the root system works itself into the foundation, that weakens the foundation, correct? So if I pull all the mini plants growing out of the cement, that would be preferable.

She doesnt have any plastic plats under her plants that are up there, and there are probably about 15 ish up there now?

Thank you for that idea, I honestly wouldnt have thought that was necessary - I tend to think of those plastic plates as a necessity only for indoor planting. Never would have thout about collecting rain water!

I took pictures of the roof before - broken pots, empty soda cans and bottles, dead plants and overgrown "weeds" (ie cacti out of place) . I will take a picture in a couple months and post, it will be fun to see the transformation!

Thanks again. Any other tips on small container or roof gardening appreciated!!

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

sfmacaws

Mar 19, 2012, 5:20 PM

Post #8 of 70 (11232 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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I have quite a few plants, even small trees on my roof over here in Merida. I did talk to the architect that renovated the house and he said it was strong enough for a second floor and would be fine. I also have a fish pond up there! I bought a long cattle trough and I'm growing lilies and fancy guppies and mollies in it. I try to keep the fish small because of the feral cats and water birds that would go for anything large enough to catch their eye.

I've stopped adding to the roof garden because I need to decide how I want to finish the floor. It's impermabilizante now but as mentioned above, anything wet that sits straight on it eventually will loosen it and it can peel off. I had a kiddie pool up there for about a year with fish and plants in it and when we cleaned it out it was stuck to the impermabilizante. I have the cattle trough up on blocks and supported on the concrete beams from below. I think the best bet will be for us to have the whole floor up there tiled. Otherwise, water caught under things will always be a problem.

I have several plumeria (flor de mayo) in large pots, a passionfruit vine (maracuyá), and I'm harvesting tomatoes from a medium sized pot. I've also got 3 large Pandanus in pots along one wall of the roof, they have very sharp, strap like leaves with a saw tooth edge. I am using them like bougainvillea to discourage anyone coming over from the next roof in that area.

Once I get the floor settled, I will add more small citrus trees and probably a line of raised beds along one wall.

There are several people here in Merida that have built these raised beds on their roofs, they keep them near the outside wall for strength, many have elaborate timed watering systems and most use a version of square foot gardening. The boxes have a layer of moss at the bottom, then a screen, good potting mix above that with the plants. There is an overflow outlet about at the level of the screen. Water goes into the bottom and fills that moss then overflows. The water is wicked up through the soil and the plant roots grow down to it. They are growing incredible vegetables that way. Google 'square foot gardening' for more info.

my cattle trough pond on the roof:

tomato about a month ago, I'm getting ripe tomatoes every day now.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Maesonna

Apr 11, 2012, 1:22 PM

Post #9 of 70 (10900 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Last week I bought an avocado tree and an hoja santa plant. The fruit tree seller with the avocados had both Hass and criollo—I chose the criollo because I like the way you can eat the flavourful skin as well as the avocado meat inside.

stevebrtx

Apr 26, 2012, 3:33 PM

Post #10 of 70 (10667 views)

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Re: [Maesonna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Everything seems to grow here, I'm so far from a "gardnr" that I can't spell it, but I like to show visitors all the things that grow in my place, plus what the gradener grows for himself (like pepper plants). The best is the small tangerine bush which just quietly grows and produces tons of wonderful fruit, plus avacados etc.

In TX if we could get a sheffilera to grow 6' tall we were excited (in the house no less) here I have a couple wild ones next to the house that now top out at over 20'. Here everything grows but dandelions? - I've never lived in a place devoid of those pests, but not here.
http://www.chapalaweather.net

RickS

Apr 26, 2012, 7:25 PM

Post #11 of 70 (10651 views)

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Re: [stevebrtx] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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"The best is the small tangerine bush which just quietly grows and produces tons of wonderful fruit, plus avacados etc."

Steve, you have a tangerine bush that produces avocados??? Talk about cross-pollination! :>)

stevebrtx

Apr 26, 2012, 8:39 PM

Post #12 of 70 (10637 views)

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Re: [RickS] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Yeah, quite special, significantly more special than my poor grammar.
http://www.chapalaweather.net

barbaroja

Apr 27, 2012, 7:38 AM

Post #13 of 70 (10608 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Here in San Miguel de Allende the folks at Via Organica in an effort to promote home gardens designed an "Urban Farm" and are giving classes on growing your own food at home. They focus on what works in our climate, which is a little cooler than DF but it may give you some ideas. Take a look at their course description and come on up for a visit!

http://mapaverdesanmiguel.org/calendar/events/index.php?l=english&eID=2784

...and here is a photo of their demo urban farm:

http://viaorganica.org/?attachment_id=4633

Personally, I grow mostly things I can't get at the local farmers market or that I think taste better fresh from the ground; Heirloom tomatoes, basil (lots of it!), snap peas, some hard to find chilis (piquin, chili de Arbol, scotch bonnet, cayan), butternut squash, chives, and herbs (sage, oregano, rosemary, etc). I’ve tried and failed at sweet corn a couple of times – luckily, one local organic farm has figured it out.

Regarding rooftop gardening and roof leaks, it is best to lay it out so that the roof surface has an opportunity to dry between watering’s. Put your pots on tables or platforms (easier on your back too). If you build a raised bed seal the bottom well and leave drain holes on the sides near the bottom for excess water to exit.

Rick
http://mapaverdesanmiguel.org/directory/agriculture.php?locale=en

rayitodeluna

Jul 22, 2012, 12:02 PM

Post #14 of 70 (9402 views)

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Re: [barbaroja] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Thank you for the information! We were just in SMA for a day, pretty town.

Will read over thepacket for ideas!

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

rayitodeluna

Jul 22, 2012, 12:04 PM

Post #15 of 70 (9399 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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How are your tomatoes thriving in the summer heat? I bet they love it!

Any progress on the floor?

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

rayitodeluna

Jul 22, 2012, 12:05 PM

Post #16 of 70 (9398 views)

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Re: [Maesonna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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How are your new plant/trees doing? I need to google hoja santa to see what that is!

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

rayitodeluna

Jul 22, 2012, 12:06 PM

Post #17 of 70 (9397 views)

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Re: [stevebrtx] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Quite jealous of the tangerine bush! Everything thriving there in the summer sun?

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

stevebrtx

Jul 22, 2012, 12:37 PM

Post #18 of 70 (9394 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Yes, and now the rains have started so everything is green. If you look at the weathecam on the weather site each night I put up a pic of something blooming in the yard, we have flowers year round.
http://www.chapalaweather.net

Maesonna

Jul 22, 2012, 3:00 PM

Post #19 of 70 (9380 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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The hoja santa died. The avocado tree isn’t getting planted yet, location still undecided. Now that the daily rains have settled in, I have to mow the lawn without fail at least every week, otherwise the grass will grow too long.

The fig tree is covered with 100's of figs. Next month we will be able to live on figs alone, or (more probably) after a while we’ll get tired of them, and let the dogs eat them up when they fall on the ground.

mksdtler

Jul 24, 2012, 3:42 AM

Post #20 of 70 (9314 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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In my garden there are chili, papaya, and mangoes. To grow other crops I haven't enough time.

Vichil

Jul 24, 2012, 5:47 AM

Post #21 of 70 (9308 views)

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Re: [stevebrtx] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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we have wild dandelions in the garden that we eat so they do grow in the Chapala area. We have lemon, limon real, mandarine, kafir lime trees, limes sweet and bitter oranges, avocados, ginger, lemon grass , madagascar or whatever cherries and all types of herbs.

Vichil

Jul 24, 2012, 6:01 AM

Post #22 of 70 (9308 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Some people´s gardener are just too good, we have wild dandelions and epazote in the Chapala area and eat it just to get rid off it. Same with chi piquin, we try to get those before the birds finish them off.

rayitodeluna

Jul 24, 2012, 8:10 AM

Post #23 of 70 (9294 views)

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Re: [stevebrtx] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Yes, and now the rains have started so everything is green. If you look at the weathecam on the weather site each night I put up a pic of something blooming in the yard, we have flowers year round.

Ay the rains. We feel you there! Love it for the greenery, hate it for the laundry situation ;)

Will check your site!

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

rayitodeluna

Jul 24, 2012, 8:11 AM

Post #24 of 70 (9293 views)

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Re: [Maesonna] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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Mmm figs! I bet you have googled your heart out searching for recipes to use those up. Do you like to can? Or do figs not can welll? (i have no clue personally!)

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

rayitodeluna

Jul 24, 2012, 8:12 AM

Post #25 of 70 (9292 views)

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Re: [mksdtler] Tell me about your SOTB garden !

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In my garden there are chili, papaya, and mangoes. To grow other crops I haven't enough time.

Chili papaya and mangoes, sounds like a winning combination! What kind of chilis?

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

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