Where is your citrus!?!?

Patty S.

How about asparagus and berries - both blue and black.

Pineapple guava is a nice shrub.
Renee

Not much room for another tree so I have avoided citrus so far.

I planted Goji berries and have been thinking about blue berries. Not a big fan of asparagus though.

And I was actually doing some research on strawberry guava. Ill have to research pineapple guava as well and If I see it around I may have to give it a try.

Blueberries are very hard to grow in this zone - our soil is not acid enough even when amended with peat moss. Some people have success in pots.

Add soil sulphur to acidify the soil. It also works to turn Hydrangeas blue.

I grow blueberries and i'm just upthe freeway from you in Oceanside,along the coast,we also grow citrus,plums,nectarines,peaches,lemons.We used to have a grapefruit tree as well,but since neither of us can eat it anymore,dh cut it down.Our blueberries are producing now,not an overabundance of them but I generally pick a cup at a time.We also used to have blackberries,they got to invasive so we are still pulling/digging them out.
Kathi

Stole a a couple passion fruit from a house nearby and I liked the taste. Kind of wish i planted that instead of just a normal passion flower. I still have room though on my fence so I may do it.

Those of you that grow berries (of any kind) do you use any sort of bird netting? Had any major problems with birds wiping out a crop?

Tomatoes are perennials here, and I have had cherry tomato plants live for two years putting out fruit almost continuously, and especially in the winter, for some reason.

Dwarf citrus trees do not take up much room, and I would never be without a dwarf Meyer lemon. Yuzu trees also do not take up much room. In San Diego, I have seen papaya trees growing, but I've not had luck with them here because of my soil. However, they also do not take up much space. You can also consider banana trees, if you have a sprinkler system, as they require a lot of water.

Lars

You can grow onions as perennials, asparagus, yacon, scallions, many herbs, peppers, gandules/pigeon peas, mesquite, nopales/cactus, scorzonera...if you search perennial vegetables you'll find some permaculture websites with lots of possibilities. I have Painted Lady runner beans come back every year from the roots and apparently lima beans do too but I haven't tried that yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: perennial solutions

Same zone as you. I've had no problems with birds on the boysenberries, but this may be for two reasons: (1) they are growing against a fence with only a few feet of room in front of them and may be hard to get to, and (2) they are right next to a plum tree and they seem to prefer the plums. They are also reliable every year so long as my neighbor doesn't spray her poisons, but I have to pick 'em when they're ripe or they dry out really fast!

Strawberries.
Yes, the birds and bugs eat all of my edibles. So do the squirrels, the rats, and my chickens, and the oppossums and raccoons and gophers dig them up. The challenges of growing food!

So far nothing has touched my Moringa Oleifera. I planted 9 trees a month ago, and surrounded them with gopher wire. Prior to doing that, a rabbit bit the whole leaf head off a 1" seedling. BUT the thing came back big time! All the trees have a 1' cage of gopher wire protecting them now.

I'll be their biggest enemy once they get about 5' tall. I'll be harvesting twice a week, but I'll never have to buy spinach type greens again! Looking forward to the flowers and long beans too!

Pumpkin season has me wondering if I can get pumpkins to grow here on this rocky hillside!
Suzi

I'm going to get rid of my strawberry guava. The fruit is small, full of seeds and it doesn't taste anything like a strawberry.....
Tree Collards, aka Tree Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)

Here is a link that might be useful: Edible Weeds of Los Angeles

First off thank you to everyone that has replied.

-I have had my eye out for tree collards

-Had not heard of Moringa Oleifera but I shall do some research.

I did plant 2 different types of Sorrel recently and I am hoping they do well. I would really like to have a few different types of plants going for salads.

Still on the fence about passion fruit. I think I am going to see what type of taste I get out of my Issai Kiwi. If it is also rather sour then i will prob not do the passion fruit.

As a side not my kiwi just had a few flowers. Wasnt expecting that till spring.