hello Careytearose,
lovely pictures (and work done), I live in 9 also and am trying to convert as much landscape as possible to edibles. I've started over the past year or two to see the results of some of my efforts, in another year or two, it should be great. Of course by then, we will probably move to a new home and start over.

-Ethan

Hello Ethan, thanks for the encouragement. Your edibles landscape sounds good, how about some pics?? What are you growing?? btw, why would you probably move and start over... we've been in our home since 1994 (its a 40 year old house). We've finally made this house just the way we really like it, and even though it small I love it! Gosh, I'd hate to start over. We're looking to plant fruit trees on our smallish back lawn, and dd has a veggies section in the Secret Garden.

careytearose

hello Careytearose,
I do post some pics on the tropical fruit forum. As far as tropicals go, they are still very young. Some of the more normal stuff, grapes, veggies, citrus, strawberries, boysenberries I've had awhile and are growing and fruiting like crazy. Tropical stuff, white sapote, guava, mango (going to be a test to not kill it), passionfruit, paw paws, cherimoyas, and other weird tastey stuff still need some time. I also have a small greenhouse for the 2-3 months a year it is cold, it is a swing arbor the rest of the time.

here is pic
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg0116095916370.html?4

As far as moving, my wife and I have been in our home (40-50 year old home)7-years, it is 3bed-1bath. My wife just blessed us with our first child, a beautiful girl. If we are lucky, maybe a 2nd child in a few years. Two girls and 1 bath = daddy showering in the waterhose out back. If our next is a girl also, I'm in real trouble.

We own some property near here in a mountain community (Z8) and recently had a water well installed. Once things get squared away, I hope to start planting there. Maybe in 5-10 years if we can afford to have a house built, the orchard will be ready for me. I also hope to install a gh to continue with some of the tropicals. I have even started some rootstocks to graft my existing cvs onto.

-Ethan
ps. do you ever pickle your nasturim seeds? If you pickle them when green, they are similar to capers, flowers are tastey too. If you like sweet taste, look into white sapote (casimiroa edulis) for a fruit tree, depending on your winter lows. Best new (to me) fruit I have eaten in years. Smooth "custard texture", sweet taste, fairly cold hardy.