I can't be the only one!!!

jennwaskow

20 years ago

Where are all the idaho gardeners??

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Mokinu

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

LindaWa, I live in Payette county, not too far from you (born and raised). As for fruit trees, I'll tell you what has worked well and what hasn't.

Works well:

* Plums (sometimes they get diseased, but they produce well without worms; frost doesn't get the blossoms)

* Peaches

* Nectarines

* Plumcots (these are a lot like plums)

* Black walnuts (they grow wild and/or ferral around here; they can prevent other plants from growing in the same soil, though)

* Pears (these get worms sometimes, but not as much as apples, and the fruits don't drop as much; don't get a dwarf, though—our dwarf Bartlet took a really long time to mature, although it is a good tree)

* Sour cherries are easier to grow than regular cherries, and they reliably seem to get lots of fruit, but they can get a lot of worms in them

Works okay:

* Cherries (they're not always productive, and birds do eat them, but they taste good, and you usually always get at least a few, if not a bunch)

* Apricots (some varieties and locations are better than others; the frosts often kill the blossoms for some; for us, we usually didn't get many if any apricots, on our first tree, which lived long, but on some years it produced *loads* of fruit; our Mormon Apricot produced a small to medium small amount of fruit every year)

Not recommended:

* Apples (Although you can grow apples, and a lot of people do, they're probably the most labor-intensive fruit around here if you want a good crop of them every year; worms can be a big problem; hot, dry weather can be a big problem; drought can be a problem; spider mites can be a huge problem; apples dropping can be a problem; apple trees do live a lot longer than plums and peaches, though; never leave fallen apples on the ground to rot—I believe this can contribute to anthracnose in the garden, especially if spider mites abound; spider mites seem to love apples more than any other fruit tree we've grown; note that the spider mites around here are not normally visible; you just see such as the foliar damage, and the webs they make)

* Nanking Cherry (slow-growing and we only got a few small fruits, ever; however, we didn't have a pollinator by the time they were mature enough, and they do need one; they don't blossom the same time as our other cherries did)

Some fruit trees of the same species are probably better than others. You might be able to find apples that flourish in the harshest conditions and plums that don't do so well. We had Stanley plums. I think our peaches were Elberta. Both varieties of nectarine we had have done well (although one tasted better). I think some varieties of peaches might lose blossoms to the frost. For apples, we've had something that was supposed to be Red Delicious, but it looked more like Johnathan; we also had Yellow Delicious, McIntosh (my favorite for taste), and some of the more modernly popular ones (like maybe Fuji and Gala—we haven't had much fruit set on them, but the first three I mentioned can be productive).

Most of our trees have been semi-dwarf. Our first apricot tree was a standard, and our second was a semi-dwarf (but it looked as big as a standard, too).

Oh, you'll want to be sure to get trees that are hardy to zone 4 or below. It's been known to get as low as -26° F. around here, although that is quite rare (I think the last time was in 1989). It did get to -21° F. or so this year, though. Trees hardy to zone 5 will probably handle most years, though (but I wouldn't count on it). In the summer, it's gotten up to 116° F. at the hottest (that was in 2015 at the end of June). It usually only gets up to about 110 every two to three years, though, but it seems to have been hotter the last three years or so. On less hot years, it gets up to about 101 to 104° F. at the hottest. The hottest time of the year is normally the end of July and the beginning of August (not the end of June like it was in 2015). We have cool nights in this region (it's kind of desert-like in that regard; there are some high deserts not far from here: the Owyhee Desert and the Oregon High Desert). This is a semi-arid region (it's a lot less arid later in the day and at night, though). The frost-free growing season is usually between about May 10th and October 10th. The first half of spring is usually very wet. It normally rains a lot around the time of the first frost in the fall, too. It hardly rains at all in the latter part of spring and in summer (but we usually get some thunderstorms around the hottest time of the year).

It should be noted that there is a cherry festival in Emmett. My relatives used to own a cherry orchard out around there. There's an apple blossom festival in Payette. (Yes, apples are popular here—but really, plums, peaches and pears should be, in my opinion.)

You might try Cornelian Cherry trees. I'm not sure how easy they are to grow, but a friend of mine's grandpa had one and it was pretty awesome. The fruits taste like sour sweet cherries.

If you're into grapes and fruit bushes, they can do well, but it depends. Grapes can attract whiteflies and leafhoppers (which are a big problem if you get them). They generally seem to do decently, however (if you don't have leafhoppers). Make sure grapes get enough sun (they have fewer pests with more sun). Blackberries can do excellently, once they get established; however, they may be difficult to get established. Raspberries do well for some people, but are difficult for others, it seems (maybe due to soil). Black currants are easy to grow (they're wild around here, too). You might try jostaberries instead of currants.

For tomatoes, I recommend these varieties (I've tried about 130 varieties, and these are the ones I recommend the most for this area, so far):

* Matina

* Thessaloniki

* Early Girl F1

Roma, Yellow Pear, Red Pear and others can be productive, too.

If you like 2lb tomatoes, I recommend Chapman and Cuostralee.

For chile peppers, I recommend Ring of Fire quite a bit (if you're into hot Cayenne-type peppers). It's productive.

Zucchini is easy to grow around here, but squash bugs can be a big problem. I like Dark Star zucchini.

For cucumbers, you might try these:

* Beit Alpha

* Monika

* Marketmore 76

For tomatillos, you might try Cisineros, but most tomatillos seem to do decently. Cisineros isn't the earliest, but it's big, it's productive, and it tastes great. I don't recommend Purple De Milpa, unless it's acclimatized to the heat, so it can set fruit in it, though.

For watermelons you might try these:

* Red-seeded Citron (not a regular watermelon, but extremely productive)

* Sugar Baby

* Verona

* Cream of Seskatchewan

* Black Diamond

Cantaloupes and muskmelons can do very well around here. I'm not sure which varieties to suggest to you for this area offhand, though, but some of them have done better than others.

It's a good idea to look for heat/cold/drought-tolerant varieties of everything that are used to arid heat/drought (as opposed to humid heat/drought; yes, you can have drought in a humid area). Tomatoes are considered heat-tolerant if they can set fruit in temperatures above 89° F. However, I think seed-saving and proper watering is just as important. Building the soil also helps. Seed-saving is helpful because it gives your plants the opportunity to acclimatize over generations. Plus, you can select for fruits that actually set in the conditions.

Shade trees:

* You might try weeping willows.

* If you don't plant it next to concrete or your house, and if you don't mind the mess from the berries/birds, mulberries are great for shade.

* Apricot trees (although they may not fruit every year, they sure are nice shade trees; they do have very rough/jagged bark, though)

* Poplars grow easily around here (I don't recommend Lombardy poplars, even though they grow easily, though, because they can be a hazard when they die, and they're prone to twisted galls).

* Oak and maple trees around the area look nice. Oak trees do provide acorns (they might attract squirrels), and maple trees of course drop lots of fun seeds.

* Northern Catalpa trees are easy to grow around here. (And they're feral in the area.) They do scatter large pods around, though. These trees don't seem to draw birds, however.

To grow weeping willows you can just take a branch and put it in the ground, as I understand it. The same seems to work for poplars (although you might want to bury a branch).

I recommend against growing Siberian Elm trees here, even though they're wild or feral in the area.

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Comments (62)

flash14756
19 years ago
In the "empty" space between Eagle and Boise
rmbrad
19 years ago
Nampa, ID here. Just off Midway Rd.
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sandpointgal
19 years ago
Wow- I can't believe there are other gardeners in the Sandpoint area here- thats great. I just signed on and was looking to communicate with gardeners in the area. I'm actually about 15 miles north of Sandpoint. Email me if anyone is interested in trading plants.
cocolallakids
19 years ago
HI! I'm up above Cocolalla Lake just south of Sandpoint.
hillbilly_gardener
19 years ago
Shelley here. Just south of Idaho Falls, Retired so spend a lot time in my garden, Eating, Summer squash, Beans, Corn, and cabbage, The broccoli, culiflower, peas etc all finished for the year.
cymraes
19 years ago
Indian Valley (N of Boise).
val_id
18 years ago
I'm from Idaho Falls also!
Springshowers
18 years ago
Will be moving to the St Maries area in 08.
Have a ton to learn about gardening in the mountains!
Heidi
nikkijean
18 years ago
I'm in Emmett. I have a few gardening posts on my blog, including a lasagna gardening post with pics. Look in the September archives.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tater Tot Casserole
hummerlover
18 years ago
Lets see how long it takes for someone to respond to this. Twin Falls area, Usually like to check the hummgbird Forum out. I miss the little birds and I cant wait until spring, and its not even winter yet.
User
18 years ago
Paul on the Meridian/Boise border. Nice looking soil here.
digit
18 years ago
My gardens are on a different border - the WA/ID line up here in the Panhandle.

I've watched this forum since its inception and even posted once or twice.

Counting posts on this thread (and trying to only use my fingers while not taking off my shoes ;o) - I've counted 25 posts over the course of 18 months. I guess that's about 1 every 3 weeks. There's no question that this is the most active thread but once every 3 weeks?!?

I spend quite a bit of time over on the Rocky Mountain Gardening forum - probably the only regular in the Pacific time zone but hey . . .

I think there's not a single ID county that wouldn't be considered a part of the Intermountain West. Just scratching my head and thinkin' . . .

Steve's digits
glen_or_linda
18 years ago
Hello all,
I am glad to find this forum. We moved over to the Idaho side last summer from Cokeville, Wyoming which is south of Afton and north of Evanston over here to Chubbuck which is a northern suburb of Pocatello. We had to move so my hubby could be closer to medical facilities.

I will start gardening in my little yard this spring. It is a tiny yard with nothing to work with so I will be starting from scratch which is good but I am sure getting tired of building wonderful gardens and then having to move and start over again.

I am wondering if anyone knows of the best place to get good compost? I have had compost piles everywhere I lived but didn't have a chance to get one started yet here. Do any of the city or county landfills have the free or low priced compost or mulch? I am going to start calling around but I thought this might be a good place to ask for those in the know! LOL

Nice to meet all of you. Happy gardening!

Linda
laag
18 years ago
I used to live in Deary and landscaped in Moscow. I'm a U of Idaho Landscape Architecture alum now practicing in Massachusetts. I miss Idaho, especially the very friendly people.

.... just lurking to reminisce.
spogarden
18 years ago
we are close to you, Spokane valley. I am an organic gardener, trying to get into homesteading. I think we are going to CDA for dinner tonight
deewee
18 years ago
Wow, got online to check out possible garden mosaic ideas, lo and behold you aren't the only one. Over here in the Silver Valley, currently waiting for this rain to melt ALL the snow we rec'd this winter. Not too fast tho, flooding a big issue here. Been gardening 15 years on my own, many more with my folks when we lived in Metaline Falls, WA, as well some raised bed gardening in Alaska for 15 yrs. Hardscaped backyard last year, recently remarried, had the new husband sell his old chevy truck to make room for the new vegie garden plot this spring. Have been composting since Aug. of last year. Ready to start digging, spreading, planting-just waiting on Mother Nature. I am a private contractor that sprays weeds, as well as part of the Noxious weed board here as well, so have quite a bit of experience on weed questions for anyone. Folks are up in Blanchard, nice gardens, fighting with the deer as well as you folks up North.
zazzyrella
18 years ago
I just joined.. I live in St. Maries, south of Coeur d'Alene. We've lived here for 25 years now. Recently one of our neighbors started feeding deer in the winter.. now we are overrun! My neighbor has counted 30 in my yard at one time and we live in town!

Take care,
Zazzy
breezy02
18 years ago
Hi. I live in the Magic Valley area. It's been along cold winter.
russianolivebonsai
18 years ago
i`m from idaho falls do any of you go to farmers market?
breezy02
18 years ago
My sister and I met my niece in Boise last summer, it was alot of fun. They had the arts in the park at the same time.It was a full weekend. Looking forward to this summer.
north_idaho_gal
18 years ago
Hello, I just joined today. I'm in Naples, ID, about 7 miles South of Bonners Ferry & maybe about 40 miles from the Canadian border. Anyone else up near me? I'm new to gardening as I never had the room before. Looking forwards to learning from all you folks! Happy Spring!
ms.idaho
18 years ago
I'n in the Wood River Valley. Has eveyone's snow finally melted? The last patch is gone from our yard as of yesterday!!! woo-hoo!!

Hopefully this ID forum gets more active this year.
susaninthegarden
18 years ago
hi! from minicassia area. just getting some roses planted and waiting for the tomatoes to be able to go out.

hope we have our last frost finally! man it has been a long time coming this year.
Shades_of_idaho
18 years ago
Well I am really checking in late hope some one is still around. We just moved to Midvale ,Idaho. Have NO YARD!!!
:^((( New place and starting from scratch. EEEKKK Scary.

Chris
cdaartlady
18 years ago
Hi All,
I live in Coeur D Alene moved here from Michigan 3 years ago.I used to come here all the time but have had no place to garden.Only a small patio and a indoor herb one.
We are moving to Post Falls in a few weeks with close to a 1/4 acre for me to play with , Im so happy to have a yard again.
Nice to see a lot more people in here :)
mtnstan
18 years ago
From Preston, ID just over the ID/UT border....Gods country :D
User
17 years ago
Preston? Say hello to Napoleon Dynamite and the gang.
love2garden2
17 years ago
Hi, I'm in Sandpoint and have been here for almost 3 years. We came from sunny California and I definitely got spoiled when came to my garden. I've got a beautiful garden and love it, but I seem to running out of time again this year. I've got so many green tomatoes it isn't even funny. Even my zucchini plant isn't happy and I'm used to having zucchini coming out of my ears. I don't think the family is too concerned about this fact, but... Is anyone else frustrated. Any suggestions in general or on how to extend the growing season here in Northern Idaho.
botanybob
17 years ago
love2garden -- This is a good question, but you might get more responses if you start a new post rather than tagging on this one.

There are many season extenders which you can find in an online search. What works elsewhere will work here.

Some ideas are
1. Grow short-season varieties.
2. Build raised beds.
3. Use suspended row-cover fabrics.
4. Use individual plant covers like hot caps or wall-o-water.
5. As much as possible, plant indoor grown seedlings instead of seeds. This gives your plants a headstart on the growing season.
6. Grow more cool-season vegetables like peas, carrots, spinach, etc. Cole crops can handle considerable frost and it improves the flavor at harvest.

--Bob
debbieg
17 years ago
I'm in Eagle. We moved from California almost 2 years ago and I'm not even close to figuring things out! The soil is the pits! I'm hoping to find some help here at GardenWeb. I used to think of myself as a pretty good gardener... not anymore!
User
17 years ago
debbieg, hook up with the Soil and Compost forum. Also, check in with Zamzows at the corner of Eagle Rd. and the highway. Compost, manure, leaves, etc. are what you probably need. Is your soil stony? If you're from California, you might have 'moved up' to a home on Eagle Island - stony land.
growinidaho
17 years ago
I am new here and to gardening. So glad to bump into this site! I'm 1 hour north of Boise.
gailhengen
17 years ago
i'm a few month old member of this forum i'm still getting my feet wet. still learning my way around the place and the howto's etc!

i saw some one was from the ID/WA border area?? so am i! i'm about 45 minutes from lewiston ID in a wittle town called Orofino :)

send me a howdo!
luvidaho_2010
15 years ago
Looks like no one has been here for over a year, I am always late!!!!!! I am north of Boise.
User
15 years ago
Hi luv. Welcome to the forum.

North of Boise? Horseshoe Bend? Garden Valley?
mpratt208
15 years ago
I'm in SW Boise!
luvidaho_2010
15 years ago
Sorry, I haven't checked this forum for a while. I live in Weiser.
mettzfamilygarden
15 years ago
Treasure Valley here..... Nampa.... So tired of winter this year. Doing raised veggie beds this year.
luvidaho_2010
15 years ago
I am doing raised beds this year also. I am tired of puncture vine in my hands and knees whenever I try to work in my garden. Also going to try edible landscaping, a few veggies in my flower beds. So far no rain here today, but it is cloudy. I am looking forward to it drying out a bit so I can get some work done outside!
Bonnie Goodrich
11 years ago
Oh, dear! This is so old; I hope you haven't all given up and gone away. Princeton here, just east of Potlatch.
elfinowl
11 years ago
Nope. Still check in from time to time.
captaindirt
11 years ago
I'm in zones 6-7 northern Idaho on the snake river. been gardening for over 25 years.
boisenoise
11 years ago
I'm still in Boise . . . just not on "houzz" any more.
maro
10 years ago
South Central ID, zone 4b
LindaWa
9 years ago
Hi I just moved to Emmett in the Boise area. I need all the help I can get.
digit (ID/WA, border)
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You are about 200' higher in elevation and about 4° lower in latitude but ..

. are you only needing local help?

I looked at the climate numbers for Emmett and it's a couple of degrees warmer and a little drier than here but not much.

Steve
LindaWa
9 years ago
Okay first what kind of trees do best here? I need shade trees and fruit trees. Where my house is was surrounded by cherry trees at one time or so I am told. When to plant them and what shrubs do best. I need color and advice. lol I moved from zone 9 so I'm sort of lost.
digit (ID/WA, border)
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Tree selection for Southwestern Idaho might be a little different but the list on page 6 of this University of Idaho booklet (pdf) sure has familiar names. I don't know much about landscaping trees but they are our experts.

To show how little I know, I only recently learned, over on the Rocky Mountain Gardening GW forum, that it's those ornamental pears that have such an unpleasant odor for a few days every year. I like the shape of the Lindens and we are seeing lots of them show up along streets and in parks.

This isn't quite the commercial apple growing area - but close! There are lots of nice apples nearby. And, I'm a guy who almost grew up in the peach and pear orchards of Oregon's Rogue River Valley. I'm not sure if I'd recommend either of those altho I have a peach tree in my backyard. It really has good and bad years and not many of the good. Two fruit trees I think people are really missing out on as well-adapted choices here are apricots and French prunes. I know of two apricot trees in vacant lots. They receive no water or care whatsoever but have crops each year. One was near my garden several years ago. So close, it must have benefited from my sprinklers. It had super crops the 3 years I was there - no more.

The French prune in my father's yard, I moved there from my home before it grew enough to flower and make a crop. It did wonderfully and its replacement has also ... yeah, it was me who hit that tree with the lawnmower! The damage was bad enough that it had to be replaced. That was about 20 years ago and my parents liked that tree so well, they bought another French prune. It is on dwarfing rootstock but quite large with great crops ... at least that was true the last time I saw it. Dad sold the house about 6 years ago.

Steve
LindaWa
9 years ago
Wow and Wow.

Thank you guys so much for all the information. Its a lot to digest. I love the idea of fruit trees and will search the local nurserys and see what I can find. I saw the Catalpa trees and really like the look of them.

We have 5 acres so lots of space to try different things. If anyone knows any good nursery please let me know. I'll be looking up the trees and shrubs I am not familiar with .

Thanks again

I can't be the only one!!!

Comments (62)

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