Northern CA

[almanorigo]

I am new here, so glad my friend told me about it. I have a huge desire to have a garden but........ a brown thumb. I live in zone 7a. Our winter has been almost nonexistent this year. I bought house that has a half dozen raised beds that I want to work over and try again (my last attempt at a garden was in the Fresno heat). Would love to put in some fruit trees and a chicken coop. Totally starting from scratch. I just ordered a copy of "What Grows Here", I am told it is a great tool. I would love to hear your suggestions!!

 

[thistlebloom]

I am new here, so glad my friend told me about it. I have a huge desire to have a garden but........ a brown thumb. I live in zone 7a. Our winter has been almost nonexistent this year. I bought house that has a half dozen raised beds that I want to work over and try again (my last attempt at a garden was in the Fresno heat). Would love to put in some fruit trees and a chicken coop. Totally starting from scratch. I just ordered a copy of "What Grows Here", I am told it is a great tool. I would love to hear your suggestions!!

Welcome Almanorigo!
we have some members who live in N. CA also, and I'm sure they'll be along shortly to help out. We're glad you joined us!

 

[digitS']

Welcome to the forum, Almanorigo!

Northern California's zone 7a. Does that mean you live north or uphill from Redding? As a very small child, I lived in Redding but I grew up in the Medford Oregon area. That would probably be zone 7, I think. I returned to northern California to live (and garden) on the coast for a few years but that must have been a higher zone even with the cool summers.

Jump right in and ask questions and offer suggestions, please!

Steve

 

[almanorigo]

Northern California's zone 7a. Does that mean you live north or uphill from Redding? As a very small child, I lived in Redding


Yes, as the name suggest, I am in Lake Almanor. Been coming up for decades, now it is my home.

 

[digitS']

Okay, this is in the north and in the Sierras. Tell me if I go wrong here, I had to look for the lake in Wikipedia .

On a major tributary of the Sacramento River - we might think of this as north of Lake Tahoe but not as high. Pine forest.

Steve

 

[almanorigo]

No, up further. Up the mountain from Chico. Mt. Lassen is about 50 miles down the road. Small town, smaller than the student population at the high school my kids attended!

 

[digitS']

There you are! I'm learning to use a tablet, Almanorigo. Found a way to get to Google street view and did a comparison of climate with city-data. We will continue with our best wishes for more rain for northern California.

My father's youngest brother lived in Paradise for a few years. That isn't as far to go as your home. One might think people would never leave once they have found Paradise.

Steve

 

[897tgigvib]

Howdy Lake Almanor from Lake Pillsbury!

Lake Pillsbury is north of Clear Lake and east of Willits, and Lake Almanor is a much larger reservoir 4 or 5 years newer than Lake Pillsbury, up in the mountains northeast of Chico and Paradise. Our Scott Dam here is a miniature version of Hoover/Boulder and was made in 1924, partially as test/practice for the much larger dams made later.

How is the drought breaking up there? I'm sure glad we have another northern California lake person here now!

Our little lake here is trying to fill back up. I live up here year round, 100 feet from the water when we are chock a block full at 104%. Right now we are gaining on 50%, and each drop of rain helps.

How close to the actual lake is your garden? I would think that if you are on the peninsula you would receive moderated weather. My garden usually gets a moderated winter, but this winter the lake dropped earlier and lower than in years.

We occasionally get visitors and campers/fisherfolks coming here from Almanor, or Oswego, or Eagle, and at least one of my campers also has some kind of place up near Almanor, and another one has a place also at Oswego.

=====

Our lake here is Mendocino National Forest, Fir, Oak, and Pine, along with Madrone and Manzanita, and yes, Poison Oak is next as a major plant here. I listed them in order of dominance, but we know, each acre is different in a mixed forest.

One of the main concerns of gardening in a forest clearing is LIGHT AND SHADE. As far as gardening goes, light and shade becomes a bigger concern than zone. So, be watching which areas receive how much actual sun on them, when, and for how long.

Zone 7 is good! For 21 years I lived in barely and usually zone 4 Montana. Actually, this winter here at Pillsbury has been a zone 7 winter, but usually I get a barely zone 8. Early December it got colder by 10 degrees and remained so for over a week, and then it did that again in January. Oh, it's easy to get spoiled by a nice zone!

Hang on to your login stuff and come back often. For me, this forum is better than fb.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome!

I’m in a similar zone but I’m sure there are some significant differences in our growing conditions, little things like rainfall or wind or right now, 3” of sleet/ice/hail/snow on the ground. I don’t even know what to call that stuff out there right now except slick. Spring will come. Still zone 7A gives you a lot of options. Our northern neighbors have some advantages in cool weather crops and people further south have other advantages, but we have our own benefits. All gardening is local.


Sounds like you have experience but I’d still suggest starting fairly small. Don’t try to do everything at the start, especially if you recently moved. You may have some settling in to do with other things. Maybe instead of tackling all six raised beds this year, just plant a couple and get the others in shape over the summer for fall or next year. You can have a fall garden too. Don’t take on so much you burn out when you may be busy settling in.


Make a plan for those fruit trees and get them in the ground. Those take time to mature. The first year or two you’ll probably have to do a lot of watering until they get established. That can take more time than you’d think. That’s another reason to start a little slower in those raised beds. If you have much flexibility in where you can plant your orchard, you might want to do a perk test before you decide where to put it. It’s been years so I’m a bit rusty on the details but you dig a hole maybe 3’ deep and fill it with water. How fast it drains gives you an idea of how much you’ll have to water trees even after they are established.


You’ve hit the right forum if you want gardeners that keep chickens. Most of us have them. Which reminds me, plan where you want your compost pile and decide how you are going to do that. There are a lot of different ways to even do that. Then get started. That’s something else that takes time. You may even have to water it. I do. But that stuff is considered black gold. If you hang around, we’ll have you composting.


You might want to pay a visit to your county extension agent. You should be able to find them in the phone book under county government or online. They probably have a lot pf pamphlets that tell you how to grow certain things. Here those are free. One that helped me was a calendar that told me when to start different things. That also told me what grows well here. Also, chat with them about getting a soils analysis. Here even that is free but I don’t know how California handles that. With a soils analysis you have a much better idea of what is in your soil and can amend it much better. pH is real important too.


Probably enough for a Wednesday morning. I’m sure others will have a lot to add. Have a good one and again

 

[Carol Dee]

Hello and
I won't b much help as I live in Eastern IA Zone 4 or 5 (depends n map looked at!) But have relatives in Chico, Pinole and Woodland.