preciosamama
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 2:36 pm
Location: Beaverton

Container Gardening in Puebla, Mexico

Hello, I currently live in Beaverton, OR but soon will be moving to Puebla, Pue. Mexico with my husband and daughter.

I enjoy gardening and would love to create a container garden on our roof and along our yard, which we have already purchased and will be moving to in February.

What vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers could be easily grown in containers and in this location?

My husband is not good at gardening so his is very little help even though this is his home.

rkunsaw
Senior Member
Posts: 249
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:01 am
Location: Clarksville,Arkansas

The best I can think of is to ask neighbors when you get there.It is a good way to get aquainted with new neighbors and gardeners everywhere like to talk about their gardens.Good luck. :)
Larry

Susan W
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1858
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:46 pm
Location: Memphis, TN

I agree with Larry. When you get there, check the climate, sun, what others are growing, and not growing. You should be able to get wonderful large pots, and make sure they have drainage holes!!!!!!
Send us pics!

cynthia_h
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7500
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 7:02 pm
Location: El Cerrito, CA

Prepare now, while shipping of books and other informative materials is affordable, and while delivery is reliable.

Two of my most-recommended gardening books have been written by men on a mission to teach the world how to feed itself via low-input horticulture. With some small adaptations (and I've made some of these adaptations myself), their methods work for containers as well as for in-ground growing.

Not too surprising, when you realize that their methods essentially create raised or semi-raised beds which could be viewed as special "containers." :)

1) Mel Bartholomew, Square Foot Gardening. Read, mark it up, read again. Ask questions here; many members of the forum use, have used, and/or have adapted Mel's ways to their own situations. My first recommendation is that you may find 6 inches of depth to be insufficient; I did. I now use 10 to 12 inches of depth, and everything works much better. Mel also has a website with extensive information not found in the book (just as the book has extensive info not found on the website): https://www.squarefootgardening.com/

2) John Jeavons, How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Believed in Less Space Than You Ever Thought Possible (7th ed.). Usually just referred to as How to Grow More Vegetables.... (7th ed.). John's website, at https://www.bountifulgardens.org , offers publications specific to growing food in Mexico. He also offers seeds of plants suitable to Mexico, but of course plants suitable to U.S. climates similar to that of Puebla will also work.

Both Mel and John offer their publications in Spanish and English. ...¡Quizás ellos podrían ayudarles a su esposo y a Ud. en el jardín!

3) Specific climate information to look for can be discerned in Sunset's Western Garden Book. Not necessary to purchase this one (good thing, too, since it's large and correspondingly heavy). But a trip to a local garden-supply nursery or library will acquaint you with Sunset's climate-zone system and the parameters they use to determine climate zones. Find the Sunset climate zone which most closely matches that of Puebla to get an idea of the plants most likely to succeed *before* you move. Read up on their culture and needs.

4) And, when you arrive, begin to build compost. This may be a new undertaking to your neighbors; maybe not. Mel and John have found that some 3rd-world cultures are far beyond us in composting knowledge, whereas in others, composting is virtually unknown. So it could go either way. You will *want* compost. You will *need* compost. Especially if you're gardening in containers.

I hope the roof of your new home is strong enough to sustain the weight of the containers, the soil in them (esp. when wet), the plants, and the people enjoying the plants. Many buildings in Mexico are not built to a high standard of seismic safety, so the strength of the roof and its supports is a consideration. (Living in California, seismic safety is never far from my mind, even more so after the very different mortality results of the giant quakes in Haiti and Chile earlier this year, due entirely to structural practices.)

Parece que ser una buena aventura... :D

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

GardenJester
Senior Member
Posts: 244
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:59 pm

well... think about what's in most mexican food. My guess is those are the stuff that grows well in Mexico.



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