[Cold Heart]

Daughter just moved to San Antonio, Texas from Oregon. I’ve started a list of food & fiber & other useful plants for her to grow. Aloe, jojoba, agave, yucca. Citrus trees, avacodo. What else does anyone reccomend?

Thanks

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Maybe Jicama? It’s wonderful, raw or cooked!

http://www.foodreference.com/html/art-jicama-history-facts.html

[greeneyes]

I have to have Taters, Maters, and Corn. LOL

[JRandomFreeper]

Citrus trees, avacodo

SA may be a little too far North for those. SA has some very good garden centers. She needs to find one and make friends with the staff.

/johnny

[bgill]

Check your FR-mail for a Zone 8 veggie growing list.

[TEXOKIE]

Just something to consider:

Mesquite is a native tree...very drought hardy. On many farms and ranches is considered a weed! However, the pioneers used the ground-up seed pods for flour. I’m even seeing ground mesquite powder for sale in our local health food stores up here (not in mesquite country) for about $8.00/lb. My dad used the wood exclusively for cooking/smokiing wood. It has a WONDERFUL flavor!

Depending on the size of their property, if they have one (or several) already, they might want to consider keeping it/them. They are not very pretty and have thorns, so if they start taking over, they create a terrible environment for tires and should be thinned! But they could be a source of nutrition as well as warmth in a pinch.

[Arrowhead1952]

Citrus trees, avacodo. What else does anyone reccomend?

I live NW of Austin have a lime and orange tree in big pots and they are in full bloom. I have to cover them and hang a light under the cover if it freezes. Avocado not much luck for me.

Cucumbers do well here. Leaf lettuce is a great year round veggie here. Same for turnips, but they slow down in hot weather.

If the area is big enough, have her plant an onion set. They do well when planted only 4 - 5 inches apart. If she has room, pear and peach trees do well here too.

[Sarajevo]

What part of San Antonio?
Inside Loop 410 is fine for the plants you mentioned, but she'll have to watch out for insects. In the Hill Country, it's a whole 'nuther ball game. She'll also need to look for trees with rootstock that will tolerate the high pH caliche soil. She can purchase plants at Millbergers on Loop 1604N or at Rainbow Gardens on Rt 16 inside Loop 1604 on the NW side of town.

[XenaLee]

I started growing the root beer plant (Hoja Santa) in Houston for shading other plants. It grows profusely (spreads via roots like a vine) and is good for many things. The Mexicans use the leaves for cooking fish and tamales. You can also use the leaves, which get very large, for making concrete leaf molded garden accents.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=root+beer+plant&qpvt=root+beer+plant&FORM=IGRE

Lemon balm, citronella and various mints are other useful herbs. Being a chilehead, I always grow as many different varieties of hot peppers that I can. Once found a huge chile tepin plant growing outside my fence in Houston (the birds had drop planted it). You can find these pepper plants growing wild if you know where to look. The peppers make great hot sauce.