Anyone in California??

[TanksHill]

Well I just joined this forum and I hope to learn a ton about everything. I think my first lesson is that we folks here in Ca. are not Self sufficent. Or at least not many. I am trying my best. gina

 

[enjoy the ride]

I'm way up north -near Oregon border. We are still pretty isolated here and more self-sufficient than most. But when I used to travel down south, I did notice that shopping seemed to be the main recreation. How that many malls continue to exist is beyond me.
California can be a good place to carve out your own place if you want it. If you are not in the hill, the weather cooperates.

 

[dzook]

I'm here in Southern CA and working on becoming more self sufficient. For others shopping may be an olympic sport but we have better things to do. Being able to garden year-around is a real plus though.

 

[enjoy the ride]

One thing about many parts of southern California is that citrus fruit trees can grow outside- I have to keep mine in pots on the porch and even then it's not certain I will have any sort of a crop.
I loved to see a large orange tree covered with fruit in someone's front yard. Oh well- can't have everything.

 

[dzook]

The mega malls are paving over acres of former orange groves in Redlands CA. I loved driving by them and smelling the orange blossoms. On our 1/2 acre property we have several fruit trees and also 2 orange, 1 tangerine and 2 lemon trees. The lemon trees are outside my bedroom window and I love waking up smelling the blossoms.

 

[TanksHill]

Good to hear from all of you. I am so far south that water is a big issue. My citrus has not done that well. I have a plum and appricot that really hit big this year, apples comming along. I planted a couole new avocados and a lime and lemon this year, allways a work in progress.
We spent some time in On the Klamath River in No. Ca this summer. Such an amazing place, the trees were incredible. So much was green fresh and flourishing,
And yes I admit Retail therepy is big in Ca. I for one am guilty of it. I do believe though that those of us who are trying to be self sufficent and raise live stock etc.. are just to darn busy to shop. It's quite a balancing act for me. I have to keep up with the usual soccer mom stuff but manage to fit in the chicken coops , garden and orchard. I am sure when I commit to more 4 legged animals it will only get worse. How do yo manage it all? I would love some advice.
Anyways, thanks for the welcome. gina

 

[PotterWatch]

I am in the inland empire (not very far from devore). I am not nearly as self-sufficient as I would like to be, but I'm at least making an effort. We are getting our landscaping redone this month and will have a chicken run built and a garden plot ready soon after that. I grew up in Alaska so gardening in California is kind of odd to me. I am used to cold weather crops so I have lots to learn.

 

[dzook]

Hi PotterWatch. It's nice to have a neighbor!!! We're new to the chicks. We have a predator problem and lost our first batch of 2 1/2 month old chickens. I have nine more brooding in a kids swimming pool in my dining room. That's fun. We homeschooled a couple of my daughters a few years ago but most of them are in high school now. Nice to hear from you

 

[PotterWatch]

We don't have too much of a predator problem here. I think our worst enemy is the feral cats. We have lost one bird and think that was the culprit. Plugged the hole in the coop and haven't had a problem since. If we were up in the foothills more, I'm sure we would have a bigger problem.

 

[dzook]

Hi again. We thought that our coop was pretty tightly built. 5 foot high chain link with 1/2 inch hardware cloth buried in the ground and bird netting over the top. We think it was a raccoon that did the dirty deed. several of the girls were torn apart and two were missing not to be found. This happened during the day. We were coming back from a trip and our dogs were with us. At least they had an airtight alibi.