| Author | Content |
reninja
kingston
Jamaica
July 27, 2009
04:38 PM Post #6872295
| Hi all. I am glad I found your wonderful site. I have recently moved from the US to Jamaica and am planning a garden with my children. How do I figure out what plant zone I'm in here? |
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
July 27, 2009
05:17 PM Post #6872451
| Welcome,
As far as I can tell, I would use Florida zone 10B- Basically the tropics. I found some helpful sights.
http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/plants_and_animals_in_jamai...
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080519/lead/lead5.h...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica
http://www.thegardeningwebsite.co.uk/gardens-to-visit-in-jam...
Rj
This message was edited Jul 27, 2009 4:18 PM |
Islandshari
Kwajalein
Marshall Islands
(Zone 11)
July 27, 2009
05:20 PM Post #6872466
| Hi again reninja! I'm sure Randy is correct with the 10B...just be sure to check for microclimates within your gardening area...this is where fellow Jamaicans will be invaluable. We are looking forward to hearing more about Kingston, and seeing pics of where you live. Also, be sure to ask anything you'd like...we all love sharing info!
Yokwe,
Shari |
Dutchlady1
Naples, FL
(Zone 10a)
July 27, 2009
05:47 PM Post #6872563
| Welcome!! I agree on your zone. |
Metrosideros
Keaau, HI
July 28, 2009
01:14 AM Post #6874218
| Hows'it Reninja!
At 18 degrees North latitude, lowland areas would be in Zone 11, and upland areas in Zone 10. Very similar to Hawai'i. You can grow most anything that's Tropical!
Show us some photos of your area.
Aloha, Dave |
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
July 28, 2009
06:12 AM Post #6874538
| Microclimates aside, there are difficulties with the zone system. What keeps Florida down is that it's subject to frequent freezes and the zone system is based on minimums. Jamaica doesn't get the freezes. Florida (southern) has a higher average temperature than Hawaii (lowland) but also gets much lower temperatures. Climate is quite a complex or intricate web we're caught up in. First port of call should be the locals, and once you've got that sorted then you're better placed to start experimenting. |
westraad
Xai Xai
Mozambique
July 28, 2009
01:47 PM Post #6875983
| welcome, Reninja!
i am quite new here myself, and have found that everyone on this forum is friendly and helpful. glad to have you join us!
any questions, feel free to ask.
westraad |
katiebear
mulege
Mexico
July 28, 2009
02:31 PM Post #6876230
| Welcome, Reninja. You will learn lots here and find a bunch of new friends.
My new best plant friend is dragon fruit. They should be especially fun with children as if you get some cutting they will grow fast and give you flowers and fruit within two or three years.
Is it difficult to send plant cuttings to you there? They are also called pitaya and if you can't fins some there, send me a dmail and I'll send you some cutting when I go to San Diego in late August.
Lots of herbs love a hot climate. Basil and rosemary both do well where I am.
And MANGOES.
How old are your children? They will become fruititarians. And, of course, bananas.
Lots more, but that should get you started.
katiebear |
westraad
Xai Xai
Mozambique
July 29, 2009
06:18 AM Post #6879027
| Basil and rosemary grow very well in Mozambique as well, and mangoes is probably the most common fruit in the summer. |
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
July 29, 2009
03:42 PM Post #6881047
| I never ate so many mangos in my life than when we were in The Gambia. We lived next to a vacant lot that had a Mango grove. We had wheel barrow after wheel barrow full...mango syrup, chutney, mango Jam...mango pepper sauce, mango for breakfast, mango for dessert. Then there are so many different types of them! |
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
July 29, 2009
05:55 PM Post #6881625
| Mangos? I've got 557 trees of them. For which the Magpie Geese, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Collared Lorikeets, Northern Rosellas, Black Flying Foxes and Little Red Flying Foxes are very grateful. They eat the fruit and just leave me a deposit. ;O) |
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
July 29, 2009
06:15 PM Post #6881743
| LOL...
I've seen how fond the farmers are of the Cockatoos there! I was laughing hysterically at the thought of the 400.00 plus dollars ea one grabs here as the farmers were dispatching them. 400, 800, 1200..I had to stop counting right away! |
Islandshari
Kwajalein
Marshall Islands
(Zone 11)
July 29, 2009
06:24 PM Post #6881789
| Here on Kwaj we have two camps...the Mango camp, and the Papaya camp. Seems like if someone really likes one they don't care for the other and vice versa. The produce section at the store is always filled with heated debate. Then you pop up with the trusty guava, and get blank stares! Ha Ha. My job is to keep peace. When one isn't available, I share recipies of the other, or show how that salsa is just as good with papaya... it's hilarious!
Yokwe,
Shari |
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
July 29, 2009
06:33 PM Post #6881834
| I think they're all tastey diced up in a tropical fruit salad! |
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
July 30, 2009
12:00 AM Post #6883362
| Shari, that might be true here too. Whilst I like both I far prefer Mango.
rjuddharrison, "... they're all tastey diced up in a tropical fruit salad"? What, the cockatoos? ;O)
|
Islandshari
Kwajalein
Marshall Islands
(Zone 11)
July 30, 2009
12:37 AM Post #6883506
| Bad Aussie...bad!!!! LOL!!!
yep, Randy, I agree...add a little coconut and some macnuts and oh yum!!!
Yokwe,
Shari |
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
July 30, 2009
01:18 AM Post #6883580
| Alright, just maybe my sick sense of humour. I was just picturing someone with feathers stuck in their throat and every time they coughed a yellow crest coming out of their mouth.
Do you know the bush recipie for cooking cockatoos? You put one large dressed cockatoo in a large billy of water with a few stones and season to taste. Bring to the boil then simmer until the stones are soft. Remove the cockatoo, throw it away and eat the stones.
Okay, I'll settle down now and behave myself. |
westraad
Xai Xai
Mozambique
July 30, 2009
01:34 AM Post #6883606
| LOL!!
how can you possibly think of eating cockatoos? i have a parrot similar to a cockatoo, and she definitly won't make a delicious salad!
just joking.
i agree, papayas, bananas, mangoes, and kiwi together make a delicious fruit salad. we as a family eat it very often.
westraad |
Metrosideros
Keaau, HI
July 30, 2009
01:48 AM Post #6883626
| Kiwi are very rare. If you wouldn't eat a Cockatoo, why would you eat a Kiwi? |
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
July 30, 2009
01:59 AM Post #6883641
| At least with a Kiwi there's a long handle to hold it by while you're eating it, but with a Cockatoo it's too short and curled up to get a good grip. (Sorry, I did promise to behave.) |
Metrosideros
Keaau, HI
July 30, 2009
02:01 AM Post #6883646
| With the long hair-like feathers, I imagine the Kiwi are easy to pluck. |
westraad
Xai Xai
Mozambique
July 30, 2009
02:15 PM Post #6885455
| i mean't kiwi the fruit, not a bird!!! i didn't even know there was a bird called kiwi!
behave, tropicbreeze? yeah right! but its ok, i do like your sense of humor.
westraad
|
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
July 30, 2009
04:27 PM Post #6885989
| ROTFLOL!
I garnish the fruit salad with Cockatoo feathers... |
Islandshari
Kwajalein
Marshall Islands
(Zone 11)
August 01, 2009
04:39 PM Post #6894726
| Oh you people are decidely wicked! LOL!
Yokwe,
Shari |
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 01, 2009
05:43 PM Post #6894914
| Here is something we don't see everyday, yet it happens right here in my neighborhood everyday, or I should say every evening.
The following is a short video of Mexican Free tailed bats exiting their colony from a bridge that goes over the Bayou in to the Heights, my neighborhood. I posted the video in my weekly Houston Chronicle Blog in the garden section called
Jungle Heights (my garden)
OH BATS!!!
http://www.chron.com/channel/houstongardening/commons/person... |
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
August 02, 2009
01:20 AM Post #6896557
| We get flying foxes in huge numbers here, the Black Flying Fox (Pteropus alecto) and the Little Red Flying Fox (Pteropus scapulatus). Colonies can get up to between 1 to 2 million individuals. They're a sight when they take off for a night of foraging, blackening the sky for a long time until they disperse. They have a wingspan over a metre. There's a lot of controversy when they take over towns since they're both protected species.
The photo is in Tindal when the flying foxes took over.
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
August 02, 2009
01:22 AM Post #6896558
| And this was one of the options to try and convince them to leave town. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
Metrosideros
Keaau, HI
August 02, 2009
01:29 AM Post #6896566
| Impressive! |
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 02, 2009
10:03 AM Post #6897226
| I love flying foxes. Every evening when we lived in Banjul, The Gambia we would watch the flying foxes come out. They are pretty vocal! I actually rescued one once...they are a good looking animal. |
Islandshari
Kwajalein
Marshall Islands
(Zone 11)
August 02, 2009
06:15 PM Post #6898922
| Waaay coool, both of you! Thanks for the info and pics!
Yokwe,
Shari |
tropicbreeze
noonamah
Australia
August 02, 2009
07:47 PM Post #6899254
| Their stench is incredible, they're absolutely cute and when young bond quite well with people, are delicious eating, and are carriers of the deadly Lyssa virus which can be transmitted via a scratch or bite. A bit of everything there. |
rjuddharrison
Houston, TX
(Zone 9a)
August 02, 2009
08:04 PM Post #6899324
| oh I know...I can't imagine what my Mom went through with my brother and I catching bats, whip scorpions, snakes, 3 foot monitor lizards...aah..a boys paradise! |
reninja
kingston
Jamaica
August 02, 2009
11:07 PM Post #6900072
| Oh my goodness!!! I thank you all for your responses. I went away for a couple of days and decided to log in only to find that so many of you so graciously responded and also had some very funny and interesting things to say. |
