Hello from Colorado!

[jishinsjourney]

Hi there! New here, obviously. Nice to meet you all!

I‘m not exactly a born-to-it homesteader; I came to it through a love of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Harvest Moon video game series. About fifteen years ago I came to the astonishing (ha!) realization that I had a backyard and I could try growing my own food, so I did. It turned out way better than I had expected and I really fell in love with it.

My husband and I moved to Colorado in the middle of the pandemic (boy, that was a fun time), and I am back to backyard-homesteading in suburbia. I count myself absolutely blessed to have a twenty-year-old apple tree and two plum trees, when we were not expecting anything in our yard to be productive. Also a scraggly blackberry vine that doesn’t seem to like where it is and needs to be dug up and moved, or replaced. I’ve added currants and blueberries so far this year, and am looking forward to planting summer crops in a couple of weeks.

I have too many animal allergies to handle livestock or chickens, though someday I would love to try aquaponics and possibly beekeeping. Probably not at this house, we have a fairly small lot, but I keep thinking about it.

 

[Peanut]

Welcome from Bama! I bought a few plants for the garden today.

Lots of threads on just about any topic... join in or start a new one!

 

[JustMe]

Welcome from Washington state........if you need any blackberries, I know a place........it's my place and they grow wild and are invasive here, so you can have all you want

 

[Magus]

Welcome from GA.

 

[Sourdough]

Welcome from Alaska.

 

[Tim Horton]

Greetings from far north west Canada...

 

[Pearl]

Welcome from Texas!!!

 

[kd4ulw]

Howdy from Indiana!

 

[Tootsie]

Welcome from New York.

 

[viking]

Welcome from Washington state........if you need any blackberries, I know a place........it's my place and they grow wild and are invasive here, so you can have all you want

Hello and a warm welcome from S.W. Oregon, I met and married my wife in Colorado, the last place we lived was in Conifer at 8,100 feet elevation, loved it up there but things were getting crazy with Jimmy Carter' "If you can drive 55 mph, you can drive 45.", what used to take 30 minutes to get home from work, ended up being over an hour. Yeah, out here in the Pacific North West we grow blackberries, called Himalayan blackberries, originally came from China, run a rototiller through a patch and all the little roots will start more vines than you can handle, the juice from the berries makes great jelly and wine but you don't want to get that growing all over Colorado, they may just take over the whole state.

 

[The Lazy L]

Howdy!

 

[phideaux]

I have old friends in Colorado,
Now a new one.
from West KY.

Jim

 

[jishinsjourney]

Welcome from Washington state........if you need any blackberries, I know a place........it's my place and they grow wild and are invasive here, so you can have all you want

Hahaha! They really do grow like weeds in the right environment. Aren’t the ones in Washington the Himalayan variety?

I’m not sure what I have. The previous owners put it in a raised bed and it only set three new canes last year. Wild. I’ve grown boysenberry plants before, and would easily get ten times that!

 

[JustMe]

Hahaha! They really do grow like weeds in the right environment. Aren’t the ones in Washington the Himalayan variety?

I’m not sure what I have. The previous owners put it in a raised bed and it only set three new canes last year. Wild. I’ve grown boysenberry plants before, and would easily get ten times that!

Yes on the Himalaya's being the worst, but we do have another kind, smaller leaves, canes and berries that have more flavor then the Himalayas, but still a pain to control. I have both growing in various places in my yard that I've battled for over 20 years we've lived here. I've considered explosives, but the neighbors would complain

 

[jishinsjourney]

Hello and a warm welcome from S.W. Oregon, I met and married my wife in Colorado, the last place we lived was in Conifer at 8,100 feet elevation, loved it up there but things were getting crazy with Jimmy Carter' "If you can drive 55 mph, you can drive 45.", what used to take 30 minutes to get home from work, ended up being over an hour. Yeah, out here in the Pacific North West we grow blackberries, called Himalayan blackberries, originally came from China, run a rototiller through a patch and all the little roots will start more vines than you can handle, the juice from the berries makes great jelly and wine but you don't want to get that growing all over Colorado, they may just take over the whole state.

Yeah, I have heard that CO is on the slippery slope of the craziness, and at least in Denver and Boulder that seems to be true. We live in southeast Aurora, more like Parker but not actually Parker, and it’s not as crazy here. (-crosses fingers-)

All I can say is that it’s a thousand times better than California, and hopefully there are enough like-minded people that it will not get worse. I really don’t want to move again!

 

[jishinsjourney]

Yes on the Himalaya's being the worst, but we do have another kind, smaller leaves, canes and berries that have more flavor then the Himalayas, but still a pain to control. I have both growing in various places in my yard that I've battled for over 20 years we've lived here. I've considered explosives, but the neighbors would complain

I don’t know how you feel about chemicals, but my old nursery had a “cut vine and stump killer” product that we used sparingly on persistent sumac and carrotwood roots to good effect. It might help? It was a very localized usage, just on the ends when they were freshly cut, and did the job well.

 

[Cascadian]

Welcome from Oregon. We are about 100 miles south of it's armpit "Portland".

 

[Pearl]

Yeah, I have heard that CO is on the slippery slope of the craziness, and at least in Denver and Boulder that seems to be true. We live in southeast Aurora, more like Parker but not actually Parker, and it’s not as crazy here. (-crosses fingers-)

All I can say is that it’s a thousand times better than California, and hopefully there are enough like-minded people that it will not get worse. I really don’t want to move again!

At least you got out of CA, a rough move during a pandemic was well worth it!!

 

[JustMe]

I don’t know how you feel about chemicals, but my old nursery had a “cut vine and stump killer” product that we used sparingly on persistent sumac and carrotwood roots to good effect. It might help? It was a very localized usage, just on the ends when they were freshly cut, and did the job well.

I don't normally like using chemicals but I have with the more problem 'weeds' like the blackberries, and also morning glory/bindweed, English ivy, buttercup and common dock that are all my nemesis. Biggest problems with the vining types is they run the fence lines and if the neighbors don't keep theirs in check, most of my attempts are really futile. But it is what it is and I keep trying.

 

[Weedygarden]

Welcome, from Colorado! There are a handful of us! I've been in Colorado for more than 30 years. I'm originally from South Dakota, but have lived in North Dakota, Kansas City, and a few other places briefly.

 

[snappy1]

Welcome from southwest Mississippi! nice to meet you!

 

[jishinsjourney]

Welcome, from Colorado! There are a handful of us! I've been in Colorado for more than 30 years. I'm originally from South Dakota, but have lived in North Dakota, Kansas City, and a few other places briefly.

Hi neighbor! I got here in early 2020. It was crazy, but I‘m really glad we moved when we did, and I love it here.

I’ve lived in California and Massachusetts, and I am sure glad I spent some time in New England. Colorado winters are nothing compared to that. My husband’s from Texas and I’ve visited there a number of times, but haven’t actually lived there.

 

[jishinsjourney]

I don't normally like using chemicals but I have with the more problem 'weeds' like the blackberries, and also morning glory/bindweed, English ivy, buttercup and common dock that are all my nemesis. Biggest problems with the vining types is they run the fence lines and if the neighbors don't keep theirs in check, most of my attempts are really futile. But it is what it is and I keep trying.

The only other thing I can think of is to try to permaculture them away, though that would be a long process and I am absolutely not an expert. I know that ”invasive weeds” are often — but not always — pioneer plants that are good for breaking up hard open soil and drawing up nutrients from deep below. They don’t show up nearly as much in more mature wooded environments, so perhaps adding some trees in the areas they’re really persistent would help shade them out and slow their roll.

I don’t know for sure though, and obviously I have no idea what your property looks like or how things work out in the Pacific Northwest, so your mileage may vary? It’s just a thought.

 

[Weedygarden]

Hi neighbor! I got here in early 2020. It was crazy, but I‘m really glad we moved when we did, and I love it here.

I’ve lived in California and Massachusetts, and I am sure glad I spent some time in New England. Colorado winters are nothing compared to that. My husband’s from Texas and I’ve visited there a number of times, but haven’t actually lived there.

We definitely get a range of weather, and often it is mild in comparison to other places. We haven't hit 90 degrees yet, but we have had 90 degree days in April in the past. It has snowed in Colorado every month of the year. A couple years ago we had snow in later June. It was just a little crazy. And then every once in a while we will get a crazy snow storm that will make National News, and we will have anywhere from 10 to 30 inches of snow. And then, in Colorado style, it will mostly be gone in about 3 days. We need one of those big storms now, for the moisture!

 

[Weedygarden]

I don't normally like using chemicals but I have with the more problem 'weeds' like the blackberries, and also morning glory/bindweed, English ivy, buttercup and common dock that are all my nemesis. Biggest problems with the vining types is they run the fence lines and if the neighbors don't keep theirs in check, most of my attempts are really futile. But it is what it is and I keep trying.

I think these weeds are a common problem and my neighbors have areas of their yard that are just weeds, no grass, but they keep it mowed. Bind weed and all of its relatives are coming up in my yard now with a vengeance. Grrrr! I don't use many harsh chemicals, but once in a while, I've had it with a few things, like poke and go at it.

 

[jishinsjourney]

We definitely get a range of weather, and often it is mild in comparison to other places. We haven't hit 90 degrees yet, but we have had 90 degree days in April in the past. It has snowed in Colorado every month of the year. A couple years ago we had snow in later June. It was just a little crazy. And then every once in a while we will get a crazy snow storm that will make National News, and we will have anywhere from 10 to 30 inches of snow. And then, in Colorado style, it will mostly be gone in about 3 days. We need one of those big storms now, for the moisture!

We sure do! It’s nowhere near as wet this year as it was last year. I had to start up the sprinklers this week. They said we were supposed to get rain today, but it’s nowhere in the forecast now. Oh well!

It’s so funny though, since I’m used to getting even less. San Diego gets under 10” a year, and Aurora gets more like 15”. Yet here I am still complaining about not getting enough rain!

 

[TeeJ]

Welcome from Utah!

 

[Pearl]

Hi neighbor! I got here in early 2020. It was crazy, but I‘m really glad we moved when we did, and I love it here.

I’ve lived in California and Massachusetts, and I am sure glad I spent some time in New England. Colorado winters are nothing compared to that. My husband’s from Texas and I’ve visited there a number of times, but haven’t actually lived there.

There's a bunch of us on here from Texas!!

 

[dademoss]

from Ohio

 

[Alaskajohn]

Welcome from Alaska!