What are the soil conditions and what type of nuisance insects are in that area?
Comments (4)
mamapig_ said on 06-02-2010
I think the most beautiful garden I have seen is on the Oregon coast. They have a garden there that I visit every year. The name is Shore Acres State Park (look it up). Everywhere you go things are growing wild and wild plants don’t have pest control. I imagine the soil must be good all along the coast because everything grows so well.
paleorth said on 06-02-2010
San Luis Obispo makes good sense to me too. It is far enough south to have great sunshine, municiple water supply is more in balance with demand than further south, the fog gets a little thick at times, but the soils are top notch. Many of the soils are young, but not too sandy. There is even a deep loessal soil mapped in the area, a very surprising feature on the west US coast. Insect pressure is limited. The usual stuff: Colorado potato beetle and tomato hornworm. If SLO is not a big enough big city, move south from there. The soils may not be quite as ideal, but you should be able to find some good balance between water supply, smog, fog, soil and city life. San Diego would be next on my list. After that the coastal plain of the east Gulf coast seems promising, Mobile or Tallahassee. Growing season rain is a neat feature, but insect pest pressure goes way up.
True Brit said on 07-02-2010
Personally I found that when living on the coast, the biggest problem was the salty winds. Your best bet is to look at your neighbour’s gardens and see what they grow.
I think the most beautiful garden I have seen is on the Oregon coast. They have a garden there that I visit every year. The name is Shore Acres State Park (look it up). Everywhere you go things are growing wild and wild plants don’t have pest control. I imagine the soil must be good all along the coast because everything grows so well.
San Luis Obispo makes good sense to me too. It is far enough south to have great sunshine, municiple water supply is more in balance with demand than further south, the fog gets a little thick at times, but the soils are top notch. Many of the soils are young, but not too sandy. There is even a deep loessal soil mapped in the area, a very surprising feature on the west US coast. Insect pressure is limited. The usual stuff: Colorado potato beetle and tomato hornworm. If SLO is not a big enough big city, move south from there. The soils may not be quite as ideal, but you should be able to find some good balance between water supply, smog, fog, soil and city life. San Diego would be next on my list. After that the coastal plain of the east Gulf coast seems promising, Mobile or Tallahassee. Growing season rain is a neat feature, but insect pest pressure goes way up.
Personally I found that when living on the coast, the biggest problem was the salty winds. Your best bet is to look at your neighbour’s gardens and see what they grow.
San Luis Obispo County in California.