Any VC gardeners on board? (Oxnard, Camarillo: home, living, garden)

[katnip kid]

How is gardening in Ventura County? We are contemplating a move to the area. I understand that water usage is an issue in SoCal. What about soil and growing zone? Spring planting times? What problems/issues do you face? Anything you wish you could grow, but cannot? Now, that's a loaded question...I mean legal plants...

So, how does your garden grow?

[katnip kid]

Wow. Anybody? Nobody? No gardeners in Ventura County with your climate?

[Talonstorm]

I just moved here last month, so I am interested in finding out a little more too.

I planted my garden (veggies) just after moving to Camarillo (June 20th or so). I planted tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, beans, a watermellon, cyprus squash, an eggplant, peas, lettuce, and some herbs. So far, the zucchini is doing the best. It went from being a tiny plant to being massive, it is close to 4' in diameter! The tomatoes are also doing very well, lots of small green tomatoes on the vines. The burgandy beans I planted are doing well, the green beans never came up (not a single one, bad seed is my guess). The cyprus squash is also doing well. The cucs are surviving, but not growing much, not sure what the issues is there. The lettuce never sprouted, so I just reseaded that. The carrots are doing ok, I just thinned them, so I am hoping the grow a little faster now. The peas I just planted, so they haven't sprouted yet. Some of the herbs (basil and catnip) are doing well, others (dill and chives) didn't come up much, just a few plants.

My strawberry pot is doing great, I think Camarillo has a great climate for strawberries, I see fields and fields of them around.

Anyway, that is my report. I wish I could help more with the climate and growing season stuff, but I am in the dark with that as well, lol.

Tina

[katnip kid]

Hello Tina
Thank you for the post. Maybe we can get Ventura county gardeners to join the conversation. I don't even know in which growing zone Ventura County is located.
I remember on a trip to SoCal, I was impressed with what was growing in gardens. Gotta remember, I am from Pennsylvania, so it was quite a treat!

[olypentax]

I am not an experienced gardener but it seems like almost anything grows well on the Oxnard Plain. Just drive around the area and you see fields of strawberries (Oxnard is the strawberry capital of US), vegetables and flowers.

I am not sure where you will live and the soil may vary from the flat rich soil on the plain to the hills areas. If you live close to the ocean I don't think it ever freezes so you don't have to worry about frost.

Here are a couple of links that you might find helpful;
Ventura County Master Gardeners - Indoor Plants
http://gardening-coaches.com/Communi...so-california/

[Talonstorm]

Originally Posted by katnip kid

Gotta remember, I am from Pennsylvania, so it was quite a treat!

I just moved here from PA, what area of the state are you from? I was in the Poconos/Northeastern PA area.

I have lived there my entire life, so I was pretty impressed with the climate and agriculture here as well.

Tina

[westcoastvp]

You can grow almost anything here due to the year round mild climate. There are no temperature extremes, however, the inland valley areas can reach triple digit temps during a good summer heat wave. Ventura County is known for agriculture, so the soil and growing climates are ideal.

[katnip kid]

Originally Posted by Talonstorm

I just moved here from PA, what area of the state are you from? I was in the Poconos/Northeastern PA area.

I have lived there my entire life, so I was pretty impressed with the climate and agriculture here as well.

Tina

I am in eastern PA, near the border to NJ, near Trenton. PA is beautiful, no doubt about that, esp. the Poconos!

PA is wonderful, but with each winter I keep wishing for no more winter. Do you ever miss winter snow and ice?

[Talonstorm]

Originally Posted by katnip kid

Do you ever miss winter snow and ice?

Well, I just moved here mid-June (last month), so I don't miss the PA weather yet. I will likely miss the fall weather and the beautiful fall foliage the most. I will miss the snow, but not the ice, cold, or heating bills, lol. I will be back home around Christmas time to visit family, so I can get my fill of snow then.

I am told, with less than an hour and a half of driving, I could reach the snow in the winter here. My dog (a Bernese Mountain Dog) loves the snow, so we may make that trip a few times so he can goof around and play in it.

Tina

PS - so you are near Philly? I lived there for a few years while I was getting my graduate degree at Drexel.

[thegreenergardener]

I am in Camarillo and run an eco-friendly gardening business. Just joined this forum because I saw this thread. We are in zone 9 and I love living here. Looking forward to planting peas through the fall and winter.

Here's a little planting guide for zone 9.
http://www.veggieharvest.com/images/...e-calander.jpg