vegetable gardens in the hill country (Fredericksburg: neighborhood, buyers, gated)

[johninvegas]

Hi guys!

My wife and I are thinking of retiring to the Hill Country in a couple of years. We'd like to pick up a property that has enough space to put in a fairly substantial vegetable garden. I realize that the soil quality varies quite a bit, but was wondering if generally, one needs to import a good amount of topsoil or can one plant a garden with just some rototilling of the soil that exists there.

Thanks!

[Thoreau424]

How many cubic feet or acres of gardening would you be looking at? If needing added soil, the size will make a big difference in cost. Or is cost not a factor? Also keep in mind that the farther west you go, the drier it will get and the more water will be needed.

[StealthRabbit]

Buy a place with both river bottom (good soils) and southern hillside (Good sun and cooler climate).

Water (drip), raised / segregated beds, and shade cloth will be your friends.
Texas has very liberal water collection laws. (You can collect a LOT!) I plan to build a 20,000 gal underground storage tank, I get a LOT of run-off!

We bought a few adjacent properties because the original farm had been split up. We have a bit of really good soil (7 acres lowland / river bottom) and a lot of really bad 'growing' soil. (thistles and cedars seem to do well... argh.)

There is no 'rototilling' on (2) of our properties, ~ 1-2" MAX soil(?) depth, then SOLID ROCK! But the views are nice! The older you get, the nicer the raised beds are!


1) You will probably need to import and amend your soils (annually)
2) You MUST have water
3) You probably will need shade if you want to grow Jul / Aug / Sept.

Know what crops are best for the climate and soils
Don't fight mother nature http://hillcountrynatives.net/design...l-maintenance/

(Can buy very reasonable priced commercial produce, and join a buyers club for frequent trips to the valley. ). There are many great community farmers markets. (I am not sure there is a 'mobile Farmer's Market', but I helped start one of those in PNW (goes to underserved communities) and will likely do so in Hill Country too.

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/s...ables-to-grow/

Some very nice County Ag depts / demo gardens.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Offices In Texas (TX) Hill Country
https://www.hillcountrymastergardeners.org/gardens/

If retired, consider teaming up with the locals for enhancing Community Gardening options.
https://www.hillcountrymastergardene...mmunity-garden
Glory Community Garden has become a neighborhood center - hccommunityjournal.com: Home
https://texashillcountry.com/denton-...eds-community/


When veggie gardening gets to be a burden... there are other horticulture options.
https://riversidenaturecenter.org/

[Thoreau424]

Also, learn about the "critters" you might encounter in that area (insects, herbivores, etc), and how to deal with them, hopefully without harsh chemicals. It can be a healthy and even fun challenge to engineer solutions to keep your garden safe while still maintaining healthiness. Great links above from SR.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Buy a place with both river bottom (good soils) and southern hillside (Good sun and cooler climate).

Water (drip), raised / segregated beds, and shade cloth will be your friends.
Texas has very liberal water collection laws. (You can collect a LOT!) I plan to build a 20,000 gal underground storage tank, I get a LOT of run-off!

We bought a few adjacent properties because the original farm had been split up. We have a bit of really good soil (7 acres lowland / river bottom) and a lot of really bad 'growing' soil. (thistles and cedars seem to do well... argh.)

There is no 'rototilling' on (2) of our properties, ~ 1-2" MAX soil(?) depth, then SOLID ROCK! But the views are nice! The older you get, the nicer the raised beds are!


1) You will probably need to import and amend your soils (annually)
2) You MUST have water
3) You probably will need shade if you want to grow Jul / Aug / Sept.

Know what crops are best for the climate and soils
Don't fight mother nature Design, Installation & Maintenance | Hill Country Natives

(Can buy very reasonable priced commercial produce, and join a buyers club for frequent trips to the valley. ). There are many great community farmers markets. (I am not sure there is a 'mobile Farmer's Market', but I helped start one of those in PNW (goes to underserved communities) and will likely do so in Hill Country too.

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/s...ables-to-grow/

Some very nice County Ag depts / demo gardens.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Offices In Texas (TX) Hill Country
https://www.hillcountrymastergardeners.org/gardens/

If retired, consider teaming up with the locals for enhancing Community Gardening options.
https://www.hillcountrymastergardene...mmunity-garden
Glory Community Garden has become a neighborhood center - hccommunityjournal.com: Home
https://texashillcountry.com/denton-...eds-community/


When veggie gardening gets to be a burden... there are other horticulture options.
https://riversidenaturecenter.org/

Is poster sure it would be worth all this work, wow?

[Trainwreck20]

How big a garden are you looking for? My dad kept a large (150-75', maybe?) garden out north of Fredericksburg. It was not raised and he did not improve the soil himself, but the land had been terraced at some point in the far past and had decent soil in that area. So the soil was fine, you just need to find a place with some soil on it....

[Arkay66]

We have a 3' high raised bed garden, partly because we're old and don't want to bend over a lot, but mainly because our acreage is 1-2" of soil over limestone. We brought in a truckload of dirt (lesson learned, buy the already screened dirt), and mix in potting soil and compost every new garden.

We do not even try to have a garden from late June through August -- can't afford that much water, even with our rainwater collection system. We have a winter garden, planted in November, an early spring garden, planted about now, and a fall garden, planted in September. We use short growing season plants.

The most important thing you'll need to do before even considering planting your garden is to build the wildlife fence to keep the critters out -- especially the deer. Otherwise, kiss that garden goodbye.

So, yeah, we can garden in the Hill Country. Just need to make really good preparations and pay attention to the seasons.

[johninvegas]

Gosh, thanks for all the replies! Some really good info here. And yes, we are well aware of the high fencing needed for deer. We currently have some land in Ca (in the Sierra foothills) and our neighbor has an 8' fence around his garden.

[StealthRabbit]

electric fence can work for a WHOLE lot less $$,

But the BEST solution I found was in NZ where our hosts built a 'screened in' entire garden (all 6 sides of the package including wire mesh bottom to keep out the 'diggers'.)

They had a VERY prolific Garden!

For some reason,,, critters don't bother our Blueberries, and we get 300# + from edible and very pretty landscape plants. (Shallow rooted, so need lots of mulch).

As mentioned there are some really nice produce / farmer's markets (for the stuff that is too much trouble to grow). I plan to do short season growing (Since I am not in TX too often). I will consider 'share-cropping' with a local farmer's market grower. I will be hauling in loads of manure / plant residue. Eventually I will do a raised bed, compact year round garden enclosure (also use it as a picnic shelter / outdoor kitchen) I already have a picnic shelter for our future 'rural senior village' (with shops, craft house, separate laundry / shower, RV hookups for friends, and gardens, orchards, pond, and livestock.
//www.city-data.com/forum/membe...se-outdoor.jpg

[C24L]

Originally Posted by johninvegas

Hi guys!

My wife and I are thinking of retiring to the Hill Country in a couple of years. We'd like to pick up a property that has enough space to put in a fairly substantial vegetable garden. I realize that the soil quality varies quite a bit, but was wondering if generally, one needs to import a good amount of topsoil or can one plant a garden with just some rototilling of the soil that exists there.

Thanks!

whats your budget for your property?