# Gardening



## mi-ed (Apr 4, 2009)

I am planning on visiting the lake chapala area this next winter to see if I like it enough to possibly move there [or snowbird] but for now, I need to stay here in MI. I am working on getting my garden ready up here and it got me wondering if people in the chapala area plant gardens and what they grow and what time of year they grow things down there? Just curious. Thanks


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Welcome Mi-Ed.
Because fresh fruits and vegetables are grown nearby for export to the US market, local prices are very reasonable. I don't know of any retiree in the area with a vegetable garden but almost everyone with a yard will have all the fruit that they may want. We have 'key limes', oranges, four types of bananas, guavas, mangoes, avacados, papaya and are attempting blueberries and blackberries, but the berries don't seem happy in alkaline volcanic soil. That said, you must be careful not to drop a popsicle stick, for it may take root instantly in this happy climate. Basically, stuff grows all year but many crops require partial shade with netting to protect them from the intense sunshine that we have every day; the altitude makes it very intense. Irrigation is also necessary and running electric pumps is very expensive. Tomatoes aren't happy in this soil and hobby growers have to grow them in pots with careful attention to the soil mix. 
That's the extent of my 'green thumb' knowledge.


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