[Tracydr]

I'm so excited about gardening in NC! I can grow blueberries,strawberries and lots of tree fruit! Peaches, not the flavorless peaches that grow in Phoenix. I so miss my peach and apple trees from when I was in OK.
I'm considering having a small you-pick farm. But, I may want to keep all the fruit for canning and freezing, too. I will need a giant freezer for dog/cat meat anyway.
We are planning to buy some acres, maybe 30-40. Just have to get close to our asking price on our house so that we have spending money.
Anybody want to move to Mesa, AZ? I have some nice raised bed gardens and will be leaving my jalapeño trees for the new owners. It's actually pretty good gardening here once you figure out that the planting calendars are a necessity. My winter gardens are always stunning and I've never had any problems with eggplants, peppers and okra. Just planted three huge gardens with squash, beans, Armenian cukes, corn, okra, southern peas and long beans. Should have artichokes any day. Artichokes grow great here. Basil, okra, and other hot weather crops are insane. Tomatoes take some finesse to get them planted early enough before the heat and spider mites hit. Some years are amazing and others are too hot/dry. I still have a Matt's Wild cherry planted last spring which is going crazy right now.
I have tons of irrigation water for $65 a year, although it would be nice to add a cistern or barrel to store excess. The water comes every month in winter and very two weeks in summer. I have giant pine trees for shade in 3/4 of the yard.