Hello from Colombia

[Accolyte]

Having watched and Followed SSM for a long time, I am totally inspared by Mark's passion and enthusiasm, not to mention the tagline, which sent shivers down my spine the first time I saw it.

So, I thought it high time to become part of the community and see if I can make a small contribution and certainly receive advice from those more knowledgable than me.

I live in Colombia, about 70km south of Bogota at an elevation of 1,800m. The climate is reasonable with maximum temperature being at around 30 degrees centigrade.
I have recently started a single raised bed, but our land is on a slope, so levelling is a challenge. The site used to be an orchard and with regards to fruit trees we have a wide variety, guava, mandarin, lemons, oranges,bananas and plantain.

I would love to know, if there are any other Colombian gardeners here as I am having a really frustrating time sourcing seed potatoes in less than 50kg quantities.

Where we are is an amazing place for growing and you can literally put a stick in the ground and it starts growing, as happened with some of our fence posts.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Welcome to the forum @Acolyte !

I do not know of any currently active Colombian members, though I'm sure we've had them in the past. Nonetheless, regardless of region I'm sure we can all help eachother out. The basics are the same just about anywhere
On top of that, we're all more than happy to expand our knowledge and learn together.

Are you trying to source local, or are you also up for ordering seed potatoes online?

That sounds amazing! Our ground seems very, very barren. Whilst weeds grow wild, and trees fare decently, other plants may struggle. It makes me miss home (I'm from The Netherlands, living in Australia now) as where I grew up anything would grow. To be fair, there used to be large farms and greenhouses around, plus they grow lots of tulips nearby.
Our area in Australia (tropical QLD) has the benefit of growing year-round though, as the temperatures never drop below 0.

How long have you been gardening for?

 

[KIGardening]

Welcome to the forum Accolyte.

My experience with seed potatoes is that, if I keep the in a cool dark spot I can get two plantings a year out of them. Seen the location your in, you might want to try it.

Alternative if hat doesn't work for you, then you can always cook some up for a meal.

 

[Accolyte]

Welcome to the forum @Acolyte !

I do not know of any currently active Colombian members, though I'm sure we've had them in the past. Nonetheless, regardless of region I'm sure we can all help eachother out. The basics are the same just about anywhere
On top of that, we're all more than happy to expand our knowledge and learn together.

Are you trying to source local, or are you also up for ordering seed potatoes online?

That sounds amazing! Our ground seems very, very barren. Whilst weeds grow wild, and trees fare decently, other plants may struggle. It makes me miss home (I'm from The Netherlands, living in Australia now) as where I grew up anything would grow. To be fair, there used to be large farms and greenhouses around, plus they grow lots of tulips nearby.
Our area in Australia (tropical QLD) has the benefit of growing year-round though, as the temperatures never drop below 0.

How long have you been gardening for?

Hi Mandy,

Many thanks for your welcome.

I have had a look online, but the renge of potatoes is limited. The most "exciting" type I have found in a reasonable quantities is Yukon Gold.
Hopefully we will be moving soon, we are looking for somewhere with more level space so I can really start growing for our needs (thanks for the inspiration Mark!)
I used to grow a lot of my own veg when I lived in the UK, I had 4 low level beds. I mainly grew potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, Brussels sprouts. For some reason neither me nor my neighbour could ever grow carrots....
When I moved to Bogota I was living in a flat so gardening was forgotten for a while but recently the bug has been biting again

The area where we are looking at is a little higher than where we are at the moment, so it will be a little cooler, that might be a good thing.

So, for now, I am dreaming of building my new raised beds in the future.

What brought you to Australia?

 

[Accolyte]

Welcome to the forum Accolyte.

My experience with seed potatoes is that, if I keep the in a cool dark spot I can get two plantings a year out of them. Seen the location your in, you might want to try it.

Alternative if hat doesn't work for you, then you can always cook some up for a meal.

Hiya KIGardening,

Many thanks for your welcome and suggestion.

My main issue is actually sourcing seed potatoes, they only seem to be available in 50Kg bags, far too big for my needs, also, lack of variety is also frustrating.
For the part f the world where potatoes came from, it's really rather disappointing.
I have had some success chitting store boiught potatoes but they basically seem to have three varieties, big, medium and small. A bit boring!!
There is an equivalent of Ebay here, I'll keep searching there.

Whereabouts are you based?

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

@Accolyte do you have any "natural" veggie stores nearby? I've had success from unwashed supermarket potatoes as well. Though, the weather has always killed the crop before harvest, but it did grow beautifully before then. It might be worth trying your chance at those.

If you are looking to move, perhaps building up a container gardening (like in nursery pots) could mean you can take your plants with you once the time arrives. Plus, you can then plant them into the ground once you figure out their more permanent locations.
I don't know about Colombia, but here in Australia you can hire box trailers and drop them off at a different designated location closer to the destination.

I met someone online and fell in love, and then gambled everything coming here. It's been almost exactly 6 years since I stepped on that plane. My partner and I are still happily together, and he's helping me grow as a person. I've more recently picked up sewing as a hobby, and I've got his full blessings to buy whatever I need for it (he knows I don't waste money, either way).
I'm keen on learning how to sew clothes in the future. Currently I'm trying to teach myself how to sew stuffed animals. I'm making my own design, but I'm not satisfied with them at the moment, haha. One day I might make a post. I've lost my tripod for my phone, otherwise I might take more pictures along the way.

 

[KIGardening]

I met someone online and fell in love, and then gambled everything coming here.

The modern classic Mandy

 

[KIGardening]

Whereabouts are you based?

I'm based in South Australia (a state) in Australia, Accolyte. Compared to Mandy it is wet country where I'm it is dry country. A lot of Mediterranean survive and are grown here.