Gardening In Chiang Mai

[Octaviousbp]

I have recently become quite interested in gardening, but am quite new to the field (pun intended). There are lots of resources online to help out a gardening neophyte, however most of the information is for European or North American climates.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any resources for gardening in Chiang Mai (or Northern Thailand) specifically. ie: what vegetables will actually grow in the soil found in and around Chiang Mai, what time of year to plant it, etc.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[richard10365]

I have recently become quite interested in gardening, but am quite new to the field (pun intended). There are lots of resources online to help out a gardening neophyte, however most of the information is for European or North American climates.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any resources for gardening in Chiang Mai (or Northern Thailand) specifically. ie: what vegetables will actually grow in the soil found in and around Chiang Mai, what time of year to plant it, etc.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Check out the farming section of the ThaiVisa forum But be careful not to admit to farming since is definitly illegal for farangs to do in Thailand. Gardening is legal to a point.

[Donnyboy]

I have recently become quite interested in gardening, but am quite new to the field (pun intended). There are lots of resources online to help out a gardening neophyte, however most of the information is for European or North American climates.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any resources for gardening in Chiang Mai (or Northern Thailand) specifically. ie: what vegetables will actually grow in the soil found in and around Chiang Mai, what time of year to plant it, etc.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Check out the farming section of the ThaiVisa forum But be careful not to admit to farming since is definitly illegal for farangs to do in Thailand. Gardening is legal to a point.

thats correct. I have even read somewhere a farang was reported to authorities by a neighbour to be mowing his own lawn. Not sure if it was true or not, but it could happen.

[Ajarn]

Paranoid crap. Don't worry, you are not going to be arrested for gardening. I've been doing it for 22 years, no problem.

[richard10365]

Paranoid crap. Don't worry, you are not going to be arrested for gardening. I've been doing it for 22 years, no problem.

I have heard Paranoid crap makes great fertilizer for illegal farang gardens.

[chownah]

While in North America and Europe the main seasonal issue is the cold of winter (in most places) the seasonal concens here are the rain and the heat. In the rainy season it rains alot and you need to be sure that you have adequate drainage.....this usually means digging trenches every two metres or so and putting the dirt up on the inbetween areas so it is mounded up a bit. In the hot season it is hot and some vegetables will need shade to prosper and you can buy shade cloth at most hardware stores and garden shops....it comes in various "strengths" 50%, 60% and 80% being what I have seen most..80% is supposed to block out 80% of the suns light.

The best season for growing most vegies is to plant in Sept through January as this is the cool season......you can plant outside these times but the cool season is when vegetables are the happiest.

lettuce, garlic, onion, cauliflower, brocolli, eggplants (many types), cucumbers, green beans (haricots), celery, squash (yellow and green), basil, a host of Thai vegetables, tomatos (with difficulty), and others.

banana, papaya, mango, lynchee, lam yai, pineapple, frog's eye, jackfruit, coconut, nam nom, tamarind, tangerine, lime, lemon, avacado, and some I'm sure I've forgotten are the fruits...

[chownah]

also, RICE, corn, sugar cane, soybeans, and chili peppers.

[jaideeguy]

Agree with Chonah above and will add to it a little of my experience with back yard garden......

lots of clay soil here in CM valley. when wet, it's sticky and not easy to work, when dry, it's like a rock and hard to work...so my solution was to work some rice hulls [or leaf mulch] into it when it's semi wet.

agree that winter is best growing season here and you have to adjust your crops acordingly.

i have had good luck with lettuce, carrots, chard, kale, beets, mustard and arugula. have been using mostly organic methods and let the bugs have their share.

where i live, doi saket, we have lots of cow dung for fertilizer and work that into soil with rice husks with my imported Honda mini roto tiller.

don't save much money when you look at the low prices of veges in the market, but it keeps me occupied and out of trouble.

would love to get ahold of some asparagus plants....love them and low maintenance.

[Octaviousbp]

That's great information, and exactly why I wanted to post here regarding the soil quality. I have found that the soil is indeed very clay intensive, and have been working some leave compost into the soil.

I plan on planting now anyways, since I figure there are a couple of months before the regular heavy rains, and I seem to remember some things only taking forty days to grow from seed to harvest. So why not? I guess the next logical question would be, since I am going to grow now, what would I have the best luck with. I am particularly keen on growing spinach, broccoli, carrots, onions, sweet potato, beets, and artichokes (if at all possible). Waste of time, or give it the ol' college try?

And, since I am obviously fond of getting ahead of myself, any recommendations for where to purchase seeds?

I'll keep an eye out for the agriculture five oh, thanks for the warning . Hopefully there won't be a "war on vegetables" this summer.

[sbk]

I'd go for hot season fruit & vegetables instead:

tomatoes, eggplants, chilis, melons etc.

This is the hottest time of year all over Thailand and you will probably have zero success with most of the cooler climate crops you've mentioned. Check out this site: www.farm-garden.com/growing-vegetables for basics on growing veggies.

[Crow Boy]

I'd go for hot season fruit & vegetables instead:

tomatoes, eggplants, chilis, melons etc.

This is the hottest time of year all over Thailand and you will probably have zero success with most of the cooler climate crops you've mentioned. Check out this site: www.farm-garden.com/growing-vegetables for basics on growing veggies.

The Australian site http://www.diggers.com.au/ has a very good selection of hot and tropical seeds that are appropriate to Thailand. They do international post of the seeds and I have had good success from them in the past.

CB

[chownah]

Corn is pretty much a year round crop here so you could plant it now...I'm going to plant some next week and then every two weeks until the soil gets too wet to till......oh.....I forgot to say that during the rainy season there will sometimes be a three or four day break in the rain and when this happens take advantage of it and plant some stuff if your soil dries enough. I bought some plastic sheeting last year covered a section of soil until it had dried out and then planted there...it worked really well and this year I'm hoping to have time to build a long plastic roof (green house with open sides) which will stay up during the rainy season so I will have a semi dry place even in the rainy season....I'll see how that works. You can get a 100 metre long 3 metre wide roll of agricultural grade clear plastic for about 6,000 baht (more or less).....it should last 1-1/2 to 2 years if left out full time and I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 years out of it or even more if I only leave it up during the rainy season and take it down the rest of the year.

Like Jaideeguy I grow organically and I agree that a combination of manure and rice hulls and composted leaves will do wonders for your clay soil. That's what I've been using for four years now and my soil is now a delight to work with.....if you look in the farming forum there is a thread discussing what to do improve clay soils...and lots more great advice.

Chownah

Edited April 18, 2007 by chownah

[safe66]

Hi i have small fertilizer and pesticide company in saraphi please pm me with any enquirers (English owner) thanks

[chanchao]

I have heard Paranoid crap makes great fertilizer for illegal farang gardens.

Thank you, first laugh of the day.

My gardening efforts so far I think are best described as 'slash & burn gardening', i.e. mostly related to the removal and extermination of overly abundant plant life around my house.

I like orchids though. Orchids tend to not swamp you and your house alive. They mostly just sit there, don't mind not being watered or manicured twice daily (or, at all), sleep most of the year and then suddenly spring to life.. That's my kind of plant. If orchids were edible too they'd be perfect.

Also I like other quiet plants. The once you don't see all day but that you smell at night. Dok Ratree, jasmine, Lanthom / Lilawadee, et al. I also grow chillies. I basically like plants you don't have to $* with all the time.

Edited April 19, 2007 by chanchao

[Pond Life]

Can anyone suggest a good shop in Chiang Mai for seeds, fertiliser, potting mix, pots & general gardening/farming stuff ? & especialy Gypsum.

I've seen plenty of Ma & Pa stores selling the same 4 packets of seed as everywhere else.

But I'm looking for a one stop shop, slogging all over town hunting down 1 item at a time drives me nuts.

Thanks

[mobile69]

Can anyone suggest a good shop in Chiang Mai for seeds, fertiliser, potting mix, pots & general gardening/farming stuff ? & especialy Gypsum.

I've seen plenty of Ma & Pa stores selling the same 4 packets of seed as everywhere else.

But I'm looking for a one stop shop, slogging all over town hunting down 1 item at a time drives me nuts.

Thanks

Go to Kham Tian plant market behind Tesco on Lampang superhwy, north of the city. Shops there selling most things you need. Not sure about the gypsum tho'.

Cheers

[Crow Boy]

Can anyone suggest a good shop in Chiang Mai for seeds, fertiliser, potting mix, pots & general gardening/farming stuff ? & especialy Gypsum.

I've seen plenty of Ma & Pa stores selling the same 4 packets of seed as everywhere else.

But I'm looking for a one stop shop, slogging all over town hunting down 1 item at a time drives me nuts.

Thanks

Go to Kham Tian plant market behind Tesco on Lampang superhwy, north of the city. Shops there selling most things you need. Not sure about the gypsum tho'.

Cheers

I was going to suggest the same location - and yes gypsum is available there.

Not sure of the transport available to the poster but there are guys with Pickups loitering around who will pack and transport home for you at a negotiable price. Some of the places selling will deliver also depending on how much you buy from them.

CB

[jaideeguy]

Yea, I would suggest Kham Tian market for all your gardening needs. They have the rice husks by the bag and another by-product of the rice husks is called klab dom [which is burned rice hulls with good potassium and areation qualities]. another good product for lightening up your clay soil is shreaded cocoanut husks.

many shops on the tesco lotus end of the market with seeds, tools etc. if you haven't been there, you will love that place.

oh, and in the back left hand side [facing away from tesco] you will find some small shops with many vegetable seedlings, saving you time to wait for germination of seeds.

[Octaviousbp]

Just got back from Kham Tian with a fistfull of seeds. Looking forward to seeing what grows. Will start germinating tomorrow.

Thanks for all the help!

[chanchao]

I know you were looking for vegetable seeds, but as we're on the topic, when it comes to flower seeds there's really but one place in Chiang Mai (or Thailand as a whole actually) : http://www.afmgroup.com/

[Crow Boy]

I know you were looking for vegetable seeds, but as we're on the topic, when it comes to flower seeds there's really but one place in Chiang Mai (or Thailand as a whole actually) : http://www.afmgroup.com/

Chanchao they also have vegetable seeds - during the last flower festival I picked up some different herb and vegetable seeds from their stand. I like the diggers seeds from Australia though because they aren't hybrid and work well in the heat of CM. In my old house I had a big garden and grew a lot of vegetables - diggers suggest you start your own local "seed bank" from the best pick and use them instead of buying new ones each year.

My current house has a much smaller garden and I have less time to work in it so am restricted to small easy to grow crops.

CB

Edited April 19, 2007 by Crow Boy

[sbk]

I know you were looking for vegetable seeds, but as we're on the topic, when it comes to flower seeds there's really but one place in Chiang Mai (or Thailand as a whole actually) : http://www.afmgroup.com/

Great link chanchao, you should post this in the Gardening/Pets section as well, as some non-CM gardeners (such as myself) would find this a very useful link.

Do they ship? I can't seem to find that info on their site.

[Ajarn]

For most gardeners needs, I use a couple of stores in the fish selling area of somphet market (Was a big deal with pets/plants some years ago). I find they have better prices and more knowledgable service than Kamthiang market, too...

Edited April 19, 2007 by Ajarn

[chanchao]

> Do they ship? I can't seem to find that info on their site.

Yes they do. Or they used to, anyway. Flower seeds are nice and small so easy to send by mail/courier.

[Ajarn]

> Do they ship? I can't seem to find that info on their site.

Yes they do. Or they used to, anyway. Flower seeds are nice and small so easy to send by mail/courier.

They say they do sell seeds, but I can't find a page with any clicks or info....

[chanchao]

http://afmgroup.com/afm/contactus/index.htm

399 Chiangmai-Maejo Rd.Nonghan, Sansai, Chiangmai 50290 Thailand

Tel: (66 53) 353810-5 Fax: (66 53)353816

(So on the Mae Jo Road)

They used to sell by catalog, they have a nice printed catalog that you can browse and order from.

[Pond Life]

Thanks for the info, I know the Kam Tieng place you mentioned, but I obviously havnt looked around properly as all I seem to remember is lots of garden gnomes & pots.

I'll go & have a proper rumage next time Im in town & also the the fish market

Ta

[naammanow]

Hi i have small fertilizer and pesticide company in saraphi please pm me with any enquirers (English owner) thanks

I am looking for some trucks of manure to improve the soil. Any suggestion you might have will be appreciated. Thanks, Jan

[femi fan]

Having read through half the thread before realising it was two years old, i continued anyway. Interesting thread and maybe it might revive.

I'd like to ask about all these seeds available at places mentioned, if they're from organic sources, and non-GM sources?

[WaiWai]

I like orchids though. Orchids tend to not swamp you and your house alive. They mostly just sit there, don't mind not being watered or manicured twice daily (or, at all), sleep most of the year and then suddenly spring to life..

Any tips on getting orchids to flower? I sometimes buy the ones that hang on chains. They bloom briefly, but rarely again .

Also, where is best to buy flower seedlings/plants in pots?