I noticed that we are doing well with general questions on one of my previous threads on "gentleman farmers" but think to expand on the subject it may be better to generalise under one heading...ie Farming in Chiang Mai-Rai.

The guys in Issan seem to be racing ahead with some great information but bearing in mind that these are two very distinct regions with even more different characteristics it would poss. be better to individualise.

For some reason or other since buying our little bit ..(now 15 rai.....but) I find that I am getting interested in the many aspects of "back to the soil"type stuff that I would never have contemplated in the past.....city boy...bunny hugger and all that.

Advocados,"erbs,Tatties,mangos ,fresh Pineapples,Ma muangs and coos....c" mon..man....it will be pigs and ducks next....errr do they smell?

So to start ...what should I plant that needs minimun work in CM.bearing in mind that we are semi/half way up a mountain (near Mae On) and after about 5-00pm when the sun goes down it gets nice and COOL....and can keep an eye on it from Islington North London.

Hope to start on the Hoose next year.....

Will post a pict when i work out how to...

Rin, The best tasting advocado IMO is the Hass variety.Never seen it here, and it does travel well due to it's thick skin. The trees do take a while to mature, but when they produce they go like wild fire.Not sure how they do in the climate here though.

Thats the sort of info we are looking for.

In fact I bought one about 2 weeks ago for 99 pence (Morrisons superM)and K.W.picked some up last weekend at a market where we were staying in east yorkshire...for again 99 pence but this time for 3.

I tried making some g-wakamole topped off with lime juice...luvly but she is mixing them up with other things and recons they would be better as a shampoo...........smells nice. ...lets see..

Thats the sort of info we are looking for.

In fact I bought one about 2 weeks ago for 99 pence (Morrisons superM)and K.W.picked some up last weekend at a market where we were staying in east yorkshire...for again 99 pence but this time for 3.

I tried making some g-wakamole topped off with lime juice...luvly but she is mixing them up with other things and recons they would be better as a shampoo...........smells nice. ...lets see..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yes, a few years back in NZ my other half fell in love with Avos, she would eat them witha spoon, without any seasoning etc.She also used to smear it on her face too as a facial:bah: Bloody women!

When you look at this lot you begin to think that maybe god really does live in LOS

Tropical Fruits grown in Thailand

Avocado | Cantaloupe Melon | Carambola | Cashew | Citron

Custard Apple Noi-Na | Dragon Fruit | Grape - Aa-ngoon | Guava - Farang

Jackfruit - Kanoon | Jujube - Put-Sa | Lime | Ko Ko | Longan - Lam Yai

Lychees - Lychee | Mangosteen - Mangkoot | Marian Plum | Papaya - Malakaw

Passion Fruit | Pineapple - Sapparote | Pomegranate | Rambutan - Ngoh

Salak | Santol | Sapodilla - Lamoot | Star Gooseberry | Strawberry

Toddy Palm Fruit | Water melon - Taeng Mo | Young Coconut - Mapraow On

Thats the sort of info we are looking for.

In fact I bought one about 2 weeks ago for 99 pence (Morrisons superM)and K.W.picked some up last weekend at a market where we were staying in east yorkshire...for again 99 pence but this time for 3.

I tried making some g-wakamole topped off with lime juice...luvly but she is mixing them up with other things and recons they would be better as a shampoo...........smells nice. ...lets see..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yes, a few years back in NZ my other half fell in love with Avos, she would eat them witha spoon, without any seasoning etc.She also used to smear it on her face too as a facial:bah: Bloody women!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've seen avocado scented shampoos and avocado-based face masks. Just imagine you can smash an avocado into a jar, put some french name on it and make some huge profit.

Anyhow, here's the family recipe for aguacate "avocado" conditioner. Mix mashed avocado and coconut milk together until it has the concistity of shampoo and apply to hair. Europeans like to mix mayonaisse and avocado together for their version. So that leaves americans to mix ketchep and avocado together

There's more involved recipes that use crock-pots and juicers.

There are lots of avacado orchards around southern california,

it takes years to grow a tree large enough to bear fruit,

you can buy 2-3 year old small trees here cheap but I doubt you copuld import them to Thailand.

The tree in my yard is 40-50 years old and still bears fruit,

actually had some with dinner tonight.

Not sure about avacados growing in CM , I know the avacados in Hawaii were bad, not oily like here which is what makes them taste good.

I would find out what the tourist resturants are looking for and grow some of that....

There are lots of avacado orchards around southern california,

it takes years to grow a tree large enough to bear fruit,

you can buy 2-3 year  old small trees here cheap but I doubt you copuld import them to Thailand.

The tree in my yard is 40-50 years old and still bears fruit,

actually had some with dinner tonight.

Not sure about avacados growing in CM , I know the avacados in Hawaii were bad, not oily like here which is what makes them taste good.

I would find out what the tourist resturants are looking for and grow some of that....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I saw on the internet someone in Koh Samui advertizing avocado plants for sale, said they'd ship in Thailand. I'd guess a little hunting would produce the produce your looking for.

We have longan trees growing on our land along with another type of fruit tree which I didn't care much for. A fruit that my neighbor in San Diego had was call loquat or something like that but very fast growing getting about 15 feet tall. The fruit is fuzzy like a peach and bruses very easy. But it is soooo good. I would stand on the fence and pick all that I could.

Going to ask my neighbor for some seeds and have some trees started to see how they do. Probably not a good fruit for marketing because it does not travel well, but you can make a good jam our of it.

We had huge avacados on Guam, people used them to feed their pigs.

I noticed that we are doing well with general questions on one of my previous threads on "gentleman farmers" but think to expand on the subject it may be better to generalise under one heading...ie Farming in Chiang Mai-Rai.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Been meaning to post in this thread for quite some time. Finally tracked down my address book with the contact info I wanted to post.

IMHO the best source of ag info in CM area is old Ed. He's been there doing it for 30 or 40 years. Especially knowledgable about organic methods and marketing. Both he and his friend Siriwan were growing mainly organic herbs as of about a year ago, but also some fruits and veggies. Ed has a farm in Mae Jo and Sirwan's farm is between Mae Jo and Doi Saket. Also they know most everyone in the Ag community there.

Last phone contacts I have for them are:

Ed: 290-027

Siriwan: 01 952-7616

If these don't work then PM me and I will dig up some other #s of mutual friends. Tell them Tim says hi.

Also CMU had a good community outreach pesticide-free program going and some kind of annual fair/conference. Contact someone there re this.

I also suggest trying to find a good source of trace minerals to improve the taste and vitality and health properties of whatever you grow. This may be no more than finely ground up rock with the right minerals in it. I am just starting to research this so can not tell you more right now. I only know that most fruits and veggies in US are now tasteless and lack proper nutrition partly because of this. Even organic produce. The soil is just too depleted after a few years of removing crops without replacing the minerals that go out with them.

Good luck!