from scratch

Aloha,

I'm a beginning student of gardening, and I am trying to learn how to grow fruits and vegetables from scratch on my future land. Currently I live in Hawai'i but after hopefully after about four years I will be moving to the Philippines to retire with my wife. We are currently looking to purchase about 30 hectares (60 acres) and we want to put everything on it that we can afford. And I do mean everything = fruit trees, vegetables, cotton, coffee, animals (horses, pigs, dogs, sheep, apalcas, lambs, etc.) As you can see, I am looking at a nice farm and I want to grow everything naturally from scratch.

So my question for you all is do you all know of a good book that can teach me how to grow vegetables and fruits from scratch. And when I say from scratch I mean a book that teaches me how to grow a fruit tree or specific vegetable if I am out in the wilderness and I don't have any seeds but all I have is the specific fruit or vegetable growing in the place that I am in the wilderness. Thank you and Mahalo!

You might try looking around in the Garden Bookworm http://davesgarden.com/products/gbw/ You'll probably need a few different books--some may focus on vegetables, others from fruits, etc. If you want to grow things from plants already on your land, you'll have two options--either collect seeds from those plants and grow them from seed, or start them from cuttings so I'd also look for some books on seed starting and propagation by cuttings.

I do wonder why you're limiting yourself to only the things you find out in the wilderness? Sounds like you've got a long list of things you want to grow and I doubt you're going to find everything you want growing wild on your property (and the ones growing wild sometimes don't produce as much fruit, etc as varieties that have been bred for food production) so you will probably have the best chance of getting your farm going and running successfully if you purchase some seeds or plants to get you started. Seeds in particular are generally not expensive to buy and it'll really expand the range of things you can grow.

No, I'm not limiting myself to things that only grow in the wild. Naturally I'm a survivalist at heart and I have always wanted to know how to survive with that knowledge if it ever comes to that. But yes, I will be growing just about everything that I have on my farm from seeds that are bought in stores or online. hehe.

On another note, what would you recommend a person who has the same future aspirations as I do to study as a major in college that would enable him to possess the knowledge it would take to grow all the fruits, vegetables, and take care of all the animals like I want to be able to do on my future farm?

I don't know where you are planning to attend (or are currently attending) college, but many of the major state universities have agriculture programs so I would look into that.

Yeah, I know that the University of Hawai'i here has an agriculture program but the problem is I don't know what area should I focus on. General agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, etc. It is very frustrating!! I called the Agriculture department but no-one has any time to chat with a potential student. I can understand that though, everyone is so busy.

On another note though, I have just moved into my new apartment and now I have more space to actually grow some plants indoors and on my lanai (balcony). What I want to do is grow the absolutely most useful plants (herbs, fruits, vegetables, peppers, plants, etc) that I can grow very very easily well in an apartment. (I'm an absolute beginner regarding gardening) Can you all please help me here. Please correct me if I am wrong but some plants that I have thought of that can be easily grown in an apartment are:

Echinacea, Witch Hazel, Tea Tree, Aloe Vera, Camomile, Ginseng, Peppermint, Stinging Nettle, Spider Plant, Cacti, English Ivy, Bhut Jolokia, Chocolate Habanero, and Tepin.

Please list as many different plants as you can think if you like. When I get my camera working again, I plan on posting pictures of my apartment so you all can get a layout of what space I have available for what plant(s).

After having spoken with an experienced local gardener here in Hawai'i, I now realize that ANY plant can be grown indoors or outdoors! I was wondering why I wasn't getting any responses on the above question. I guess the answer was too obvious. Stupid me... Thanks!