Anyone Plant Under a Live Oak?

[stoneheart]

I'm thinking about making a small raised bed right under the live oak tree (about 15 feet tall) in my front yard. Why? Well, I live in Central Texas which can be brutal heat and sun-wise and I want to grow an indeterminate beefsteak variety that might have trouble setting fruit in our hot weather.

Dumb idea?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by stoneheart

I'm thinking about making a small raised bed right under the live oak tree (about 15 feet tall) in my front yard. Why? Well, I live in Central Texas which can be brutal heat and sun-wise and I want to grow an indeterminate beefsteak variety that might have trouble setting fruit in our hot weather.

Dumb idea?

Dumb idea not at all just plant them on the south side of the tree.


A fifteen foot live oak is nothing.
We are getting enough folks from Central Texas to have a Central Texas tomato swap and tasting.

Worth

[creister]

morning sun and afternoon shade, should work well

[Vespertino]

I've got 3 live oaks, sadly two are in the front yard, which is ruled over by HOA visual conformation guidelines, but I have more free reign over my back yard which has one of them. Unfortunately it's VERY shady under there so I can't plant tomatoes under it, but I'm trying to figure out what other edibles might work well. I'm thinking salad Burnett, maybe parsley and dill too. But I've never tried, so I got no idea if it would work.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Vespertino

I've got 3 live oaks, sadly two are in the front yard, which is ruled over by HOA visual conformation guidelines, but I have more free reign over my back yard which has one of them. Unfortunately it's VERY shady under there so I can't plant tomatoes under it, but I'm trying to figure out what other edibles might work well. I'm thinking salad Burnett, maybe parsley and dill too. But I've never tried, so I got no idea if it would work.

Green onions/scallions or chives might work and I can guarantee you taro will grow.

But most western civilizations dont eat taro.
You can buy taro root from the grocery store and just plant it.
Trust me it works.
Taro is a type of elephant ear.

I would tell the HOA to stick it when it comes to edible plants.
You can make really nice looking planters to put herbs and leafy greens in.

Worth

[dustdevil]

I've never used shade cloth, but some people claim it works for them.

[tlintx]

I'm nervous about putting tomatoes out there in the front yard too (trying a bunch of compact multifloras this year looking for one that will be "front-yard" acceptable). There's always ornamental peppers, kales, lemon sorrel... lots and lots of "stealth" edibles, too. Canna lily, Roselle, mints, lemon grass, lemon balm, lemon mint (I'm obsessed with lemon), blueberries. Just to name a few. Artichoke, even. Makes a huge difference if it's morning shade vs. evening shade, too. I was shocked how much better my plants did with morning sun and evening shade than the other way around.

I think it might get too hot for some of the more traditional stuff, I want to say I discounted salad burnet and borage over that. You could try strawberries, too! I think mine appreciated the shade last year. I envy those of you with some built-in shade, I'm thinking I might have to build a lathe house! Although the free pine straw is nice, I guess.

I don't think a little shade will help much once summer hits, though. I mean, I see people from California who make it work, but it's just so punishing in July...

[Vespertino]

Worth:

I like taro, however I'd never thought of growing it, I will look into that since I enjoy taro ice cream, bubble tea, desserts, chips and crispy taro dumplings. I will pick some up at Super Hmart I have some bald spots out front where liriope didn't spread too well and there were some other places where the plants selected for the front shade areas aren't thriving.

Scallions and chives are totally my bag. I grew chives, or attempted to, on my terrace but the radiant heat island effect eventually killed them off. They'll probably do a lot better in permanent shade under a tree and I might have seeds left over.

Tlintx:

I had given thought to strawberries, something I need to research a bit more to decide what variety to get. Did salad burnett not work out for you? I remember trying to grow chervil, that failed miserably once temps got into the 90's.

[tlintx]

I didn't even try it, to be honest. A lot of those, like watercress, just don't seem worth babying here in the summer. My broccoli bolted in January, what hope do cool summer greens have?

If you like chives, you should definitely look at the walking onions. I think Sample Seed Shop has some. I did strawberries last year under a pineapple guava and in another shady bed and they did well but the squirrels liked them so much to that we really didn't get to eat any!

[Worth1]

Chard thrives in the summer here and it keeps coming back.

Worth

[Tom A To]

Live Oak trees sip water, they don't drink it so if you live in a dry, Mediterranean climate and you start giving the oak tree water that it is not used to getting, it may develop oak root rot or some other disease and die. I'd be careful or at least do some research on live oaks in your area.

[carolyn137]

Most of those who have posted in this thread to date have been from Texas.

So I have to ask. Why would one plant under a Live Oak, I mean it is alive isn't it? Why not just say Oak tree?

I know there are dead Oaks and of course you wouldn't plant under them, and up here where I live there are lots of Oak trees, and we call them Oak trees.

So how are Live Oaks different from the Oak trees I know? Same genus two different species? I didn't take the time to Google it.

Carolyn

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Most of those who have posted in this thread to date have been from Texas.

So I have to ask. Why would one plant under a Live Oak, I mean it is alive isn't it? Why not just say Oak tree?

I know there are dead Oaks and of course you wouldn't plant under them, and up here where I live there are lots of Oak trees, and we call them Oak trees.

So how are Live Oaks different from the Oak trees I know? Same genus two different species? I didn't take the time to Google it.

Carolyn

Your kidding me right.

Carolyn the LIVE OAK is a species of oak.
The one most common in the south is.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...60444564,d.b2I
Dennis many live oaks here grow inswampy areas and are well adapt to soggy soil.

As a matter of fact the frame work of the USS Constitution was made from Live Oak.

Her hull was 21 inches thick and the frame was sandwiched in white Oak.
The wood is coveted for its strength and its many curves in the branched.
These curves made it a prime wood for ship building as the ship wright could pick out wood for a certain part of the ship.

The wood is also very impervious to rot and is the reason for her to be made from it.

If memory serves me it took something like 60 acres of Georgia timber to build the ship.

Her keel was laid in Boston in 1794 and the copper bolts and breast hooks were forged by Paul Revere.

Back to live oak the evergreen species drops its leaves in the spring to immediately be replaced by new growth.

On one of my dear departed brothers place I had an old red bull dog named Shotgun.
Shotgun would hang out 20 feet high in the branchs of an old live oak with the cats and chickens.
I was always afraid he would go to sleep and fall out but he never did.

The Spanish moss that lives in the trees is a bromeliad which is in the same family as the pineapple.
It was used for years as stuffing for mattresses and car seats.
Another use was for the panels in what we call swamp coolers.

Lets see, more live oak stories.
Yes my first bicycle wreck involved one.
And last.
Here in Texas you can see 30 or 40 head of goats running around in the trees.
Carolyn there are around 600 species of oak.

I love oak, I love working with it, building with it and I love the smell of it.
I have a mix of white and red oak on my garage floor.
It makes me feel like I'm a little kid on a ship.

Worth

[habitat_gardener]

In California, the live oaks (= evergreen oaks) are adapted to our wet (usually)-winter, dry-summer climate and are susceptible to fungal diseases if they're watered regularly in the summer. So in Calif., no veg garden under the native evergreen oaks.

[Tom A To]

The term Live Oak can refer generally to any oak that does not lose its leaves (evergreen - hence the term "live") or it can refer to a specific variety. There are around thirty or so varieties of Live Oak that thrive in different parts of the country.