Zone 11+

[jimwillb]

I am very new to this site. I did some small scale gardening back in Washington State but have now moved to the Philippines after retiring. I am interested in learning any skills for homesteading in a land of permanent summer. I am hoping for any help or information you can provide me.

[roadless]

Welcome to the site!
I bet if you ask a specific question you will have all kinds of answers!. We also have a search feature in the upper right side of the screen which can be handy.
Land of permant summer sounds wonderful!

[AJ Williams]

Originally Posted by jimwillb

I am very new to this site. I did some small scale gardening back in Washington State but have now moved to the Philippines after retiring. I am interested in learning any skills for homesteading in a land of permanent summer. I am hoping for any help or information you can provide me.

Ask some of your locals in the area. I found when I was in the Navy and visited the area that the people were more than willing to share information on their way of life and how they did their gardening and building. Times have changed but I bet they haven't.

[MushCreek]

Local knowledge is what you need. It isn't just the temperature, but the soil type and rainfall. I'll almost bet you have a rainy season there, and have to act accordingly. And some stuff from the States won't grow there, because it's TOO warm. Even here in FL, tomatoes won't set fruit in the summer because the night time temperatures are too high. I'd just plant some pineapples and bananas, and hang up a hammock LOL!

[MariaAZ]

Welcome to HT!

When I think of the Philippines, I think of lots of rain and tropical plants. Is that how it is?

What made you choose the Philippines for retirement? DH and I sometimes dream about living in some tropical locale so I'm always interested to hear how it works for others

[Windy in Kansas]

Welcome to the forums. No advice as I've never lived out of zones 5 and 6.

[Freeholder]

Good advice so far, especially about asking the locals. But also, pick up a book or two on permaculture, especially the ones written in Australia by Bill Mollison and ? (The other guy's name escapes me at the moment.) Those books are more geared to raising food in the tropics than the ones written in the United States.

And I'd love to hear more about what it's like there, too!

Kathleen