June in Jacques’ garden
Now we're into summer and the stone fruits are ripening in abundance, as are less common treats that Jacques grows that you might not have tried, such as Kei apples and Surinam cherries (which aren't actually apples or cherries at all!). Come along:...
Girdling Lamb avocado trees to get fruit every year
While I like many things about the Lamb variety of avocado (one of which is how late the fruit can hang on the tree), one of its weaknesses is that it tends to make a lot of avocados one year but little the next. Alternate bearing, this is called. So a handful of...
What to do in a Southern California food garden in June
June is the lush month. June is the jungle month, particularly toward the end. The days are at their longest and they are warm, so the garden begins to look verdant and tangled in a most wonderful way. Melon vines overtake your walking paths. Corn stalks tower...
Rotating vegetables
I’ve got a cart of vegetable seedlings ready to be planted. Where will they go? My general rule has been to avoid planting the same crop in the same spot two years in a row. So, for example, since I planted tomatoes in Bed 2 last summer, I won’t plant tomatoes in Bed...
Supporting The Yard Posts
My goal with The Yard Posts is to help others grow food at home, with a focus on vegetables and fruits -- especially avocados -- in Southern California. How do I do this? I write short articles – “posts” – each Friday, and I augment each post with photos and sometimes...
May in Jacques’ garden
What is there to eat in Jacques' food garden in the month of May? He's got some snacks that you might grow too, as well as some that you might not. Come along to find out . . . https://youtu.be/VCjXOxqhUOE Other months in Jacques’ garden: January, February, March,...
Curating your yard’s weeds
Twelve summers ago, we moved to this property and there were tumbleweeds growing across the bottom half. No, I said. I don’t accept having to walk through prickly tumbleweeds. I decided right then that I would figure out how to eliminate them. Because...
“Super” avocado trees
A "super" avocado tree is one that make lots of fruit, more fruit year-after-year than other trees of the same variety in a particular grove. The most important question is why a tree is super. And secondly, can you make a copies of it? (I want one in my yard!) But...
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