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 video, as well as outside research.
But unlike almost every other website, I share primarily firsthand experience. I take every photo, and the dirt from under my finger nails is behind every Yard Post. You trust me here because I’m not merely regurgitating (and definitely not plagiarizing) what you can find elsewhere. I share what I’ve actually grown and what I’ve seen growing in other yards and farms while my shoes were physically on the ground of those yards and farms.
Then you fellow gardeners and farmers chime in with insightful comments and questions. There’s constant action on the website, and it is two-way.
(You can support monthly, or yearly, or make a one-time contribution.)
(I welcome your mail contributions and correspondence at: Greg Alder, P.O. Box 2892, Ramona CA 92065.)
The Yard Posts engine
A lot goes on under the hood — or behind the screen — to run the website beyond the composition of posts. There are technical maintenance costs, such as paying for a server to host the site, paying for the domain name, etc. But mostly there is my time and effort.
Direct support
For a few years I ran advertisements on the website to pay for it. You may remember those ads. Running ads is how most websites earn money.
One problem with this, however, is that a website must be filled to the brim with ads in order to earn much. But the content of a website suffers so much when interrupted by numerous ads.
Other downsides of ads are that they slow down a website’s loading time, and most ad companies attempt to track you and share and sell the information they collect on you as you use the internet.
A second major way that websites make money is through “affiliate commissions.” That means the websites get a cut when a reader clicks a link from the website over to the affiliate company’s and buys a product.
But am I likely to give you an honest review of a particular brand of seed-starting mix or fertilizer if that brand is paying me for clicks and sales?
I want to feel totally free to call balls and strikes wherever and whenever I see them. I think you want that from me too. And I think you enjoy the reading experience of The Yard Posts without a ton of ads.
So I’m choosing to have you — the reader and beneficiary of The Yard Posts — support it directly.
Customize your support
Everyone gets a different amount of value from The Yard Posts. You may find only a single one of my posts valuable, or you may have enjoyed the whole archive of hundreds of posts for many years.
You may have never asked a question in the comments section, or I may have helped you with numerous situations in your yard through that back-and-forth.
The Yard Posts means different things to each of you. I’m grateful for whatever value you place in what I do here, and for however many of your hard-earned dollars you’d like to send in to help keep me writing.
What do you get for your support?
Because of your support, you keep getting Yard Posts every Friday. You give me the ability to justify to my wife and kids the time and effort that I spend creating them. Thank you for that.
Moreover, you ensure that there won’t be ads interfering with your enjoyment of the website.
But I want to show my appreciation for your support in extra ways. For one, I will give priority to answering your questions. I can’t respond to all comments and questions on the website, but I will make it a point to answer yours.
Also, whenever I make things available for sale — avocados, calendars, etc. — I will give advance notice to supporters via a separate email list.
I hope to try out some further ways to show you my appreciation for your support in the future.
Other ways to support
Not ready to share a few dollars? Telling your friends about the good stuff you find on The Yard Posts is helpful. Also, share your knowledge and experiences in the comments sections of posts. We can all learn from one another.
Or maybe you have talents to contribute, such as this spreadsheet for watering citrus trees that Robert M. created.
Thanks for your support of my Yard Posts!
You can support monthly, or yearly, or make a one-time contribution.
I welcome contributions and correspondence by mail to: Greg Alder, P.O. Box 2892, Ramona, CA 92065
I’m in with 5 bucks a month. You and The Yard Posts 100% worth it!
Thanks, Vasco!
If I lived down the road from you Greg, I’d buy you a beer about once a month and pick your brain about growing avocados and stuff. Your posts helped me save several avocado trees from heat and led me to other fantastic avocado resources, so cheers!
I wish you would move down this way! Thanks, Randy!
Greg, I just ran across your site. I recently purchased a property in my home town (Fallbrook) with a handful of Fuerte trees (and about 1,500 Eureka lemon trees). If you are interested in another possible avocado supply for your Fuerte followers, shoot me an email.
Hi Greg. Just wanted to say thank you for your website which has been tremendously helpful especially with my avocado journey (I’m afraid I’m guilty of killing more than a few) I just tried to send you some money through your supporter page as a thank you however you don’t appear to have a field for non-US residents. I live in Australia.
Hi Greg, Is there any way to make a donation without creating a login and password etc?
Hi D,
Let me look into that. I’d like to make it happen if I can.
Hi D,
You can send a donation in the mail, but here on the website a username and password are needed to use the system I’m using. If you’d like to use the mail, let me know and I’ll send you an address. Thanks for asking.
Hi Greg, yes I would like to make a donation periodically via mail. Have enjoyed your site! Thank you
Same here. I made a one time donation and the system won’t let me do it again. But I’m happy to send you the occasional “dirty sack of cash” (though tbh, it’s more likely to be a clean envelope of cash…)
How do I go about ordering the avocados that are mentioned for sale on “yard posts”. I’m interested in Bacons.
❤️🥑❤️🥑❤️
I grew Keit mango tree from a seed about 8 years ago . It’s growing better as it gets bigger but I have an issue with curling of the leaves .Also , it threw out flowers for the first time then they dropped off in those windy rain days we had in February and March . Does anyone know what could be the issue ?
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the support!
Can you describe the curling more? I’ve noticed that some mango trees will have more undulating leaves whereas others are very flat even while growing in the same location, and I’ve always assumed that was a varietal difference, but maybe you’ve got something else going on.
You might get more flowering before the spring is done. I see mango trees still flowering as I drive around. Or that might be all for the young tree’s first bloom.
Hey Greg The leaves are curled towards the center of the leaf from the sides …not from the tip to stem . The tree looks very healthy, other than the curling of the leaves does not really have undulation. No bugs that I can see
That’s not an indication of a problem that I’m aware of, Jeff. My guess is that the tree is okay.
I think that would be great idea. Initially I was spending too much of Greg’s time trying to send him money. It would been faster just to stuff in an envelop and mail it. I hope he can resolve this issue.
I just discovered this website, and have learned so much.
Thank you, Greg.
Fiona
Thank you for taking the time to say so, Fiona.
Greg, I’d be more than happy to make a contribution. But I TRULY need some help! I’m mind boggled right now. The more I read, the more I screw myself(can I say that). To be honest, I’d trust your word over anyone!!!!! I’m in So Cal too. I want a dwarf avocado tree, with big avocados, no fiber, fruits practically year round…does this tree even exist? Sorry to bother you, don’t know where to go.
Hi Narine,
There isn’t a tree that exactly meets your description, but let me suggest how you can get close.
How big do you want the tree to get at maximum size?
Trying to make a donation, but the system won’t let me in or reset my password (too many failed attempts). Help me help you… ?
Hi Dan,
Thanks for trying and letting me know. I’ll email you and get your password reset.
Thanks so much for the post about leaf tip burn. We’ve inherited a 20 year old tree grafted with both hass and fuerte avocados. The leaf tip burn is real! I will try fractional leaching this year and see how it does. Also, the Persea mites were awful on the hass portion this year. I’ll get on them early next year with neem oil.
Hi Greg,
I’ve read most of the posts on your site at this point and am tremendously appreciative of both your knowledge and desire to share. I wanted to make a one time contribution but was “billed” for $0, despite entering another amount. There was also no page asking for my billing information, so clearly it can’t have processed anything.
I’m not sure whether this is an issue for other people’s accounts or just mine, but wanted to flag it for you either way. Hopefully we can get it fixed soon so I can become a proper supporter!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know. It should say “The price for membership is $0.00 now.” And then below that it says “Make a Gift” and there’s a box. If you enter an amount in that box, it should ask for payment information down below your account information. Does it appear that way when you try again? And does it actually bill you for the amount you desired?
Update: it only appears to be a problem when I’m using Google Chrome (both on my phone and computer, and using both regular and Incognito modes). When I tried it in Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox, the payment boxes popped right up as expected, and the transactions appear to have processed correctly.
Let me know if I can do anything to help you test or troubleshoot the Chrome issue. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on potential revenue!
Thanks so much for trying all of that out and reporting! I really appreciate it, and I’ll try to get to the bottom of it. Thanks for the support.
Hi Greg,
Your advice on avocado growing is invaluable. Our little Reed is healthy, and I’m hoping it won’t mind being kept at 8’ tall in our tiny front yard. Our Mira Mesa soil has lots of very round rocks that make digging deep holes extremely difficult; we use a very long, very heavy crow bar. The soil below is solid clay. Was this a riverbed eons ago? We have used the mound method to aid drainage, and it seems to be working.
Veg culture is another matter. We are using Mountain Meadows Mushroom compost, hoping the salt content is not a concern. It sure makes the soil feel better. Our earthworms are abundant and fast decomposers in the double spin bins we use.
Brassicas are out though- the white butterflies put and end to those efforts.
I really enjoyed reading your book, The Mountain School. We had an Ethiopian girl live with us in the American Field Service program when we were seniors in high school. She had Peace Corps teachers for four years in Addis Ababa, before coming here. Talk about a world of difference, as well as the similarities of two 17 yr. old girls with the same feelings and aspirations.
Thank you, and your family, for all the time and effort you spend on enlightening us in our gardens. Your children are very fortunate to have such caring parents.
Hi Barbara,
Thank you so much for writing to share all of that. It’s great to hear that your Reed is doing well so far in its mound. I helped a gardener plant a Reed and GEM in a mound a few years ago on the other side of the canyon from you in Rancho Penasquitos, and his trees are also doing well. They’ve got their first crop growing right now.
I also love how the MMM compost feels. I think it has something to do with the airiness of the straw in it.
It so happens that the reason I discovered Peace Corps and joined was that an Ethiopian guy I worked with at the time told me that he had been taught by a PC teacher when he was young and that he thought I would enjoy that job. (I was always asking him to teach me Amharic and share food and tell me about Ethiopian culture, etc.) So I went, and I did.
Best wishes this year in the garden. If you just check under the leaves of brassicas every couple days during the first month after planting and wipe off the baby caterpillars, the plants should do fine. Best time to plant them is on Labor Day.
hi greg, my name is nick and i am a yard post member. I live in rancho san diego, a little bit south of you, and have almost 400 avo trees (1-2 1/2 years old). quick anecdote, i think i met you at elis’ one time and you were weed wacking next to the goats. anyways i have reed and lamb but they won’t be ready for for another year or so, so i would like to buy some from you so i can give them a try so i know what i am talking about when i describe what they are supposed to taste like to my friends. thank you for your posts, you don’t know how much they mean to me and my family when it comes to how we operate our small farm. if there is a more direct line for me to buy some avos from you let me know. gracias senor.
nick g
I live in Redondo Beach, only a few blocks from the ocean. I try to interpret all the information you give me and apply it to my own garden which is of course very small. I love the scientific way you explore each topic. I will be down in Fallbrook 8/21 and 8/22 was wondering if I could drive by your garden and take a peek so I can relate a little bit more to the information you give. Please let me know if this is possible. Thank you
Where can I buy avocado Scions?
Hi Ash,
See: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/where-to-get-avocado-scion-wood/
Will you take PayPal?
Hi Laura,
Thanks for asking. I’m working on setting that up.
Hi Greg;
I couldn’t find any other place to ask this question so, Did you make the Avocado calander for 2023?
Hi Tracey,
Thanks for asking. No, I haven’t made one for this year. I’ve been trying to put together something similar but which is more informative and not in a calendar format.
I have a ton of leaves from three Magnolia Soulangeana I would like to use for mulch and leaf mold. Looking it up, every link reverts to Magnolia Grandiflora with the brown fuzzy underleaves. They warn to only use where I don’t want things to grow due to allelopathic properties. Q? 1 – Is that present in all magnolia variaties? I want to make good use of so many leaves but have noticed the bins that have them from other years are sitting looking dry not breaking down as well as the others. Q? 2 – If it does have that property would it be useful for trying to get rid of patch of spreading Japanese Anemone?
.
Hi Linda,
So many plants are said to have allelopathic abilities, but when you look for evidence to back up the claim you find almost none. Nowadays, I treat all claims of allelopathy as bogus unless someone shows me evidence otherwise. If I were you, I would treat the magnolia claim likewise. A quick search online just now didn’t bring up anything to convince me to not use your leaves as mulch. If you find something, let me know.
Magnolia leaves are thick and waxy, and they don’t break down fast like, say, sycamore leaves. That could be a helpful quality if you want to use them to smother something though. (If not, I would try shredding them first with a chipper/shredder or lawn mower.)
I don’t know anything about Japanese anemone, but I read that it spreads with stems underground. If so, then my guess is that you’ll have to cover an area wider than the patch in order to get rid of it. But every plant will be killed eventually if it is covered and can’t photosynthesize for a long enough time.
Hi Greg,
I live south OC. I have built a mini avocado grove in my backyard during the COVID lockdown era. It involved digging up a decent portion of my back, conditioning the soil, adding drainage and building a retaining wall. I have tons of photos of before and after with some video footage as well. I thought it might make for good avocado video for you. I ask for nothing in return aside from a little critic and advise from you. Let me know if you are interested. Thanks for all great videos you put out.
Hey Greg,
Great to find such and informative site. Good work!!
My question: I have a GEM avocado thats doing very well, but just noticed a rat (I believe) has also found it healthy.
What are your thoughts about peppermint oil spray?
Hi Greg,
Perhaps you can shed light on this. Try as I might, I cannot get the supporter page links to work for me. I have tried all three of the option pages you listed above in Chrome and in Firefox and all the pages are giving me an error message saying “No Results Found” when I click on the links.
The Support Options link does go to a page, but it wont allow me to enter any information. There’s just a header that says “level” and “price” next to it, and nothing else. Looks like this https://pasteboard.co/L4cv3w5GMYwA.png
Am I missing something? I would absolutely love to support you!
Also, I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! for the incredibly informative service you provide. When I moved to SoCal and wanted to put in my first avo tree I would have loved to have had a resource like this to turn to.
Thanks to your advise, I ended up cutting down my Holiday tree (rip, you were beautiful and the perfect size, but only produced 6 fruit in the 11+ years you were in the ground) and replaced it with a Gwen.
She’s already got little fruits hanging on her! There were 11, but the squirrels got to 8 before I put little organza bags around the remaining 3 to incredibly successful results. They’re still on the tree at least, some 5 mos later. Hoping she’ll do even bigger numbers this year, if this crazy wet cold spell that’s happening this week in SoCal doesn’t affect the bloom. It’s supposed to get down to 36 on Sunday in the Burbank area.
And despite being in a condo and having only the tiniest of back patio area’s (it’s like 30’x12′ maybe? and most of that is concrete) I also put in a 15gal Reed in the ground last Oct. after watching your profile videos. Your cultivar profile videos are truly so helpful. Also your watering tips! That’s mystifying SoCal science unto itself when you come from someplace like FL where it rains all the time.
And then, because I’m in good avocado obsessed company, I will admit to also having three more trees in large planters (no more garden dirt to put them in, sadly, so must make do) – a GEM, Little Cado and a Bacon. I had to get a GEM after reading several of your posts, got the Little Cado because I’m hoping as a semi-dwarf it does okay in the planter and the Bacon was an unexpected 5gal HD rescue tree, severely discounted to like $16 last Oct apparently because most of his leaves had dropped and he looked sad and stressed and pitiful. He’s doing fine now though thanks to your great watering and care tips. Bounced right back!
All to say, let me know how I can donate or if I’m missing anything in the links that leads to the area where the donations can be entered.
Hi Greg,
I’m so happy to contribute. This site has been such a resource for me as a landscaper and “homesteader” in LA. Your posts and videos are always so timely and informative. But I have found our interactions in the comments section truly exceptional. In the rare cases where my question couldn’t be answered by one of your posts I simply ask a question and have always had a prompt reply. It’s like I have a true expert at my disposal. Truly priceless and very unique. I hope you will let us know in the future if you need more support. I would hate to lose such a valuable resource.
What a great message to receive! Thank you, Joseph, for your kind words and your show of support. I greatly appreciate it and look forward to being of use in the future.
Hi Greg,
I was picking avocados at a friends orchard in Jamul and he has a avocado tree has avocados that look really weird. They look like skinny eggplant and have purple skin. I have pictures of them if I could send them to you. Any thoughts?
Thank you,
Nick Giandoni
Hi Nick,
Check out my video of Don Gillogly in this post: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/avocado-variety-profiles/
If that doesn’t match, it might be an old variety. Someone recently shared with me some fruit from a very old tree that is like you described, but I couldn’t identify the variety. It would be neat if these two trees were of the same old variety, and in that case, I would really need to get to the bottom of learning their history.
I’m trying to find hazel bean poles to use as a weaved vegetable garden boarder. Does anyone know where to purchase them in Southern California? Thank you in advance!
Did you ever find any hazel bean poles? I am also in search of them in California! Thank you
Hello,
I am looking to buy 2 avocado trees, a Type A and Type B. I live in Guerneville California and happy to drive to San Diego. I am located in grow zone 9B, but we do freeze a bit in the winter (no snow). After much research the varietals I am looking for are:
Type B- Brogdan or Wilms/Brazosbelle
Type A- Del Rio/Pryor aka fantastic (however dome fantastic’s can be grafted onto trees that cannot tolerate colder temperatures)
If anyone has a lead on where I can buy these varietal I would GREATLY appreciate it.
I am also open to other varietal suggestions
Thank You!!
Hi Greg,
I’d like to “up” my support of your invaluable website! However, I do not see a way to contribute monthly. Please advise. And keep the insights, research and science coming!
Many thanks,
Cara in Pasadena
Hi Cara,
Thanks for asking about this. I temporarily removed the monthly contribution option but intended to restore it. Your message reminds me to get that done! I’ll do so and let you know when it’s ready.
Good deal. Thanks, Greg!
Hi Greg,
My name is Nestor and I just found your website and think it is very interesting and honest.
I have not contributed as yet, but I hope you can help me.
I’ve planted 65 Buffalo Junipers (Juniperus) in the Tehachapi area on June 30, 2023 and they have been in the ground for seven weeks by now. The soil is sandy. The question is how much water do they need from now on? I’ve drip irrigation with emitters supplying 1/2 GPH.
Thank you so much.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for all the work you do.
I am currently looking for the following: very young grafted avocado trees with very very tiny potted plastic bags to buy for Ghana, Africa. Maybe the scions might even survive the UPS shipping?
1. Hass (Group A)
2. Lamb Hass (Group A)
3. Reed (Group A)
4. Fuerte (Group B)
5. Sir Prize (Group B)
Please help me out. I am trying to help develop this but need very authentic varieties to start with. I am not going to purchase lots, maybe 10 of each as the UPS will also be pretty expensive.
I am grateful for any support you can give, please.
Brgds,
Kwasi
Hi Kwasi,
I think your best and cheapest option would be to source your trees or scions from South Africa.
Contact Allesbeste or Westfalia:
https://kwekery.allesbeste.com/
https://www.westfaliafruit.com/for-growers/our-nurseries/
You might also try Brokaw in Spain or Morocco at: https://www.viverosbrokaw.com/company/?lang=en
Good luck, and I’d like to hear updates.
Thank you, Greg.
I’ve sent a mail to Allesbeste in South Africa and will keep you up to date on developments. Thank you.
Hi Greg,
were you at the California Avocado Society Annual Meeting at Brokaw Nursery yesterday?
Hi Frank,
Yes, I was. It was a great day. Were you there?
Long-time reader and now monthly supporter. Your content is so insightful and engaging.
Curious if you have seen this. My Hass tree did not set any fruit this year. Though it flowered well, it did so right when the fog was super heavy in May/June. I swear the pollinators didn’t find them. Now, in mid-October, it is flowering again. I’m hoping they get pollinated, and I wind up with some off-cycle avos.
Thank you, Brandon! This is good timing because I was just writing about Carmen and its off bloom. Hass doesn’t normally have an off bloom in California, but occasionally it does in some locations.
Lots of other people had poor fruitset on their trees this spring too. The pollination of avocado flowers this time of year (fall) can be good. I hope it’s good for you!
I would love the option to make a larger, annual donation (rather than fussing with $5/ month in my financial accounting) and possibly also being on the mailing list.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the suggestion. Why hadn’t I already set that up? I prefer to make similar annual donations myself!
Here is the page I just created for yearly support: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/product/yearly-support/
Greg – Happy to have any of the excellent varieties of avocados you source so well!
Happy Holidays!