All about winter pruning of deciduous fruit trees in Southern California
We're having nice weather for some fruit-tree pruning, wouldn't you say? I have pruned some grapes but not much else yet this winter. I'll be getting started on apricots, peaches, plums, pluots, and cherries this weekend. How to do this? I've written a number of posts...
The yard of The Yard Posts
To help you make sense of, and apply to your own yard, the experiences I relate in my “Yard Posts,” I’d like to paint a picture of my yard’s physical aspects: where my yard is located, how big it is, the type of soil underneath, the climate above, and so on. I’ll add...
California, where are your local avocados?
My daughter made guacamole with the last Lamb avocado from our home grove this evening. It is early January. What will we pick next? Fuerte. This reminds me of our family trip to South Africa in March, for it was during this same season in the southern hemisphere --...
“All About Avocados” — a workshop at the 2026 EcoFarm conference
Alongside Ellen Baker and Freddy Menge of Epicenter Avocado Nursery in Santa Cruz County, I will be giving a presentation titled "All about Avocados" at the 2026 EcoFarm Conference on January 22. More specifically, our presentation/workshop will be on Thursday,...
Meet Frank Meyer, of the Meyer lemon
I spotted this sign in a Starbucks the other day, featuring a coffee that is claimed to have Meyer lemon in its flavor profile, and I wondered how that would make Frank Meyer feel. Initially, he might shake his head because he clearly requested that no plant be named...
All Yard Posts
It's a cornucopia, dig in. Find all of my Yard Posts under the categories and curations below.California, where are your local avocados? How I girdle avocado trees A tour of John Schoustra’s innovative, organic, low-input, high-density avocado grove Removing avocados...
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...
December in Jacques’ garden
Dr. White, El Bumpo, Sabor, Lucida, Fino de Jete, Honeyhart, Fortuna, Deliciosa, Pierce, Booth. Who? Cherimoyas! It's all about cherimoyas in Jacques' garden this month. Have you ever eaten these "custard apples," also called Annona cherimola? They're tropical green...









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