by Greg Alder | Sep 20, 2019 | Fruit |
I’ve met people who don’t like the tart skin of some plums, and I’ve met people who find apricots mushy, but I’m still waiting to meet the person who has eaten a homegrown pluot and doesn’t ask for more. Just this week I shared some from my trees with a friend who has...
by Greg Alder | Aug 23, 2019 | Berries and Vines |
Most of my raspberry plants have come from friends and family who live where raspberries grow best. The Sunset Western Garden Book says that raspberries grow best in Zones 3-6 and 15-17. These Zones cover the central and northern California coast, and then western...
by Greg Alder | Aug 16, 2019 | Fruit, Vegetables, Watering |
I haven’t watered this lime tree for three years now and yet it still gives us more limes than we can handle — and limes of high quality. I don’t know for certain why it no longer needs my irrigation, but I have a suspicion. Step back and take a look at the...
by Greg Alder | Aug 2, 2019 | Avocados |
If the air temperature is comfortable for you, then it is comfortable for your avocado tree. I spent last week — the last week of July — camping next to the beach in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County. At night I wore a sweatshirt, and during the day I...
by Greg Alder | Jul 5, 2019 | Fruit |
Summer pruning is monkey work. I love its simplicity. There is joyously little thought or skill involved. But it is necessary monkey work. If you want to keep a deciduous fruit tree small and you skip a summer pruning, you start to lose hold on the size and...
by Greg Alder | Jun 28, 2019 | Avocados |
The Reed avocado variety is the first I ever grew. It is a great beginner’s avocado tree because it is relatively tough and productive. In addition, the fruit itself stands among the finest tasting avocados so it deserves consideration for planting by the first-time...
by Greg Alder | Jun 14, 2019 | Fruit, Watering |
These are the rules of thumb that I try to keep in mind: If the fruit tree is two feet wide (about as wide as your body), then give it two gallons each week. If the fruit tree is five feet wide (about as wide as your wingspan), then give it ten gallons each week. If...
by Greg Alder | May 24, 2019 | Fruit |
The most pleasing chore I have had in the yard over the past few weeks has been making sure that branches don’t break under the weight of their fruit. This certainly hasn’t been needed on all of my fruit trees, but there are some this year that would be torn apart if...
by Greg Alder | May 17, 2019 | Fruit |
Spring is for pinching. Nothing to do with Saint Patrick’s Day, this is using your fingers to prune. In the spring, trees are growing new branches that are succulent and easily snapped off by hand: no tools required. But why pinch? And what and where to pinch?...
by Greg Alder | May 10, 2019 | Avocados |
It was my first avocado tree’s first winter when a couple leaves started getting yellow veins. Oh no, what disease was this? I sent a photo to a seasoned avocado grower and he wrote back, “This is leaf senescence. The leaf is just dying naturally.”...
I'm Greg. My goal is to help others grow some food at home, with a focus on vegetables and fruits -- especially avocados -- in Southern California. I write a new "Yard Post" every Friday. 
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