by Greg Alder | Nov 1, 2019 | Avocados, Pests, Watering |
Is it a disease? Is it a beetle boring into the tree? It looks scary when your avocado branches have volcanoes or streaks of white powder on them. What is that white stuff? It is the dried sap. When a branch is injured in some way, the sap runs just like your blood...
by Greg Alder | Oct 4, 2019 | Avocados |
Before I had my own avocado trees, I picked fruit from the trees of others (and usually I asked first). I had learned the locations of trees of different varieties and in which season each tasted good so that I could find avocados to eat all year. Later, I asked...
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 | 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 | 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.”...
by Greg Alder | Mar 29, 2019 | Avocados |
I think of my Hass avocado tree as small even though it is far bigger than the newly planted trees above. As I looked at my Hass last week, it stood 17 feet tall. It was time to prune. I prune it every year in order to keep it down to 15 feet. This post is about...
by Greg Alder | Mar 8, 2019 | Avocados |
In 2013, I planted a Lamb/Hass avocado tree because its fruit was said to be ready for harvest in summer. I didn’t know much else about the variety, and I’d never tasted its fruit (knowingly). During the past five or six years I’ve learned a lot more about Lamb...
by Greg Alder | Feb 15, 2019 | Avocados, Fruit |
Cherries are tricky in Southern California. Only a few varieties will fruit here with our relatively warm winters. Six winters ago, I planted two cherry trees for my mom in her backyard. The two needed each other in order to fruit. The flowers of Minnie Royal could...
by Greg Alder | Feb 8, 2019 | Avocados |
When it comes to buying an avocado tree, is bigger better? In one major aspect, yes, because a bigger avocado tree is capable of giving you more fruit sooner. On the flipside, bigger avocado trees come with three disadvantages, which is why I have purchased and...
by Greg Alder | Dec 14, 2018 | Avocados |
I begin with the story of two avocado trees grown from seed. These trees are related yet separated by about ten miles and eighty years — and they illustrate a thing or two about what kind of tree you can expect when you plant an avocado seed. Seedling avocado...
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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