by Greg Alder | Jan 6, 2023 | Avocados |
Enjoy this video profile of an avocado variety that comes from Florida and is rarely grown in California. Here the fruit matures early, even earlier than Fuerte. In Israel, the Day variety has been found to be a good rootstock in some situations. I present the Day...
by Greg Alder | Dec 30, 2022 | Avocados |
Thank you to everyone who ordered avocados in 2022. It was a joy to share with you different varieties and to connect you to the farmers throughout Southern California who grew them. For 2023, I’m predicting the following harvest schedule: January: Fuerte,...
by Greg Alder | Dec 23, 2022 | Fruit |
My son and I were pruning our macadamia nut tree when his loppers couldn’t cut through a branch. I saw that they were undersized for the branch. “Don’t force it,” I said. “If it feels like you have to use a lot of strength, it means you...
by Greg Alder | Dec 9, 2022 | Avocados |
At times I feel more in common with folks growing avocados 300 miles north of me in California’s Central Valley than I do with those just twenty miles west in Encinitas. A coastal location like Encinitas is never hot and never cold whereas the Central...
by Greg Alder | Nov 25, 2022 | Citrus, Fruit |
A friend asked me how to know when to pick the tangerines from his tree. My first thought was, it’s obvious, you pick them when they taste good. But then I remembered that for some people gardening is full of rights and wrongs; he was afraid there was a correct...
by Greg Alder | Nov 4, 2022 | Avocados |
In 1984, a new avocado variety was patented by the University of California and released to growers. It was called Gwen, and it showed great promise. Gwen was estimated to produce approximately double the amount of fruit per acre compared to Hass, the standard...
by Greg Alder | Sep 16, 2022 | Avocados |
Seeds aren’t trash. The best avocado varieties in the world have all come from someone planting a seed. Gwen, Fuerte, Hass, Nabal, Reed, etc. They all came from seeds — seeds that someone allowed to grow. Maybe you want to try your luck and see if a seed...
by Greg Alder | Aug 12, 2022 | Citrus |
Yesterday, I attended a citrus pest management field day at Rancho Guejito put on by the University of California. The focus was on the disease Huanglongbing (HLB) and ants. I’ve attended many similar lectures and research updates on these topics over...
by Greg Alder | Jul 29, 2022 | Citrus |
Citrus trees often shoot up branches from down low on the trunk. If low enough — below the graft union — then these “suckers” are from the rootstock. In a sense, these are dangerous, and it’s important to remove them immediately. See...
by Greg Alder | Jul 15, 2022 | Avocados |
In July it becomes evident whether your avocado tree will have a crop to eat next year. Do you see small avocados on the tree now? Do you see many? If your answer to either question is no, then this post should give you a clue as to why not. If you have an...
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