by Greg Alder | Mar 4, 2022 | Fruit |
This is the time of year when I stroll through my yard looking closely at the flowers on my fruit trees. Where are they? Are the flowers on branches that are growing anew right now, or on branches that grew last summer, or on older branches? Are the flowers forming...
by Greg Alder | Feb 18, 2022 | Citrus |
Cara Caras are tasting like candy here in mid-February. They’re like a pink Jolly Rancher – even though they’re an “orange.” I hear of people harvesting Cara Caras around Christmas, and the entry for Cara Cara navel orange in the University of California at...
by Greg Alder | Feb 4, 2022 | Avocados |
The skill of grafting empowers you. Being able to graft gives you options. Nursery doesn’t have a Sharwil tree for sale? If you can get your hands on a Sharwil scion, then you can make your own. Just moved into a house with a big avocado tree that makes inferior...
by Greg Alder | Jan 14, 2022 | Citrus |
Choosing a mandarin tree to plant can be overwhelming because of the abundance of varieties available to us in California. One way to narrow the possibilities is to consider seasonality. Among the types of mandarins that ripen earliest, I grow two that I like and that...
by Greg Alder | Jan 7, 2022 | Avocados |
What’s that little pickle hanging on my avocado tree? That’s not a pickle; that’s a cuke: an avocado fruit that developed without a seed inside. It’s growing on a type of avocado tree called Ettinger, and here is what a normal Ettinger avocado...
by Greg Alder | Dec 10, 2021 | Avocados |
See my other avocado variety profiles HERE All of my Yard Posts are HERE ShareClick to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new...
by Greg Alder | Dec 3, 2021 | Avocados, Misc |
The new year’s calendar is designed and being printed! This 2022 avocado calendar includes some changes and additions: Section on how to plant an avocado tree correctlyAll new photosWeeks starting on Sunday (instead of Monday, as last year)Extra information for...
by Greg Alder | Dec 2, 2021 | Avocados |
Here is a video showing characteristics of the Mexicola Grande variety of avocado tree (originally known as ‘3-1-1’): And here is a video showing characteristics of the Mexicola Grande variety of avocado fruit: All of my avocado variety profiles are listed...
by Greg Alder | Nov 5, 2021 | Avocados, Soil |
In 2018, I visited the largest organic avocado farm in California. It’s those hills in the photo above — they’re covered with hundreds of acres of avocado trees. And I felt vindicated when I saw that they care for the soil under their trees in essentially...
by Greg Alder | Oct 29, 2021 | Avocados |
The best thing you can do when planting an avocado tree in poor soil is to plant on a mound. How? Why? We’ll get there, but first: What is poor soil? For avocados, poor soil is soil that is not deep or has slow drainage or has high clay content. Not deep means less...
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