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 | Jan 25, 2019 | Fruit |
What do you think about when you’re pruning your nectarine tree? I think about sunshine. Myriad smaller thoughts also go through my mind, but my overarching thought is about imagining rays of sun hitting the tree’s canopy and working their way down and in. The reason...
by Greg Alder | Jan 11, 2019 | Fruit |
While family was visiting for Christmas I invited my niece to prune a fruit tree with me. Is pruning your fruit trees intimidating? What to cut? Where to cut? (You can’t reverse it after you’ve cut.) This post is narrowly focused: Let’s only talk about where to...
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...
by Greg Alder | Nov 30, 2018 | Citrus |
Back in 2014, I wanted to plant some citrus trees along the north side of my driveway. I knew the varieties I wanted, and I envisioned planting about five trees that would ultimately grow into a citrus hedge. But the hedge couldn’t get too wide or it would choke the...
by Greg Alder | Nov 9, 2018 | Avocados |
My attitude toward protecting avocado trees during winter cold snaps has evolved. I once lived close to the beach where I never thought about protecting my avocados in winter. Then I moved inland and watched the temperatures dive at night but shrugged at first, “Well,...
by Greg Alder | Oct 19, 2018 | Fruit, Vegetables |
Melon vines take up too much garden space. This past summer, we grew all of ours away from the vegetable beds. I planted them under fruit trees where they had room to roam. In the photo above, a Sweet Crimson watermelon is growing “under” a young Hellen avocado tree....
by Greg Alder | Sep 14, 2018 | Avocados |
If buying from a grocery store . . . Buy avocados from California The first thing I look for is where the avocado was grown, and if it’s not from California I almost never buy it. We get imports from Mexico, Chile, Peru, and a few other countries. None of these...
by Greg Alder | Sep 7, 2018 | Fruit, Soil |
Almost any mulch under a fruit tree is better than no mulch, but there are many ways in which wood chips are the best of mulches. Wood chips are what comes out of a chipper machine when a tree trimmer puts branches through it. Wood chips are bits of leaves, twigs,...
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