An extraordinary zucchini plant

An extraordinary zucchini plant

Yesterday, I picked a picture-perfect zucchini from a plant that I grew from seed way back on March 1. Have you ever known a zucchini plant to remain productive all through spring, through summer, and well into the fall? This is extraordinary. Let me briefly...

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Protecting vegetable sowings from birds

Protecting vegetable sowings from birds

It had been a few years since I grew wheat so I sowed the 'Pima Club' variety with optimism last week. Then a flock of white-crowned sparrows arrived. I walked up to the bed as they fluttered off, and I found a fuzzy mess. It looked like they had scratched up and...

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What happened to the Gwen avocado?

What happened to the Gwen avocado?

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...

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Freezing tomatoes from the garden

Freezing tomatoes from the garden

When I have a good tomato year and end up with more fruit than family and friends can eat, I freeze the extras. There are other ways to preserve tomatoes -- drying, canning, etc. -- but I choose freezing because of how fast and easy it is. Freezing tomatoes The...

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Growing dragon fruit in Southern California

Growing dragon fruit in Southern California

When my friend Brad started growing dragon fruit some years back, his friend Simon told him not to bother with any variety except S-8. “I’ve tried all the other ones,” Simon told him. “Don’t bother. Just grow S-8.” “But I have to try them for myself,” Brad had replied...

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When to transplant vegetable seedlings?

When to transplant vegetable seedlings?

The question is, At what size should you put a vegetable seeding into the ground or a bigger pot? The answer is, At any size before the seedling is rootbound. Rootbound means the roots in the container are crowded and circling, especially at the bottom. Let me...

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Welcome . . .

I'm Greg. My goal is to help you grow 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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