Girdling avocado trees for consistent fruiting
The ideal avocado tree fruits every year, and it makes approximately the same quantity of fruit every year. Alas, this ideal avocado tree is only a dream. Nevertheless, there is a technique that can be used to manipulate an avocado tree into fruiting...
My yard: 10 years of growing
A decade ago, at the end of June 2013, my pregnant wife and I began moving into our house. We bought this place in Ramona using every penny we had. It seemed to offer almost everything we wanted: plenty of indoor space for us to fill with a family; and an acre of...
Earwigs, pill bugs, slugs, and snails: stopping their damage to your vegetables
One downside to the wet winter and cool spring we've had is that earwigs, pill bugs, slugs, and snails have found this weather heavenly, and they continue to munch on my vegetables even during these first days of summer. But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. I...
Shovel don’t lie
Nick and Anna-Marie told me they had planted a white sage in their backyard, and the plant’s tag said it was a “compact” version but it had grown over five feet tall and wide. I looked out their back door to see the plant. There it was: A robust white sage with flower...
Beware of rootstock suckers on avocado trees
If I owned a nursery, each time I sold a fruit tree I would attach a flyer that explained rootstock suckers. Too many innocent fruit trees get overtaken by their rootstock while the gardener doesn't notice . . . until: "Why are my oranges sour?" "Why is my plum tree...
Advantage of multiple avocado pollenizers
An avocado pollenizer is a tree of a different flower type that is used to help another tree make more fruit. For example, a Zutano avocado tree is often planted as a pollenizer among Hass avocado trees on farms because the Zutano is a B flower whereas Hass is an A....
The grayest May?
My grandma is sick of the gloom. She's ready to go somewhere to find the sun. She has lived her entire life in the Los Angeles area, and she wondered aloud the other day, "Can you remember a year that was this gloomy for so long?" "Funny you say that because I had...
The Yard Posts food gardening calendar 2023
The new calendar is ready! See the order page here. What is this calendar? It helps Southern California food gardeners by listing for each month which vegetables to plant, how to care for different kinds of fruit trees, and guidance on watering. It’s based on my...










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