Lowering a food garden’s water bill
Late summer is usually when we need to water our vegetables and fruit trees most in Southern California. And we should water them amply, as much as they need in order to provide us the food we desire. But are there ways to be more efficient? Always. Listed here are...
How far apart to plant avocado trees
Whether you’re planting a single avocado tree or an entire grove, you need to figure out the spacing. How close should you plant your avocado tree to your house or your driveway? How far should the tree be from another fruit tree or a retaining wall? Can you plant an...
Reading citrus leaves
What can you learn about your lemon or orange, mandarin or grapefruit tree from its leaves? Following are photos of citrus foliage mostly from the trees in my own Southern California yard, and each photo tells a small story. It’s likely that you’ll recognize some of...
A Midsummer Garden’s Harvest
I bet you’re harvesting a lot from your garden here in midsummer. Let’s celebrate that, and let's remember how we got here. Midsummer harvest First, what to celebrate? Here are some items we are harvesting in early August from our yard. For vegetables, there are...
Smart irrigation timers and automation
(This post was written by Dave Feinglass, who grows dozens of fruit trees on his property in Fallbrook, San Diego County. Thank you, Dave!) There is just something relaxing about watering the plants in your garden or your backyard fruit tree with a trusty old watering...
What are root knot nematodes?
I planted cucumbers on June 19 and expected them to take off in the warm weather and soil, but they kept wilting in the noonday sun. So I watered more. They continued to wilt every afternoon. When they weren’t wilting, they were barely growing. Finally, I yanked one...
Heat tolerance of avocado varieties
When you see comparisons between avocado varieties, often discussed are the flower type, size of the tree and its fruit, peel color, and cold sensitivity. Rarely, however, do you get a clue as to a variety’s sensitivity to heat. (See, for example, Table 5 on page 30...
Growing sunflowers in Southern California
Sunflowers are on my mind these days, in part because these sunflowers almost bonk me on the head every time I walk down the path in the photo above. Bees get scared as I get close, and they jump off the flowers to buzz around me. But I just can’t get myself to cut...
Welcome
I’m Greg. My goal is to help others grow some food at home, with a focus on vegetables and fruits — especially avocados — in Southern California. I write a new “Yard Post” every Friday.
My Gardening Calendar
List of all Yard Posts
My Book
Recent comments