Pinkerton avocado tree: a profile
No less an authority on avocado varieties than Oliver Atkins wrote in 1978 that Pinkerton “appears to be the best variety we have come up with for California since the Hass.” Why then, over the ensuing 44 years, have most of us in California never eaten a Pinkerton...
Ceanothus, wild lilac: the blue bushes on the hills
Take a drive out of town here in early spring and you can’t miss the blue bushes glowing on the California hillsides. There’s nothing else like them. What are they? Ceanothus some people call them, or wild lilac they’re called by others, and some refer to them as...
Growing tomatoes in Southern California
Occasionally, if I’m not producing certain vegetables in the garden, my wife buys them at the grocery store. She’ll buy some peppers in winter, for example, or cauliflower in summer. But never do we buy tomatoes. Tomatoes that aren’t home grown aren’t worth eating. If...
Where do fruit trees flower?
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...
Cara Cara navel orange tree: a profile
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...
Our kids will thank us later
My dad never made me learn plumbing, but I’m making my kids learn to grow their own food. Growing fruits and vegetables is one of the few skills I have, and I would be neglectful if I didn’t pass it on to my three children. I watched my dad repair plumbing equipment...
Grafting 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...
Starting vegetable seeds: Six keys to success
Upon reflection, if my vegetable seeds germinate fast and grow into strong seedlings, it’s because I’ve done things right in six specific areas. Here I note what to do and what not to do in these areas so that I don’t repeat mistakes, and so you never make them in the...
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