Easiest vegetables to grow from seed
Because my back was sore this week, I employed the kids to do more garden work. For example, they sowed corn. Kids can do this. Corn is one of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed. This post explains why some vegetables are easier to start from seed than others,...
Growing raspberries in Southern California
Most of my raspberry plants have come from friends and family who live where raspberries grow best. The Sunset Western Garden Book says that raspberries grow best in Zones 3-6 and 15-17. These Zones cover the central and northern California coast, and then western...
Should you remove avocados from a small tree?
It's exciting to see a small avocado tree flower and set fruit. But should you allow it? My rule of thumb is to remove all avocados from a tree until it's nearly as tall as me. What this means is that if you've recently planted an avocado tree from a sleeve or...
Overhead watering for evaporative cooling on avocado trees
“Does not the spraying of the foliage of the trees protect them to some extent in hot weather?” asked J.B. McLaughlin, rhetorically. He had seen the effects of this practice for mitigating heat when he tried it during the devastating heat wave of more than a century...
Harvesting fruits and vegetables skillfully
My five-year-old son didn’t want to sit in front of a computer for another school session. “Can I do work for money?” he asked. “Sure. Let’s go harvest garlic.” With teamwork, I forked the dirt to loosen it around the bulbs and then Miles pulled the tops and shook the...
Drip-irrigation bucket
This is a white sage plant that I put in the ground in late winter. We haven't had much rain since then so I've needed to water it about once a month. Instead of using a watering can or a hose, I find that this drip-irrigation bucket is the best method. In this post...
Where’s the peach leaf curl in 2021?
Earlier this spring, a friend from Fallbrook was visiting and he mentioned that his peach tree had had a lot of leaf curl last year but this year there was no infection. “I finally got the spraying right!” he said. Slowly, I said, “Those results might not be just...
Why are my avocado leaves yellowing and falling?!
Do not fear if, in the spring, your avocado tree turns many leaves yellow and drops them to the ground. It's natural! Look at my trees: For other ways to "read" avocado leaves, see my post, "Reading avocado leaves." All of my Yard Posts are listed HERE
Recent comments