Growing sunflowers in Southern California

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...

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Should you get a wood chipper?

Should you get a wood chipper?

After collecting the branches I’d pruned from my Valencia orange tree, I knew just what I would do with them. I could have sent them away in a trash can. I could have stacked them in a brush pile in a far corner of the yard. I could have chopped them into small pieces...

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Thank you, Floyd Zaiger

Thank you, Floyd Zaiger

I never met the man, but Floyd Zaiger made my yard taste better. I grow some of his apriums, like Cot-N-Candy. Cot-N-Candy aprium. I’ve got a tree of his nectaplum, SpiceZee. SpiceZee nectaplums. I’ve got his cherry for warm-winter places like Southern California,...

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The Hass avocado tree: a profile

The Hass avocado tree: a profile

Everybody wants to beat Hass. The world over, breeders are looking for that golden ticket: to create a new avocado variety that has a combination of characteristics superior to Hass. There are some contenders. Who will eventually knock King Hass from the throne? This...

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Natives at the roadside, 2020 update

Natives at the roadside, 2020 update

On Monday morning I was watching the bees feed on the flowers of a black sage plant at the edge of my yard by the road. Two of my neighbors walked by, and one said, “Your plants are beautiful.” “Thanks!” I said. Then I thought, The beauty of these plants has nothing...

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How to harvest avocados

How to harvest avocados

The main question is: Should you just pull the avocados off the tree, or should you carefully clip the stems when you harvest avocados? Let me tell you what I do and explain why. Harvesting avocados by hand Whether my feet are on the ground or I’ve climbed up into a...

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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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