How the Fuerte avocado really got its name
The California avocado industry was originally built on the quality of one variety: Fuerte. And yet, despite its fame and importance, the commonly repeated story about how Fuerte got its name is dubious. Here's a summary of the story that is told: A freeze hit...
Mexican avocados suck
This is the last avocado from Mexico that I will ever buy. This is one too many rotten Mexican avocados that I have bought over the years, and I'm vowing to myself that I will never pay another dollar for one of these carelessly harvested and handled pieces of fruit....
Cross pollination of avocados
You don't need more than one avocado tree to get fruit production, but having two trees and allowing for cross pollination can never hurt. And there are some studies showing increased yield when two different avocado varieties are growing in proximity. The idea of...
Eating seasons of my fruit trees
This is what we currently have. I included vines and berries because they're also sweet and perennial. What I notice is that the summer is laden while the winter is light. At least we do have fruit all year, and Fuji and Pink Lady apples keep in the fridge well, and...
Eating seasons of my avocados
My aim has always been to have the entire year covered. And since avocados, like many fruit trees, produce more in alternate years I've sought to have two varieties that are best-eating for each season (in case one is having an "off" year). For summer into fall, I've...
A new year, a new rain tank, a new weather pattern
It's January 2016, and according to plan, we've got a new rain tank for the new year. Our idea has been to install one new tank each year and make improvements wherever possible regarding the size, location, and distribution of the collected rainwater. We got some...
Natives at the roadside
The front half of our yard -- since it's a yard of an acre, I can say the front half-acre -- was stripped of its native vegetation when we moved in. That has always irritated me, particularly because next to nothing replaced it. There was a single orange tree and...
El Nino is not rain, and it doesn’t “come” to California
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about El Nino among us non-meteorologists. Here are two examples from Sunset magazine's November 2015 issue: "Before El Nino rears up this winter as predicted, here are easy ways to ready your garden for rainfall." And,...
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