Apricot flowers becoming apricot fruit

  The bloom on a branch of a Royal Blenheim apricot tree on March 4: And then the fruitlets the flowers have become on April 12: And here is the tree almost exactly six years later: April 13, 2021. Fruitset is weak this year: April 19, 2021. All of my Yard Posts are...

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Winter grafts on deciduous fruit trees

Winter grafts on deciduous fruit trees

Between January 29 and February 25, I took scion wood and grafted onto my deciduous fruit trees. I used the whip method for all nine grafts, and seven of the nine are growing today. Over the last year, I'd planted four new deciduous fruit trees, but I wanted more...

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What to Do with 500 Gallons of Rainwater?

Looks like the rain's over. April is around the corner, and if we get anything more it's likely to be only showers. Still, I'm starting the dry season -- the season of irrigation -- with a full tank of 500 gallons of collected rain. Now the question is who should be...

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Do avocado trees need a lot of water?

Do avocado trees need a lot of water?

I heard a Master Gardener say she was hesitant to recommend that people plant avocado trees in their Southern California yards because avocados need a lot of water. Sounds sensible at first. We should be careful about our water use. But let's think further. Unless...

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My Soil, in Depth

  For a year and a half, I've been experiencing the soil in this yard -- digging in it, crumbling it in hand to check the moisture level, watching rain infiltrate -- but only just now have I discovered what experts in soil, soil scientists, have to say about it....

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Collecting Rain from Roofs

I started caring about rain while I was living in Ts'oeneng, where everyone farmed without irrigation as well as got their drinking water from springs and wells. Rain provided food and drink in a very direct way. I also started collecting rain from roofs while living...

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Cass and the Placenta Tree Turn One

It was exactly one year ago that our first child was born. When we brought Cass home from the hospital we also carried with us his placenta, and in the light rain that had started falling I dug a hole, placed the placenta along with the amniotic sac and umbilical cord...

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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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