(I’m sorry. These are now sold out.)
Here I offer a final, small batch of Reeds that I’ll be harvesting from the Haddon Ranch in Escondido. It’s now late in the Reed season so you’ll experience the height of Reed’s richness.
Here is the order page. (Available now to Supporters until going on general sale at 6 PM, Friday.)
Reed variety
Reed has long been the favorite summer (into fall) avocado of many folks in Southern California. Reed originated in Carlsbad, San Diego County around 1948. The fruit is large and shaped like a grapefruit, and it has the smoothest, most fiberless texture of any avocado I’ve ever eaten.
Below is my Reed serving suggestion, a natural bowl of salsa and guacamole:
Learn more about the Reed variety in my profile here.
Trees
Here is the pair of Reeds on the Haddon Ranch:
(Here is a video of the trees.)
They had oodles of avocados weighing down their branches this year:
Boxes
In each box, I will fit six Reeds.
I’ll include an insert that gives tips on how to tell when your Reeds are ripe. You can also see my video of the Reed avocado for a demonstration of using the reliable toothpick test:
I see my role here as giving you the chance to see what Reeds would taste like off a tree in your own yard, at the prime of their season, to help you decide if you want to plant one.
Again, here is the order page.
All of my Yard Posts are listed HERE
how do I get a code to order
considering planting trees, debating between haas and reed and want to try reed before planting and waiting 8years
thanks
I have both trees, though none are mature yet so I can’t speak to how abundantly they produce, and I would pick Reed over Hass. Reeds have better flavor and spoil less quickly. Hass are easy to find locally whereas Reeds are a little harder to come by and have a layer season. The trees aren’t as large and spreading. They seem to handle the heat a little better and don’t need as much water. Only downside is they don’t do as well in the cold. I get frost a few times a year where I’m at.
Can you ship to Indonesia
Hi Dan,
I technically can, but it will take at least a week to get there and the avocados would likely arrive in poor condition, not to mention that you probably wouldn’t want to pay the high cost of shipping (over $60).
Hey Greg,
Purchased 5 Haas Avocado trees that are about 3’ tall. The leaves are all turning brown and falling off. These are frowning in 14” pots. I’m managing water use a moisturizer meter so I don’t over water. I tested the water and it’s a little high in the salinity at 550 ppm.
Any advice would be appreciated. Pictures available.
Hi Tim,
What mix is in the pots?
You’re probably not watering enough. It is very hard to overwater an avocado tree in a pot if the mix is fast draining and the pot has plenty of holes on the bottom and is raised off the ground (which isn’t necessary but I would advise it).
Don’t trust moisture meters. They’re close to worthless.
Use your eyes, and feel the mix with your fingers, and lift the container to gauge the weight (wet soil/mix is heavy, dry soil is light).
Thx for the reply. I’ve really enjoyed your blog. We purchased 5 acres of land in De Luz Rancho with the dream growing citrus, avocado and lots of vegetables.
I used citrus/avocado soil mix. I recently added chicken manure on top. I drilled 4 holes per pot but can add more. They are not raised but I can look into that.
I originally thought it was salty tap, we live in Redondo Beach, based on the look of the leaves. Added some gypsum to help reduce salinity but did not seem to help. So then I was thinking sun burn. It’s been unusually hot lately even near the beach.
I’ll increase the watering and use my eyes and hands versus the moisture meters and see how that goes.
Thx again.
Enjoyed this last batch of Reed; delicious! Am I correct to assume that where we live will affect the flowering and harvesting time of the avocado varieties? I have the Sir Prize tree and I noticed it says harvesting time is October to January but I remembered when I ordered the Carmen/Sir Prize avocados from you that they were available to purchase in April. I live in Zone 9B. I’m trying to convince my son to grow a Reed (9B) but I guess the harvesting time also will be different than yours in SC.
That sold out crazy fast. I logged in first thing Friday morning and was too late! I don’t know if I should be happy for you or shake my fist at you (grumpy old man, get off my lawn style) for your success…
Sorry, Dan. I’m ambivalent too, believe it or not, because I can imagine it being irritating to not be able to place an order fast enough. But I figure that selling as much as I can is better than not selling any. I’m working to improve the supply in the near future.
I moved into a home in Poway (part of “The Grove” neighborhood) which I came to learn was a large farm with a collection of different types of avocados and citrus b4 it was developed as residential neighborhood in mid 1990s. Seems my property was the “Reed” section as my yard had 12+ Reed trees, 5 of which I have continued to nurture and care for. They reliably produce and are super hearty. Neighbors that grew up in the nearby neighborhood said they remember seeing the same trees back in the late 1970’s/early 80s so my guess is that they are now 40-50yr old. As was mentioned in the other comments, Reeds can only be found at farmers markets, so it’s always a special annual treat for my friends which I share my bounty as gifts (much more special and novel then Haas). They survive brutal conditions but when it hits 100+ just need to make sure they are sufficiently watered so they don’t drop their fruit. In Poway (15 miles inland from ocean) I harvest from July into fall. Typically they take 4-5 days to ripen once picked with 7-8 days to reach max creaminess. Hope this helps others! I’ll try to provide some to Greg next year to his supporters to sample. Cheers!
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the contribution. I’ve visited your neighborhood and wondered about its history and the leftover trees since I moved to Ramona nine years ago. There was an innovative grower and farm advisor named Don Gustafson whose grove was in your general area. He pioneered the use of drip irrigation on avocados in Southern California. I wonder if your Reeds were once his Reeds. I’d love to learn more.
Hello Greg, I tried sending a request on Facebook, may not have gone through.
Can you get me 5 Reed (Dusa) next year?
Thank You
Joe Salemi
Hi Joe,
I don’t sell trees, but if you’re not far from Fallbrook you could try Subtropica Nursery. They make Reed trees on Dusa. For contact info, see: https://www.subtropicanurseries.com/
We got our Reed and Pinkerton from http://www.maddockranchnursery.com/ two years ago and they have thrived and yielded great fruit already. Call them re: availability before you go.
Reeds are for sale today at the farmers market off El Toro Road in Laguna Hills, in the parking lot of the old Laguna Hills Mall (opposite Chick Fil A”. They have a bunch and they are delicious, I just bought 7 this morning.
Thanks, Eric!
I went to the Buena Park Farmers Market last Sat.(1/Oct/22) for fresh eggs. I found one of the fruit stands had Reeds and purchased one that was still hard. ($5.00) Checked it daily, suddenly it had some squeeze give on 3rd day. I try to have avocado each day. My own trees are done for the year. I was able to divide this Reed into 4 quarters to spread over 4 days. It held up very well even to the last day. Creamy and delish! I’m looking forward to my own Reed to begin producing, maybe next year. That market is on LaPalma, I think at Stanton st. in the old Sears parking lot in the mall.
In the Bay Area, you can purchase Reed avocados at Monterey Market in Berkeley. If anyone knows where I can buy Nabal, Carmen, avocado fruits in the Bay Area, please let me know. I would like to try. Thank you.
Two stands at the Poway Farmer’s Market were selling Reeds yesterday (Saturday). Jacy’s Farm and another small vendor from an Escondido farm (I can’t remember the name). Jacy had big ones for $6/each and the other had smaller ones, 3 for $9.
I know this site is mostly dedicated to Southern California. I have recently see 3 gallon Reed avocados at green Acres Nursery in Sacramento area, https://idiggreenacres.com/. Sites in Folsom, Roseville, Rocklin and Elk Grove. $52.50
I read all the profiles but didn’t see one for Carmen. That’s the tree I planted in my small yard, 8’ from fence and 7’ from a 3 year old peach tree.the Carmen is 1 and half year old but only 3 and half ft tall. I wonder if I planted it too close to the peach tree?
Hi Greg,
What does a dusa avocado tree look like? Are the leaves narrow or wide? I ask because I have a large stem growing from the trunk of my GEM tree and I can’t tell if it’s below or above the graft (tree is several years old already). The rootstock is Dusa.
Thanks!
Hi Tin,
The easiest way to tell if it’s Dusa or GEM is to look at the stem. A new stem on a Dusa tree/branch has red flecks, but a new stem on GEM does not.