How dry, this fall?
Each evening I record weather numbers and observations, along with what I’ve planted and how my vegetables and fruit trees are performing. I’ve done this for ten years straight (off and on for twenty). Occasionally, it feels like a waste of time, but at moments like...
Want kids to eat vegetables? Grow them
Over the years I’ve noticed a phenomenon that I have to share because I hear some parents talk of their kids not wanting to eat vegetables. One thing that I guarantee will increase their consumption is allowing them to graze. Grow what you want them to eat, and then...
Rats! Protecting your garden fruits and vegetables
At least squirrels work in daylight, such that it is easily observed if they’re chewing and stealing your produce. But rats! Nocturnal, sneaky, fecund, voracious. How to protect your garden fruits and vegetables from them? There are no rats doing damage among my...
The layout of a food garden: where to plant what?
You might be planning a food garden for the first time, or you might be wondering if your vegetables and fruit trees are planted in the best places. Either way, this post is for you. I have built food gardens in a couple different yards for myself and my family, and I...
California Avocados: a delicious history, by Rob Crisell (book review)
Did you know that you live in Avocado Land? “The citizens of the Golden State can make a better claim for having ‘invented’ the avocado than anyone else,” writes Rob Crisell in the opening chapter of his new book California Avocados: A Delicious History. I did not...
Old guava trees in Southern California
Guavas don't get as big as some other types of fruit trees. And they certainly get bigger in the tropics than they do here. The biggest guava tree I've ever seen was on a coffee farm in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica. Old guava tree on coffee farm in Monteverde,...
Fires, Farms, and being Neighbors
Do you remember my interview with John Schoustra? He is – I thought about this for a while to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anyone or exaggerating – the most innovative, open-minded, and experimental avocado farmer I know. (Please refresh your memory by checking this...
What to do in a Southern California garden in November
November is cool. The barometer falls to an average high of 73 this month, in my yard, which is about the same as most yards in Southern California. And the average daily evapotranspiration rate is only 0.08 inches in November, a threefold decrease compared to the...
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