Avocado Success Guaranteed (well...improved anyway)
Welcome back to our in depth discussion of avocados. They're tasty aren't they? Nothing like having your own tree. I just finished a snack of chips and guacamole in honor of the topic. Guacamole from Fuerte, Holiday, and Hass fruit today. Is there a difference? You bet, If you ever have the chance, do a side by side taste test. You'll see what I mean.
I consult with nice people all the time. I see a lot of gardens, orchards, and vegetable plots. One of the things I hear most often is the following statement: "I hired a professional to (advise, recommend, install, choose, plant), why did they (do it that way, choose those plants, irrigate this way....)? My response is most often: "They are not in it for the long haul, they very often install and walk away." Most folks don't even follow up when they have problems. Find someone interested in walking you through the long term.
I am in this for the long haul with clients. It is the only way to go when one emphasizes orchards and veg gardens. Many Guatemalan avocados and some citrus hang on the tree for 18 months! Fruit trees are an investment of nearly a decade! When your pay off is that distant, you want to be smart! Do it right. Do it well. Know what you are doing.
When I anticipate a meeting with a client, I ask which approach they prefer? Do they want to pay me to do everything, and have no hands on experience? That's fine with me, I get paid either way. I also love working alone. Or, "Do they want to become master craftsman gardeners and have a "hands on" learning experience. I love to teach! It thrills me to turn folks into splendid plantsmen and plantswomen. When someone chooses hands on, it really is hands on. One of my clients was a billionaire with a staff of personal chefs that wanted to raise his own food. When he opted for "hand's on", I think he was shocked when I handed him a tool and motioned for him to join me on hands and knees. We weren't praying {though I like to do that in the garden). I want to feel the soil, see it up close, smell the dirt, and sense the moisture. Know your soil!
There is no substitute for hands on. When someone tells me a plant is (too wet, too dry, just right), I ask "How do you know?" By the way, the sprinkler timer isn't the arbiter of the correct amount of water that should be applied, you are. More often than not people make judgments with little or no deductive exercise. Don't just look at the top of the soil. Feel the soil. Smell the soil. Get a spading fork into the ground and lift a little. What's happening? Are root tips growing, or is the root mass a dead mat? Are there worms present? Is bioturbation happening? Frankly, I am happy if I see fig beetle or June bug grubs. It tells me the soil is alive, and there is sufficient organic material present. I think grubs benefit the soil by providing splendid aeration more than they hurt anything by eating roots. They prefer compost, not your roots.
If you decide to plant your own avocados, and I hope you will, do the following.
1) Decide whether you have the room. Avos are huge trees. Holiday is the smallest, very rarely over 8' in my experience, but will easily spread 10' across. Even a "Littlecado" (Wurtz) will eventually reach 20-25 feet, and it is one of the smallest. I have seen Bacon trees 35'-40' high. Fuertes can be 35' across and 25' high. These aren't trees for a tiny yard in your town home. There are types better suited to small spaces. Gwen, Mexicola, and Zutano are narrow, columnar growers, and can be kept smaller.
2) Be very selective about where to plant. Many trees are very hardy, and will grow just about anywhere. Not avocados. They are touchy. Difficult to get going. Prone to root problems and disease. They hate heavy soil. They detest poor drainage. They prefer loose, and light soil that drains well. Give them a choice location, you won't succeed if you choose a poor location.
3) Avocados prefer warm soil. Plant your new tree from March to June. If you plant in summer, paint the branches and trunk with whitewash to prevent sunburn. Be careful the tree doesn't dry out. Young trees have difficulty moving moisture when it gets hot.
4) Avocados are one of the most adaptable trees to native soils (as long as drainage is good). In fact, DO NOT amend the planting hole. People look at me incredulously when I advise planting straight into existing dirt. UC Davis and UC Riverside have done multiple studies that show trees fare best planted straight into unamended soil. The faster the tree adapts to its new environment and native soil, the better it will be.
Planting mix creates a textural difference between the root ball and the bulk soil, and causes water movement problems. If you have heavy, clay soil, ( I advise against planting in clay) elevate the tree on a mound to improve drainage. Make the mound 1 to 2 feet high and 3 to 5 feet around. Put down 20 pounds of gypsum spread around the base of the tree and mulch the area with 6 inches of woody mulch keeping the material about 8-12 inches away from the tree trunk.
5) When planting, add azomite to the soil. Azomite is a source of trace minerals from a sea bed/volcanic crater from Utah. Avocados come from a volcano rich geographical area. They need all the trace minerals to thrive. Also add gypsum on a regular basis. I also like to acidify by adding cottonseed meal or aluminum sulfate. Avocados don't like salt!
6) Water carefully! Avos like to be moist, but require excellent drainage. Ideally, allow the soil to "just dry slightly" between waterings. But, don't ever let the tree completely dry out. If you see limp leaves hanging on a hot day, you may have reached the point of no return.
The rule of thumb for mature trees is about 20 gallons of water a day during the irrigation season. Seedlings will require quite a bit less than that, of course.
At planting, the trees can hold about 2 gallons of water in their rooted volume. Depending on the weather, they might use 1 gallon of water a day along the coast. Typically the trees need to be watered 2-3 times a week. As the roots reach out into the bulk soil, more water can be applied and frequency of watering diminishes to about 1 time per week by the end of a year.
7) Mulch! Avocados benefit from mulch more than any other tree! People tell me they mulch. I see a smattering of bark or compost. A mere sprinkle of organic. A whisper of bark....Ha! That is not mulching. I want to see at least 4", but preferably up to 6" of mulch to the drip line. Don't apply within 8-12" of the trunk. Coarse and chunky mulch is optimal, as it aerates and insulates the best. I like a good mix of fine, medium, and large chunks
Mulching conserves water. It creates healthy soil. It allows aeration by bioturbation. It keeps the roots cool. The benefits of mulching avos can't be overstated.
Mulching helps to cushion the delicate surface roots. The top roots are fragile, and can be easily compacted, especially when the soil is wet. Stay off the roots as much as possible. Root compaction can be a big problem for all trees. The Moreton Bay fig in Balboa Park behind the Natural History Museum was fenced off for this very reason.
8) Fertilize regularly. Avocados are heavy feeders. Mulching will help, but a regular feeding will boost yield and health of trees. Use an organic food. While it is true that everything on earth is chemical (so says Dow and Monsanto), there is a huge difference in sources of nutrients ( topic for an article in the future).
I hope you grow your own avocados already, or will consider planting a couple of trees. In the next entry, we will talk about the best varieties.
I am in this for the long haul with clients. It is the only way to go when one emphasizes orchards and veg gardens. Many Guatemalan avocados and some citrus hang on the tree for 18 months! Fruit trees are an investment of nearly a decade! When your pay off is that distant, you want to be smart! Do it right. Do it well. Know what you are doing.
When I anticipate a meeting with a client, I ask which approach they prefer? Do they want to pay me to do everything, and have no hands on experience? That's fine with me, I get paid either way. I also love working alone. Or, "Do they want to become master craftsman gardeners and have a "hands on" learning experience. I love to teach! It thrills me to turn folks into splendid plantsmen and plantswomen. When someone chooses hands on, it really is hands on. One of my clients was a billionaire with a staff of personal chefs that wanted to raise his own food. When he opted for "hand's on", I think he was shocked when I handed him a tool and motioned for him to join me on hands and knees. We weren't praying {though I like to do that in the garden). I want to feel the soil, see it up close, smell the dirt, and sense the moisture. Know your soil!
1) Decide whether you have the room. Avos are huge trees. Holiday is the smallest, very rarely over 8' in my experience, but will easily spread 10' across. Even a "Littlecado" (Wurtz) will eventually reach 20-25 feet, and it is one of the smallest. I have seen Bacon trees 35'-40' high. Fuertes can be 35' across and 25' high. These aren't trees for a tiny yard in your town home. There are types better suited to small spaces. Gwen, Mexicola, and Zutano are narrow, columnar growers, and can be kept smaller.
2) Be very selective about where to plant. Many trees are very hardy, and will grow just about anywhere. Not avocados. They are touchy. Difficult to get going. Prone to root problems and disease. They hate heavy soil. They detest poor drainage. They prefer loose, and light soil that drains well. Give them a choice location, you won't succeed if you choose a poor location.
3) Avocados prefer warm soil. Plant your new tree from March to June. If you plant in summer, paint the branches and trunk with whitewash to prevent sunburn. Be careful the tree doesn't dry out. Young trees have difficulty moving moisture when it gets hot.
4) Avocados are one of the most adaptable trees to native soils (as long as drainage is good). In fact, DO NOT amend the planting hole. People look at me incredulously when I advise planting straight into existing dirt. UC Davis and UC Riverside have done multiple studies that show trees fare best planted straight into unamended soil. The faster the tree adapts to its new environment and native soil, the better it will be.
Planting mix creates a textural difference between the root ball and the bulk soil, and causes water movement problems. If you have heavy, clay soil, ( I advise against planting in clay) elevate the tree on a mound to improve drainage. Make the mound 1 to 2 feet high and 3 to 5 feet around. Put down 20 pounds of gypsum spread around the base of the tree and mulch the area with 6 inches of woody mulch keeping the material about 8-12 inches away from the tree trunk.
5) When planting, add azomite to the soil. Azomite is a source of trace minerals from a sea bed/volcanic crater from Utah. Avocados come from a volcano rich geographical area. They need all the trace minerals to thrive. Also add gypsum on a regular basis. I also like to acidify by adding cottonseed meal or aluminum sulfate. Avocados don't like salt!
6) Water carefully! Avos like to be moist, but require excellent drainage. Ideally, allow the soil to "just dry slightly" between waterings. But, don't ever let the tree completely dry out. If you see limp leaves hanging on a hot day, you may have reached the point of no return.
The rule of thumb for mature trees is about 20 gallons of water a day during the irrigation season. Seedlings will require quite a bit less than that, of course.
At planting, the trees can hold about 2 gallons of water in their rooted volume. Depending on the weather, they might use 1 gallon of water a day along the coast. Typically the trees need to be watered 2-3 times a week. As the roots reach out into the bulk soil, more water can be applied and frequency of watering diminishes to about 1 time per week by the end of a year.
7) Mulch! Avocados benefit from mulch more than any other tree! People tell me they mulch. I see a smattering of bark or compost. A mere sprinkle of organic. A whisper of bark....Ha! That is not mulching. I want to see at least 4", but preferably up to 6" of mulch to the drip line. Don't apply within 8-12" of the trunk. Coarse and chunky mulch is optimal, as it aerates and insulates the best. I like a good mix of fine, medium, and large chunks
Mulching conserves water. It creates healthy soil. It allows aeration by bioturbation. It keeps the roots cool. The benefits of mulching avos can't be overstated.
Mulching helps to cushion the delicate surface roots. The top roots are fragile, and can be easily compacted, especially when the soil is wet. Stay off the roots as much as possible. Root compaction can be a big problem for all trees. The Moreton Bay fig in Balboa Park behind the Natural History Museum was fenced off for this very reason.
Mulching has been shown to prevent a nasty incurable disease called Phytophthera cinnamomi. You better just mulch.
8) Fertilize regularly. Avocados are heavy feeders. Mulching will help, but a regular feeding will boost yield and health of trees. Use an organic food. While it is true that everything on earth is chemical (so says Dow and Monsanto), there is a huge difference in sources of nutrients ( topic for an article in the future).
I hope you grow your own avocados already, or will consider planting a couple of trees. In the next entry, we will talk about the best varieties.
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