Topics in Subtropics

These are practices and or products that many people working in our industry may hold to be useful but have no scientific basis for their method of action. They are formed from misinformation passed on over the generations or from common observations that are misinterpreted. A good example is that of placing…

I recently was hunting for an image of a chlorotic leaf on Google and came across just the image I wanted. And by golly, it was from a website by Greg Alder - The Yard Posts.  He is a Board member of the CA Avocado Society. The topics cover the range of veg to citrus and avocado.  There are…

Much of the New Zealand avocados are grown in a coastal environment not unlike that of the Santa Barbara/Ventura area. Being coastal, growers have learned from past experience that wind protection is necessary to maintain fruit quality and tree performance for a range of tree crops.  Growers have…

The Buzz about HedgerowsHedgerows are an approved practice under California Department of Agriculture's Healthy Soils Grant Program. That means, growers are eligible to receive grant funding for planting hedgerows. But what exactly are the benefits of hedgerows and why are they worth planting? As a perennial…

Maybe eucalyptus?So you thought there were only three species of eucalyptus? Well there are a lot more and they all grow differently. Here's an interesting study evaluating their performance in the Central Valley which probably has value along coastal Southern California, as well.https://www.nrcs.usda.gov…