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The large amount of rain we have been having this season brings good news and potentially bad. The rain leaches out accumulated salts that we have placed in the root system by irrigating during the previous summer and fall.
There are 1,800 species of earthworms grouped into five families and distributed all over the world. Some grow as long as 3 feet, while others are only a few tenths of inches. We call them nightcrawlers, field worms, manure worms, red worms and some people just say "yuck.
From rocks come soils. All soils were once part of rock, but with time and various physical and chemical processes of weathering, rock becomes unconsolidated into loose rock particles. It is from these particles that a soil may develop; it is called parent material.
The very fact that avocados can be grown in hard to get to places means that the trees are also in areas that are subject to wildfire damage. Recently several hundred acres of avocado burned in the Fillmore/Santa Paula foothills. The fire was fanned by high winds and low humidity.
Here are some links to frost information, preparing for frost and managing frost damage to trees. Methods of Frost Protection Protecting Avocados from Frost Rehabilitation of Freeze-Damaged Citrus and Avocado Trees A Frost Primer http://ceventura.ucanr.
Mature Orchards Only two general methods of protecting avocado groves have proved satisfactory - heaters and wind machines. A combination of these two also is used.
Frost damage reduces tree growth and fruit yields. Thus, it presents a problem to the avocado grower who must develop and maintain high production to have a profitable business.
The following is a list of laboratories, which were/are active in plant- and soil-testing as of April 2000. I suggest you call the laboratory prior to submitting samples. Quite often samples must be taken, packaged and sent in a particular manner in order to obtain the best possible diagnosis.
