Ongoing research

Fruit cracking in citrus is caused by an uneven or irregular water supply. When citrus fruit takes in water faster than the skin can stretch, the skin cracks. A few cracked fruit are normal, however, if a high percentage of fruit crack, you have an irrigation management problem.

Upland soils on the Central Coast are composed of wind-deposited materials, i.e., the soils are sand dunes. In their native state, sand dunes are essentially lacking in the nutrients needed to sustain healthy plant life.

Compost and composting is a subject that often comes up when gardeners get together to discuss gardening strategies.

Recent research, in which eucalyptus wood chips were used to mulch avocado trees, showed there was no toxicity to young or old trees. Besides this, the trees used less water, developed a better root system and had less diseased roots than unmulched trees.

I would suggest a water-soluble type of fertilizer with a balanced NPK formula. The brand is not important, however, the formulation should contain at least 10% nitrogen (N) and near equal amounts of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). A general purpose garden formulation would be good.

You can use fireplace ash in your garden, but use it sparingly. Central Coast soils tend to be slightly alkaline. Our water is also slightly alkaline (pH 7.2 to 7.5). Ideal soil pH for growing most plants is 6 to 7. Wood ashes are also alkaline, having a pH as high as 8-9.

Several factors may cause fruit to split. The most common cause of cracking/splitting is water. If the fruit is repeatedly wetted by rain or sprinkler water, the drops that hang on the tip of the fruit will lead to cracking.

All commercially grown avocados are grafted or budded in the seedling stage. When plants are grown from seed, they usually do not produce fruit which is true to the parent variety.

In commercial pineapple production, pineapple tops are used for propagation. Before you start, you need to remember that pineapple is a tropical plant, so will need to be kept in a greenhouse or indoors during the frost season. Also a mature plant is quite large.

Different varieties of avocado have different harvest dates. The most popular variety Hass has a long harvest season and may be picked any time between January and October. The fruit will hang on the tree for over a year.