Teaching your kids to grow food
I've made a lot of mistakes in my attempts to teach my kids to grow food over the last dozen years, and it is through these mistakes that I've learned nine ways to do it better. They might not work for you, your kids, or your context. But in case they do: 1. Let them...
Food gardens in Sumatra, Indonesia
I couldn't help but photograph and ask about every food garden I saw even though I was in Indonesia for another reason. It was a surf trip. But for a few days before and after the surfing, I explored parts of North Sumatra to observe what people grew and what they...
‘Dusa’ avocado rootstock: the story
The farther I get into growing avocados, the more I appreciate the part of the tree that is hidden underground, the part with the roots, the rootstock. It is the engine of the tree, and it can be its armor. This post dives deep into the development story of one of the...
Cleaning brassica seedlings before planting
Your brassica seedlings come with free bugs. I've never seen a six-pack of broccoli starts at a nursery that don't have a few holes in the leaves from caterpillars, or a collards plant without an aphid or ten. This is not a big deal. Nonetheless, before you plant it's...
What to do in a Southern California Food garden in September
In September, summer turns to fall, but summer never goes willingly in Southern California. It always kicks us with one last heat wave. When I was a kid, school started right after Labor Day, and that first week back at school was always the hottest of the year. (Hot...
The Luna avocado: a profile
Marvel, BL516, UCR V04. It went by various names during the experimental phases until the University of California filed for a patent, sold the license to propagation rights, and released it as . . . Luna. The experimental phases took 40 years. The seed of the mother...
Fruit trees for warm winters and hot summers in Southern California
I'd prefer that you not remember that I predicted in early August that the heat of this summer was going to soon decline. But I admit that I did, and I could not have been more wrong. Now at the tail end of August, I can look back to July 3 when the heat began and...
The Murashige avocado: a profile
I fear that in this profile of the Murashige avocado I was too critical, and it is because I'm not a fan of giant avocados in general. I'm know I'm supposed to be. What a huge avocado! So cool! But I'm not. Giant avocados have two downsides for me. One, they aren't...








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