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Sunday, July 15, 2012

Fruits in July - avocados!

I have always been almost 'complaining' about our long dry season, and that is from February to May. In our not too distant past, we get our rains starting in May, however with the worldwide changes in climatic conditions, we had our official first rainy season in June, but our plants in the province got their first rains in July.  Despite the thirst for rain, some fruit trees regularly flower and fruit during the dry season. One of these is the avocado, Persea americana. 

Our avocados in the property are all volunteers, they are from seeds we throw around. We have a lot of fruit volunteers like papaya and santol, some we cut, some we keep for the birds. I know for sure that good characteristics are not maintained if they are from seeds, being already a hybrid, however we don't perform the much predictive asexual propagation. They even don't get the care like fertilization, watering or pruning. I guess if the owner learned a lot from school, performing the expected good agricultural practices to ensure quality is not necessary anymore! Or perhaps I am already tired of following what i know! Because we don't really expect to get income from these farm produce, we just let them be. And in today's parlance, that is the real 'organic' gardening, leaving the crops all by themselves, tend for themselves, fruit if they can or die if necessary! And with all these neglect, because our soil is fertile, they still produce a lot of fruits. July is the month for avocados, and we have fun!


We have maybe around 6 types of fruits in our farm. We have the oblong, long, round, purple when ripe and green when ripe. Some are fibrous, some are smooth and some have really excellent flesh. We only eat the good quality ones, those we don't like are left for the birds, the worms, and other creatures. Last year a typhoon came when they are still immature, so we only had a very few fruits share from nature. Do you know that avocados don't ripen when left attached to the tree!

This is the hot environment in February, the time for avocado flowering.

Avocados produce a lot of flowers because pollination is not assured due to different timing of the receptivity of the female with the availability of the male. So nature provides many flowers for the continuity of species.

The black spots on the leaves are due to sooty molds feeding on the remains of the aphids and mealy bugs. It is really survival of the fittest, with the avocado hopefully surviving the onslaught of infestation.



Almost all shoots are laden with flower panicles.

A very well flowering avocado tree

Mealy bugs and aphids inhabit the leaf undersides, ensuring that rains will still leave some of them 

But despite the intensive infestation, some fruits are still growing favorably, the shiny peel repels the insects.


Another variety with a rather rough skin, but this one has excellent and smooth flesh. It is still immature at this photo. Avocados will not ripen as long as they are attached to the tree!

One of the varieties of around 6 varieties we have in the farm. I brought only this variety to my house in the city, so i can't show the other varieties when ripe. Despite the big seed, the flesh is excellent. A simple way to eat ripe avocados is to remove the seed, put some honey on the flesh and spoon the flesh out directly to your mouth.  Hmmm, i just finished one!


Outdoor Wednesday: Click on the picture below to learn more...


21 comments:

  1. Avocados are one of my favorite things to eat in so many ways...I so wish I could grow these...mmmmmm

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  2. I love avocados! How lucky you are to be able to grow them!

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  3. Beautiful! I really must try growing avocados - although I might need to pull them into the garage in winter. It would be worth it though to have that beautiful and delicious fruit.

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    1. Birdwoman, i forgot where you are from but i think there is a variety which can withstand subtropical environments. I read it somewhere, in an avocado site. But i think you don't need to plant it as the Hass variety is fruiting all year and available in the US.

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  4. Honey! I never would have thought - I put salt on mine and scoop them out of the shell with great relish. People grow avocados here in California too, but I'm not a fruit grower myself. Interesting to see your different varieties. Hass is my favorite.

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    1. Yes Haas is actually one of the very well studied variety in the temperate climate. However, it doesn't grow in the tropics. Fruits are usually sweet, so maybe you are one of the few who put salt in theirs, amazing taste i suppose!

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  5. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Your avocados look delicious. My Mom has papayas and guava in her garden in Louisiana. I wonder if avocados would grow there?

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  6. Extremely jealous! I wish these grew here. Oh they say they do, but it's a bunch of hoo ha. Avocados are delish. I eat them with everything! I would pick them the day before and let them ripen for the next day in Mexico. I'd love to have this beauty at our place. You are so fortunate!

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    1. Oh we have a lot Kreesh, than we can finish eating. Most of the produce are eaten by non-human presence in the property. It is also difficult to finish one fruit just in one sitting. I can finish half of it though, maximum capacity of tummy, haha!

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  7. To dobrze, że się dzielicie owocami z ptakami i innymi robakami. Awokado jadłam i mi smakowało. Musiałam je kupić w sklepie, bo u nas nie rosną takie drzewa, a szkoda. Ciekawy jest Twój blog, oglądałam poprzednie posty. Dziękuję za miłe odwiedziny i pozdrawiam.
    It's good that you share the fruits of birds and other worms. I ate avocado and I like it. I had to buy them in the store, because we do not grow those trees, and damage. Your blog is interesting, I watched the previous posts. Thank you for your kind visit and greet.

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    1. At least there are fruits available in your stores! Like your apples, pears, apricots, nectarines, etc we also just buy them in stores, and we have to pay extra for value adding during transport. So i guess it is better if we just eat what we grow here!

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  8. Cool! I learned at least 2 things from this post: avocado is a Persea (native to America, based on the species name) and that the fruits won't ripen when attached to the tree! Thank you! I sure wish we could grow avocados here in the Great Plains - I love their fruit.

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    1. Hi Gaia, because you said so i searched and you will be amazed it is from Central Mexico. But of course Mexico is still considered America, just that it is South America. Do you know we have some plains here too, our rice producer. When i am there i can't see any mountain around, and early on i decided i can't stay in such a place, monotonous land! :)

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  9. Hi Andrea, Those avocados look delicious --despite the bug infestation... Yum!!!!!

    Thanks again for the waterfall post on your other blog.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. Thanks Betsy, if i visit or post waterfalls, you and George will always be in mind. And that moment i always send positive thoughts for you.

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  10. Ooh, I must keep my wife away from this post!! She just loves avo's! Nice post. LT (shuss!)

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    1. Ohh yes please do, she might grab the screen! Just kidding, she is not alone. I got lots of please send me posts from FB because of the photo!

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  11. When I was a kid being raised in Los Angeles, California, we could purchase avocados for 10 cents each. I still like them as an adult but the price is now $1.99. I buy them when they are $1 each. I love your photos!
    Joyce M

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    1. Hi Joyce, thanks for comming. I think California is the avocado producing state in the US, so you can have them all year if you want. When i was a kid too, i ignore them, now i eat avocados for health reasons, and found out it really tastes good. At least in my case, we dont buy them anymore. We still have some for other people and the birds.

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  12. Thats wonderful. I will try eating with honey. I always thought avacados have to be eaten in Fajitas... Never tried them by themselves ...

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  13. Never knew so many details about this fruit. Great series pf pictures.

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