Greg Alder - Avocado Varieties to Thrive in all Seasons
Our May speaker: Greg Alder is vice-president of the California Avocado Society and a UCCE Master Gardener. He’s also the creator of "The Yard Posts", a website aimed at helping gardeners in Southern California grow food at home. He started growing food about twenty years ago when he was a Peace Corps teacher in Africa. He lives in Ramona, San Diego County, where he provides his wife and three children with most of their fruits and vegetables – and all of their avocados.
His talk will cover profiles of top avocado varieties, plus tips on how to grow them. He'll select a handful of top cultivars for each season. WINTER: Fuerte, Sharwil; SPRING: Hass, GEM, Gwen; SUMMER: Reed, Lamb. Also, he'll briefly highlight some honorable mentions/season alternates: WINTER: Mexicola, Stewart, Bacon, Zutano; SPRING: Jan Boyce, Sir-Prize, Pinkerton, Edranol, Carmen, Wurtz; SUMMER: Nabal, Hellen. He will also discuss three key tips to growing healthy trees. 1: ensure proper drainage and depth of soil before planting 2: watering enough, on time, and in the right place 3: recognizing the influence of rootstocks He plans to bring some avocado varieties to taste and sell: maybe GEM, Gwen, Luna, Carmen, Cadway! Members are reminded to consider bringing something to donate for the opportunity table, (small potted plants, unusual cuttings or seeds, or garden supplies are appropriate). Please don't bring anything you wouldn;t enjoy winning. Also consider contributing any seasonal cut-up and plated fruits, cooked items or finger foods that can be shared. Please do not bring unprepared fruit, as we do not have a kitchen available on meeting nights. Please wear your name tag! Don't miss this meeting!