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Avocados were not part of our daily diet in Brooklyn, N.Y. when I was a kid. However, when I grew up and started to travel I enjoyed eating these lovely fruits and occasionally had them in our daily diet so the kids could try to grow an avocado tree from the pit as a school project.
Avocados are a fruit not a vegetable and were once considered a treat only to be enjoyed by royalty. Now anyone can enjoy them because they are supplied around the world by California growers who produce 90% of the world’s avocado crop with San Diego being the avocado capital of the world. Most of the avocado groves in California average about only 10 acres, but there are over 7,000 California groves.
Avocados are sometimes referred to as Alligator pear because of its green skin and pear shape, but the word avocado really is a corruption of the Spanish word aguacate, which is in turn a corruption of the Aztec word ahuacatl.
Avocados, besides tasting good and being good for you Avocado orchards help renew our air supply and keep it fresh by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen and where else is that help needed except in California.
It was interesting to discover that in one year, a single California avocado tree can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven 26,000 miles.
The ideal time to plant your avocado tree is from March to June. Since young trees do not take water up too well you need to watch for sun damage during the summer.
Dig your hole as deep as your root ball and just a little bit wide. Be careful not to disturb the delicate root system when you gently place the root ball into the hole. If your root ball is round then gently loosen up the soil around the edges and you may want to click away any roots that are going in circles. Now back fill the hole with the soil you removed and do not add any potting soil or gravel.
The tree can hold about 2 gallons of water when plant it. You may need to add a gallon a day during the summer, especially if you live along the coast, but mostly it is typical to water just two or three times a week.
Organic gardeners need to feed young trees 1/3 to 1/2 pound of actual nitrogen per tree per year and it is best to spread out over several applications. All avocado trees including new trees need Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) in a 7-4-2 fertilizer and Zinc.
You can grow avocados in zones 9 to 11 and a dwarf Little Cado avocado tree planted in a wine barrel, using well draining soil, will make a nice addition to your patio or container garden.
“Tread the Earth Lightly” and in the meantime… May your day be filled with…
Peace, Light and Love,
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/
To see Arlene’s Gardens and to read her gardening diaries and to take a walk through her pictorial garden or click on Arlene’s Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books, including her new book, “The ABC’s of Wine and Beer Making”. Many of her articles written for Greenthumbarticles have paintings she has created of the subject and they can be seen at her “How to Do It” site. Remember to check out her artwork, especially of her fruits and vegetables. Many of her paintings are sold internationally and many of her works of art have been reproduced on note cards, post cards and other functional items and you can get Giclee prints of her artwork starting as low as $11.89 Arlene says, “All my royalties from the sale of my books, art, etc. go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my sites.”
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