How to Plant Your Own Orchard of Green Gold

OK, so you don’t have 2 or 3 acres of land on a hillside. You can still grow your own avocados with just one tree. All you need is a back yard that does not freeze. Yards along the North County coastal sections are prime candidates.

Several commercial nurseries in the North County sell individual avocado trees for about $9 to $10 per tree. Look for a tree with a good-sized root ball. Be sure to ask for a tree that has been budded. Non-budded trees will not produce the fruit you want. A graft of, say, the Hass variety must be grafted onto root stock if you want Hass avocados.

Pile the tree in the back of the car, take it home and dig a hole. Add fertilizer and soil amendment. Place the tree in the hole so that the top of the root ball is even with the top of the hole. Then fill the hole, and mound dirt around the base of the tree so the mound is about a foot high. The mound will help the soil drain water.

The first few months, a young tree must be watered frequently. Some people like to stake the tree if there is a chance of high winds. Fertilize three times a year. By the fourth year, you should have a tree producing about 10 pounds of avocados.

By the seventh or eighth year, you’ll be able to keep the neighborhood supplied.