[fallinghawks]

In my previous home (a rental in San Mateo) I planted a small avocado jungle, which was eventually thinned to 3 trees that started producing in about 8 years. Half a block away was an enormous avocado, its canopy about 35' diameter. The soil there was fantastic, you could drop in anything and it would thrive. I live across the Bay now and though the soil quality is difficult (clay) the house came with 5 different fruit trees (lemon, cherry, peach, apricot, pear) and I've added a feijoa, a lime, and a few culinary herbs.

I also have a front lawn, which I haven't watered in several years, but comes back with the rain. I want to smother it permanently in cardboard, but that in itself is quite a lot of work that I refuse to admit I need to hire someone to get it done.

[whalesalad]

A friend of mine had a HUGE avocado tree in his backyard. He would hand us paper grocery bags basically filled to the brim with them all the time, because otherwise they would just fall off and rot in his yard.

His dog ate them all the time too, absolutely spoiled!

Likewise when I lived in Hawaii, my girlfriends grandmother had a mango tree the size of Tennessee and she'd give me big paper bags full of mangos. Best I have ever had.

I do miss this about living in a warmer climate.