Same played out in avocados. A 10,000 seedling University of California breeding program led to the Lamb-Hass, GEM, and Luna UCR varieties... good varieties, but not household names. Program started in the late '80's, Luna released in 2023. This was considered a successful program.

Germination! These seeds are loving this weather. Note: these were spilled while reloading the seeder. Germinating above ground isn't ideal, but the properly bedded seeds are below ground and thus don't make a good picture. #covercrop

5.5" since Thursday night (~7.5 million gallons) and no run off or standing water. When I was a kid, this drain would have been sitting in a foot of water. Satisfying to see 20 years of soil improvement realized with better water retention and infiltration.

As the sun slips behind the approaching clouds, we're as ready as we're going to be. Next 48 hours will be wet.

While I always welcome rain, this amount will cause problems in the Mountain, Eaton and Palisades burn scars. Just a question of how much damage will occur. Please be smart around moving water or low lying areas.

Seeds. This year's #covercrop mixture has bell beans, vetch, mustard, radish, triticale and rye. We had great results with this blend last year, using it in a different part of the orchard this time.

For the soil enthusiasts out there.(you know who you are). Digging around under the skirts of our avocado trees. Really happy with what I see.

Will be watching this later. Always room for more information on irrigating tree crops in Mediterranean climates, even though avocados and macadamias are a bit different.

With gratitude to those who offered a portion of their lives in service to this nation, especially my brothers and sisters of Northwestern NROTC, and Patrol Squadrons 9 and 19.

We don't disc our soil except to plant #covercrop. I did a few wind sheltered rows today to make sure the gear was ready. Planning to disc Mon-Tues, seed Wed, enjoy the rain Thu next week. If nature cooperates.

Budgeting for 2026 is a priority right now. And to do that I need to spend a fair amount of time looking at #avocados. Even though yield and pricing is uncertain, it gives me a number to base assumptions on. This would be so much easier if I knew what to expect!

With some nice rain possible next week , it might be time to disk between the young #avocado trees so we can seed the #covercrop just before the rain arrives. We'll get the equipment ready and watch the weather.

Yeah, a lot of CA citrus acreage was developed this way. Not so much avocados initially, but those have replaced a lot of the citrus groves. The eco-system of packinghouses and service providers has evolved, but still has much "co-op DNA."

"Or moral"

A few more Californicus mites headed into battle in a weedy portion of the Santa Paula #avocado ranch.

Just stop clicking on this shit, I'm serious. People re-heat these "one weird trick so Trump can run again" stories bc people will skip over actual news to read them.

If someone wanted to harm USA agriculture they'd do 5 things. 1. Deport labor, make work in USA inhospitable 2. Start tariff wars that end US commodity crop exports 3. Fire experts in transmissible livestock disease 4. Invite/subsidize foreign meat competition 5. Tell farmers how much I love them.

85 degrees and 25% RH just after 10AM. The young #avocado trees are well hydrated, but we may need to give them a little water today if the wind kicks up.

I think this would look right at home in the avocado orchard. bringatrailer.com/listing/1998...

3/4 of the year, we're on track to hit a pretty good water conservation number. Late spring rains, no Santa Anas, lots of mulch, efficient sprinklers and soil moisture monitoring combine for good results. Should finish around 1 acre-foot/ acre water use for 10k lbs/acre avocados

I believe that CA #avocados will keep a place in the market. But concentration of production in Ventura County may make it more difficult to harvest and ship fruit in the optimal window for price and quality. Not sure there's an easy way to mitigate that risk.

Good news for consumers: wholesale avocado prices remain low. Your local retailer sets their own price, but in general it's putting downward pressure on the retail price. An oversupply may continue into the early part of the new year. Eat 'em up. Please and thank you.

Good morning #avocado fans. Are you ready for 2026? I'm not. Neither is this guy. But we're getting there.

Only about 8/10 of an inch of rain at Saticoy so far, but we're seeing it reflected in soil moisture throughout the root zone of the #avocados. A little more to come before this system moves on.

For about 7000 years before people like me got involved, human beings were domesticating wild #avocados into the fruit we know and love. Today seems like a good day to acknowledge and thank them.

Do not shine lasers at aircraft for fuck's sake. It is not a righteous act of protest. It is a monumentally stupid and dangerous thing to do and will likely land you in prison.

Roscoe looking for that rain that's supposed to be coming. Doesn't look like it yet, but they say more than an inch is expected in the next 48 hours.

Today's plan for irrigation and fertilizer did not survive a water valve which had stuck in the "closed" position. I got it replaced, did a few other maintenance jobs on the system, and got the water applied. But we'll need to feed the #avocados another day.

It was a great morning to learn from some of the best #avocado growers on the planet at the annual gathering of the CA Avocado Society... conveniently held only about 2 miles from Petty Ranch this year.

Is it #tactober or #guactober? Why not both? Carnitas tacos with guacamole are hard to beat.

Even though the days are getting shorter, the #avocados are still growing and the fruit is still sizing up for next season. Today the trees in Santa Paula get a little Nitrogen, Potassium, Zinc, and Calcium to help support that growth.

Unlike Hegseth, I was a military officer in 1990, and can tell you with certainty that he would have been notable not for his lethality but for his quantity of hair product.

Finger limes. Not a crop we grow at commercial scale , but we have enough for a farm-to-table dinner coming up. (Our avocados won't be on the menu since the season is over.)

@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social: "The United States military is justly respected. It holds itself to high standards. It should do so tomorrow at Marine Corps Base Quantico." An important Morning Shots, only @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/remember-t...

For your Sunday consideration: decollate snails. These omnivores help decompose leaf litter but also eat the eggs of brown snails. Don't see them often, but during rainy weather or cool season irrigation they get busy.

5 o'clock and the weekend is here!

Cloudy skies in both instances, but quite a difference between March (L) and September (R). Now it's time to order #covercrop seed to convert the coming rainy season precipitation into next year's soil organic matter.

I’m guessing 1 and 3 Also, it’s critical media coverage does not normalize this in any way

When someone does a better job than you at captioning your pics.

See that? Of course not! What you don't see are Californicus mites, released in our orchard to consume persea mites who feed on #avocado leaves and can weaken trees and lead to sunburned or dropped fruit. They're small, but do a big job. #IPM

A snapshot of Silicon Valley in 2025 is Mark Zuckerberg, now a MAGA-friendly mixed martial arts fan who doesn’t worry much about hate speech on his platforms and complains that corporate America isn’t masculine enough.

Roscoe is all smiles after spending his day in the #avocado orchard. Now he can just sit on my feet and relax.

Remnants of a tropical storm are pushing into our area. This muggy weather (80 degrees and 90% RH at 9:30) should bring some rain starting overnight, especially in the mountains that feed our aquifer. Not used to putting out the rain gauge in September!

A very helpdul reminder for me to get that men's health examination sorted.

Today is #nationalguacamoleday, but no one told the #avocados. These won't be ready until next spring.

#avocado trees have two major growth spurts during the year, spring and late summer. Under foggy morning skies, this one in Santa Paula is showing some nice vigor.

Don't have any particular point, other than that this one year old #avocado tree is making me happy. Updates as the situation warrants.

"Books. How do they work?"

While the #avocado trees planted in 2022 are still a bit small, they are strong enough to carry a crop for next season. Looking forward to seeing how they deliver in March-April 2026.

In my Navy flying days we did some support ops for USCG and DEA. My understanding was that extra bodies took up cargo space, plus each extra person was a potential leak or witness. Don't send 11 guys to do the job of 1 or 2. Vessels that appeared undercrewed drew suspicion, not overcrewed.