After the delightful and interesting comments yesterday about the squirrel, I have these to share with you today, including some information!
We knew the squirrels liked avocados as the fruit sometimes falls from the tree looking like this! We had extremely high desert winds yesterday and these were on the ground this morning. An interesting thing about avocados is that they actually heal their wounds if left on the tree! This type of Avocado is "Fuerte", and it has a thin skin. The dark marks are where it might have been blown against a branch, was damaged and healed. The chewed marks are fresher and it fell before it healed. This type of avocado can weigh up to a full pound (0.45kg) and we pick more than 200 a year; our tree is exactly 40 years old Another fact is that they don't begin to ripen until picked, so it's a crop that can last nearly year round! These are not unusable! Like a banana, cut past the damaged area and the rest is perfect and unblemished. I wouldn't buy them at a grocery either, but don't be hasty to turn your nose up at these; we know what we're growing and what we deal with. Also, this is a rarity and the bulk of the crop is gorgeous! (In the background are Haas Avocados, probably the type you buy in the grocery. They're smaller with a thick skin making them less susceptible to bruising on the tree. This is the type that grows in the grove around my daughter's home on the Central California Coast),
I never dreamed I'd have a reason to post a photo of some damaged avocados, but I hope you understand this garden treat a bit better and why we have enough to share with our wild-life menagerie!
@kchuk I found this and a few others at a yard sale in Nova Scotia. I got them just to use in photos as I loved them, too, but they're too aged for use otherwise! Thanks, Elyse!
Louise...when I was a little girl we had two avocado trees in our back yard in Pacific Palisades. They gave us avocados year round. We also had two tangerine trees. It was fun to go in the backyard and pick a snack from the tree. For the avocados, we would slice them, cover them in lemon juice, a little salt and eat. I do not remember ever seeing guacamole until the mid 70's!
@danette I've read that it's a "perfect food"! When we have an abundance, I'll eat them right off the rind like a cantaloupe, and they never cause heartburn like an abundance of citrus will!
@pamknowler From replies, I've gleaned that they're frightfully expensive in England, but a glut on the market in Australia! Being first owners of this house, when we were ready to landscape, my idea was to make it all edible! They can be beautiful, too, but O, the produce!
@peekysweets I'm so happy you are finding the community here to be what I told you about! We do often share stories beyond a nod to the photo, and, to me, that's where the charm of all this lies!
@gardenfolk The description of how you'd eat the avos is exactly what I do when we have a lot on hand at once! Good by itself w/o bread, or, on toast, it takes the place of butter!
's childhood stories! Thanks Louise and CC!
@pamknowler From replies, I've gleaned that they're frightfully expensive in England, but a glut on the market in Australia! Being first owners of this house, when we were ready to landscape, my idea was to make it all edible! They can be beautiful, too, but O, the produce!
@peekysweets I'm so happy you are finding the community here to be what I told you about! We do often share stories beyond a nod to the photo, and, to me, that's where the charm of all this lies!
@gardenfolk The description of how you'd eat the avos is exactly what I do when we have a lot on hand at once! Good by itself w/o bread, or, on toast, it takes the place of butter!
@fbailey @haskar @casablanca @gilbertwood @annied The general consensus seems to be that we all love avocados! @ankers70 We're amongst the fortunate ones!