There are residents growing apples above the Berkeley campus, e.g. off Campus Drive. Chill hours are not necessary for success there. Instead the challenges are (a) shade from redwoods and (b) deer.
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For recommendations of apples and other fruits suited to your location, contact your local CRFG chapter.
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I really appreciate this forum for teaching on the misconceptions around apple chill hours.
It likely saved us from a sad fate of lackluster apples.
Iām thrilled to say that our first crops of Goldrush, White Winter Pearmain, and Hoopleās are coming along beautifully (with more varieties in the ground, growing).
From top to bottom: Hooples, Pearmain, Goldrush (which I probably should have thinned?)
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Did you end up growing any avocados?
I am growing avocados on a hillside in heavy clay in a similar climate. They have weak roots so getting the right amount of water is critical. I planted 13 avocado trees this year. You need daily automatic watering. It doesnāt need to be a lot of water but the roots need to stay moist.
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We had some avocados that were coming along in pots, and ended up giving them away because we still had not cleared the area where we wanted to plant them (the area needed some heavy fence and retaining wall work, and we didnāt want to put in young trees that would be in the way before that is done).
Iāll be interested to hear how yours do! We very well may still plant some avocado
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Bacon, Reed and Lamb are all very good choices. Do not plant any B flowering avocados besides Bacon and Zutano or you will be disappointed. Like Sharwil and Sir Prize mentioned earlier and Fuerte are all B type that will produce almost no fruit in our area. Iāve been trying to figure out the exact rule but itās something like B types need around 50-60F+ average temps during flowering or the second flowering stage wonāt open or it will happen at night. Almost all of the A types are self pollinating except Stewart wonāt produce here (despite being labeled an A flower type I think it needs more heat to produce)
All of this means that there are people in Southern California zone 10a that can grow any avocado because itās warmer in spring while us in 10a Bay Area have less options - but still a lot of them will thrive here.
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This is a fantastic breakdown! Thank you for sharing your observations. Very interesting about the Bs, and the temps.
I happen to be a big fan of Bacon avocado, even when given a choice among many, so that will certainly be the B if/when we reattempt! Very good info to know
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