Mastering Horticulture

It is that time of the year when we are flooded with peaches.  What this means is that peaches will be served every meal for a couple of...

Fig ( Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey') A t last my own fig tree bears fruits!  And it has a name - unlike the volunteer fig th...

Peaches in my garden - summer 2013  T oo much of anything is not a good thing.  There is balance to be observed between that which ...

Santa Rosa plums ( Prunus domestica 'Sana Rosa'). B askets of dark ripe plums have always been one of the defining marks of s...

Parthenocarpic Orange Par.theno.carpy Origin: Greek word parthénos = maiden; karpos = fruit) Literal meaning: virgin fruit Botanical ...

Fig ( Ficus carica ): Syconium Have you ever seen fig flowers?   If you are thinking of colorful petals then it is certain that you w...

Wild Blackberries ( Rubus fruticosus ) While wandering in one of the Redwood forests along Hwy 101 we came across a healthy patch of blackb...

Vitis vinifera 'Cabernet Souvignon' "Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp ...

Peaches ( Prunus persica ) Time is of the essence.   Two weeks ago we've started harvesting peaches only as we can eat them.   Peaches ...

Completing a Life Cycle.   From the spring crop of bok choy ( Brassica rapa ), I left two plants to complete their life cycle - seed to see...

Peaches A week from now these fruits will probably be ready for harvest.  However, as they continue to ripen not only do they get sweeter -...

Plums ( Prunus domestica 'Santa Rosa') The plum tree is laden with fruits this year.  When plums ripen it happens in one week or t...

Prunus domestica 'Santa Rosa' The plums are gradually changing color.     A promise of more "plum sauce" The California...

Developing pear fruit. I was in my garden the other day and saw these tiny fruits.  They look dainty now but soon they can be up to one-pou...

Lemon ( Citrus limon ) After giving away so many lemons, this tree still stands laden with large bright yellow fruits.  I like harvesting f...

Fruits on pot-grown oranges ( Citrus sinensis ) Tropical Zone .  Citrus fruits like oranges and lemons start out green and remain in that...