macstack

I've never been accused of having a green thumb, but despite now being in my 50s, I am sort-of attempting to acquire one...

First photo is of my baby Avocado that started this recent interest. I was cleaning out the fridge, and in a food container I had forgotten about was half an uneaten Haas Avocado that had gone bad. I decided to try growing this seed.

Avocados grown from seed rarely produce fruit that is as good at grocery store fruit---I've been told odds are less than 1 in 1000. It seems most who grow from seed are either growing it as an ornamental or as a root stock to graft a commercial variety onto. I'm in the ornamental group. However in 7 to 10 years when its big enough to bear fruit, a cool video I saw from a Mexican green thumb - you can just graft commercial variety Avocados onto a branch and that branch then produces the grafted commercial variety, allowing you have one tree with many varieties, which is perfect for the home gardener. Maybe I'll try that.

The second two photos, I found a local Oak tree that appears to be an Interior Live Oak crossed with California Black Oak. It's a naturally occurring hybrid. Anyway, I collected seven acorns and two have germinated. I haven't given up on the other five. Odds are the pollinator was an Interior Live Oak or a Coast Live Oak as both are plentiful around here, but we also have Blue Oak, Valley Oak, and California Black Oak. It will be interesting to see what these seedlings look like when I'm dead and they are 40 years old...

Probably will only take a few years to see what their dominant genetics are. Apparently it is virtually impossible to find an Oak in California that doesn't have genetic markers from at least one species other than what it looks like. Kind of like how Humans have genetic markers from several other Hominids, I suppose.

When I was on the east coast, I used to garden so much. I would grow mint, cilantro, zucchini, basil, and TONS of tomatoes. I miss that, and hope to be able to do it again. It’s so dry here.

obvs wrote: Sun Mar 15, 2026 2:02 pm

When I was on the east coast, I used to garden so much. I would grow mint, cilantro, zucchini, basil, and TONS of tomatoes. I miss that, and hope to be able to do it again. It’s so dry here.

I do not know where you are at but if it is as dry and hot as here in the American Southwest I recommend checking out nativeseeds.org. They sell great plants for hot and dry climates.
Tepary beans are tasty and need little water they actually give less beans if you over water them.

I have tried for several years to grow in my yard.
Verticilium wilt kills it all though

Resistant hybrid tomatoes will survive long enough to produce, but the fruit is small and the yield is low. Not worth the effort.

FunkyRes has "Brentwood, CA (SFBA, not LA)" for his location, which is at the very northeast end of San Francisco Bay. This is marginally within California's Central Valley so--depending on the wind direction--probably has 90º-110º F (32º-43º C) during most of summers. Good growing climate in general, but I'm not sure about that avocado seed. My now-deceased uncle once had an avocado orchard in the hills above Ventura which had more moderate temps of about 80º F (27º C) during its summers (although over time his family sold off that land mostly for housing developments).

Avocados can make it here but for their first few years of life you have to take them inside during the coldest winter days and you have to take them inside during high wind. When they outgrow one of those pots that are 24x24 inches then they can be planted, but still will need protection from high wind when it happens. Same thing with the Santa Ana winds in SoCal.

https://edibleeastbay.com/2013/02/21/th ... avocado-2/

I do a vegetable garden every summer. Basil and tomatoes, because they’re easy. Celery grows well in my plot for some reason - other people tell me it’s a pain but I plant it and it goes. Then I just pick whatever other seedlings fit my mood and space. Peppers usually do alright. Herbs like cilantro and thyme grow like mad. I usually get some decent zucchini if I plant it.

Eggplant defies me.

I’ve tried starting my own seeds but they always end up dying before planting time so I just buy seedlings at the garden center in May when it’s planting time.

I have some fruit trees as well, but the apple trees never seem to bloom at the same time so they don’t cross pollinate and produce fruit. The cherry trees are self pollinating but the birds usually come and pick it clean before I realize it’s fruiting. I’d really like to figure out how to get those apples going.

I am a god awful gardener but I am happy to report my wheat is wheating. Its Sonoran wheat. The kind they make those really big and soft tortillas with for premium large size burritos. My hope is to harvest enough wheat to make one batch of home made tortillas and then mix half and half with some mesquite flour for a bread.

I do a lot of native plantings in my yard and plan to continue expanding those gardens this summer.

I do some raised bed gardening on my deck. Usually a tomato plant and a couple of various pepper plants, but the only thing that is guaranteed to be enjoyed is the catnip. Other things that I like to grow such as strawberries tend to get eaten by squirrels.

We have some strawberries, my (now deceased) brother Jesse was severely autistic and loved to swing so an adult capable swing frame was installed for him that is extremely sturdy. I put up some dowels across the frame and the squirrels (Eastern Fox) that sometimes come into our yard so far have left the strawberries alone. My hummingbird feeder is there as well, and yes, it gets cleaned daily to avoid fungus.

I'm hoping next year to plant some native grasses and shrubs in our front yard. I have them all picked out but first I want to fix the existing sprinkler system and I just haven't done that yet. Fortunately most native plants here are drought resistant so getting rid of the lawn and replacing it with native plants will save water too.

Just down my street there is a yard that has done some desert xeriscaping, but I do wonder nearly each time I walk by if he got his saguaro cacti legally (I do not know if there are any special protections on them, but I have heard about people being arrested for trying to steal them from their national park in Arizona). The tallest one is about 15 feet (5 meters) tall, and there are about a dozen of them in shorter sizes, along with other species of cactus.

For Christmas time he turns on strings of lights. For the taller ones, he just leaves those unlit strings on them all year.

I shrug, and continue on my way.

deyncourt wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2026 9:10 am

Just down my street there is a yard that has done some desert xeriscaping, but I do wonder nearly each time I walk by if he got his saguaro cacti legally (I do not know if there are any special protections on them, but I have heard about people being arrested for trying to steal them from their national park in Arizona). The tallest one is about 15 feet (5 meters) tall, and there are about a dozen of them in shorter sizes, along with other species of cactus.

For Christmas time he turns on strings of lights. For the taller ones, he just leaves those unlit strings on them all year.

I shrug, and continue on my way.

They are very protected here and take decades to mature so I doubt he dug up a small one and replanted it but are also super expensive to move. If it is 15 feet tall its been around for 50-80 years or so. They can be exported if he is outside of AZ but he would have paid a pretty penny. Could be the prior home owner purchased or planted it.

I just started tomatoes this evening. I am getting a really late start so we'll see how that goes. Also started some dahlia seeds. I have never started flowers from seed so we'll see how that goes.

FunkyRes wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2026 8:26 am

We have some strawberries, my (now deceased) brother Jesse was severely autistic and loved to swing so an adult capable swing frame was installed for him that is extremely sturdy. I put up some dowels across the frame and the squirrels (Eastern Fox) that sometimes come into our yard so far have left the strawberries alone. My hummingbird feeder is there as well, and yes, it gets cleaned daily to avoid fungus.

I'm hoping next year to plant some native grasses and shrubs in our front yard. I have them all picked out but first I want to fix the existing sprinkler system and I just haven't done that yet. Fortunately most native plants here are drought resistant so getting rid of the lawn and replacing it with native plants will save water too.

I have way worse trouble with my dogs eating the strawberries, but I've had them grow to the point where I can consistently go and pick some at any given point, and the only way I know that the dogs have eaten more strawberries is by the volunteers that take root in the yard from their poop (which does get picked up, but the berry seeds seem to germinate between the poop and the removal (a maximum of around 7 days, since I do it once a week).

The only issue I have with hummingbird feeders is keeping them full; I can't go more than a few days on a single load, because we have so damn many of them, on account of all the mature trees in my neighborhood.