10-20-2017, 05:39 AM
What I'm finding is that the signs of reaching being ready to be picked is different for different cultivars, at least for the 3 that we have.
The dulling of the skin that works for the Sharwil does not seem to apply to the Ota.
I'm not sure about the Lamb-Hass yet.
Although, I think the darkening of the skin will be part of the signs.
In fact, so far the only way I can tell if the Ota is ready to be picked is by feeling the fruit to see if it has begun to soften a bit, losing it's hardness.
There has to be a better way than that.
I would think.
Going through a tree full of fruit feeling them to see if they're ripe seems to be a bit labor intensive, even if the tree doesn't bear very many fruit.
I have not noticed anything about the branches/stems that might be an indicator.
But, I will begin watching them to see if it might help in determining readiness to be picked.
The state of California regulates the picking of the Hass avos in commercial orchards by the date to assure a proper oil content in the fruit.
They can only be picked during a given time period.
So far, it seems to me that the only way to have avos year around is to have a variety of cultivars that ripen at different times of the year.
I chose Sharwil, Ota and Lamb-Hass because they ripen at different times.
The Sharwil and the Ota do overlap quite a bit, but their combined season seems to be from early fall to late winter/spring, while the Lamb-hass supposedly ripens in the spring/summer.
I'm hoping these three cultivars can provide fresh fruit 6 to 9 months out of the year, maybe even longer.
I may consider a 4th cultivar to extend the availability.
But, quality of fruit is more important than availability.
I need to decide which cultivars will fill the gaps with a quality good tasting fruit worth having.
I hate watery, stringy avos.
I'm getting to the point that I buy less and less from the markets because of the general low quality of the avos available through the vendors there.
In fact, I have just sworn off market avos again.
I bought some good looking supposedly Lindas that just drip with water in them, terrible tasting, a waste of money.
Welcome to Puna, the land of the Vocal Lunatic Fringe.
The dulling of the skin that works for the Sharwil does not seem to apply to the Ota.
I'm not sure about the Lamb-Hass yet.
Although, I think the darkening of the skin will be part of the signs.
In fact, so far the only way I can tell if the Ota is ready to be picked is by feeling the fruit to see if it has begun to soften a bit, losing it's hardness.
There has to be a better way than that.
I would think.
Going through a tree full of fruit feeling them to see if they're ripe seems to be a bit labor intensive, even if the tree doesn't bear very many fruit.
I have not noticed anything about the branches/stems that might be an indicator.
But, I will begin watching them to see if it might help in determining readiness to be picked.
The state of California regulates the picking of the Hass avos in commercial orchards by the date to assure a proper oil content in the fruit.
They can only be picked during a given time period.
So far, it seems to me that the only way to have avos year around is to have a variety of cultivars that ripen at different times of the year.
I chose Sharwil, Ota and Lamb-Hass because they ripen at different times.
The Sharwil and the Ota do overlap quite a bit, but their combined season seems to be from early fall to late winter/spring, while the Lamb-hass supposedly ripens in the spring/summer.
I'm hoping these three cultivars can provide fresh fruit 6 to 9 months out of the year, maybe even longer.
I may consider a 4th cultivar to extend the availability.
But, quality of fruit is more important than availability.
I need to decide which cultivars will fill the gaps with a quality good tasting fruit worth having.
I hate watery, stringy avos.
I'm getting to the point that I buy less and less from the markets because of the general low quality of the avos available through the vendors there.
In fact, I have just sworn off market avos again.
I bought some good looking supposedly Lindas that just drip with water in them, terrible tasting, a waste of money.
Welcome to Puna, the land of the Vocal Lunatic Fringe.
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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, back to being a nonpartisan again.
This time, I can no longer participate in the primary.
Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, back to being a nonpartisan again.
This time, I can no longer participate in the primary.