Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Urban Homesteading - Backyard Tropical Fruit

Monday is Urban Homesteaders Day of Action and many of us are posting videos on YouTube that are in support of urban homesteading.

In this video, I talk about growing Cavendish banana plants, Hass avocado and citrus in your backyard in those areas of the country where you can (in this case, San Diego). Oh, and, Charlie the hummingbird makes a visit. Plus, some outtakes at the end.

8 comments:

Kate said...

Jealous making to this zone 6 gardener! Our WWOOF volunteer asked me last night what plants I wish I could grow here. "Mango, avocado, olive" were my immediate answers. Sigh. Pears and apples are very nice, but I do miss those tropical fruits.

El Gaucho said...

I used to live in San Diego and there are few restrictions on what you can grow there, the usual problem is not getting cold enough, and not getting enough chill hours. We had three kinds of apples, peaches, pears, cherries, oranges, and mandarins, and were just getting started. We were Zone 10 (more coastal than Zone 6) and are now in Zone 3 (North Dakota), quite a change, sigh.

wickett said...

wonderful video!!

(you're a natural, Deanna!) :-)

LF said...

Hey Deanna - you are a natural!

I'm in Los Angeles and I have an apple banana tree I got from a neighbor. It hasn't fruited yet, but its happy so I'm hopeful. I'd love to grow an avocado tree but we have deer and there's nothing our deer like better than avocado trees apparently. My neighbor planted a grove of them, next day he said they were just sticks. So I haven't tried avocados yet, not until I get some serious fencing.

Erica/Northwest Edible Life said...

All this gorgeous stuff I can't grow. Damn. But fun to live vicariously through your video. Nice job.

Anonymous said...

Wishing I didn't live in Zone 4. You ARE a natural! DebC

equa yona(Big Bear) said...

Yeah, South Dakota and banana plants don't mix well. I lived in Samoa for a couple of years and we had a banana plant on the malai(commons) and we had beautiful papaya trees in our yard(mmmmm). And our Tokelauan nanny used to 'borrow' bread fruit from the neighbors and make bread fruit chips for us.
Love the hummer and the silliness at the end.

Robj98168 said...

Here is what I found from the California Avocado Commission:
Storing or Freezing California Avocados
Ripe fruit can be stored in the refrigerator uncut for two to three days.

To store cut fruit, sprinkle it with lemon or lime juice or white vinegar and place it in an air-tight covered container in your refrigerator. Eat within a day or two.

If refrigerated guacamole turns brown during storage, simply discard the top, browned layer.

When you have an abundance of fresh fruit, consider freezing it. Although avocados are not satisfactorily frozen whole or sliced, pureed avocados freeze very well and can be used in salads, sandwiches and dips.
Wash, seed and peel the fruit as described above.
Puree the flesh, adding one tablespoon of lemon juice for each two pureed avocados. Pack the puree into a rigid container, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
Seal and label the containers.
Freeze and use within four to five months