We have six avocado trees here at Tullamore Farm and we are having another good crop this year.
People are sometimes a little reluctant to grow them because they can get quite large and they can attract the wildlife.
Consider your options, minimise the risks and perhaps you will be enjoying your own fresh avocados.
The main way we enjoy an avocado is cut in half, add salt and pepper and eat with a spoon. Simple but very delicious.
The avocado in the photo is about eight years old and this is our fourth crop from that tree.
It would be twice the size if we did not prune it back every year.
We prune ours every August and ensure we take the lower branches and any crossing plus those reaching for the sky.
This keeps a nice compact tree with plenty of energy and health to punch out lots of tasty avocados.
For most of the fruit trees we plant here, we always start by digging a good size hole and filling with our compost.
Ninety per cent of the fruit trees, including avocados planted here, are started this way.
Some would say that compost is too rich for an initial planting but we find that works really well for us.
Compost, when you consider it, is just very rich soil and provides a great base to getting young trees off to a good start.
To date we have had no issue with fruit fly or the wildlife but we do harvest our avocados when a reasonable size and allow them to ripen inside.
Most varieties purchased are grafted and this gives most home growers a better chance of getting the tree established.
Once established they are very hardy and do well here in the Scenic Rim.
We fertilise ours twice a year with some of our well made compost and keep them well mulched.
