HomeOrchard

5/3/26 →

This year, our Bacon Avocado has the best fruit-set ever, after its complimentary Mexicola Avocado bloomed in parallel. I’m guessing 75% of the currently pea-sized fruit will drop over the summer #Avocado #HomeOrchard #GardeningTwo baby pea-sized Bacon Avocados are visible with the front of a flat hand behind them for scale. There are a few avocado stems that end in nothing, and that's where fruit failed to set.

3/20/26 →

The two avocado trees (type A & B) are in full bloom & the bees are going to town. Meanwhile, the two oranges, ceanothus, poppies, and sages are flowering. It’s a lovely but intense smell out there 🤗 #Yarden #HomeOrchard

3/18/26 →

Today the yellow-skinned New Century asian pear is in full bloom. It is just in time to help pollinate the brown skinned Hosui asian pear, which is at the end of its bloom. The New Century asian pear tree wants to be a cherry tree. #BloomScrolling #Yarden #HomeOrchardA New Asian Pear tree, quite young, has many clusters of cherry-stemmed white flowers with yellow centers. The leaves are narrow and freshly green.

3/9/26 →

A Yellow-rumped Warbler was on the lookout for insects in our ‘lil nectarine tree. It was a very last minute decision to get the camera #YellowRumpedWarbler #BirdPhotography #Birds #HomeOrchard #Fujifilm #SOoC

A Yellow-rumors Warbler is perched in a leafing out nectarine tree with pink to magenta flowers that are about to fall off. The warbler’s back is to the camera as it looks almost 90° to the left, giving side eye to the photographer. Its yellow spot on its head is just visible. Its feathers are black to gray. The background is completely blurred out.

3/6/26 →

Our “Hosui” Asian Pear tree is now blooming #HomeOrchard #Yarden #BloomScrolling

Two white open Asian pear flowers with red anthers on a young tree above a rocky path. There’s tree has several visible flower buds. There are blooming yellow daffodils in the background along with a narrow elderberry shrub and a bird bath.

2/13/26 →

Our nectarine’s first bloom. It’s in popcorn mode so hopefully most of the buds delay bloom until after this next storm! #HomeOrchard

A light pink nectarine flower with whitish stamens and red anthers. The photo was taken in a backyard with a shed and rocked areas.

2/7/26 →

I have a lot of ladder angst. So pole pruners are a revelation. I’m very happy that I finally bought one! So, with some help from my wife to support the pole in awkward positions, our oldest, and tallest, apricot tree is now top pruned and is ready for spring #HomeOrchard

2/1/26 →

Today I juiced & heat pasteurized about 20 pounds of backyard mandarins for breakfast juice. Quite the bounty this year. Here’s a photo of one compost bucket filled with some of the remains #HomeOrchard #Yarden

A small 1/4 gallon (maybe?) plastic bucket full of bright orange mandarin skins, pith, seeds, and pulp. It’s sitting in front of a sliding glass door, against cabinets on a linoleum floor with a speckled leaf pattern.

1/30/26 →

I better prune my fruit trees & grapes today. The trees are already a few weeks away from flowering #HomeOrchard #Yarden

1/19/26 →

This Orange-crowned Warbler was flitting between our backyard nectarine and grapevines, snatching gnats that had beacons made of sunlight shining off their bug wings

#Yarden #HomeOrchard #OrangeCrownedWarbler #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm #SOoC

A very yellow Orange Crowned Warbler is perched on a tiny dormant stem of a grape vine almost as thick as the bird is round (maybe 2-3 inches). The bird is looking to the left, with something reflecting in its eye. The grapevine’s bark is splitting off. The background is completely blurred.

1/8/26 →

This morning, my wife caught early sunlight slowly lighting up our citrus trees #Yarden #HomeOrchard

A mandarin tree and a Valencia orange tree catch early sunlight, illuminating a strip of oranges and foliage with a bright yellow glow. The sky is clear and a eucalyptus tree in the distance is fully lit.

12/26/25 →

Our “Bacon” Avocado tree produced fruit for the first time this year. “Bacon” varieties have very thin skin and, no, they do not taste like bacon. The wind knocked one off and it was ripe. But the bottom had been punctured and insects may have enjoyed its flesh. However, plenty of the fruit was unscathed and we enjoyed a very creamy, lightly flavored avocado! After years of waiting & babying the trees, a nice reward. #HomeOrchard #Yarden #AvocadoA "bacon" variety avocado on a cutting board. The bottom quarter has turned dark green compared to the rest of the skin. Its skin is densely spreckled.The "bacon" avocado is cut in half, and pitted, showing where the puncture happened on the bottom, and that some insect(s) likely already dug in for a meal. Its flesh looks soft and is greener near the skin and a olive-yellow toward the pit. A knife lays to the left of the fruit.On a cutting board, the "bacon" avocado is being smeared across a tostada shell. It looks very creamy and indeed it was easy to spread. One hand is holding the tostado and another is smearing the avocado flesh with a fast moving spoon.

9/6/25 →

My wife discovered another, smaller avocado fruit in our “Bacon” avocado tree. So that’s two! Very exciting. We still need to continue research harvest time for this variety. It’s a minefield on the internet for that 🤨 #Yarden #HomeOrchard #Avocado

A small, finger length avocado amongst broad dark green avocado leaves and tree tape.

8/16/25 →

It’s the backyard Asian Pear harvest! Yellow are New Century variety and the brown skinned are the more familiar looking Hosui variety. They are odd spindly trees right now. I’m not used to pruning central leader trees, but vase shape. #Yarden #HomeOrchard #AsianPears

A colander with a mixture of yellow and brown skinned Asian PearsA very spindly Hosui pear tree with multiple stakes and lots of tree tape. It has pears still. The sky is blue and there’s more vegetation along a fence in the background. Drip line and gravel are in the foreground.A New Century Asian Pear tree with small yellow skinned pears. It’s better branched and dilated compared to the Hosui tree. In the background, there are ugly metal structures behind a wood fence. In the foreground is gravel and drip line.

8/15/25 →

Our cultivated California native seedy grapes are ready. The two plants mostly feed Northern Mockingbirds, Western Scrub Jays, and in the late fall, Kinglets, but some grapes will be for the humans in the form of a compote. As a bonus, gaze upon our lone avocado! #Yarden #HomeOrchard

Many bunches of ripe purple grapes hang from a grape vine.A hand is holding a metal colander filled with ripe red grapes. It's being held under a grape vine.An avocado is hanging from an avocado tree. It has a long stem and a narrow, green speckled body. A hand is nearby acting as a scale. It's about five fingers long and three fingers wide.

8/2/25 →

I think this is the last nectarine harvest. About 6 pounds. The shield bugs were showing up and nectarines were dropping fast from wind and bird pecks :-( They were effortlessly plucked off the tree. Next harvest: Asian pears! #HomeOrchard #Nectarines #Yarden

A nectarine tree with almost a dozen dropped fruit on the gravel and dirt area below. The tree still has a few dozen nectarines on it.A collander of very ripe dark red to orange colored nectarines sitting on a scale. The scale is on a plastic covering upon a tile counter. The scale reads 6 pounds and 5 ounces, so there’s about 6 pounds of necartines.

7/27/25 →

Another nectarine harvest. This time, 4 pounds. Smelling more fragrant this time! A few came off with a tug (yellower stems) but most still need shears. Also, our milkweed has busted open their pods and omg the tufts are so soft! #HomeOrchard #Nectarines #Milkweed #Yarden

Four pounds of dark red to red to yellow nectarines piled up in a metal colander.A milkweed pod is releasing its seeds, which are ready to wind carried away by their fluffy, white tufts. The pods are cone shaped and split down the middle to release their seeds.

7/21/25 →

Our lone Mexicola avocado! Maybe this’ll be its first fruit to make it to maturity? It’s a long slog. #HomeOrchard #Avocado #Yarden

A small avocado, about 5-fingers long & 3 fingers wide, hangs alone in the canopy of an avocado tree. A hand front provides scale.

7/20/25 →

Started our Nectarine harvest. Last year they got bug infested but not this year. So far. One branch got majorly overloaded 😬 so I harvested it first. #HomeOrchard #Yarden

A metal colander filled with ripe red to yellow nectarines and a few green leaves.A tree laden with nectarines stands in a rocky garden area. One branch, the closest one, is seriously overloaded.

5/26/25 →

Today we suspended shade cloth over the avocado trees. The trees will now survive 100°F+ temperatures coming later this week. Heatwaves are on the way to California!

A shade cloth covering a small area of trees. A wheelbarrow is partially visible to the right, and ropes are stretched across to keep the cloth from resting on the small trees. The ground is covered with wood chips and gravel.

Two short avocado trees with a shade cloth suspended overhead and attached by rope to a fence. There is a gravel path along the far fence and close to the camera with wood chips inbetween. A drip hose snakes between the two trees. The sun is already shaded out with the cloth’s shadow projected along the fence.

#Yarden #Gardening #AvocadoTrees #HomeOrchard #California #CaWx

4/26/25 →

Backyard trees have decent fruit set. New Century Asian Pears, Hosui Asian Pears, and a Nectarine Green leaves and an unripe, small unripe green New Century Asian Pear fruit growing on a tree branch with a cloudy sky in the background.

A young tree with small, green Hosui Asian Pear fruits growing among glossy green leaves. The tree is supported by a stake. The background is a blurred garden setting.

A fruit tree with green leaves and reddish unripe nectarines, growing among the foliage. The ground is covered in gravel, and a shed is partially visible in the background.

#HomeOrchard #Yarden

3/22/25 →

I guess both of my Asian Pear trees have a fungal infection. These black spots certainly do not appear to be insect related. I’ve treated with fungicide in hopes of salvaging these trees & this year’s fruit. #Yarden #HomeOrchard A budding Asian Pear branch with clusters of leaf green & white flower buds and some black spots on them. Probably fungus. The branch is attached to a tree with a rocky and mulched ground beneath. A drip hose passes through the mulch, which is encircled by river cobble.

2/21/25 →

Our backyard Nectarine is now in full bloom! #NectarineTree #Yarden #HomeOrchard #BloomScrolling #Fujifilm #SOoC A small Nectarine tree with pink blossoms in full bloom, set against a backdrop of a wooden fence and a clear blue sky. The tree is planted in backyard with gravel and bare soil around the tree. There’s an unsightly aluminum RV shed behind the fence.

2/9/25 →

First bloom of our nectarine #Yarden #HomeOrchard A close-up of a budding nectarine tree branch with clusters of pink blossoms against a blurred background of a metal shed.

2/7/25 →

Backyard nectarine is at first pink #Yarden #HomeOrchard A close-up of a tree branch with a single pink flower bud about to bloom. The background features more branches, a wooden fence, a metal shed, and a partly cloudy sky.

8/25/24 →

Asian pears are ready for fresh eating! The yellow ones are New Century and the brown ones are Hosui. Our nectarines were hammered by the heat and recently got bug infested. But we harvested what we could & cooked them down. #HomeOrchard #AsianPears A collection of yellow and brown Asian pears placed in a clear plastic bowl.

2/20/23 →

I juiced & pasteurized two liters worth of mandarins today. The mandarins still on the tree should hold quite a while longer even with the upcoming cold snap. #HomeOrchard #Fujifilm

A backyard with a mandarin tree loaded with fruit and a Valencia tree. it's extremely green. Bark covers the ground and there's a weather station nearby.A counter covered in juicing equipment including a bowl full of rinds, a strainer sitting in a bowl, and very yellow juicer by Proctor Silex branded with Alex's Lemonade Stand.