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Farming 101
The first thing we learned about farming avocadoes is that we didn't know much about farming... and even less about avocados.
In fact, what we called a "grove" or "orchard", the locals called a "ranch". After researching the term, a ranch can be defined as "a large farm on which a particular crop of kind of animal is raised", so we agreed to call it a ranch and try to blend in.
What do avocados need?
Water, sunshine, rich soil with good drainage, and more water. Growing avocados is relatively easy compared to a lot of other crops... just supply the elements above and wait patiently.
Of course, it is not really that simple or anyone would be in the business. Take any one of the simple ingredients listed above and you could study it for the remainder of your life. We quickly learned the importance of planting thoroughbred trees, how to supplement and/or counteract the minerals in the water, etc.
Success or Failure?
Our theory is simple. If you want a productive ranch you must build it from the ground up. We have spent our first year in simply cleaning up the land, removing bush, dead limbs, rotting fruit, and anything else that we wouldn't want in our own home. We've done soil and leaf analysis, noting where micro-nutrients are deficient and/or excessive, and set up a long-term program to make the land more hospitable for the trees. If the trees are happy... they will reward us.
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