Growing avocados longterm in containers

[@NVMe420]

YES YES YES! you have learned from Gary Matsouka!!! Thanks for showing us!! Great info!! 💓💓

[@GrowsGoneWild]

That’s right! He’s the reason I have so many avocados 😂. I bought them from him too!

[@freogirl7956]

Here in Perth, Australia we get very long, hot summers. We have a few Avocado trees in pots and we painted the outside of the pots with white house paint to keep their pots cool and protected from the sun.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

That is a great idea. I think my latest avocados roots cooked a bit recently after I moved a planter away from it.

[@zaria5785]

That’s a great idea.

[@CatchCatchFish]

Nice mic setup. Audio is good.

[@growyourownavocados]

Thanks for showing how you do what you do. Much appreciated!

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Yes of course! Appreciate you watching!

[@budstik]

I had no choice but to bare root a Mexicola and a Duke last year bringing into Canada. They are still alive and thriving!

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Good to hear! Also amazing that you’re growing avocados in Canada 👀

[@budstik]

@@GrowsGoneWild still experimenting and no fruit yet. My Reed flowered a ton this year, but stuck in the male state.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@budstik still very cool. Hope you can get them to set!

[@Virginia-vn7ud]

Growing a beautiful avocado tree in huge pot , it is doing great in Mexico

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@Virginia-vn7ud awesome! Do you get a lot of fruit?

[@titoace408]

I have my avocados in pots too. I keep them under my patio l. If i put them in the ground in straight sun the trees will cook. I live in the central valley

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@titoace408 you can build a shade structure for young trees. I’ve seen people have success with that 👍

[@VinnyOC]

Glad I stumbled on Gary’s Top Pot. It has been working well. Thanks for the confirmation and tips.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

You bet! I’m lucky to have found his videos early on when I started gardening. I did have a dragonfruit in a pot that kept getting yellower and yellower until I changed the soil tho 😂

[@jlakindd]

@@GrowsGoneWild whats your ratios in your custom potting mix? i can copy garys but im curious how you changed yours up.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@jlakindd mine is basically the same. I have recently been using less charcoal and more pearlite as we have a shortage of pumice lol. I have been using sunshine mix at Home Depot for my peat moss because I scored some at clearance price, it has like 30% pearlite already mixed in but I’m not too sure about the exact ratios. It’s mostly more eyeballing than anything. If I up pot from 15-25 gallons and want something lighter, then I use something with less sand and more pearlite/pumice if possible. Hope that makes sense and helps 🤣

[@upliftlife11]

Thanks for the tips! I definitely try to water my container avocados less than everything else. 🥑

[@GrowsGoneWild]

You’re welcome! If you don’t have any organic material in your soil you can water as much as you want 😉

[@SpiderF27]

Nice trees you have there.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@SpiderF27 thank you!

[@vegardno]

Amazing collection, I'm so envious. I'm trying out a soil mix that resembles Gary's but I'm in France and couldn't figure out how to get all the exact ingredients. I'm also trying grow bags and plan to plant in mounds when they get big enough. Thanks for all the tips.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Thanks so much and best of luck to you! I have been less strict on my mix these days depending on my needs. I am doing 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 pumice, and then either more pearlite or sand depending on whether I am focusing more on keeping the container lighter or not. I just throw in a couple scoops of charcoal, nothing too strict. I feel with the peat poss and the pumice I have the acidity and the aeration/structure and the rest can be adjusted. Which ingredients are you missing or finding hard to get?

[@vegardno]

@@GrowsGoneWild Thanks! Gary uses pumice and sand (DG I think). I found pumice but it's for construction and I don't know if the grain sizes are correct. I can't find DG at all here, and the various types of sand have different grain sizes as well. I remember AJ (the graft man) mentioning not to use "stabilized DG" and I just have no way of figuring out if the sand and rock I can get here correspond to the exact same thing. So I'm substituting with the best I can find. I'm also using coconut peat instead of peat moss, that's mostly for trying to be more sustainable (apparently bogs are important habitats while coconut peat is considered a waste product from coconut industry; I don't really know what's true but I try to do the right thing). My impression is that the coconut peat retains a lot of water while the overall mix still drains really fast (maybe too fast). It feels airy and fluffy to me, even after sitting for a while. But my trees have only sat in it for a couple of weeks so I guess it remains to be seen how they are doing 6 months, 12 months down the line!

[@GrowsGoneWild]

I can see how difficult it would be without every seeing Gary’s soil! The pumice size is similar to pearlite #3. Or I believe it is 3/16 of an inch when I buy at the landscape store. The sand I use is rather fine, I have actually not looked at different sizes as they only have one kind of hand where I buy it 😂. I would just buy sand rather than DG and just make sure there is no salt in it. I have no experience with coconut pest as I only use sphagnum peat moss, but Gary has said that he does not use it as it contains tannins and decomposes too fast, from what I recall. Peat moss is better as it takes a few years to breakdown and also acidifies the soil. The sustainability can also be a controversial topic, but I haven’t looked into it too much. Please let us know how your plants do, I have never tried the coco peat but have seen others growing vegetables do well with it.

[@melbournesubtropicfruits9474]

I wish I had know about inert soil mixes 10y ago as they started getting phytphera 5y ago and have been injecting anti rot to keep saving as well as Aliettte sprays 🌴

[@GrowsGoneWild]

I hear that. Would have saved us both some heartache!

[@Na_da_ol]

Interesting to see how big they can get on those pots and still be healthy looking. How many fruits do you see they typically set on both 15- and 25-gallon pots? I'm wondering if it's worth giving it a try. Thank you for sharing!

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@Na_da_ol in the 25g pots, my most productive tree was holding around 70-80 fruit. It has taken some recent heat damage at 111 F. I think the rootstock makes a big difference in how productive the tree can be. Pinkerton was holding about 10 fruit, and sharwil was holding about 25 but it has dropped a lot from the heat. I don’t have any trees on their 3rd year in 15g pots, but I have a sharwil on its second year holding 3 fruit. I’ll be leaving it in that pot next year to see how productive it can be. But I think you’d want them to be at least in 25g pots for long term productivity. Thanks so much for watching!

[@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880]

Upgrade to the 35 or 45/50 gallon black containers after they outgrow the 25 gallons. They are hard to source but about 45-60$ some company in SoCal inland empire.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880 I’m dreading up potting them 😂

[@moj8945]

I definitely use Gary top pot and acid mix 💯 for everything. Best soil for everything.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

I’ll bet your plants look amazing 😂. Gary has been saying the same thing about potting soil for 20 years. I’m always surprised when I see growers with huge collections in SoCal don’t know about Top Pot.

[@moj8945]

@@GrowsGoneWild tell me about it they even look at you weird as if you don’t know what you are talking about 😂 My avocados look amazing as well as guavas, sumo orange, mangoes, dragon fruit, blueberries

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@moj8945 agreed! The crazy part is, you just need to buy a bag and try it and compare the difference. I have tried growing in compost and in a mineral based soil. Compost didn’t work lol. I had a dragon fruit in compost for a couple months and changed it to acid mix and it grew like 20 times its size and gave me 8 fruit in the same year 😂

[@moj8945]

@@GrowsGoneWild the good thing is nothing has died for you 😂

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@moj8945 I was lucky to see Gary’s videos pretty early in my gardening career 😂. I just had a mulberry I grafted last year die, so I’m not perfect 😂

[@robertjureit2574]

Idea. What about painting the grow bags, White. Keep the Heat down,and keeps the soil from drying out to fast.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@robertjureit2574 could help. There are some white grow bags that I’ve seen as well. I don’t think heat is too much of any issue as they are never got to the touch like the ones in plastic pots. Might help with drying out though 👍

[@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880]

I've heard wrapping the black containers in heavy duty aluminum foil reflects 90%+ of the summer heat to the roots.

[@GardeningwithDave]

Thank you for sharing! ❤

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@GardeningwithDave you’re very welcome and thanks for watching!

[@MasterKenfucius]

Dang! You put the Ultra-High-Density method to shame! I've never seen them so close together before.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@MasterKenfucius they were closer before 😂. They were growing into each other 😂

[@MasterKenfucius]

@@GrowsGoneWild I'm still watching the video. You sometimes water them twice a day? You're hard core! I moved from California to Florida and I'm going to try growing California avocados here in Central Florida in my ultra-organic soil. I know that sounds crazy but my other avocado trees seem to be OK with it. So far no root rot and the soil is very damp all the time and they're all covered in wood chips and mulch all the way to the trunk. I drip on them 24x7 with an artesian well that needs no pumping.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@MasterKenfucius yup twice a day now. I need to setup some drippers! If it works for you that’s all that matters 😆. Good luck with the avocados and thanks for watching!

[@jkyontz]

Great video! I’m a new sub from Santa Cruz County, nine miles from the coast, elevation 2100’.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Thank you and thanks for subbing! Sounds like a great place to be for the summer 😂

[@qmoonwalker3847]

Very interesting info! I have no room for huge trees. This may be a good option for me.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@qmoonwalker3847 yes! Some of the heavier bearing trees stay small because they make so much fruit. I’m not sure how long these trees will like the pots, will be fun to find out!

[@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880]

I've sourced 35 and 45 gallon black plastic containers in Socal. About 50 bucks a piece. Inland Empire. Keep them trees growing!

[@r0b0tcat]

Do you have any issues with root circling when you are up potting from 15 gal?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@r0b0tcat from 5 to 15? No issues but it happened within the same season so the trees don’t stay in the pots for an extended period of time. I have only gone 15-25 one time with the Stewart and had no issues as well. That was also in the same season. I grow a lot of mulberries and they have roots that circle but it hasn’t been an issue. The bigger issue is with the roots having no more space to grow. The tree will start to decline after that.

[@econ0003]

Where did you buy the avocado trees on clonal rootstock? I have only seen avocado trees sold on seedling rootstock.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

I got it from Laguna Hills Nursery. They have some from time to time. They are Brokaw trees, I heard it’s possible to order directly from Brokaw but there might be a minimum amount you have order as they only sell B2B.

[@ethanvo5812]

Where do you get your grow bags? I checked on Amazon but the reviews complained about durability.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@ethanvo5812 I think most of them are the same ones sold under different branding. The ones I like are then AC Infinity Heavy Duty Fabric Pots on Amazon. I found them to be a little more sturdier and well built. My brother and I were able to lift them straight up with the bigass Stewart tree. We did not love them very far, but the handles did not rip off. Definitely not going to be as sturdy as plastic tho 😆.

[@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880]

Great Video! What zone and/or state you in? I'm in Socal myself growing avocados put of 25 gallon containers. 5th year.. fingers crossed.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Thanks! I’m in SoCal too, in zone 10b. 5th year in a 25 gallon is amazing and great to know that they can live that long in a pot that size. How much fruit do you think you get a year?

[@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880]

@@GrowsGoneWild It's been a journey my friend. You are SO right about the SOIL being the number 1 thing for container growing avocados. I'm in the process of switching out all my containers to Gary's Top Pot Soil. I've heard in a recent video that Gary's friend had 80 fruit on a 24 inch box container.

[@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880]

A few of my trees were oxygen deprived due to organic mixed soil and too dense of mulch layer. I went to palm tree frond mulch without the hard pieces and plan on taping a heavy duty aluminum foil around the containers this summer. I've got sunshade as well. What a learning experience. Have YET to get any avocados so far. Was using fish fertilizer once a week last year and the salt messed up the trees. Using dry granule now.

[@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880]

I've got 2 little cados(wurtz) , 2 kona sharwils , 1 gem , and 1 baby gwen.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@thesearentthedroidsyourloo1880 yup, I have seen that video! The best part about using a mineral based soil is not worrying about overwatering. I’ve seen people concerned about it raining too much and that’s just such a weird concept for me, my plants love the rain 😂

[@RichsMangoGarden]

Great avocado plants!!!

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Thank you Rich! You have quite a collection yourself 😉.

[@RichsMangoGarden]

@GrowsGoneWild thanks! Just beginning to learn more about avocados and lucky to have a massive rootstock to multigraft with 😅

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@RichsMangoGarden that always helps!

[@t.wheeler1969]

Great info.... Do you sell them as well?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@t.wheeler1969 thanks! I don’t propagate avocados so nothing to sell 😆

[@jlakindd]

you said u fertilize with jacks 25... is that the 25-5-15? and if so, do you apply that every month, every 3 or every 6?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@jlakindd I do osmacote plus 2-3 times a year depending if I’m not lazy lol. The jacks is 25-5-15 and I have done it as much as much as everyday for short periods. Otherwise I use it every 1-2 weeks depending on whether I have time. During blooming and fruit set, I don’t use jacks at all for 2-3 months. I’ve had fruit drop in favor of vegetative growth if I add too much nitrogen. I’ve had this experience with feijoas and other fruit as well, except for citrus 😂. These days I’m trying to slow my trees down a bit and don’t use jacks too much aside from the citrus.

[@jlakindd]

@@GrowsGoneWild thats good to know, i been using fish emulsion once a week, i would like to boost the growth on my young trees.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@jlakindd I’ve dumped jacks daily for at least 3 weeks on mulberries, avocados, citrus, figs, stone fruit, and basically all my trees in pots with no issues. I wouldn’t recommend it in ground as you’d be adding a lot of salt in the soil. Maybe you could try adding more fertilizer to one tree first as a test to see how that goes.

[@jlakindd]

@@GrowsGoneWild i bought the jacks 25 with the added mag and ca. i have half my avo army in ground and other half in pots. the Ones in ground, ill def start once a week and see how they respond to it

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@jlakindd nice! Good luck! I’m sure it’s a typo but jacks in the pots, not in ground 😆.

[@myexoticfoodplants6727]

Nice video.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@myexoticfoodplants6727 tysm!

[@peteruism]

How long does it take to grow edible avocados?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

These are grafted plants so they will flower and fruit right away. I don’t let first year trees hold fruit but I will be letting my second year trees fruit just to try it out since they are still in pots and I am not focused on growth of the tree. Typically it’s recommended to wait for the third year before letting them hold fruit so the tree can be at a decent size. If you’re talking about a seedling I’ve heard anywhere from 3 years to 12 😂

[@CatchCatchFish]

Didn't break 100F.... lucky guy

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Coolest summer in a long a time 😂

[@1cleandude]

I would think that peat is too organic and contributes to root rot!? I live in south Louisiana and have killed ten grafted trees!! Any suggestions or ideas? Epic collection of avos!🙏🙏🙏

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@1cleandude peat moss breaks down slowly so it doesn’t go anaerobic as quickly as the other forest products like wood or certain barks. Coco coir / coco peat is also not interchangeable with sphagnum peat moss. Respect to you for continuing to try after killing 10 trees! Hard to give suggestions without knowing how your trees failed. Typically, a lot of organic amendments in the soil could cause the trees to get root rot. Or if there was too much wood from the grower, that could be an issue too. The recommendation is to do your best to wash as much if the wood off, and then plant on a mound with sand, decomposed granite, or native soil as the backfill. It could also be a cold issue. Let me know how your trees died and maybe I can give you additional tips. Thanks!🙏🙏

[@1cleandude]

@@GrowsGoneWild I will admit two died excessive cold; my bad. The remaining eight were root rot. Soil was primarily miracle grow outdoor supplemented with sand and perlite to help drainage and aeration. I am convinced that I can grow them in south Louisiana and can protect them from cold. Back to soils I thought peat held water longer than the loose barky organic stuff from the nursery. Any guidance on mix I should be using? Thanks🙏🙏😘

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@1cleandude you might want to look into the cold hardier varieties. But if you can protect them maybe it won’t matter 😂. As far soil, holding moisture is not a problem. My soils are never dry and I have no issues. The problem is the soils that have a lot of wood/forest products in the go anaerobic and rot around the roots, which causes the root rot. If you want to make an easy mix, I’d suggest 1/3 peat, 1/3 pumice, and 1/3 sand. You might have issues if the grower you get your avocado from uses a lot of wood in their mix, though.

[@1cleandude]

@@GrowsGoneWild God bless you my brother I am renewed in my quest for home grown avocados! I will gather the necessary ingredients and proceed with your suggestions. I’m on vacation right now and can’t wait to get home and begin! I’ll update you on future results, subscribe and like your videos!🙏🙏🙏

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@1cleandude hell yeah! Good luck man. I’ll look out for your updates. Thanks for subbing!

[@SoulSeeker770]

Where are you at and what zone are you in? What your typical low?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

SoCal 10a. Honestly I didn’t track weather until last year and it was 38. I think it reached 32 the year before and maybe colder as we had like 20 mins of random snow. That was the first time I ever experienced snow in my area tho 😂

[@geriannroth449]

Wow looka dem flowers

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@geriannroth449 they turned into fruits now 😆

[@sabrinad3679]

I grew one from seed 9 years ago in pot. It never gave any flower and fruit. What's necessary to have flowers ?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

Is it still in a pot? People say it could take 10+ years for an avocado tree to flower and produce fruit. Usually it is a maturity issue, the tree needs to grow to a certain size to produce fruit. Another way to induce flowering is through girdling. You basically remove a strip of bark from the tree to stress it out. This has worked for my friend recently actually. He did it on the trunk, but you can try it out on a branch to see if it works.

[@sheens9193]

With watering them everyday, how much water, e.g. 1 gallon for those larger ones you have? Do you cut back on water quantity during the winter?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

I’m not sure on the amount actually. I hand water them and it has to be at least 3 gallons at a time. When temps get above 90 I water twice a day just to be safe. In the winter I do water much less but still everyday too unless it rains or is overcast. Once it get cold they don’t use much water or really grow.

[@sheens9193]

Thanks

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@sheens9193 no problem. I just went outside and watered a tree and tried to replicate it into a 5 gallon bucket and it’s about 3 gallons 😂.

[@sheens9193]

Thanks for doing the “test”. I only give mine about 1 gallon/day and they’re dry by the end of the day, maybe even by mid day for the warmer days. I use my own peat/sand/perlite 1:1:1 mix, similar to Gary’s soil. I think I’ll up the water a bit for the ones that are fully rooted in 25 gallon pots. Great looking collection, thanks again.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@sheens9193 your mix is perfect. Same principle as Gary’s. I would definitely up the water. You can’t overwater in that soil mix. I never let any of my plants go dry if I can avoid it.

[@artgarcia2340]

What if you grow it in sand for drainage and vermiculite for water retention, and pumice for oxygen

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@artgarcia2340 Gary had said vermiculite is good at holding water, but it doesn’t like to let go of it. I haven’t used it much in a potting mix mostly because it is quite a bit more expensive than peat moss. So I can’t really comment. I do use straight vermiculite in a ziploc bag for starting seeds though. It works great and I get no mold issues like I used to with a paper towel. Next season I’ll run some tests with vermiculite instead of peat moss for a potting mix 👍

[@artgarcia2340]

@@GrowsGoneWild looking forward to the video

[@lauranilsen8988]

I heard Gary say in an interview that over time vermiculite can get gummy. He said you could add a tiny bit but overall didn't really recommend it.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@lauranilsen8988 interesting. Gary has some repeat classes every year but I always watch them as I learn something new each time!

[@rrajesh1975]

Where do you get bulk Pumice?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@rrajesh1975 I was getting it at a landscape supplier but they have inventory issues. Some farm supply stores have them as well.

[@rrajesh1975]

@@GrowsGoneWild Is that landscape supplier in SoCal?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@rrajesh1975 oh you’re in SoCal lol. It’s Whittier fertilizer. They are often sold out. You can try Orange County Farm Supply as well. You can call around to other suppliers too, let me know if you find a good deal 🤣.

[@rrajesh1975]

@@GrowsGoneWild Thanks!

[@jlakindd]

whats your watering schedule for the little liner avocados ?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

The little orange ones from Brokaw were watered everyday. Ideally you want to up pot them to a 5 gal right away. I actually water all my plants daily.

[@zaria5785]

@@GrowsGoneWilddo you have them on a drip system or hand water daily? And for how long ? Until you notice water runs out of the bottom? Sorry for all the questions if you’ve answered already in prior videos. I just discovered your channel and subbed.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@zaria5785 oh no problem on the questions. Ask away 😂. I hand water them daily. The grow bags dry out faster than plastic containers so you might need to water less if you’re using plastic. I used to water until the water came out of the bottom. I did a recent test and it came out to about 3 gallons each watering for the 25g pots. I would honestly rather have them on drippers as it would save me so much more time, maybe some day 😂. And thank you so much for watching and subscribing!

[@drephiillip]

i live in the caribbean so don't have access to Gary’s Top Pot. can i buy the individual ingredients? what would those be??

[@GrowsGoneWild]

The ingredients are peat moss, pearlite, pumice, sand, and charcoal. An easy mix would just be equal parts of peat moss, pumice, and sand.

[@lauranilsen8988]

In another video Gary says Top Pot is just this: 35% peat moss 30% pumice 20% perlite 10% sand 5% charcoal Large chunky sizes are best.

[@shannatran7586]

Could you please let me know what is the ingredients of the soils? Thanks

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@shannatran7586 it’s made of peat moss, pearlite, pumice, sand, and biochar. I’d recommend you watch Gary’s video to on soil to learn more. kzbin.infoERhYerguWks?si=IqwqqFXPIIeCkPuZ

[@shannatran7586]

@@GrowsGoneWild what is the percentage of each kind? How much sand, how much pumice etc..? Thanks for your reply.

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@shannatran7586 Gary is open about the recipe but I don’t like to put it out there since it’s his product that he sells, but you can probably find it online pretty easily. Or at least in the video linked. An easy alternative is to just equal parts of peat moss, pumice, and sand. He has said that pure sand is great soil, but it’s too heavy to use in a large container. The important part is just not having any forest products in the potting mix. Hope that helps!

[@shannatran7586]

@@GrowsGoneWild Thank you for your nice reply. Do I need to put any potting soil?

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@shannatran7586 you’re welcome! The idea is to avoid any compost or soils with wood or bark as they will decompose and cause root rot to your trees. So no potting soils in the mix 😃.

[@BRIANLIMBARO]

noce❤

[@GrowsGoneWild]

@@BRIANLIMBARO thank you!